I WILL read a portion of the nineteenth verse of the eleventh chapter of Revelation: “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.”GCB April 7, 1901, page 98.6

It is the truth contained in these words, developed by other portions of Scripture, that lies at the very foundation of our existence as a denomination. It is the fact that we are a separate people from any other denomination in the world. It is not because we believe in Christ differently, but from the very nature of the case, we are an independent people; and it was these words, applying especially to one particular time in the history of the world, that led to a conclusion which resulted in our existence as a denomination.GCB April 7, 1901, page 98.7

You will notice from the language itself that the prophet’s mind rested upon a particular time. He does not say I saw the temple of God opened in heaven, and I saw in his temple the ark of his testament; but “the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” The ten commandments are in this ark of the testament; so the ten commandments were seen at a particular time by the people in this world. That time is very definitely stated, as you will notice, in verse 15 of this same chapter: “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.”GCB April 7, 1901, page 98.8

I will read further, that you may see the connection: “And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshiped God, saying. We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.”GCB April 7, 1901, page 98.9

Each of the seven angels cover a period of time; but when the seventh angels sounds, it associates together the reigning of the Lord, the anger of the nations, the judging of the dead, and the opening of the temple in heaven. Without going into any argument to explain these trumpets and dwell upon the theory of this message, I will simply state how it was with Adventists in 1844.GCB April 7, 1901, page 98.10

There was a general belief that the Lord would come at that time. This was true not only throughout this country, but in England, Asia, and many other parts of the world, there was an interest among the people in the second coming of Christ. William Miller led out in the advent movement in this country, Edward Irving in England, Joseph Wolff in Asia and northern Africa, a man signing himself “Ben Ezra” in Spain; and in different portions of the world men were raised up independently of each other, who preached the second coming of Christ. This preaching began about 1820. In 1833 it increased in power. In 1838 a little pamphlet on the Turkish power published by Josiah Litch and William Miller. It took up the ninth chapter of Revelation, which speaks of the Turkish power; and a definite time, to the very day, was given for that power to become independent. This pamphlet was published to the world, and in connection with it a statement was made something like this: “If we are correct in this position taken on the Turkish power, the sultan will sign away his supremacy Aug. 11, 1840; and if he does this, it will be an evidence that our other calculations are correct, which make the twenty-three hundred years of Daniel 8:14 terminate in 1844.”GCB April 7, 1901, page 98.11

They reasoned at that time that the sanctuary which is brought to view in Daniel 8:14 was the earth, and that the cleansing of the sanctuary would be the burning of the earth; and that, of course, would take place when the Lord should come, at the end of the prophetic period given in Daniel 8:14, that is in 1844, when the earth would be cleansed, and Christ would set up his kingdom.GCB April 7, 1901, page 98.12

The time came when it had been predicted that the sultan would lose his supremacy; and it is a historical fact that this prophecy proved correct. This gave an increased impetus to the proclamation of the soon coming of the Saviour in 1844. However, that time came, and passed, and the Lord did not come.GCB April 7, 1901, page 98.13

When the Lord did not come, those prominent in the movement reviewed their position; and while they found no mistake in their calculations on the prophetic numbers, they did find that a mistake had been made in reference to the event, that was to take place at the end of those prophetic periods. They found that the sanctuary which they thought was the earth, was not the earth; that in every instance where the word “sanctuary” is used in the Bible, it refers to the sanctuary built by Moses, to the temple built by Solomon, and rebuilt by Zerubbabel, or to the heavenly sanctuary. These temples on earth were simply a figure, or object-lesson, of the one in heaven, in which is being carried on the work of our great High Priest. They found that at a certain time, under the sounding of the seventh angel, Christ would change his position in the heavenly sanctuary from the holy to the most holy place; and this was the event which they had concluded would take place in 1844. This discovery of their mistake was not made until the time had passed. They then saw by faith the inner sanctuary in heaven, and the commandments in the ark of the testament; and it was the study of this sanctuary question, and the truths connected with it, which led a people to keep the commandments of God, and to be separate, as the Seventh-day Adventists are at the present time.GCB April 7, 1901, page 98.14

“And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” I wish I could give you in a few words the experience of those who were looking for the second coming of Christ from 1840 to 1844, and more especially in the summer and autumn of 1844, until they reached the termination of those prophetic periods. There never had been since the days of the apostles such a state of brotherly love as existed then. Never since the days of the apostles had such power accompanied the messengers of truth. There was something in the presentations of these truths, which seemed to stir the very elements. They thought the Lord would come, but, as were the disciples during the first advent of Christ, they were mistaken in the nature of the event. The disciples thought that Christ had come to set up a kingdom and reign as king on this earth; and when Christ was laid in the tomb, their hopes were gone. When he arose from the dead, they were given the assurance that it was only the fulfillment of prophecy given long before, that he should be laid in the tomb, and rise again; and then they understood the Scriptures in a different light, and went forth with power to preach a crucified and risen Saviour. Thus were the Adventists disappointed in the nature of the event in 1844; but when the Scriptures were opened more fully to their understanding, they were confirmed in their belief of a soon-coming Saviour, and went forth preaching with power the second coming of Christ, and that “the hour of his judgment is come.”GCB April 7, 1901, page 99.1

There is a temple of God in heaven, as shown in the statement: “The temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” These words were the medium through which the angel of God conducted the minds of the people of God by faith into the heavenly sanctuary, where Christ has been interceding for them for nearly two thousand years; and they also saw Christ conducted by the angel Gabriel into the temple. A place which had heretofore been closed was now opened, and there was seen the ark of the testament, the lid of which was raised so that they could see by faith the ten commandments in the ark. When they saw these commandments, they saw the Sabbath as a part of that law. This glimpse of the inner sanctuary led these disappointed ones to examine more closely the scriptures respecting the law of God and the perpetuity of the Sabbath, and the scriptures relating to the first day of the week; and they accepted the Sabbath of the law of God. Thus originated Seventh-day Adventists. The majority of Adventists are those who at one time observed the first day of the week, but who have learned to understand the binding claims of God’s law.GCB April 7, 1901, page 99.2

As these truths developed, and rays of light came to the people of God, it made up the system now generally believed by this people. I need not say that there is a power that has gone with it and that is with it to-day; there is always power with the law of God. The law of God will always take care of itself if it is presented clearly before the people.GCB April 7, 1901, page 99.3

Well, what event would take place when they saw this? It was the day of judgment, the investigative judgment. There is one place in the Bible, and one only, where the investigative judgment is described, and I will read it to you in the seventh chapter of Daniel, the ninth verse and onward: “I beheld till the thrones were cast down.” Spurrell says, “They were pitched;” the Revised Version says, “They were set.” [Voice: “The Norwegian translation is, ‘They were set.’” Voice: “The Hebrew is, ‘They were set.’”]GCB April 7, 1901, page 99.4

“Then I beheld till the thrones were cast down and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.” His throne, then, was a living one, composed of angels. “A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then, because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake.” When did the horn speak? When the judgment set. He beheld and the judgment was set, and then his attention was called to the earth, and he beheld great words which the horn spoke.GCB April 7, 1901, page 99.5

Then he goes on further: “I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and, beheld, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.”GCB April 7, 1901, page 99.6

The judgment was set. When the judgment takes place, the law of God is revealed. You could not have a judgment without a law. So he takes his position above the law of God in the heavenly sanctuary, in the investigative judgment, to decide who shall be saved.GCB April 7, 1901, page 99.7

Turn with me to Malachi and read a few expressions there: “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: and I will come near to you to judgment: and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts.”GCB April 7, 1901, page 99.8

He suddenly will come to his temple and this is coming to the judgment. When John the Baptist came to preach, to prepare the way for the first advent of Christ, this prophecy referred to him. He carried forward his work, but did they accept John’s message?—No, they put him to death. Did they accept Christ?—No, they also put him to death. Then what became of the message? Will God’s word ever fail?—Never. Then the time will come just before the conclusion of the whole matter, that the investigative judgment will take place, and there will be an end to all this controversy in this world. And when that time comes, nations will be garnered, and there will be probationary time still on the earth for us, and it will be known who is worthy to be saved.GCB April 7, 1901, page 99.9

And so when we were brought down to this condition in 1844, there was a termination of the prophetic period, and John says that he saw the temple open at the time when Malachi said that the Lord would suddenly come to his temple. Now Christ fulfilled his part, and if the Jews had received him, they would have had the prophecy fulfilled when he first came.GCB April 7, 1901, page 100.1

We have learned first that there is a time that Christ will enter the heavenly temple; second, that that time will be the investigative judgment; third, that the work during that period will be the perfection of character; and fourth, the more you can understand about that temple work, the more you will understand the power of the truth of God that relates to God’s people and to this time in which we live.GCB April 7, 1901, page 100.2

Now I will simply call your attention to the sanctuary built by Moses in the wilderness, for a moment, to connect it with what I have said before; then I will have to leave a portion of this subject for some future time. Turn with me to Hebrews 8. The chapter opens with these words: “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount.”GCB April 7, 1901, page 100.3

I wish you would take your Bibles and study that expression as it occurs in Exodus three times. It first occurs in the twenty-fifth chapter. The 8th verse is what God said to Moses: “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” The last verse in that chapter says, “And look that thou make them after the pattern, which was showed thee in the mount.” What do you suppose God had in mind when he said that? Simply that building by Moses in the wilderness? That building by Moses in the wilderness was only an object-lesson of what God would do for his people in the very closing scenes of this world’s history. The word translated “among them” here literally means “in their midst.” But the thought I want you to notice is this description that is found there. Now if an architect were to draw a plan of a house, and you should give him a general idea of what you want, wouldn’t he begin to consider the location and find out where the house was to be built, and then wouldn’t he want to know about how many rooms it was to contain? He would never begin with the parlor, would he? He would not say, “We will make the parlor so and so, and then build around it;” but he would want to know something about the location; then the size of the house,—whether one story or two,—and about how many rooms were to go in the house. Is that God’s architecture about the sanctuary? God did not begin that way. Where did he begin? He began right with the ark; to make an ark to contain the ten commandments.GCB April 7, 1901, page 100.4

This was in the very center of all the sanctuary service. It is the very center of salvation; it is the chief corner stone. Christ’s life illustrated what that ark contained. He began with the ark. Where did the people of God begin in 1844 when they saw the door open in heaven? They began with the Sabbath, and they have been building around it ever since. God has been unfolding and opening up truth and light, that they might discern more and more clearly what the character of the gospel of Jesus Christ is, and what it is to be. He built after the similitude of a palace. Every instruction, therefore, that God gave Israel in the wilderness concerning their sanctuary, every service of that sanctuary—in all it contained a lesson that would come down to us. Everything that pertains to the work of God is to be done precisely according to the pattern shown in the mount; and that little object-lesson back there only calls the attention of the people to the work of our Saviour in heaven, and to the work of Solomon’s temple, more perfectly; and when we come down to the present time, and see Christ in that Holy Place, it is to remind us that we are to begin to build, and to build on the sure foundation. Can you see why it is that the people of God are to be a separate people? We have tried to mix up with the world ever since we begun, and oftentimes individuals do mix with the world, but it makes a failure every time. Human policy, and human ways’ and means, only bring just so much to be undone, and to be done over again. We could not see everything at once.GCB April 7, 1901, page 100.5

You take the question of health and temperance principles, from a scientific standpoint, to reach a certain class of scientific minds, and I want to tell you, my brethren, they had the health reform in the sanctuary service. If you want to reach the people, everybody, every class of minds, we want to get it from God’s standpoint, and we want to follow “according to the pattern shown in the mount.” May the Lord help us to build on the sure foundation; and to build according to the pattern,—according to every requirement of heaven.GCB April 7, 1901, page 100.6

I hardly know what expression to use to convey one thought that I would like to convey in the course of my remarks; but when you cut out a stone for building, you blast the rock, don’t you? The best blast that we know of is to get a person separated from others where God can begin to teach him the seventh-day Sabbath. When he gets hold of that, he begins to separate; but the hewing, and the squaring, and the fitting for the building is hardly begun. But, says one, I will throw away the Sabbath after it has begun. Why, that is what makes you the stone for the fitting. That is the first great dividing line. It will always be a separating line between God’s true Israel and the people of the world. God has made it so and he has said so, and it stands so throughout eternity. There will not be a man in the future state who will not be a Sabbath-keeper; for we know from the prophecies, that they will come up from one Sabbath to another, and from one new moon to another, and partake of the tree of life.GCB April 7, 1901, page 100.7

While we want the Spirit in our heart, the Spirit of reform, that can listen to the voice of God, that can build on the foundation,—we want the real, tangible blessing.GCB April 7, 1901, page 100.8

There is another thought that I would like to mention, but I can not stop to dwell upon it. Did you ever stop to think that though those saints are in heaven,—for the Saviour took a sample company up to heaven with him, and so they are up there,—there is one thing more they look forward to, with happy anticipation, and that is the time when the great problem of salvation is worked out, and they say, “We shall reign on the earth.” O for the time to come when the great controversy has ended! There lies the consummation of every hope of the child of God; so those very beings taken up to heaven brought to view when they were at work in the sanctuary above, said: “Thou hast made us kings and priests unto all men, and we shall reign on the earth.” That will be the end of the consummation of the Christian’s hope. May God help us, that every one of us may have a part with the people of God then.GCB April 7, 1901, page 100.9

RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS FOR THE YEAR 1900

BIBLE STUDY