It is not difficult to understand the meaning of Matthew 7:12, “do unto others what you would have them do to you.” Some Bible verses have obvious meaning even when they are read apart from the larger context of Scripture. Daniel 8:14 is not one of those verses.
Daniel 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
Without the larger Biblical context we have no way of knowing when the 2300 days occur, what the sanctuary is and what it means for it to be cleansed. Fortunately, we have access to the whole of Scripture. When the rest of the Bible shines light on this cryptic passage we see that it is rich with meaning. Daniel 8:14 connects us to several larger Biblical themes such as the doctrine of the sanctuary, the second coming of Christ, the Investigative Judgement, end time prophecy, the Great Controversy, the High Priestly ministry of Christ, the 3 angels messages, the character of God and his resolution to the sin problem. There is a lot in this verse.
This is the first part of a 2-part message from Daniel 8:14 entitled “Cleansed”. In these two parts we are going to see six reasons why the cleansing of the sanctuary is good news!
A BIT OF HISTORY
Daniel 8:14 is a verse with lots of history for adventists! Not just for Seventh-Day Adventists but for many others who have believed in the soon coming of Jesus.
Daniel 8:14 includes a time element (2300 days) and an event (the cleansing of the sanctuary). William Millar found prophetic significance in both of these. Fueled by Millers lectures, the 2300 day prophecy launched an advent movement.
Miller understood the 2300 evenings and mornings to be 2300 literal years. He found that the starting date for the prophecy was given in scripture. The prophecy was to start with the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (Daniel 9:24) which was in 457 B.C. (Ezra 7:1-27). Miller knew that, whatever the cleansing of the sanctuary was, it was going to happen at the end of this time prophecy, which he calculated to be “about the year 1843.”[1]
But what was going to happen? What is the cleansing of the sanctuary? Miller understood it to be the second coming of Jesus. It was a well-considered conclusion. Miller found seven different possible identities of the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14. After reasoning that 5 of these 7 either didn’t need cleansing or no longer existed he concluded, “There are but two things more, which may be called a sanctuary, which may, or ever will require cleansing; and those are the Earth and the Church.”[2] He then asked the question, “When will the earth and the saints be cleansed?” He concluded that they would be cleansed at the second coming, the earth by fire and the church by translation.[3] He put all that together and arrived at the conclusion that Jesus would return about the year 1843.
The advent movement spread and as it spread they did some more careful calculations and found that 1844 was a more accurate date. After a series of small disappointments some advent believers saw the connection of the cleansing of the sanctuary and the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16) that takes place on the 10th day of the 7th month. In 1844, that worked out to be October 22. They believed that Jesus was coming and that the Bible told them when!
But Jesus didn’t come on October 22, 1844. Believers responded in different ways. Some abandoned the advent hope entirely. About 75% of those Millerite Adventists who maintained
their advent hope, including Miller himself, came to believe that nothing of spiritual significance happened on October 22, 1844. However, they kept their faith in the second coming. They believed that the event was right (the Second Coming) but the date was wrong (it didn’t happen in 1844). These became known as Mainline Adventists. The other 25% of those who kept their advent faith became known as Bridegroom Adventists. Some of the Bridegroom Adventists believed that both the date and the event were right. Jesus really did come on October 22, 1844. He just came spiritually. These became known as the Spiritualizers. Still another, minority group of Bridegroom Adventists believe that the date was prophetically significant, but the event was wrong. They believed in the soon coming of Christ but not in 1844. Something else happened on that date.
Well then, what was the event that happened in 1844? Among these Liberalizing Bridegroom Adventists were James White, Joseph Bates, Ellen Harmon, pioneers of what would later become the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. They, and others in this minority group came to the believe that on October 22, 1844 Jesus entered the Most Holy Place of the heavenly Sanctuary to begin the high priestly work of the Day of Atonement.
From the early days of the advent movement Daniel 8:14 has been debated and decisive. Some believed in an extended atonement, others believed it was one day. Some believed probation was open others believed that it was closed. Even Daniel had a strong response to this message. When he heard the message of the 2300 days it made him sick for days (Daniel 8:27).
Daniel 8:14 is a stimulating verse. It has sparked movements, excited strong convictions, and been a cause of heated differences of opinion. It has played a key role in leading our church to the belief we hold today that Christ is currently doing a work of judgment before the Second Coming in the Most Holy place of the Heavenly Sanctuary. The sanctuary is being cleansed!
Finally, we got Daniel 8:14 all sorted out. Oh, but wait, we didn’t! The Investigative Judgment has continued to be a point of division among Adventists. With notable movements of departure from the denomination. For those, who have stayed it has not been sorted out perfectly either. For some, it is a point of skepticism of the teachings of the church. For some, the doctrine is just confusing. To others, it has been misrepresented to cause fear. For some it has led to a distorted view of the gospel. Many are not even sure if we should still believe this stuff or if it even matters. The cleansing of the sanctuary has often been distorted or dismissed and, when it is, we are the one who miss out.
We will take the next two weeks to explore the message of the cleansing of the sanctuary. We will not answer all questions about the sanctuary. We will not spend time establishing the date and the timeline for the prophecy. We will not go deep into the meaning of Christ’s intercessory ministry. What we will do is consider 6 reasons why the cleansing of the sanctuary is good news. And they have nothing to do with COVID-19 sanitation requirements. This is a different type of cleansing. Not one to fear or to just tolerate, but one to celebrate!
Six reasons why the cleansing of the sanctuary is good news!
In this first part of the message we will consider the first 3 reasons.
1. THERE IS A SANCTUARY WORTH CLEANSING!
For many, spring is a time of cleansing. In Alaska, it is the messiest time of the year with dirty snow coating our cars. I looked at my back license plate the other day and I couldn’t read it. It needed to be cleaned. But, I didn’t clean my license plate. It is not that important to me. When the things that are dirty have little value to us we don’t bother to clean them. But some things are so precious that we don’t want them compromised in any way. I can tolerate my license plate being covered with dirty snow. But if I was strapped to the front of the car and got all that dirty snow onto my face, I wouldn’t leave my face that way. My face is worth cleaning. It is worth the effort to clean the dirt out of my eyes in order to see. It is worth the effort to clean the dirt out of my nose so I can breathe. It is worth the effort of getting the dirty snow off of my body so I can be socially acceptable. The sanctuary is worth cleansing.
In Daniel 8:14 there is a sanctuary that needs to be cleansed. So we know that it is dirty. And we also know that it is worth the effort to cleanse it. It is not alright for it to stay dirty. It’s value can’t be compromised. What is the value that makes the sanctuary worth cleaning?
The value of the sanctuary is seen in it’s prominence in scripture. The sanctuary is a big deal to God! There are approximately 1000 verses in the Bible about the sanctuary. That is significant considering that there are only about 500 verses in the Bible about prayer, and 200 verses about the Sabbath. The sanctuary is central to the structure of the book of Revelation, Habakkuk, Daniel, Ezekiel and to the entire Pentateuch.
We catch a glimpse of the value of the sanctuary in the Hebrews words used in Daniel 8:14. The word translated “sanctuary” is qodesh and it is defined as “apartness or sacredness”. The verb translated “cleansed” is tsadeq defined as “to be just or righteous”. The phrase we translate “the sanctuary shall be cleansed” means something like “the sacred things shall be made sacred”. The sanctuary is something special, worth cleansing.
The text does not say, “unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be destroyed”, or “evacuated” or “ignored” or “abandoned” but “cleansed”. The reason it is cleansed and not destroyed is that there is a sanctuary worth cleansing.
2. THE SANCTUARY IS A GOSPEL DECLARING NETWORK OF TRUTH!
The sanctuary brings truth together in a way that helps make sense of the things God wants us to know. Ellen White lives through the confusion of Daniel 8:14. In hindsight she said, “The subject of the sanctuary was the key which unlocked the mystery of the disappointment of 1844. It 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.”[4] She also claimed that, “The correct understanding of the ministration in the heavenly sanctuary is the foundation of our faith.”[5] Ellen White wrote enthusiastically about many different doctrines. So we should not understand that the sanctuary is the most important doctrine but that it is one that is definitely important as a network of truth.
Ellen White was not alone in gaining clarity from the sanctuary. We see the sanctuary helping people make sense of truth in two different Psalms of Asaph. Psalm 77:13 says, “Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary.” In Psalm 73:16-17 Asaph was trying to understand how the wicked prosper and the righteous struggle. He said, “But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.” The sanctuary reveals God in ways that help us understand.
The earthly sanctuary is built after a pattern of the heavenly one (Hebrews 8:5). This means that each piece represents a greater spiritual reality. Typology is the study and interpretation of types and symbols. The sanctuary is a topological treasure chest of insight into spiritual realities. The sacrifice on the alter pointed forward to the sacrifice of Christ for our sin (Hebrews 9:11-10:18). The laver represented the washing and purity that is available in Christ (Ephesians 5:26). It is possible to take the symbolism way too far in unhelpful theories. But much of it is intended by God to help us know him. The sanctuary is a physical illustration of God’s plan of redemption. Some people have understood and taught the message of the cleansing of the sanctuary in a way that is opposed to the gospel. This is the exact opposite of what God intends to communicate through the sanctuary.
The cleansing of the sanctuary is good news because the sanctuary is a gospel declaring network of truth!
3. THE SANCTUARY IS ALIVE WITH THE PRESENCE OF GOD!
The intended purpose of something is compromised when it is not clean. Closets are designed to store clothes in an organized way. Mine is not clean so I miss out on the organization for which it was designed. Glasses are intended to aid vision but when they are covered in dirt they obstruct vision. When things are cleaned their intended purpose is restored. What was the intended purpose of the sanctuary? That is what’s restored when the sanctuary is cleansed.
The purpose of the earthly sanctuary is clearly stated in scripture, “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst” (Exodus 25:8). Both the Hebrew (mishkan) and Greek words (skéné) for tabernacle literally mean dwelling place. That cleansing is a restoration of our uncompromised access to God.
There was a sanctuary before it needed cleansing. The sanctuary is not made for sin. It existed before sin. The original sanctuary is the heavenly one (Hebrews 8:2, 5; 9:11). The cleansing is not the central function of the sanctuary, the cleansing happens to restore the function of the sanctuary. It deals with sin because it was made for something too valuable to be compromised by sin. We get a glimpse into the sanctuary in the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” (v.3) and “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” (v.22). There will be no sanctuary because the very atmosphere we will live in will be filled with the presence of God. That is what is motivating the cleansing of the sanctuary.
The presence of God in the sanctuary is portrayed in some intense ways. There are “flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals ofthunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.” (Revelation 11:19). David proclaimed, “Awesome is God from His sanctuary” (Psalm 63:2). It is a place where God hears and receives his people (2 Samuel 22:7; Psalm 18:6; 1 Kings 8:27‑30). It is a place of worship where worshipers have meditated on God’s unfailing love (Psalm 48:9) and have beheld His power and glory (Psalm 63:2). The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle and the people could see God’s presence there evidenced by a cloud during the day and a fire during the night (Exodus 40:34-38). God was enthroned between the cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant. He gave a special intensity of his presence about the Mercy Seat in the Most Holy place of the sanctuary. (Exodus 25:22; Numbers 7:89; 1Samuel 4:4; 2Samuel 2:6). This presence of God is what makes the cleansing of the sanctuary such good news!
Every step through the sanctuary takes us deeper into the presence of God. When Christ died he broke the veil to bring increased intimacy with himself! His death opened a “new and living way” to “draw near to God” (Hebrews 10:19-22). We are not in the outer courts anymore. We all are called to approach the throne of God because Christ is in the most holy place cleansing the sanctuary. Daniel 8:14 is a celebration of the presence of God we enjoy now and the increased intimacy of the future.
Reflect on the following Psalms and notice how desirable the sanctuary experience with God’s is.
Psalm 27:4
One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
Psalm 27:8
My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. God’s presence is actually everything for us!
Psalm 84:1-2
How lovely is Your tabernacle, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for you. For the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Psalm 84:10
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
God is omnipresent. But our intimacy with him is limited. He has given special ways for us to access his presence and the cleansing of the sanctuary restores that intended intimacy.
If you have an image of the cleansing of the sanctuary that is oppressive, legalistic, and unloving you can erase that image. The cleansing of the sanctuary is good news because the sanctuary is alive with God’s awesome presence. It is a restoration of uncompromised intimacy with God. The sin that has made the sanctuary dirty has compromised us being in God’s presence. But there is good news, the sanctuary is being cleansed. Right now our high priest is in the Most Holy Place to secure perfect harmony in the presence of God for eternity.
THE GOOD NEWS FOR YOU
How will you respond to Daniel 8:14? It made Daniel sick (Daniel 8:27). It led William Miller to preach. It was the key that unlocked the disappointment for early advent believers. It led Desmond Ford and thousands of others to leave the church. It has been misunderstood and misrepresented. And this same verse is a call today for us to live with greater intimacy with God. It is the assurance that Christ is our mediator in the heavenly sanctuary. It is a foundation of hope that we will spend an eternity in a cleansed sanctuary in the uncompromised presence of God. How will the cleansing of the sanctuary be good news to you today? Will you take joy in the value of the sanctuary work cleansing? Will you allow the sanctuary to bring clarity to your view of God as a gospel declaring network of truth? Will you accept the sanctuary’s call to go deeper into the presence of God?
[1]Miller, Apology and Defense, 19
[2]William Miller, Letter to Joshua V. Himes, on the cleansing of the Sanctuary (Boston: Joshua V. Himes, 1842),7,8.
[3]Ibid., 9-14
[4]Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 423.
[5]Ellen G. White, Evangelism (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1911), p. 221