August 5: SETTING THE COURSE, TRUSTING THE FINISHER
…but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets. Revelation 10:7
We are in the days just before the sounding of the seventh angel. The seventh and last trumpet signals the close of the final judgment and the return of Christ. Let us also understand the opening of the hour of judgment (14:7). Yesterday’s verse (10:6) ends with there should be delay no longer. A literal translation of the Greek, hoti chronos ouketi estai, is “there will no longer be time”. The 2300-day prophecy of Daniel 8:14 came to its end in 1844. Something changed. The key to understanding this change is grasping the sanctuary language that states: then shall the sanctuary be cleansed (Daniel 8:14).
The Hebrew economy revolved around the sanctuary. All through the year, in the daily tabernacle service, confessed sins were pressed onto the head of the sacrificial animal. After the animal died in the place of the sinner (pointing forward to Jesus) its blood was taken into the sanctuary by the priest and the confessed sins were “recorded” in blood on the horns of the altar of incense. But once a year, as the Day of Atonement approached, this record of sins was cleansed from the sanctuary. This sanctuary cleansing points toward a ‘future fact’: in eternity, forgiven sins are truly remembered no more by God (see Hebrews 10:16-17, Jeremiah 31:34).
The period that began in 1844 is one of case reviews. Beginning with Adam and Eve, the direction of each life lived on earth is observed and noted, based upon the facts of each case. The Accuser will continue to accuse (Job 1:9-11; Zechariah 3:1; Revelation 12:10) until he is permanently silenced (Ezekiel 28:18-19), but the sanctuary recordings are flawlessly accurate. The Accuser’s accusations before God are true, but the record of confessed sins in the heavenly sanctuary will show that they are confessed and forgiven. As citizens of heaven, we are to forsake all sin.
Each of the yearly ceremonies represented a one-time event in God’s master plan of salvation. The Hebrew name for them means rehearsals. The first of the yearly rehearsals (called feasts) was Passover. The first Passover celebration preceded the deliverance of the children of Israel from slavery (a symbol for sin) in Egypt, and was to be rehearsed yearly in a sanctuary service, which always pointed to the real event: the death of the Lamb of God upon the cross.
The last three rehearsals, or feasts, in the course of the year were the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles (more on this one later). The period just before the last trumpet is our current location in time. In Daniel, it is called the time of the end. This is the time for cleansing of the sanctuary, and it began in 1844.
A man’s life surrendered to Jesus, takes a new direction. The sanctification process begins immediately, and though he is not yet made perfect, he has said in his heart, “Whatever Jesus has for me to learn and to do, I will joyfully receive.” He may die before he has learned all and done all that the Lord has for him, but his eyes are fixed upon Jesus; his attitude and spirit are given to Jesus. This is the direction of his life! In faith, he has chosen the heavenward course!
…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross… Hebrews 12:2 (compare to 10:35-39)