No More Secrets

The Revelation of God (12:7) speaks about a war in heaven, a war that is gripping planet earth as we speak.  So crafty and tireless is the enemy in his efforts to pollute God's "throne room" that many are unaware of his brainwashing techniques. Satan accuses God of withholding freedom from His creatures, yet, is it not freedom that allows Satan to make such accusations? 

In the following article, Dorothee Cole uses plain speech to help us understand the Sanctuary Doctrine. She describes point-by-point the beauty of God's character and blows the covers off what the Enemy has labored to keep a mystery. We were meant to understand the truth for ourselves without the need for religious talking heads to spoon feed us their second hand feasts. While this outline is not by any means exhaustive, it encompasses the most vital points and provides an excellent springboard for deeper study on your own. This article is part of a running commentary featured in Atoday.org...

The Temple Cleansed

Daniel’s prophecy provides a panorama of the world empires which dominate this earth from the time of the prophet Daniel to the “time of the end” (Dan 8:19).  The vision proceeds with the description of a conflict of epic proportions between the “little horn” power and the “greatest King of all” – God himself.  But there is reassurance that after “a long time”, “the Temple will be restored”. (v. 14,26)  How can we make sense of this vision and does the fact that “the vision has to do with the end of the world” (v. 17)  have any significance for us today?  

The Setting

The universal debate over the trustworthiness of God’s character – the point of contention between Satan and God from the beginning – is the background of every story and prophecy in the Bible. Satan’s goal has been to depict God as untrustworthy in the minds of His creatures. Jesus came to re-establish our trust in God by the demonstration of his character through his life and death. “The son of God came for this very reason, to destroy what the devil had done.” (1. John 3:8). Thus, the setting of this conflict is in the very minds of God’s creatures and it is there where the great controversy must be won in the end.

The Magnitude of the “little horn” Power

One of the two contenders in this worldwide controversy is depicted as the “little horn” power which appears to have been given rather unparalleled authority. This “little horn” power, which follows the splitting of the Grecian empire (v. 22), is not only “strong enough to attack the army of heaven”, but so powerful as to “attack the stars themselves”, throwing “some of them to the ground” and trampling on them. (v. 10) “In fact, it was so terrible that it even disgraced the temple, and wiped out true worship.” (v. 11, CEV) During the time of its rule, “true religion is thrown to the ground.” (v. 12) Notably, it “grows strong – but not by his own power” (v. 24) and we can safely assume by now that this king is not inspired by the power of God. Rather, we begin to speculate whether we are dealing with “one [who] will come with the power of Satan…and use every kind of wicked deceit.” (2 Thess 2:9) This powerful enemy of God’s is characterized as “cunning” and “deceitful” (Dan 8:25), reminiscent of the adversary of God who, by his cunningness, brought destruction to our first parents (Gen 3:1). We are perplexed to read on that this powerful ruler will even “defy the greatest King of all” (Dan 8:25) – God himself. By now we seriously ask ourselves how this is possible and whether an earthly kingdom of this magnitude has ever existed.

Yet there is reassurance that after “a long time” (v. 26), at “the time of the end” (v. 19), precisely “after 2300 days” (v. 14), something will halt the rule of this enemy that was given the power to defy the God of the universe.

The Meaning of the Temple

The sanctuary in the wilderness and later the temple in Jerusalem were designed to be a symbol of God’s presence on earth. “The people must make a sacred Tent for me, so that I may live among them.” (Ex 25:8). But his people did not understand that the temple was an object lesson of the true sanctuary that God desires to inhabit.

“That temple, erected for the abode of the divine Presence, was designed to be an object lesson for Israel and for the world. From eternal ages it was God's purpose that every created being, from the bright and holy seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator. Because of sin, humanity ceased to be a temple for God.” (DA 161)

“Surely you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you! God will destroy anyone who destroys God’s temple.  For God’s temple is holy, and you yourselves are his temple.“ (1. Cor 3:17)

For we are the temple of the living God! As God himself has said, ‘I will make my home with my people and live among them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (2. Cor 6:19)

“You, too, are built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, the cornerstone being Christ Jesus himself.  He is the one who holds the whole building together and makes it grow into a sacred temple dedicated to the Lord. In union with him you too are being built together with all the others into a place where God lives through his Spirit.” (Eph 2:20-22)

“…it was difficult for them to conceive of the existence or the character of the Unseen One. In pity for their weakness, God gave them a symbol of His presence. ‘Let them make Me a sanctuary,’ He said; ‘that I may dwell among them.’ Exodus 25:8. The true temple that God desires to inhabit is the temple of our mind. However, Daniel compellingly portrays how this temple was “disgraced” and “true religion was thrown to the ground” (Dan 8:11, CEV)

The Temple Defiled

In order to understand the cleansing of the temple, we need to first establish how it was defiled in the first place. The “little horn” power who “disgraced the temple and wiped out true worship.” (v. 11, CEV) is reminiscent of the symbolic king of Tyre, of whom it is written: “You defiled your sanctuaries with your many sins and your dishonest trade.” (Ez 28:18, NLT). The apostle Peter tells us that the Wicked One “will even go in and sit down in God’s Temple and claim to be God.” (2 Thess 2:4) It is nonsensical to imagine that Satan or one of Satan’s earthly representatives would literally enter the heavenly temple and displace God from his heavenly throne. But when humanity began to believe the lies about God’s character and held a picture of God that was more in line with Satan’s character, Satan did indeed displace God from the temple of our mind. Satan claimed that God was untrustworthy and one to be feared. This image still rules the minds of millions of people today, and thus the temple of our mind becomes “defiled” by the lies about God. Jesus came to reveal the truth about God. “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32). “In cleansing the temple from the world's buyers and sellers, Jesus announced His mission to cleanse the heart from the defilement of sin, from the earthly desires, the selfish lusts, the evil habits that corrupt the soul… ‘Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.’ 1 Cor. 3:16, 17. No man can of himself cast out the evil throng that have taken possession of the heart. Only Christ can cleanse the soul temple. (DA 161)

For nearly 2000 years, people’s “minds have been kept in the dark by the evil god of this world. He keeps them from seeing the light shining on them, the light that comes from the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” (2. Cor 4:4) It is the temple of our minds that needs to be cleansed from the lies of Satan. This can only be accomplished through our knowledge and union with God, so that we can be “built together with all the others into a place where God lives through his Spirit.” (Eph 2:22) The knowledge of God’s character is the everlasting Gospel – the Good News that God is kind, humble, tender-hearted, and forgiving. This is the Gospel that Jesus Christ revealed. This knowledge about God’s character has been hidden during the rule of Christianity through the dark ages and it continues to be hidden for many today. It is the mission of God’s people to provide the world with the knowledge of God’s character which will cleanse minds and hearts. “His presence will cleanse and sanctify the soul, so that it may be a holy temple unto the Lord and a habitation of God through the Spirit.” (DA 161)

The angel promised Daniel, that after “a long time” (Dan 8:26), at “the time of the end” (v. 19), specifically “after 2300 days” (v. 14), the temple would be cleansed. The mission of the Seventh-day Adventist church is to light the world with the message about the character of God. This truth about the character of our God was the special message that was revealed in the aftermath of 1844 and it is this truth that will cleanse the minds and hearts of God’s people – his holy temple. This work was started in the developments that followed 1844. If we are to finish this work, it will require that our church unites on this central message and that we come to relate each and every doctrine to the most important doctrine of all. Jesus is God and a perfect reflection of God’s character.

All scripture quotations are taken from Today’s English Version, unless otherwise noted.