Tag: sanctuary

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:
November 16

THE SANCTUARY DOCTRINE EXPLAINS THE WAY OF SALVATION OF THE GOSPEL (Part 47)

“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Mark 15: 34, KJV.

From Daniel’s time; “he knelt on his knees and prayed three times a day” (Dan. 6:10) to Christ, the Jews practiced daily three “hours of prayer” as follows: the first at the “third hour” (our 9 AM), Acts 2:15; the second at the “sixth hour” (our 12 noon), Acts 10:9; and the third at the “NINTH HOUR” (our 3 PM), Acts 3:1.

Remember the “ninth hour” of Friday, preparation day, 31 A.D. at Calvary!

“The silence of the grave seemed to have fallen upon Calvary. A nameless terror held the throng that was gathered about cross. The cursing and reviling ceased in the midst of half-uttered sentences. Men, women, and CHILDREN fell prostrate upon the earth. Vivid lightnings occasionally flashed from the CLOUD, and REVEALED the cross and the crucified Redeemer. PRIESTS, RULERS, SCRIBES, EXECUTIONERS, and the MOB [of people, not the ‘Mafia.’], all thought that their time of vengeance had come. After a while some whispered that Jesus would now COME DOWN from the cross. Some attempted to grope their way back to the city [of Jerusalem] beating their breasts and wailing in fear.

“At the NINTH HOUR the darkness lifted from the people, but still enveloped the Savior. It [the darkness] was a SYMBOL of the agony and horror that weighed upon His heart. No eye could pierce the GLOOM that surrounded the cross, and none could penetrate the DEEPER GLOOM that enshrouded the suffering soul of Christ. The angry lightnings seemed to be hurled at Him as Hs hung upon the cross.

“Then Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani’? ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’ And the outer gloom settled upon the Savior, many voices exclaimed: THE VENGEANCE Of HEAVEN IS UPON HIM.

The bolts of God’s wrath are hurled against Him, BECAUSE HE CLAIMED To BE THE SON Of GOD. Many who believed on Him heard His despairing CRY. HOPE LEFT THEM. [They erroneously thought]: If God had forsaken Jesus, in what could His followers trust? “- E.G. White, Desire of Ages, p. 754.

(To be.continued). Bless all, NMF.

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:
November 15

THE SANCTUARY DOCTRINE EXPLAINS THE WAY OF SALVATION OF THE GOSPEL (Part 46)

The Mysterious Darkness of the Ninth Hour at the Antitypical Altar of Sacrifice.

“With amazement ANGELS witnesses the Savior’s despairing agony. The hosts of heaven veiled their faces from the fearful sight. Inanimate NATURE expressed sympathy with its insulted and dying Author. The SUN refused to look upon the awful scene. In full, bright rays were illuminating the earth at MIDDAY [the ‘ninth hour’] when SUDDENLY it seemed to be blotted out. COMPLETE DARKNESS, LIKE A FUNERAL PALL ENVELOPED THE CROSS. ‘There was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.’ There was NO ECLIPSE or other natural cause for this darkness, which was AS DEEP AS MIDNIGHT WiTHOUT MOON OR STARS.

What was its cause then? “IT WAS A MIRACULOUS TESTIMONY GIVEN BY GOD THAT THE FAITH OF AFTER GENERATIONS MIGHT BE CONFIRMED. In that thick darkness God’s [actual] presence was HIDDEN. ‘He makes darkness His pavilion’ and CONCEALS His glory from human eyes. GOD AND HIS HOLY ANGELS WERE BESIDE THE CROSS. THE FATHER WAS WITH HIS SON. YET HIS PRESENCE WAS NOT REVEALED. [Why? Answer for the following reasons]:

1. “Had His glory flashed forth from the cloud [of darkness], every human beholder would have been destroyed!
2. “And in that DREADFUL HOUR [‘the ninth hour’] Christ was NOT to be comforted with the Father’s [visible] presence. [Prophecy had to be fulfilled that] He ‘trod the wine press alone, and of the people [His fellow Jewish people] there was none with Him.’ [Isa. 63: 2, 3].
3. “In the thick darkness God veiled the last HUMAN AGONY of His Son.

“All who had seen Christ IN HIS SUFFERING had been convicted of His DIVINITY. That FACE, once beheld by humanity, was NEVER FORGOTTEN. [Here’s why]:

“When the FACE OF CAIN expressed his guilt as a murderer [‘fallen countenance,’ de de Gen. 4: 6] so the FACE OF CHRIST revealed innocence, serenity, benevolence—THE IMAGE OF GOD! But His accusers [The religious leaders of the chosen nation and people!] WOULD NOT GIVE HEED to the signet of heaven. Through long hours of agony [six hours, nailed at 9 AM, expired at 3 PM, Friday, 31 A.D./C.E.], Christ had been GAZED UPON by the jeering multitude. NOW HE WAS MERCIFULLY HiDDEN BY THE MANTLE OF GOD.” -E. G. White, Desire of Ages, p.p. 753. 754.

The deep as midnight without moon or stars, mysterious darkness that suddenly enshrouded the dying Lamb of God at “the ninth hour” suddenly reveals deeper Christ-centric saving truths than most Calvary-centric Christians realize!

Moreover, God’s promise that He “will NEVER leave or forsake” His faithful followers “even unto the uttermost parts of the earth” was eternally proven by no less than the Lamb of God as His sinless life was ebbing away, dying in unutterable agony with absolutely no one to comfort Him. Indeed He “trod the winepress ALONE.”

That is, as far as human mortal eyes can see; for it was in that VERY DARKNESS, the very least expected place, situation, and appearance that God stands watching as the loving, ever faithful “Father of lights.” This is how every child of God who is “suffering for righteousness sake” and has been totally forsaken by all earthly support and protection: Hidden from sinful mortal eyes, the great I AM—whose glory is veiled (as in the first veil of the temple), and further veiled (as in the second veil separating the holy from the most holy) by a darkness mysterious ans deep as midnight without moon or stars—has never left or blinked a divine eye!

He IS there as in the transcendent the great “I AM that I AM”—-not subject to time, space, or circumstance, nor “anything made that was made” “by Him or for Him.”

(To be continued). Bless all, NMF.

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK;
November 11

THE SANCTUARY DOCTRINE EXPLAINS THE WAY OF SALVATION OF THE GOSPEL (Part 44)

The Real Cause of the Inexpressible Agony of the Dying Lamb of God.

When fiction, superstition, film, and traditions, but particularly the confusing and misleading teachings of “another gospel,”
are accepted as “gospel truth,”the real cause of Christ’s inexpressible suffering and pain as He hung dying on the cross will be portrayed and understood “carnally,” not spiritually.

Devastating result? Sin will not be feared, hated, and overcome; instead Christ’s sacrificial death will be used as the excuse, justification, and even the “freedom,” “liberty,” and “license” to go on sinning and still be “eternally saved” “because He already paid the price.”

“And now the Lord of glory was dying, a RANSOM for the race. In yielding up His precious life, Christ was not upheld by triumphal joy. All was oppressive gloom. It was NOT the dread of DEATH that weighed upon Him. It was NOT the pain and ignominy of the CROSS that caused His Inexpressible agony. Christ was the Prince of Sufferers; but His suffering was from a SENSE OF THE MALIGNITY Of SIN, A KNOWLEDGE THAT THROUGH FAMILIARITY WITH EVIL, MAN HAD BECOME BLINDED TO ITS ENORMITY.

“Christ saw how deep is the hold of SIN upon the human HEART, how FEW would be WILLING to break from its POWER. He knew that WITHOUT HELP from God, humanity MUST PERISH, and He saw MULTITUDES perishing WITHIN reach of abundant help! “ – E. G. White, Desire of Ages, pp. 752, 753.

The plan of salvation of the everlasting gospel is (also) based on the inalienable, eternal right of man, originally created (not evolved) in the image and likeness of the Creator, to worship Him as a free moral agent, “compelled” alone by pure love, adoration, and admiration of His matchless love, unparalleled eternal glory, omniscience, and omnipotence. It is his unalloyed joy and happiness to dwell in the sinless purity of His presence, pleasing Him in all he thinks, says, and does. Such was the example set by the “only-begotten Son” to His Father!

In short, sin is what separates man from God, starting from the fall in Eden to the close of earth’s probation. Christ the Lamb of God’s given name, Jesus, means “a Savior FROM sin.” Matt. 1:21. True love for Jesus, the Sinless Lamb of God, is to clearly see the malignity and exceeding sinfulness of sin and to abhor it, avoiding it as the vey plague of plagues by God’s empowering grace imparted through the Holy Spirit!

(To be continued).Bless all, NMF.

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:
November 10

THE SANCTUARY DOCTRINE EXPLAINS THE SALVATION OF THE GOSPEL (Part 43)

The Dying Lamb of God Magnifies the Fifth Commandment

An integral part Christ’s earthly mission was to “magnify the law and make it honorable.” Isa. 42:21. His own testimony was, “I have kept My Father’s commandments.” John 15:10. These are the Ten Commandments, called His COVENANT. Deut. 4:13.

The first four defines man’s duties to God and the last six, man’s duties to his fellowmen, beginning with the familiar fifth commandment, “Honor thy father and thy mother.” Exo.20: 12; Deut.5:16.

In His life mission Jesus honored the Father in words and deeds. In His last living moments hanging on the cross as the Lamb of God, He honored His mother Mary, NOT by giving instructions to John the beloved that she should be honored by worshipping her as a “Mediatrix,” after His death, resurrection. and ascension but to take care of her in her old age as his own mother! Now this:

“As the eyes of Jesus wandered over the multitude about Him, one figure arrested His attention. At the foot of the cross stood HIS MOTHER, supported by the disciple John. She could not endure to remain away from her Son, and John, knowing that the end was near, had brought her AGAIN to the cross. IN HIS DYING HOUR JESUS REMEMBERED HIS
MOTHER.

“Looking into her grief-stricken face and then upon John, He said to her, ‘Woman, behold thy son!’ then to John, ‘Behold thy mother!’ John UNDERSTOOD Christ’s words, and accepted the TRUST. He at once took Mary to his home, and from that hour cared for her tenderly.

O pitiful, loving Savior; amid all His physical pain and mental anguish, He had a thoughtful care for His mother! He had NO MONEY with which to provide for her comfort; but He was ENSHRINED IN THE HEART OF JOHN, and He gave His mother to him as a PRECIOUS LEGACY. Thus He provided for her that which she MOST NEEDED—the tender sympathy of one who loved her BECAUSE she loved Jesus. And in receiving her as a sacred trust, John was receiving a GREAT BLESSING. She was a CONSTANT REMINDER of his beloved Master!” – E. G. White, Desire of Ages, pp. 751, 763.

Let all Christians remember that the last and only record in the New Testament regarding Mary, the mother of Jesus is that she was numbered in the celebrated “one hundred and twenty disciples” gathered in an “upper room” in Jerusalem, obeying Christ’s instructions given before His crucifixion and more specifically after He returned, and gave post-resurrection final instructions.

Central to these was for His disciples to prepare to receive the prophesied and promised outpouring of the HOLY SPIRIT and His power in Pentecostal measure! They spent ten days “in praying and supplication until they were of one accord.”

Then, the 120 disciples including Mary the mother of Jesus, received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, empowering to be Christ’s “witnesses to both Jerusalem, to all Judaea, in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1: 8; See Acts chapters 1 and 2: 1 Cor. 15:1-8.

(To be continued). Bless all, NMF.

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:
November 9

THE SANCTUARY EXPLAINS THE WAY OF SALVATION OF THE GOSPEL (Part 42)

The Sinless Lamb of God Was Numbered Among Transgressors at the Antitypical Altar of Sacrifice.

“The thieves crucified with Christ were placed ‘on either side, and JESUS IN THE MIDST.’ [John 19:18]. This was done by the direction of the PRIESTS AND RULERS [prototype of the final union of church and state in the closing days of America’s and earth’s probation]. Christ’s position between the thieves was to indicate that He was the GREATEST CRIMINAL OF THE THREE. This was fulfilled the Scripture, ‘He was numbered among the transgressors.’ Isa. 53: 12, KJV.

“But the FULL MEANING of their act the priests did not see. As Jesus, crucified with the thieves, was placed ‘IN THE MIDST,’ so His cross was placed IN THE MIDST OF A WORLD LYING IN SIN [and two classes of sinners: one defiant to the end; the other, repentant]. And the words of comfort spoken to the penitent thief KINDLED A LIGHT that will shine to the earth’s remotest bounds!

“With amazement the angels beheld the INFINITE LOVE of Jesus, who, SUFFERING THE MOST INTENSE AGONY OF MIND AND BODY, thought only of others, and encouraged the penitent soul to believe.

“In His humiliation, He, as PROPHET [Deut.18: 15, 18], had addressed the daughters of Jerusalem; as a PRIEST and ADVOCATE He had pleaded with His Father to forgive His murderers; as a LOVING SAVIOR He had forgiven the sins of the PENITENT thief [not the defiant other].” – E. G. White, Desire of Ages, pp, 751, 752.

I used to think and even preach that there is the “dark side” of Calvary, leading up to the cross, and the “bright side,” after His resurrection. But that spiritual myopia. Spiritually discerned, glory attended all the suffering and shame Jesus endured before and after Calvary! I did not better grasp these till now.

And there is infinitely more present truth to be revealed, if we “search the Scriptures daily,””line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little there a little,” with all our hearts and minds for “the truth as it is in Jesus,” as guided and taught of the Holy Spirit!

(To be continued). Bless all, NMF.

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:
November 8

THE SANCTUARY DOCTRINE EXPLAINS THE WAY OF SALVATION OF THE GOSPEL (Part 41)

The dying Lamb of God makes His last recorded glorious promise, moments just before He expired—-not to His disciples or his earthy mother, Mary (as would normally be expected)—-but to a criminal condemned to die by crucifixion with Him at the Calvary Moment of the Plan of Redemption! That hopeless, nameless thief never thought his individual probation was still open, that he could still be eternally saved, having been condemned to die by human justice for his crimes.

Greater still the human impossibility and chance that he would be crucified on the same ignominious “hill of skulls, “Golgotha, just outside the walls of Jerusalem alongside God in the flesh, the long-awaited promised Messiah, the prophesied “Lamb of God,” the very Antitype of all the typical lambs and specified clean animals offered as a blood sacrifice starting with that first lamb offered at Eden immediately after the fall of the first Adam, down through two thousand years of successive generations to that eternal epochal Calvary Moment!

It was the last “preparation day”FRIDAY when type would meet Antitype, shadow would meet substance, the terminal point of the Old Testament Mosaic dispensation. It was in the dying moments of Christ that momentous Friday, a couple of hours before sunset when the Sabbath would begin that He promises the penitent thief on the cross, “TODAY,” or “this day,” “this preparation day Friday.”

‘I say unto thee TODAY, thou shalt be with Me in paradise.’ (Luke 23:43). Christ DID NOT promise that the thief should be with Him in Paradise THAT DAY [that Friday, specifically!].

HE HIMSELF DID NOT GO THAT DAY [Friday] TO PARADISE. He slept [rested in death] in the tomb [of Joseph of Arimathea], and in the morning of the resurrection [first day of the week, our Sunday], He said, ‘I AM NOT YET ASCENDED TO MY FATHER.’ John 20: 17.

But on the day of the crucifixion, THE DAY OF APPARENT DEFEAT AND DARKNESS, the promise was given, ‘Today,’ while dying upon the cross fo a malefactor, Christ says to a poor sinner, ‘thou shalt be with Me in Paradise.’” – Desire of Ages, p. 751.

If we who claim to be “red, white, and blue” are genuinely Christo-centric and CALVARY-CENTERED, as loudly asserted in doctrines and worship services, we confuse ourselves and countless others by contradicting the very New Testament account of Christ’s last moments before dying on the cross and the promIse made to the thief on the cross, and the very prophecies and its fulfillment regarding when Christ would be crucified, when and where He would be buried, when He would resurrect from the grave, and when He would ascend to Paradise—-when twe also believe, teach, and preach that when a “saved”’believer dies he or his “soul” immediately “flies to Paradise,” etc.

Think “with the mind of Christ,” not with the “mind of the church,”’dear friend in Christ!

(To be continued). Bless all, NMF.

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:
November 5

THE SANCTUARY DOCTRINE EXPLAINS THE WAY OF SALVATION OF THE GOSPEL (Part 40)

The Dying Penitent Thief on the Cross an Eleventh Hour Saved Witness for the Dying Lamb of God!

“The bystanders caught the words as the dying thief called Jesus LORD. The tone of the repentant man arrested their ATTENTION. Those who at the foot of the cross QUARRELING over Christ’s garments, and casting lots over His vesture, STOPPED TO LISTEN. Their angry tones were HUSHED. With bated breath they LOOKED UPON CHRIST, and waited for the RESPONSE from those DYING LIPS.

“As Jesus spoke the words of promise [to the penitent thief], the DARK CLOUDS that seemed to enshroud the cross was PIERCED BY A BRIGHT AND LIVING LIGHT. To the penitent thief came the PERFECT PEACE of acceptance with God.

“CHRIST IN HIS HUMILIATION WAS GLORIFIED. He who is in all OTHER EYES appeared to BE CONQUERED WAS A CONQUEROR [in death!]. He was acknowledged as the SIN BEARER. Men may exercise power over His HUMAN BODY. They may pierce the HOLY TEMPLE [of His head and body] with the crown of thorns. They may strip from His [physical and temporal] RAIMENT, and quarrel over its division
[NOTE: Paul also calls the church as the “body of Christ.”]

BUT THEY CANNOT ROB HIM OF HIS POWER TO FORGIVE SIN [though the Antichrist and ‘MYSTERY BABYLON, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Rev. 17:5) blasphemously claims to have that power that exclusively belongs to God Immortal].

“In DYING He bears TESTIMONY to His OWN DIVINITY and to the GLORY OF THE FATHER. His EAR is not heavy that it cannot hear, neither His ARM shortened that it cannot save. It is HIS ROYAL RIGHT ‘to save unto the uttermost all who come unto God by Him’ [Heb. 7:25]. He declared, “No man cometh to the Father except by Me, the way, the truth, and the life.’ John 14: 6]..” – E. G. White. The Desire of Ages, p. 751.

(To be continued). Bless all, NMF.

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:
November 4

THE SANCTUARY DOCTRINE EXPLAINS THE WAY OF SALVATION OF THE GOSPEL (Part 39)

“There is no question now. There are no doubts, no reproaches. When condemned for his crime, the thief had become hopeless and despairing; but strange, tender thoughts now spring up. He calls to mind all he had heard about Jesus, how He had healed the sick snd pardoned sin. He had heard the words of those who believed Jesus and followed Him weeping. He had seen and read the TITLE above the Savior’s head ‘written in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.’ Luke 23:38, KJV

“The HOLY SPIRIT illuminates his mind, and little by little the chain of evidence is joined together. IN JESUS, BRUISED, MOCKED, AND HANGING UPON THE CROSS, HE SEES THE LAMB OF GOD THAT TAKETH AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD. Hope is mingled with anguish in his voice, as the helpless DYING SOUL casts himself upon a DYING SAVIOR. ‘Lord, remember me,’ he cries, ‘when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.’

“Quickly the answer came. Soft and melodious the tone, full of love, compassion, and power the words: ‘Verily I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with Me in paradise.’ [Luke 24: 43].

“For long hours of agony, reviling and mockery have fallen upon the ears of Jesus. As He hangs upon the cross, there floats up to Him still the sound of jeers and curses. With LONGING HEART He had listened for SOME EXPRESSION OF FAITH FROM HIS DISCIPLES. [But] He had heard only the mournful words [from His own disciples!], ‘We trusted that It had been He which should have redeemed Israel.’ Luke 24:21].

“How grateful then to the Savior was the utterance of FAITH AND LOVE FROM THE DYING THIEF! While the LEADING JEWS DENY HIM, and even the DISCIPLES DOUBT HIS DIVINITY, the poor thief upon the BRINK OF ETERNITY, calls Jesus LORD!

“MANY were ready to call Him Lord when He wrought MIRACLES, and AFTER He had RISEN from the grave but NONE acknowledged Him AS HE HUNG DYING UPON THE CROSS but the penitent thief who was SAVED AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR.” – E. G. White, Desire of Ages, pp. 750, 751.

(To be continued). Bless all, NMF.