Part Two of
The Earthly Sanctuary & its Services
The earthly sanctuary
picture system begins with circumcision, for no uncircumcised
person could enter it.
"Thus says the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into My sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel". ...... Ezekiel 44:9.
On the 8th day after birth a portion of the individual was removed as a symbol of the removal of the spirit of disobedience with which we are born. That this was only meant to be a symbol is stated plainly in the letter to the Roman Christians.
"For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that [real] circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God". Romans 2:28-29.
This symbolism was understood in the days of Moses as he wrote,
"Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked". Deuteronomy 10:16.
The ritual was performed without the conscious knowledge of the child, but with the consent and participation of the parents. So began the preparation for the individual's "choice", and until that time should come the child was to be covered by the righteousness of the parents.
"For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy". 1 Corinthians 7:14.
In the reality, since their sin in the garden, Adam and Eve and their descendants have been covered by the gift of "grace" from Jesus Christ, the "lamb slain from the foundation of the world", which is why sin does not kill us at birth. This covering of "grace" is extended to all earthly creatures without favour and lasts until it is totally rejected, or "the wages of sin" overtakes us.
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord". Romans 6:23.
If, however, the invitation to be reborn is accepted then the "grace" becomes "the righteousness of Jesus Christ" which is totally imputed to the believer as a covering. This means in practice that the person is now classed AS IF they have never sinned, because a new creature now exists in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old one has paid the price to "buy the pearl" (Matthew 13:45-46), and died with Him. (Galatians 2:20).
Pass over
In the Hebrew world the "choice" was to be exercised at the dawning of individual recognition of the wider world about the young person, usually about the age of 12, but was not restricted to this. At this level the Israelite child was invited to participate in the passover ceremony and eat the flesh of the lamb, as are the Christians of today invited to join in the Lord’s supper. 1 Corinthians 5:7-8. In this manner he or she was shown that into their life could come the conscious knowledge of the power of obedience and with it the acceptance of the call to work. It was at this time that they were called a "son [or daughter] of God".
In the earthly sanctuary system, the time between "circumcision of the heart" and "eating the lamb" (rebirth to baptism in the Christian dispensation) is shown by the period of three and a half days from the choosing of the lamb until it was eaten.
"Speak you unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house, and if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb".
"Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year:
you shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats, and you shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening". Exodus 12:3-6.
This also illustrates the case of a foreign (and therefore older) convert to Judaism. The circumcision of such a person was performed on or before the day the passover lamb was chosen, which was the 10th day of the 1st month. Later he could partake of the feast on the 14th.
Two separate ceremonies
The single passover day and the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread were originally two separate and distinct ceremonies, one immediately following the other, but in later times they were often confused and classed as one eight day period. (Matthew 26:17; Luke 22:1).
Both of the Hebrew ceremonies of circumcision and passover were normally celebrated in the home to show that conversion is a personal experience between God and the individual. But sometimes they were performed in the sanctuary or temple as a public witness. (See Luke 2:41-52).
At this point the salvation picture is complete, but not the picture of redemption!
It is written:-
"Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked [or proud], for the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regards not persons, nor takes reward". Deuteronomy 10:16-17.
"And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live [or act]". Deuteronomy 30:6.
However, there is still work for the person to do, therefore righteousness must now be imparted into the actions, not to gain salvation, but because of it. Humanity needs illustrations on this point, as Jesus Himself has told us. He said,
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven". Matthew 5:16.
"Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from My Father; for which of those works do you stone Me?" John 10:32.
No longer just applied "AS IF" the individual was sinless by being hidden in Christ, the righteousness is now available to become of use in the life. No longer just a covering, the individual must now be trained in the ways of perfection in order to become fit for heaven.
"Little children, let no man deceive you: he that does righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous". 1 John 3:7.
Review & Herald June 4,1895 (007)
Righteousness within is testified to by righteousness without. He who is righteous within is not hard-hearted and unsympathetic, but day by day he grows into the image of Christ, going on from strength to strength. He who is being sanctified by the truth will be self-controlled, and will follow in the footsteps of Christ until grace is lost in glory. The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven, the second is our fitness for heaven.
Southern Watchman 1907-04-16.004
The people bowed before God in contrition and repentance.
They offered sacrifice, and confessed to God and to one another.
The sacrifices they offered would have been of no value if they had not shown true repentance. Their contrition was genuine. The grace of Christ wrought in their hearts as they confessed their sins and offered sacrifice, and God forgave them.
Spirit of Prophecy Vol. 3, 10.001
A broken heart and contrite spirit would have been of far more value in the sight of God than multitudes of offerings without true repentance.
The spirit of disobedience
Thus all that is required for the salvation of the individual is shown by the first two rituals which picture the removal of the old nature and the replacing of it by the new. In both cases this is done by Another, but it requires the conscious acceptance of the chooser to be effective. Once that choice is made the person stands in the world and is seen by the angels as a "Christian", a follower of the LORD, as well as being seen as a Jew, or an Egyptian, or an American etc. by his or her fellow humans.
In reality, he or she is only a Christian, for the person who had been "alien" is now "naturalized". Ephesians 2:11-13. [See "Christian Patriotism" for more on this].
In such a one there has been a real removing of the spirit of disobedience, and a replacement with the spirit of obedience, and the person is now capable of serving God by using Someone else’s power, doing what was formerly impossible. Jesus Christ, the Creator, has removed the "natural" life and replaced it with a "spiritual" one. Without this double cure (the removal and the replacement) for the problem of the "sin master" within, no amount of works by the professed Christian could be of any use. They would be his or hers only, not the works of God, and they could not be perfect. Today this change is normally illustrated by baptism, the first of the Christian rituals.
In earlier times it was by participating in a literal circumcision and a passover feast as a picture of the spiritual change - today it is by partaking of baptism and the Lord's supper (including feet-washing).
"Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth".
1 Corinthians 5:7-8.
However, after passing through one picture or the other, the work of "education" begins in earnest as shown by the seven ceremonial sabbaths, or "holy convocations" of the yearly system, and the seven literal Sabbaths of the period between the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Weeks (sometimes called Pentecost). [See study in Leviticus 23 for more details].
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