12/10/06 - “The Sanctuary and the Atonement – Part 1” - 50L - FM
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Hello!  This is Richard Vaughn

This Week: “The Sanctuary and the Atonement - Part 1”

(Before we begin let us invite God’s presence)
Father, as we begin this most serious subject, I pray that your Holy Spirit is working on the hearts and lives of those who are hearing these messages. Help me today to make it crystal clear to your people the truth regarding the Sanctuary as this is a subject rarely taught in Christianity today. We ask for Your special guidance to help us to understand this important truth; so that we may increase our knowledge, understanding, and live in the center of your revealed will as we ask this in Jesus Name, Amen.”
Right now, I continue to keep my pledge, to cry aloud and spare not, to lift up my voice like a trumpet and to show God’s people where they are transgressing God’s law.

	Someone may be wondering why I’m preaching about the sanctuary. Isn’t that Old Testament information that applied only to the Jews? What has that got to do with salvation? Well my answer is a lot. Satan does not want Christians to understand the Sanctuary, and the reason would be its relevance to the whole plan of salvation. As long as you are in the dark on the Sanctuary, you would be susceptible of believing Satan’s lie that the atonement ended at the cross, and you would therefore be unaware of what Jesus is doing right now in the heavenly Sanctuary. 

	We know that when God created man that he took a definite risk. He made man, as he made the angels, with the right to choose to worship and serve God, or to choose to rebel against God and His authority. Of course Satan as Lucifer was the arch rebel and he chose to defy God’s authority and in the process convinced 1/3 of all the angels to join him in his rebellion.
	Adam was created with conditional immortality. So long as he was obedient to God, he had permanent access to the tree of life. If faithful, God would have eventually removed the test of obedience and Adam would have enjoyed unconditional immortality.
	
Revelation 13:8 speaks about, “…the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” God’s love for man was so great He devised a plan to save him if he were to rebel. 

	God warned Adam and Eve of the consequences of eating the forbidden fruit in Genesis 3:3 “But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”	The day they ate was the day they experienced a spiritual dying as well as the beginning of physical death. God could have ended their lives that moment, but a sin pardoning Savior stepped in and put into operation, a plan of redemption.

	Sin, by Bible definition in 1 John 3:4 is “…the transgression of the law.” The penalty or payment for sin is, according to Romans 6:23 “…the wages of sin is death…”

	So the only way that the transgressor can satisfy the debt created by sin, is by death. He must die. But a loving God stepped in and said there is a way that sinful, rebellious man can be saved. It would have to be by the death of a perfect, innocent substitute. An un-fallen angel would be an innocent potential candidate, however such would not satisfy the demands that God would require. The only substitute that could be considered would have to be the Creator Himself. And so Jesus the Creator; would be, “…the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” In God’s timing, the anti-typical redemption would happen, as the plan of salvation is unveiled.

	But until then, a type of the redemption plan would be instituted so that everyone since the fall of man, all the way up until the cross; would be saved by the same plan vicariously. When man is truly sorry for his sin, he must take an innocent, spotless lamb; transfer his sin by confession to the head of the innocent one. Now the innocent one bears the guilt and must die by the hand of the sinner. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:22, “…without shedding of blood is no remission.” So the plan states that the substitute bearer of sin must die by the shedding of blood, and that he must be put to death by the hand of the sinner.
	In Exodus 25:8 God said to Moses, “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.”  Exodus 25:40 states, “And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount.” So when Moses was in the mount, God gave him a pattern to make a sanctuary, with dimensions, materials to be used in its construction, furnishings and specific details that were to be followed with exactness. This pattern indicated that it had to have an outer courtyard with a brazen altar of sacrifice, a laver for washing, and in the proper location, the two apartment sanctuary with its necessary furniture. 

	I will give you a brief snapshot description of the Sanctuary. It is important that we see the entire sanctuary service as a miniature illustration of the plan of salvation.  The sanctuary service was illustrative of Jesus' death and His High Priestly ministry. God used it as a visual aid to help us understand how God has chosen to deal with the sin problem that has entered planet Earth. 
	The courtyard was rectangular and measured 75’ x 150’. The entrance was on the 75’ wide east end. As you came into the courtyard, you first encounter the brazen altar of sacrifice where animals were killed and burned. The next item was the laver, which was between the sanctuary and the altar of burnt offering. The sanctuary itself measured 15’ wide x 45’ in length and was centered toward the west end. The entrance to the first apartment of the sanctuary was on the east side and went into the holy place, which was 15’ x 30’. The priest ministered in this apartment daily throughout the year. The second apartment was the Most Holy place where the presence of God was. It measured 15’ x 15’. Only the high priest went into this apartment once a year, and that was on the Day of Atonement. If you would like to read about the details of the sanctuary and the courtyard, you will find it in Exodus chapters 25-27. The additional details regarding what the priests and high priest were to wear, are given in Exodus chapter 28.  

	Now listen carefully, and this is most important, as the atonement did not end with the sacrifice. This is where most Christians today are in grave error as they say that the atonement ended at the cross with the sacrifice. But the atonement was a process that had several steps in removing the sin altogether. When someone had sinned and came under conviction, it was necessary that they bring a spotless innocent lamb as a sacrifice. Of course, before the cross, the sacrifice symbolically and vicariously represented Jesus. Now the guilty sinner would be positioned near the brazen altar. The sinner would place his hands on the head of the sacrifice and confess, thereby transferring the sin to the lamb. Since the penalty for sin is death, Romans 6:23, and without shedding of blood there is no remission, Hebrews 9:22, the confessor must now take a knife and cut the throat of the lamb, thereby shedding its blood. 

	The priest catches some blood in a basin and he proceeds towards the sanctuary. Before entering the first apartment he must wash his hands and feet in the laver, which is between the sanctuary and the altar of burnt offering. He then enters the holy place. In the Holy Place are three articles of furniture. On the North side is the table of showbread, which represents Jesus, the bread of life. On the South side is the seven golden lamp stand, representing Jesus, the light of the world. Separating the two apartments is a veil with the altar of incense in front of the veil. The priest would sprinkle the blood of the sin offering before the veil seven times. He would dip his thumb in the blood and put some on the horns of the altar of sweet incense. Thus the sin was transferred to the sanctuary, and there it remained in the Holy place all year. As the priests would minister in the Holy Place every day throughout the year, there would be a significant accumulation of sin.

	On the tenth day of the seventh month was a very solemn time for the camp of Israel called the Day of Atonement. On this day once a year, the high priest would have to make the very necessary personal preparation before going into the Most Holy Place in the presence of God. In this second apartment of the sanctuary was the Ark and Mercy Seat. Inside the Ark were the two tables of stone, the Ten Commandments. The mercy seat covered the ark and upon it were two cherubim, which faced each other and were looking down. God’s presence was between the cherubim.

	A Lord’s goat and a scape goat were selected and the Lord’s goat was killed. Its blood was brought into the Most Holy place and, if God had accepted the sacrifice, it was to symbolically cleanse the sanctuary. At that point the sins were carried out of the sanctuary by the high priest and transferred to the head of the scape goat. The scape goat was then led into the wilderness by a fit man, and it was never to be seen again. The camp of Israel had been forgiven and the sanctuary was cleansed. 

	As you can see the process of Atonement had many steps. In our next broadcast we will tie all of this together and see how it affects us today.

Well the clock says we’re out of time for this week.
Next Week: “The Sanctuary and the Atonement - Part 2”

	If you want some more information or even Bible studies, contact me by writing to: Pastor Vaughn that’s V-A-U-G-H-N, at PO Box 727, South Hill, VA 23970. Once again that’s Pastor Vaughn that’s V-A-U-G-H-N, at PO Box 727, South Hill, VA 23970.  

	And remember, you are always welcome to worship with us each seventh day Lord’s Day (that’s Saturday mornings) at the Victory Seventh Day Adventist Church located at 117 W. Danville Street in the center of South Hill, VA. 

	And until next week, Jesus said in John 5:39, “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”. Even so, come Lord Jesus.