ADVENTISM’S FUNDAMENTAL BELIEF #24—There is a sanctuary in heaven, the true tabernacle that the Lord set up and not humans. In it Christ ministers on our behalf, making available to believers the benefits of His atoning sacrifice offered once for all on the cross. At His ascension, He was inaugurated as our great High Priest and began His intercessory ministry, which was typified by the work of the high priest in the holy place of the earthly sanctuary. In 1844, at the end of the prophetic period of 2300 days, He entered the second and last phase of His atoning ministry, which was typified by the work of the high priest in the most holy place of the earthly sanctuary. It is a work of investigative judgment which is part of the ultimate disposition of all sin, typified by the cleansing of the ancient Hebrew sanctuary on the Day of Atonement. In that typical service the sanctuary was cleansed with the blood of animal sacrifices, but the heavenly things are purified with the perfect sacrifice of the blood of Jesus. The investigative judgment reveals to heavenly intelligences who among the dead are asleep in Christ and therefore, in Him, are deemed worthy to have part in the first resurrection. It also makes manifest who among the living are abiding in Christ, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and in Him, therefore, are ready for translation into His everlasting kingdom. This judgment vindicates the justice of God in saving those who believe in Jesus. It declares that those who have remained loyal to God shall receive the kingdom. The completion of this ministry of Christ will mark the close of human probation before the Second Advent.
Comments about the belief statement
The very existence of the Seventh-day Adventist Church hangs on the Sanctuary/Investigative Judgment doctrine. In fact, this Fundamental Belief articulates the only doctrine that is unique to Adventism. Without this doctrine, the existence of the Adventist church is called into question.
One short article can’t hope to address a question that is the subject of entire books, but this column will examine the specific claims made within the official belief statement.
“In [the heavenly sanctuary] Christ ministers on our behalf, making available to believers the benefits of His atoning sacrifice offered once for all on the cross.” This is a subtle reinterpretation of what is actually described in Scripture. “(Jesus) has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself” (Heb. 7:27 ESV). This concept of “making available the benefits of His atoning sacrifice” is a fabricated concept that is not found in Scripture. Instead, it negates the actual meaning of the “once for all” sacrifice described in Hebrews.
The Fundamental Belief continues with the claim that “At His ascension, [Jesus]… began His intercessory ministry, which was typified by the work of the high priest in the holy place of the earthly sanctuary.” Hebrews 7:27 showed that Jesus had no need to perform this daily ministry. In Hebrews 9 we are told, “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb. 9:24–27 ESV). Scripture plainly describes Christ going directly to the presence of God (that is, the Most Holy Place) in the same way that the earthly high priest entered the Most Holy Place every year. Jesus made atonement once for all and entered the presence of God when He ascended; the earthly high priests made ritual atonement once a year by taking animal blood into the presence of God in the Most Holy Place.
The descriptions of Christ’s heavenly ministry in Hebrews do not support the “dual compartment ministry” Adventists claim that Jesus performs in Heaven.
The descriptions of Christ’s heavenly ministry in Hebrews do not support the “dual compartment ministry” Adventists claim that Jesus performs in Heaven. They insist He only entered the outer Holy Place when He ascended but entered the presence of God in the Most Holy Place in 1844. Instead, Christ made a once-for-all sacrifice that fulfilled all of the daily and annual ceremonies and sat down at the right hand of God. Again—and I can’t stress this fact enough—in the imagery of the Temple, God’s presence is specifically housed in the Most Holy Place. Jesus’ being seated at the right hand of God requires His being in the Most Holy Place.
There are a number of problems with the whole concept of a 2300-day prophecy ending in 1844. Adventists use Daniel 8:14 as the central passage to support this “sanctuary doctrine”, but their use of this text has many hermeneutical problems, including:
- A questionable, and certainly inconsistent, application of the “year-day principle”. Adventist studies make strong claims about this “principle”, yet that concept is only applied to a handful of time periods mentioned in prophecy;
- A question as to whether evening-morning means the same thing as “days” when referencing prophecy, since this phrasing is unique in Daniel 8:14;
- A fairly large assumption that Daniel 9:23-27 is referencing Daniel 8:13-14;
- An even larger assumption that the 70 weeks must be “cut-off” from a longer prophetic time period.
The Fundamental Belief claims that at the end of the 2300-year prophecy, in 1844, the heavenly sanctuary starts to be cleansed (“Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed”, Dan. 8:14 KJV). However, Hebrews describes this cleansing as having already been completed in the first century: “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:11–12, making reference back to Heb. 9:7 and the High Priest’s yearly Day of Atonement sacrifice and entrance to the Most Holy Place).
The writers of Scripture explained that the typology of the Old Testament sanctuary was already fulfilled in the first century, when Jesus died, rose, and ascended to the Father’s right hand. Adventism’s claim that Jesus didn’t finish fulfilling the typology until 18 centuries later requires them to deny Scripture!
The really big problem with the Fundamental Belief statement, however, is the reference to the investigative judgment. The belief statement claims that in 1844, Jesus began a stage of His heavenly ministry “which was typified by the work of the high priest in the most holy place of the earthly sanctuary. It is a work of investigative judgment”. However, the high priest in the earthly sanctuary didn’t perform any “investigative judgment” in the Most Holy Place. This statement is designed to deceive. It claims as fact a completely invented scenario of a judgment of believers, and Adventism builds its doctrine on top of this faulty premise.
The entire concept of an investigative judgment denies the gospel. What is being investigated? Are believers being investigated to determine if they should be deemed worthy of eternal life? The answer to that question is simple. It is a resounding “No!” Fortunately, we don’t have to rely on our righteousness. We are credited with the righteousness of Christ. We aren’t worthy of being saved, but He is. The only thing that matters is that our Savior has already been deemed worthy to save us.
The most elusive answer within Seventh-day Adventism may very well be, “What is being investigated in the investigative judgment?”
The most elusive answer within Seventh-day Adventism may very well be, “What is being investigated in the investigative judgment?” Since, in Seventh-day Adventist theology, the confusing investigative judgment is the doorway to eternal life, every Adventist should demand a clear answer to the question, “What must I do in order to be saved?” If the Seventh-day Adventist Church cannot clearly explain how a person can pass the investigative judgment, how can any person who believes in the doctrines of the Adventist Church know how they can be saved?
Scripture promises believers in Christ that we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee from God promising us eternal life; however, the investigative judgment denies that we can have such a guarantee.
Adventists must answer this question: will you believe the doctrine of the Seventh-day Adventist organization, or will you believe the eternal, inerrant word of God?
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory (Eph. 1:13–14 ESV).
And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee (2 Cor. 1:21–22 ESV). †
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