Holy Spirit & the Sanctuary 6

The Three Temples

Study given by W. D. Frazee - March 1, 1968

In the New Testament we find three structures called the temple of God. Turn first to Revelation 11:19:

“And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament” Revelation 11:19.

Where is the temple of God? In heaven. That is where the ark is, and the testament, or law, is in the ark.

But we noted last Friday night that this expression is also used with reference to the church on earth. In Ephesians 2:19-22 the Christian church is spoken of as a temple built up of the members upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. For that particular expression there, the temple of God as applied to the church, you will want to put down in your notes 2 Thessalonians 2:4. Speaking of the anti- Christ, prophecy says:

“So that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” 2 Thessalonians 2:4.

So, we have the temple of God in heaven, the temple of God on earth.

This evening we note a third structure to which this name is applied. We will find it in 2 Corinthians 6:16:

“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God” 2 Corinthians 6:16.

Individual Christians are spoken of as the temple of God.

All three of these are represented in type in the ancient sanctuary built by Moses. You will remember that when Moses built this sanctuary, God called him up into Mount Sinai and gave him a pattern from which he was to copy. Paul makes plain in Hebrews 8:4, 5 that what Moses saw was the heavenly sanctuary, the dwelling place of God in heaven. And so, this earthly tabernacle was copied after the heavenly temple.

In later years, when Israel was established permanently in the promised land, a permanent building was erected. The plans were given by God to David. And then Solomon, his son, built the temple, you remember. It was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, but re-built years later after the captivity. And when Jesus was here on earth, He worked some of His great miracles and gave some of His wonderful sermons in the court of that temple. And that temple is called in Matthew 21:12, the temple of God. That is the earthly temple, in which the Jews worshiped.

So we have, as I say, these three structures - the temple of God in heaven, the Christian church on earth, the individual Christian, all represented by this structure built by human hands, the sanctuary, the tabernacle, or the temple of God here on earth. And as we study this, we learn precious lessons concerning God’s purpose in His dwelling place in heaven, in the church on earth, and in the individual Christian life. His purpose is that each of these three shall indeed be the dwelling place of the Most High.

And so concerning the temple of God in heaven it is written:

“The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven” Psalm 11:4.

Through Isaiah, He says: “I dwell in the high and holy place” Isaiah 57:15.

God’s dwelling place in the heavens is in that glorious temple, the new Jerusalem temple. Sometimes people ask me, “Brother Frazee, do you think there is a real building up there, a real temple?”

Well, my dear friends, the best way I know how to answer that is this: Apparently God wanted us to think so because He has described it [that way] in both the Old and New Testaments. And I am just simple minded enough to believe that what God wanted me to see is just the way my human mind can get hold of it.

Don’t misunderstand me! I am sure that when I get there, I will see glories that I never dreamed of here. I am sure there will be wonders that I had no idea of, for it is written:

“Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him” 1 Corinthians 2:9.

Nevertheless, when I find that God had Moses make a real sanctuary down here in this world, and Paul says in Hebrews 8:4, 5 that those priests:

“Serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou made all things according to the pattern shown in the mount” Hebrews 8:5,

I am sure, my dear friends, that the heavenly sanctuary is just as real as the earthly sanctuary. I have no question about it. That is the way the Bible presents it. And really, all that anybody knows about it, or can know about it, is what the Bible says, isn’t it, friends? So there is a real temple up there, and our Lord is in His holy temple.

But what about the church here on earth? What is it for? Well, go back to that text in Ephesians 2 that we were considering last week, and that we referred to a moment ago. What is the purpose of the Christian church? Ah, he says:

What?

“In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for” Ephesians 2:21, 22,

“An habitation of God through the Spirit” Ephesians 2:22.

Through the Spirit, then, God has His habitation in the Christian church here below, just as He dwells in that glorious temple in the heaven of heavens.

And so it is of the individual Christian. He, too, is to be the dwelling place of the Spirit of God. Proof? 1 Corinthians 3:16.

(Glad to hear so many Bible leaves turning as you hunt for these Scriptures and if I keep you turning fast tonight, it is because we have several texts that we want to look at as we explore these three temples - the temple of God in heaven, the Christian church on earth, the individual Christian - all in the light of the great type, the sanctuary built by Moses, the temple of God here on earth in the old dispensation.)

Now you have it, 1 Corinthians 3:16. What does it say?

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” 1 Corinthians 3:16.

And that this is dealing specifically with the individual Christian, note 1 Corinthians 6:19:

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost” 1 Corinthians 6:19.

So you see, the Holy Spirit is intimately linked with all of these three temples: the temple of God in heaven, the Christian church on earth, the individual Christian. All are to be temples where the Spirit of God rules and reigns and dwells. So when God had Moses build this sanctuary which was the type of all this, He said:

“And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them” Exodus 25:8.

In the type, you see, the sanctuary was the dwelling place of God. And thus God revealed His purpose that not only in heaven would He dwell with His creatures, but that here on earth, in the church, and in the individual Christian, He delights to dwell. So it is written:

“I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones” Isaiah 57:15.

Oh, I am so glad, friends, that God is willing to dwell with us. What do you say?

In each of these temples the law of God is enshrined. In our opening text we noted in that verse the temple of God was opened in heaven and there was seen in His temple what? The ark of His testament. What is in the ark? Why, when God had Moses make a copy down here in this world, when he made it according to the pattern he had seen, he put an ark in the most holy place, and in that ark was placed the law of God written on tables of stone and written there by God Himself.

As it was in the type, so it is in the anti-type. It was this way in the copy. It is this way in the reality, the great original the great temple of God in heaven. And thus God shows us His purpose, that this law shall be enshrined in His church below, and in the heart of every believer. Thus He reveals His purpose to fully accomplish the new covenant promise to write His law in our hearts and in our minds.

Won’t it be wonderful, friends, when every Christian has this law written as clearly in his heart as it is written in heaven in the ark in the temple there? God is writing every day, on the hearts of those who let him, this holy law.

And my dear friends, it is the same law in every temple. The great original is in the ark in the temple in heaven. There is no chance of men changing it. They cannot touch that ark. So what men do, what earthly organizations that call themselves churches do, has nothing in the world to do with it.

“Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven” Psalm 119:89.

No wonder Jesus said, “Till heaven and earth pass, one letter of this law will not pass away” (Matthew 5:17, 18). Men cannot get their hands on those tables of the law in the ark in the temple in heaven.

And friends, if you are willing, God is willing to write in your heart His ten commandments so that they will stay there as long as the heavens themselves endure. God is willing to put that law in your heart, just as unchangeable as what He has written upon the stones. This is the character that He offers to develop in you and me, if we will accept His plan and work with Him. Let’s do it. What do you say?

In all these temples the transgression of this law is sin. So it is written in 1 John 3:4:

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is” 1 John 3:4,

What?

“The transgression of the law” 1 John 3:4.

That is so in heaven. Lucifer broke this law and became the first great rebel. He became the author of sin. He was the first one that transgressed this law. He has tried to get men to do it both in the church and out, all down through the ages. But thank God, friends, where sin abounded, there did grace much more abound.

So in the sanctuary service, God shows us His plan to restore, in heaven and in earth, full harmony with the Creator’s will in His holy law. To accomplish this has cost the life of the Son of God. We can never appreciate the cost of our salvation until we realize the terrible nature of sin. When we see what sin did to Jesus, when we discern the cruel nature of Satan as he tortured the Son of God, we shall long to be entirely freed from it. What do you say?

Sin defiles. Sin has even defiled the temple of God in heaven. Ah, that seems impossible, doesn’t it, friends? But it has. And in the ancient services God showed the children of Israel how that sin, brought into the sanctuary through the blood of the sacrifice, defiled those holy places, and must be cleansed at last. So it is written in Daniel 8:14. Will you read it with me?

“Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed” Daniel 8:14.

This relates to the heavenly sanctuary. But my dear friends, in order for the heavenly sanctuary to be cleansed, God’s sanctuaries on earth must be rid of their defilement. All these are linked intimately together. And so it is written in Ephesians 5, (Turn to that, please.) that Jesus is interested in doing a thorough work of cleansing his church. Not only the temple in heaven is to be cleansed. The church on earth is to be cleansed:

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” Ephesians 5:25-27.

Do you see, friends, that Jesus has set His heart on a clean church, a purified church - not just some individuals here and there, but a church, a whole church, the entire church? That is what He is going to accomplish.

You and I are invited to share in that. But the only way God can have a clean church is for each individual to be clean. Let’s turn to 2 Corinthians 7:1. Here is God’s invitation to clean up:

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” 2 Corinthians 7:1.

Is this to be (Mark the question!) merely a spiritual cleansing? What does he say? We are to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. This is why, my dear friends, we have in this message what is called the health reform. What is its purpose? Why, it is to get our bodies cleaned up inside and out.

You can take a good bath and clean up the skin from the outside, but if the blood is impure, what about that? Ah, my friends, God’s message for this hour comprehends the cleansing of the whole man. And that is what this verse says:

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” 2 Corinthians 7:1.

The flesh and the Spirit are closely related. The Spirit of God dwells in this body. We already read that in 1 Corinthians 6:19 and 1 Corinthians 3:16. Here, in the forebrain, the front part of the brain, are the great centers of the mind having to do with reason and judgement and conscience. The Spirit of God is vitally concerned with those, my friends.

But listen, that forebrain is just as much a physical structure as my liver, my stomach, or my lungs. Is that right? That forebrain is built from the blood, and nourished from the blood, just the same as the muscles and the bones.

Can we take poor material and make a good building? Can we take defiled food, poisons, like tobacco and many of the other poisons today, and make good blood, pure blood? And without pure blood how will we have a clear thinking brain?

Now turn to two texts, and I want you to look at them together. 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17 and Daniel 1:8. I want you to see something very interesting here. Over two thousand five hundred years ago, a young man by the name of Daniel was carried captive to Babylon. There he gave a wonderful exhibition of a life centered in God. But I want you to notice that His physical habits were to him a matter of conscience. He recognized the truth of what we are studying tonight, that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and must not be defiled.

Do you have the text in 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17? What does it tell you there? You are what? The temple of God. What does the seventeenth verse say?

“If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” 1 Corinthians 3:17.

Look at your margin, and see what it says there on the word defile - “if any man defile.” What does the margin say? Destroy. That which defiles the body destroys the body. Tobacco defiles the body. It defiles the breath. It defiles the bloodstream. It destroys the body. I don’t have to spend any time proving that to you, tonight, do I? No. The United States Government has been telling us that now for several years.

Doctor Alton Oxner, the celebrated surgeon of New Orleans, says that so surely is cigarette smoking and lung cancer linked together, that every man that smokes and keeps smoking, will die of lung cancer, unless something else gets him first. That is how defiling tobacco is. That is how destroying tobacco is.

And as I showed you two weeks ago tonight, this people, thank God, have been warned about this for over a hundred years by the gift of prophecy, by a revelation from the sanctuary. The angel from the most holy place brought the word to this people over a hundred years ago that tobacco is defiling and that it is a malignant poison, slow, but malignant. And as the result of receiving that counsel, and following it, Seventh-day Adventist men in the state of California, in a survey which was recently reported in the medical journals, are found to have a life expectancy of around six years longer than others in the population around - largely on the tobacco question. That is not the only thing.

My point is this, friends: Tobacco defiles the body. It defiles the bloodstream and therefore defiles the mind, the thinking. It has been proved over and over again that the thought processes are slowed and are interfered with. The tobacco smokers literally see things through a fog, a smoke.

Do what?

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us” 2 Corinthians 7:1,

“Cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit” 2 Corinthians 7:1.

But friends, there are many other ways to do it. There wasn’t any tobacco in Babylon two thousand five hundred years ago. But let’s see what Daniel recognized. Daniel 1:8. Do you have it there?

What?

“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not” Daniel 1:8,

“Defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank” Daniel 1:8.

Does wine defile? Fermented wine does. Fresh, pure grape juice wine, that is good. The Bible says a blessing is in it. But the wine of Babylon is fermented wine. You can expect that every time. Whenever the devil gets hold of something good, he studies how to make something bad out of it. So the devil has taken pure grape juice and introduced into it the germs of fermentation, and produced alcohol from the delicious sugar of the grape.

And Daniel, as he looked at that red wine in the dining room, where the king of Babylon had taken the food and drink from his own table and put it there for the boys, he knew that there

was poison there. He knew that, that would defile his bloodstream. He knew that, that would defile his soul. And he purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. Are you with him?

But that wasn’t all. There was not only something in the glass that would defile him, there was something from the king’s table, there on the platter, that would defile him. What was that? The king’s meat. Ah, my dear friends, there is something that happens in the bloodstream when we consume the flesh of dead animals. The very poisonous wastes which were in the tissue of the body when it was slaughtered, those poisonous wastes which would have been carried out by the animal’s kidneys had he lived a few more minutes, they are right there in that piece of meat. And Daniel knew that, that was not the best way to get the clearest brain. And he wanted all the help he could get to live a holy life.

What about you, friend? For myself, I need all the help I can get to live the life of Jesus. I want every aid that heaven can supply. So I thank God for a way of life which does not require the slaughtering of animals.

No flock that roams the valley free; To slaughter I condemn; Taught by the power that pities me, I learn to pity them.

But from the mountain’s grassy side A guiltless feast I bring; A scrip with herbs and fruit supplied, And water from the spring.

That was Daniel’s program. That is my program. This is something, my dear friends, a part of God’s message for this hour. For while Jesus is cleansing the sanctuary in heaven from the record of sin, He longs to cleanse your body and mind and soul from sin of every kind. And we need all the help we can get in a brain that thinks clearly and a body that functions properly. What do you say?

Well, I haven’t time, of course, in this little period tonight, to go into all the things that go to make up a healthy body. My point is, everything that affects health affects spirituality. Therefore, anything that affects health is of concern to the Christian.

He is interested in it, not from the standpoint of finding how far he can go in transgression and still get to heaven. He is interested in getting all the help that he can in diet, in dress, in exercise, in rest, in the use of water, air, and sunshine, and all the agencies of nature. He is interested in getting all the help he can so he can have a strong body, a clear mind, a heart that is in tune with the infinite God. Oh, friends, I am thankful for God’s wonderful message. Aren’t you?

But I want to tell you something. It takes more than health reform, it takes more than physical culture to get a people ready for heaven. Why, look back at those people before the flood. They were marvelous examples of physical strength, but they went to hell. It takes more, my friends, than a strong body and a clear mind. It takes the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse the conscience from sin.

And so it is written in 1 John 1:7:

“The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” 1 John 1:7.

All the eating and exercising in the world will not take a man to heaven, friends. A lack of eating the proper food, a lack of proper exercise, may get a man’s brain so foggy that he cannot find the way. But the way to heaven is not by what we eat and drink. The way to heaven is in the sanctuary. It is the sacrificial way.

Look at this altar in the court and as in imagination you picture the work in the type, as you see the white robed priest filling his ministry there in the court, what do you see sprinkled on the horns of that brazen altar? Blood, the price of sin. It takes blood to forgive sin. Look at the holy place and there on the horns of that golden altar, what do you see? Again the sprinkled blood. It takes blood to cover sins in the sanctuary above, of which this is but the type. And then passing within the inner veil there at the mercy seat, what do we see sprinkled there above the law? The blood, the precious blood.

Ah, my friends, every drop of blood reminds us of the sacrifice of Calvary. Every lamb that died prefigured the Lamb of God who, on the cross, gave His life that sin might be taken out of our lives. And God wants that precious blood, which is presented in the sanctuary above to cleanse the heavenly sanctuary, sprinkled on the church below. And He wants it sprinkled on your heart and mine.

Now, friends, I come to a very important thing. And I hope everybody will wake up and give close attention to what I am about to give, because it is going to help somebody here tonight, if you will all get it. Listen.

From the time that the gospel was introduced in the Garden of Eden right down to the present hour, it was God’s purpose, through the gospel, to offer men the fullness of this plan. Never think that God has waited to this hour to offer men the fullness of cleansing, the fullness of reconciliation, the fullness of the development of character. Not so. Proof? Turn to Hebrews 11:5:

“By faith” Hebrews 11:5,

What is the next word? Enoch. How far from Adam was Enoch? He was the seventh. He lived back then before the flood. All right, what happened to him? He was translated. But the great thing I want you to notice, friends, is not that he was translated, that is wonderful, but:

“Before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God” Hebrews 11:5.

Way back there in the early ages of this world, before Jesus died upon the cross, before He went back to heaven and entered into the holy place there, before the anti-typical day of atonement when Jesus entered in to cleanse the sanctuary, before any of those experiences, Enoch reached an experience that God in heaven said, “Enoch pleases Me.” Isn’t that wonderful?

I want to read a comment on this, and I hope everybody will listen carefully to this. The Lord’s messenger wrote this in the Review and Herald:

“Some few in every generation from Adam resisted [Satan’s] ... every artifice and stood forth as noble representatives of what it was in the power of man to do and to be--Christ working with human efforts, helping man in overcoming the power of Satan. Enoch and Elijah are the correct representatives of what the race might be through faith in Jesus Christ if they chose to be” Review and Herald, March 3, 1874.

They were not some rare exceptions that God picked out and said, “Now I am going to do something wonderful for Enoch and something wonderful for Elijah, but the rest of you have to wait until the last generation.” No. Nothing of the sort, my friends.

“Enoch and Elijah are the correct representatives of what the race might be through faith in Jesus Christ if they chose to be. Satan was greatly disturbed because these noble, holy men stood untainted amid the moral pollution surrounding them, perfected righteous characters” Review and Herald, March 3, 1874.

Did they? Yes. That is what Paul is talking about. Enoch was translated, but before his translation He had this testimony that he pleased God. He perfected a righteous character. So did Elijah.

“As they had stood forth in moral power in noble uprightness, overcoming Satan’s temptations, he could not bring them under the dominion of death” Review and Herald, March 3, 1874.

My dear friends, God is going to have some people down here today that are going to have a similar experience. But, (Mark you!) don’t charge God with making it impossible for people to have it beforehand. This is very important. I hope you are impressed with the importance of the point we have just made. It will keep you from some dangerous deceptions if you see it in its fullness, and accept it.

Let me approach it from another angle. If somebody tells me, “Elder Frazee, no matter how much of an experience people have with God, there are some things they cannot have until certain things are done in the most holy place.”

Tell me, friends, where is it written in the Bible or the Spirit of Prophecy that nothing can happen in a person’s heart until what makes it possible happens in heaven? Where is it written there? Where is the reference? Where is the proof? And while one is thinking of that, think of this simple fact. For four thousand years men were saved in this world and Jesus had not even died yet. Am I right? Well, friends, if men could be saved before Jesus died, how were they saved? They were saved by faith in looking forward to what Jesus would do upon the cross. Is that right?

But listen, when we study the sanctuary, we see that even to forgive sins it is necessary, not only for the lamb to die but for the blood to be sprinkled in the sanctuary. Isn’t it? Well, when did that happen? The blood couldn’t be sprinkled until it was shed, could it?

Then all those men who for four thousand years in Old Testament times, all those people from Adam, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, all the way down through, all of them were saved not only by faith in the Saviour who would die for them, but the Saviour who would enter the sanctuary and sprinkle the blood for them, right? That is what they were doing all the while, as they offered these sacrifices. They were showing their faith in a work that Jesus was yet to do.

Tell, me friends, in the name of reason, if all that could be done for them back then, in anticipation of what Jesus would do on the cross and in the holy place, couldn’t it also be done in anticipation of what He would do in the most holy place? Do you see that? It makes it just as simple as ABC.

Then, my dear friends, let no one lull you into any idea or teaching that there is something that is yet to be done that can’t be done until Jesus does something in heaven. Just put that all away, for the Bible does not teach it. The fullness of the gospel is available for you, and has been since the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world.

And with that in mind, may I read this sentence again, or two, from this wonderful quotation? From the Review and Herald. It is what I read a moment ago. Listen:

“Some few in every generation from Adam resisted his every artifice and stood forth as noble representatives of what it was in the power of man to do and to be--Christ working with human efforts, helping man in overcoming the power of Satan. Enoch and Elijah are the correct representatives of what the race might be through faith in Jesus Christ if they chose to be. Satan was greatly disturbed because these noble, holy men stood untainted amid the moral pollution surrounding them, perfected righteous characters, and were accounted worthy for translation to Heaven” Review and Herald, March 3, 1874.

Let no one, then, sell you on the idea that there is a perfection reserved for the remnant which nobody in the past has ever experienced or nobody ever could experience. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, and has been from the gates of Eden to the present hour. This is vital, my friends. To accept anything else is to charge God with partiality, double-dealing; and God will not do that.

Now, it is true that most people in this world have not entered into the fullness of the plan of salvation. That’s true. And it is also true that before Jesus closes the sanctuary, the work must be finished in the remnant and everyone presented faultless before the presence of His glory. That is true. But, oh friends, this is all possible, and has been since Jesus introduced the gospel in Eden. Let’s rejoice in that. What do you say? And let’s let Jesus lead us along, today - not tomorrow, but today, into the fullness of blessing today.

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will [finish] ... it until the day of Jesus Christ” Philippians 1:6.

Let me tell you, friends, there is no sinless departure from the words of Christ, and those who spin fine theories seeking to make clearer just how God is going to finish His work, only succeed, many times, in fogging the whole matter. Let us stick to the simplicity of the gospel of Christ. And here it is in the sanctuary, revealed in all its simplicity and beauty.

And what is it, friends? First, Jesus died for us upon the cross. And that was represented by the slaying of the sacrifice in the court. Second, He appears for us in the presence of God, to sprinkle the blood to cover our sins. And if we confess our sins, He covers them, forgives them. And then, finally, in the most holy place with the work of investigative judgement, making clear who have fully repented of sin and have overcome, Jesus sprinkles His blood to blot out sins forever. Those are the three great acts of Jesus in the plan of salvation: His death for us on Calvary, His covering of sin and forgiveness, His blotting out the sins of all who overcome. Let’s enter into those three experiences with Jesus. What do you say?

And may I say to you, friends, to all who are acquainted with the wonderful prophetic gift in this movement, study those wonderful chapters in Great Controversy entitled, “What is the Sanctuary?” “In the Holy of Holies,” and “The Investigative Judgement.” Study those three chapters. Likewise, in the book, Early Writings, study those three chapters entitled, “The Sanctuary,” “The Third Angel’s Message,” and “A Firm Platform.” If you will study those three chapters in Great Controversy and those three chapters in Early Writings, with these three books in the Bible, Hebrews, and Daniel, and Revelation, you will know what heaven has revealed about the sanctuary in heaven and its cleansing, and the cleansing of the church on earth.

I like the way it is put by the Lord’s messenger in the Review and Herald:

“Christ is cleansing the temple in heaven from the sins of the people, and we must work in harmony with Him upon the earth, cleansing the soul temple from its moral defilement” Review and Herald, February 11, 1890.

May I give you this closing word of warning. Do not look forward to some time in the future when some miraculous work of cleansing is to be accomplished for you. But rather note that whenever this work of cleansing is spoken of, it is presented as something that we must enter into now. Now God wants to cleanse us. Now God says, “let us cleanse ourselves from a filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

We shall never in this world, my friends, looking at ourselves, see ourselves as holy and perfect. As long as we are in this flesh looking at ourselves, we shall discern weakness. But thank God, heaven, looking upon the remnant people of God, will say, “They are saints. They keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

And friends, I would rather look good to heaven than to look good to myself. What do you say? Clothed with the righteousness of Christ, cleansed by the blood of Christ, presented faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy - oh, what a high destiny is ours! If the standard is high, let it not discourage anyone.

Listen, friends, a God as wonderful as we have, could not offer us any less than this. The sacrifice of Calvary was not made so that a meager work might be done. Looking at the cross we discern that heaven has been poured out in the great endeavor to bring man back to full harmony with the Creator, full likeness to the Saviour. Let’s believe Him and finish that work in our hearts. What do you say?

Now, there is probably somebody here tonight, probably, did I say, I know there is somebody here tonight that needs to make a decision. God does not give us this message to deliver and bring no one here that needs to make a decision. And so, if you are the one, my dear friend, to whom the Spirit of God speaks just now and says, “Yes, you are in this meeting to make a decision,” oh, I hope you will let Jesus help you to make that decision now, right now. You can, friends.

There may be somebody here who has never given his heart fully to God. If that is so, tonight is the night for you to make a decision. Give yourself to Jesus tonight. Will you?

There may be somebody here tonight that once gave yourself to Jesus, but you have let something come between you and the Master. Sin has defiled your heart and life. You want to get rid of that tonight. Will you give that to Jesus? Will you bring that sin to the Saviour and let Him cover it with His precious blood?

So whether it is for the first time or whether it is because you have lost your experience and want to come back to God and get sin out of the way, if there is a decision you need to make tonight, I invite you to make it. Will you do it now? Will you come to Jesus now? Will you give up sin now? He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him.

Shall we stand. If God is calling you, come out of the pew where you are and come right up here and kneel down. Pray for yourself. I want to pray God for you, in your behalf. If there is a decision you need to make, either for the first time or because you have lost your hand out of the hand of Jesus, if God is calling you to give up sin, come, my friend. Oh, my dear brother, my dear sister, let Jesus wash away the stain of sin. Let Him take way everything that hinders. I can tell you this, friends, I have seen Him do it for dozens and scores, and hundreds of people.