Where did Moses get the blood to anoint the earthly sanctuary? Was it from a sacrifice that had already died on the altar, and had already been passed through the laver, and had already entered the holy place?

If not, then how we can suggest that Jesus waited until AD 31 to anoint the MHP?

I understood that this was a special sacrifice for the purpose of anointing the Earthly Sanctuary, however, I am not certain of that, therefore, when I have time I will need to research that one.

[ December 12, 2001: Message edited by: Daryl Fawcett ]

The subject of the sanctuary is a fascinating one, to say the very least of it. I appreciate this thread very much. There is one Scripture, though, that keeps resurfacing and it is Rev.13:8. The Bible says that "The wages of sin is death." Rom.6:23. Death is the absence of life! Christ was slain before the foundation of the world! Lucifer had been created in Christ Jesus, had he not been? John 1:3,4. In Christ he lived and moved and had his being, did he not? When he sinned, he should have died in every sense of the Word. What the cross of Christ teaches us is that no angel or no man or no thing in the universe can bear the curse of sin and still live! Lucifer was still alive after he sinned, just as Adam and Eve were after they sinned!

This explains, I believe, how Christ was "slain" before the foundation of the world and from the foundation of this world. Christ went down with Lucifer bearing the curse in him so that he may have ample opportunities to repent so the Lord could re-established him in his former glory! But, as we all know, he did not repent. He made the irrevocable decision which decided his fate forever. And yet even after that he was still alive so that the whole universe of God could see his true character. Even after that, it was still true that in Christ, he and his evil angels, did live and move and have their being!

Christ did not leave Lucifer when he fell. He stayed with him. If Christ had not been willing to stay with him, to bear the curse for him, Lucifer would have been crushed instantly!

And that applies to all the other angels who fell and to the fallen human race! Before the fall, it was the truth that in Christ all creatures lived and moved and had their being! The only difference after the fall is that now Jesus, in order to fulfill the plan of redemption, is fully identified with sinners which He looks upon as His brethren! As long as He is allowed to bear the curse in them, they may live and even abuse and pervert the precious gift of His life. But it is all necessary that they may have every opportunity to choose whom they will serve. And the Lord is longsuffering. He puts up with them, with their sins. He says, "You have made Me serve with your sins. You have wearied Me with your iniquities." Isaiah 43:24.

Again, I think we would do well to spend time meditating over this amazing declaration: "The greatest burden that we bear is the burden of sin; if we were left to bear it, it would crush us." D.A.327,328.

May God open our blind eyes that we may see the larger picture of the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is my prayer for us all, for not until one has seen Christ crucified before his eyes, and can see the cross of Christ at every turn, does one know the REALITY of the gospel!

[ December 14, 2001: Message edited by: adventbeliever ]

I will follow up this post with some references later when time permits; but from my point of view; there is an overall motif, regarding both the earthly and the heavenly sanctuary.

That motif, is not concerned with references to a point in time; in most cases, but rather, to the fact that these sanctuaries were indeed annointed.

We know & trust that they were annointed; and if the Bible does not reveal an exact date in some aspect of the sanctuary service - it just means that the references and connections we are trying to make with time frames - may indeed be off base.

God is trying to tell us, as a people, something more significant than a specific point in time for the annointing of the earthly. What could that be?

[ December 12, 2001: Message edited by: DavidTBattler ]

I would think that God's reality supercedes and transcends our human reality. If the Bible says the Lamb of God was slain from the foundation of the world, as it does in Rev 13:8, then I believe we should devote our time and talent to understanding how this can be true from God's infinite perspective, never mind our limited finite point of view.

I believe if were to allow God's word to stand as it reads, then a door of opportunity would be opened that would otherwise remain closed. All of this is important in the context of asking whether or not Jesus waited until AD 31 to anoint the MHP since it strikes directly at the heart of the sanctuary service and Jesus' role as our heavenly high priest, especially as it relates to the prophecies associated with 1844 and the investigative judgment.

It is my contention that all three apartments of the heavenly sanctuary had to be anointed (i.e., dedicated and commissioned) before Jesus left heaven, that is, before He was incarnated. Why? Because from the beginning to the end of the sanctuary services, from the outer court to the MHP and back to the outer court, Jesus is the alpha and the omega at every step of the journey.

But to suggest that Jesus had to wait until AD 31 in order to anoint the MHP is to suggest that He is not the alpha and omega of our salvation until after He restores paradise lost. That is, Jesus began His journey in the outer court as the incarnate babe of Bethlehem, and He will complete His journey in the outer court as King of the New Earth and the New Jerusalem.

In order for Jesus to be the alpha and omega of the sanctuary and our salvation the entire sanctuary had to be anointed prior to His incarnation as far back in time as the moment Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden. Jesus is all things for all people at all times. When He was a babe in Old Jerusalem He was simultaneously the King of New Jerusalem. For this to be true the heavenly sanctuary had to be completely anointed from start to finish, from the outer court and back again.

By the way, that earth is the outer court is clear from the fact that this is where Jesus startd His sanctuary ministry and it is where He will finish it.

Mike:
At this moment in my understanding, always subject to change as the Holy Spirit brings new insight, I think that making the heavenly sanctuary be anointed before the foundation of the world is not necessary. Hebrews 6:12-20 we find that it was the promises of God that allowed the sanctuary system to run from the beginning. Again, Jesus did not have to die literally from the foundation of the world. He only had to commit to the death for it to be efficacious. The assurance of the Alpha and Omega was as good as the deed for once promised Jesus would not turn back. The promise was in the mind of God, promised to Adam and Eve, implemented in the Eden sanctuary, shadowed in the first sacrifice, and fulfilled on calvary. Now the issues are being completed in heaven on the participants on earth.

Going back to the courtyard. I believe that the earth is the outer court. Jesus was anointed in the door way, and His washing was His baptism. He was sacrificed at calvary, and His blood was taken to the four corners of the earth through the testimony of His witnesses. I believe that when He went to heaven He anointed the heavenly sanctuary. When He poured out the Holy Spirit on the disciples I believe that He had anointed them and there experience was their standing on the sea of glass at the laver. This experience is what he is trying to prepare us for as well.

If we can explain how God can be omnipresent (Isa 57:15), then we might be able to explain how Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8).

Greg, I appreciated your thoughts on the outer court. Well said. Thank you. By the way, did you say when you believe Jesus anointed the MHP? Was it when He ascended back to heaven in AD 31? or was it when He moved into the MHP in 1844? or did He anoint the entire sanctuary back in Eden? or some other time? And what difference does it make?

Mike:
I think that Jesus anointed the Most Holy Place in AD 31. This is subject to change as my understanding develops. I think that the sanctuary system, as a sin cleansing process, was in effect at Eden when the first sin took place. I personally believe that the garden of Eden was a sanctuary on earth. When A&E sinned they were expelled from the sanctuary and the angel guarded the gate. I think that there are all kinds of issues in the Genesis 2&3 story that we have not seen yet that are waiting for us to study.

I don't what the difference is, regarding anointing at Eden or at Pentecost, but I think the bulk of information appears to be that when Jesus came as a man then all the symbolism began to start at a level that we could see.

Mike, do you have any texts or SOP that would indicate that a special service took place at the time of Eden? I know that the special session between the Father and the Son took place then, so anything else you can put on the table would be helpful.
Thanks

Mike: take the book The Glad Tidings containing the lectures of E.G. Waggoner at the 1888 General Conference at Minneapolis and in it, you will find explained the meaning of Rev.13:8. I have somewhat paraphrased what he said. Remember that these lectures were part of the most precious message the Lord sent to His people. T.M.91,92.

Is there a difference between dedicating and anointing the heavenly sanctuary? And would it make any difference as to how we might know when Jesus anointed the MHP?

From the earthly examples we know that the entire sanctuary (i.e., the outer court, the HP, the MHP, the furnishings and staff, etc) was anoitned before the daily and annual services began.

Why wouldn't it be that way for the heavenly sanctuary too? Why are we suggesting that Jesus anointed the heavenly sanctuary one apartment at a time over the course of thousands of years? Moses didn't anoint the earthly sanctuary one piece at a time. Why would Jesus do it that way?

The point that AB brought up is a good one. The sin problem had to be dealt with before Jesus could initate a time of probation for the human race. Otherwise, Adam and Eve would have died the moment they disobeyed and none of us would have been born.

Dealing with the sin problem involves every aspect of the sanctuary from start to finish. But in order for this to be a possibility the entire sanctuary had to be anointed from start to finish. For this reason alone Jesus could not wait until AD 31 to anoint the MHP.

God isn't dealing with the sin problem as He goes along, making it up as time and circumstances change. From God's infinite perspective, paradise lost to paradise restored is a done deal. And just because it is also played out within our time frame does not mean that it isn't already a reality from God's point of view.

Yes, God's foreknowledge and timeless perspective is based on what will happen according to how it plays out from our perspective, but that doesn't alter the fact that some things were accomplished before Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden (i.e., Jesus anointed the entire sanctuary).

Some of the things that have been a reality for God from eternity past but are also based on our calendar of reality, would include the birth of Jesus, His baptism, His death, resurrection and ascension, His daily ministry in the HP, and His annual ministry in the MHP.

However, I do not believe that Jesus waited until AD 31 or 1844 to anoint any part of the heavenly sanctuary, and I base this belief on the necessity of the entire sanctuary needing to be anointed and/or dedicated before any part of it could be used to save mankind in his fallen condition. Why? Because there is no part of the sanctuary that was unnecessary before AD 31 or 1844 or the second advent or the new earth.

Does this make sense to anyone else besides me?

Greg, I'm not aware of any passage where a special anointing service for the heavenly sanctuary happened at any time. That's not to say there isn't something out there.