"And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Daniel 8:14.
Those who were looking for the return of Christ to this earth on October 22, 1844 were disappointed, to say the least, when He did not return on that date. The few Advent believers who remained after that date knew that their calculations were correct. They concluded that what was not correct was the event that took place on that day. They had originally believed that the earth was the sanctuary that was to be cleansed as per Daniel 8:14. But upon further examination of the Word of God, they discovered in the Book of Hebrews that there is a Heavenly Sanctuary "not made with hands" (Heb. 9:11) where Jesus Christ is the Minister of this Sanctuary "which the Lord pitched, and not man" (Heb. 8:2). Christ serves in the Heavenly Sanctuary as our High Priest (Heb. 9:11):
For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." Hebrews 9:24.
With this Bible information and being led of the Holy Spirit, the few remaining Advent believers came to understand that it was the Heavenly Sanctuary that was to be cleansed beginning in 1844, and not the earth.
Daniel 9:24 very clearly points out in no uncertain terms that Christ has entered into the Holy Places (The Holy and The Most Holy) of the Heavenly Sanctuary to appear in the presence of God for us. Since we have already established above from Scripture that the earthly sanctuary was but a copy of the Heavenly, it stands to reason that the function of the earthly high priest in the earthly sanctuary was but a representation of what Jesus would do in the Heavenly Sanctuary as our High Priest.
When Christ ascended into Heaven in Acts 1:9-11, whenever He entered into the Heavenly Sanctuary, it would have to be the First Apartment (Holy Place) because this is where the earthly high priest began his earthly ministrations. Only once a year, on the day of atonement, did the earthly high priest enter into The Most Holy Place (Lev. 23:27). This is when the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary took place (Lev. 16:15). Since we have already established that the Sanctuary to be cleansed mentioned in Daniel 8:14 was the Heavenly and not the earthly, THE EXACT DATE as to when this cleansing was to begin was at the conclusion of the 2300-day prophecy, or in 1844.
"Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the the mercy seat and before the mercy seat." Leviticus 16:15.
Cleansing of the earthly sanctuary was done symbolically with the blood of bulls and goats. The mercy seat "within the vail" (vs. 15) is located in The Most Holy Place. Christ therefore entered The Most Holy Place to begin His Work of cleansing the Sanctuary in 1844. This was the momentous event prophecised in Daniel 8:14 that took place on October 22, 1844 at the conclusion of the longest time prophecy in the Bible.
"And on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you. and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord." Leviticus 23:27.
The Day of Atonement was a day in which individuals were to "afflict" their souls, or confess their sins, before the Lord. For whosoever did not afflict his soul was "cut off" from among God's people (vs. 29). The antitypical Day of Atonement, here in the time of the end, shall also be a time when men and women shall confess their sins before the Lord and claim they are followers of Christ. How is it to be determined that these last-day confessions are genuine?
"Let us here the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14.
We will continue our study of how Christ cleanses the Heavenly Sanctuary of sin on next time.
M.A.