Chapter 24—What Is Christ Doing Now?

The subject of the sanctuary unlocked the mystery of the disappointment of 1844. It revealed a complete system of truth, connected and harmonious, showing that God's hand had directed the great Advent movement. Those who had looked in faith for His second coming expected Him to appear in glory, but when their hopes were disappointed, they had lost sight of Jesus. Now in the Holy of Holies they again saw their High Priest, soon to appear as king and deliverer. Light from the sanctuary lit up the past, the present, and the future. Though they had failed to understand the message they had given, it had been correct. 5TC 247.2

The mistake had not been in calculating the prophetic periods, but in the event that was to take place at the end of the 2,300 days. Yet everything that the prophecy foretold had happened. 5TC 247.3

Christ had come, not to the earth, but to the Most Holy Place of the temple in heaven: “I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came”—not to the earth, but—“to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him” (Daniel 7:13). 5TC 248.1

Malachi also foretold this coming: “‘The Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,’ says the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 3:1). The coming of the Lord to His temple was “sudden,” unexpected, to His people. They were not looking for Him there. 5TC 248.2

The people were not yet ready to meet their Lord. They still needed a work of preparation. As by faith they would follow their High Priest in His ministry, they would find new duties revealed. There was another message of warning and instruction to be given to the church. 5TC 248.3

Who Can Stand?

The prophet wrote: “Who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? ... He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness” (Malachi 3:2, 3). Those living on earth when the intercession of Christ ends will stand in the sight of God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters purified from sin by the sprinkled blood. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort they must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of repentant believers are being removed from the sanctuary, God's people on earth are to engage in a special work of putting away sin. This work is presented in the message of Revelation 14. When this work has been accomplished, the followers of Christ will be ready for His appearing. Then the church which our Lord is to receive at His coming will be “a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing” (Ephesians 5:27). 5TC 248.4

“Behold, the Bridegroom Is Coming”

The coming of Christ as High Priest to the Most Holy Place for the cleansing of the sanctuary (Daniel 8:14), the coming of the Son of man to the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:13), and the coming of the Lord to His temple (Malachi 3:1) are the same event. This is also represented by the bridegroom's coming to the marriage in the parable of the ten virgins of Matthew 25. 5TC 249.1

In the parable, when the bridegroom came, “those who were ready went in with him to the wedding.” This coming of the bridegroom takes place before the marriage. The marriage represents Christ's receiving of His kingdom. The Holy City, the New Jerusalem, the capital and symbol of the kingdom, is called “the bride, the Lamb's wife.” The angel said to John, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife.” “He carried me away in the Spirit,” says the prophet, “and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:9, 10). 5TC 249.2

The bride represents the Holy City, and the virgins that go out to meet the bridegroom are a symbol of the church. In the book of Revelation the people of God are described as guests at the marriage supper. If guests, they cannot be the bride. Christ will receive from the Ancient of Days in heaven “dominion and glory and a kingdom,” the New Jerusalem, the capital of His kingdom, “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Daniel 7:14; Revelation 21:2). When He has received the kingdom, He will come as King of kings and Lord of lords to redeem His people who are to eat of the marriage supper of the Lamb. 5TC 249.3

Waiting for Their Lord

The proclamation “Behold, the bridegroom is coming” led thousands to expect the Lord to come immediately. At the appointed time the Bridegroom came—not to the earth, but to the Ancient of Days in heaven, to the marriage, the reception of His kingdom. “Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding.” They were not to be present in person, since they are on the earth. The followers of Christ are to “wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding” (Luke 12:36). But they are to understand His work and follow Him by faith. In this sense they are said to go in to the marriage. 5TC 249.4

In the parable, those who had oil in their lamps went in to the marriage. Those who, in the night of their bitter trial, had patiently waited, searching the Bible for clearer light—these saw the truth concerning the sanctuary in heaven and the Savior's change of priestly service. By faith they followed Him in His work in the sanctuary above. And all who accept the same truths, following Christ by faith as He performs the last work of mediation, go in to the marriage. 5TC 250.1

Closing Work in the Sanctuary

Similarly, in the parable of Matthew 22 the judgment takes place before the marriage. Previous to the wedding the king comes in to see if all the guests are wearing the wedding garment, the spotless robe of character washed in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14). In God's examination, all who have the wedding garment on are accepted and judged worthy of a share in God's kingdom and a seat on His throne. This work of character examination is the investigative judgment, the closing work in the sanctuary above. 5TC 250.2

When the cases of those who in all ages have professed Christ have been examined and decided, then probation will close and the door of mercy will be shut. So in one short sentence, “Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut,” we are carried down to the time when the great work for our salvation will be completed. 5TC 250.3

In the earthly sanctuary, when the high priest entered the Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement, the service in the first apartment ended. Likewise, when Christ entered the Holy of Holies to perform the closing work of the atonement, He ended His ministry in the first apartment. Then the ministry in the second apartment began. Christ had completed only one part of His work as our intercessor, in order to begin another portion of the work. He still pleaded His blood before the Father in behalf of sinners. 5TC 250.4

While it is true that that door of hope and mercy was closed by which for eighteen hundred years sinners had found access to God, another door had opened. God still offered forgiveness of sins through the intercession of Christ in the Most Holy. There was still an “open door” to the heavenly sanctuary, where Christ was ministering for sinners. 5TC 251.1

Now people could see the meaning of those words of Christ in the Revelation, meant for this very time: “These things says He who is holy, He who is true, ‘He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens’: ... See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it” (Revelation 3:7, 8). 5TC 251.2

Those who by faith follow Jesus in the great work of the atonement receive the benefits of His mediation, while those who reject the light get no benefit from it. The Jews who refused to believe on Christ as Savior could not receive forgiveness through Him. When Jesus ascended and entered the heavenly sanctuary to pour out on His disciples the blessings of His mediation, those Jews were left in darkness to continue their useless sacrifices and offerings. The door that before had given people access to God was no longer open. The Jews had refused to seek Him in the only way He could then be found, through the sanctuary in heaven. 5TC 251.3

The unbelieving Jews illustrate the condition of the careless and unbelieving among professed Christians who are willingly ignorant of the work of our High Priest. In the symbolic service, when the high priest went into the Most Holy Place, all of the Israelites were required to gather around the sanctuary and humble their hearts before God, so that they could receive pardon of sins and not be “cut off” from the congregation. How much more essential in this final Day of Atonement that we understand the work of our High Priest and know what duties are required of us. 5TC 251.4

Heaven sent a message to the world in Noah's day, and their salvation depended on how they treated that message (Genesis 6:6-9; Hebrews 11:7). In the time of Sodom, all but Lot with his wife and two daughters were consumed by fire sent down from heaven (Genesis 19). It was the same in the days of Christ. The Son of God declared to the unbelieving Jews of that generation, “Your house is left to you desolate” (Matthew 23:38). Looking down to the last days, the same Infinite Power declares concerning those who “did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved”: “For this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:10, 11). As they reject the teachings of His Word, God withdraws His Spirit and leaves them to the deceptions that they love. But Christ still intercedes for humanity, and God will give light those who seek it. 5TC 252.1

The passing of the time in 1844 brought great trial to those who held the advent faith. Their only relief was the light that pointed their minds to the sanctuary above. As they waited and prayed, they saw that their great High Priest had begun another work of ministry. As they followed Him by faith, He led them to see also the closing work of the church. They had a clearer understanding of the first and second angels’ messages, and were prepared to receive the solemn warning of the third angel of Revelation 14 and give it to the world. 5TC 252.2