The European Union in Prophecy The EU in Prophecy I | Page 332

The European Union in Prophecy
the pierced side, the marred feet, plead for fallen man, whose redemption was
purchased at such infinite cost.
"And the counsel of peace shall be between Them both." The love of the Father,
no less than of the Son, is the fountain of salvation for the lost race. Said Jesus to His
disciples before He went away: "I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
for the Father Himself loveth you." John 16:26, 27. God was "in Christ, reconciling
the world unto Himself." 2 Corinthians 5:19. And in the ministration in the sanctuary
above, "the counsel of peace shall be between Them both." "God so loved the world,
that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.
The question, What is the sanctuary? is clearly answered in the Scriptures. The
term "sanctuary," as used in the Bible, refers, first, to the tabernacle built by Moses,
as a pattern of heavenly things; and, secondly, to the "true tabernacle" in heaven, to
which the earthly sanctuary pointed. At the death of Christ the typical service ended.
The "true tabernacle" in heaven is the sanctuary of the new covenant. And as the
prophecy of Daniel 8:14 is fulfilled in this dispensation, the sanctuary to which it
refers must be the sanctuary of the new covenant. At the termination of the 2300 days,
in 1844, there had been no sanctuary on earth for many centuries. Thus the prophecy,
"Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,"
unquestionably points to the sanctuary in heaven.
But the most important question remains to be answered: What is the cleansing
of the sanctuary? That there was such a service in connection with the earthly
sanctuary is stated in the Old Testament Scriptures. But can there be anything in
heaven to be cleansed? In Hebrews 9 the cleansing of both the earthly and the
heavenly sanctuary is plainly taught. "Almost all things are by the law purged with
blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that
the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these [the blood of
animals]; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these"
(Hebrews 9:22, 23), even the precious blood of Christ.
The cleansing, both in the typical and in the real service, must be accomplished
with blood: in the former, with the blood of animals; in the latter, with the blood of
331