With this reckoning , all was clear and harmonious , except that it was not seen that any event answering to the cleansing of the sanctuary had taken place in 1844 . To deny that the days ended at that time was to involve the whole question in confusion , and to renounce positions which had been established by unmistakable fulfillments of prophecy . But God had led His people in the great advent movement ; His power and glory had attended the work , and He would not permit it to end in darkness and disappointment , to be reproached as a false and fanatical excitement . He would not leave His word involved in doubt and uncertainty .
Though many abandoned their former reckoning of the prophetic periods and denied the correctness of the movement based thereon , others were unwilling to renounce points of faith and experience that were sustained by the Scriptures and by the witness of the Spirit of God . They believed that they had adopted sound principles of interpretation in their study of the prophecies , and that it was their duty to hold fast the truths already gained , and to continue the same course of Biblical research . With earnest prayer they reviewed their position and studied the Scriptures to discover their mistake . As they could see no error in their reckoning of the prophetic periods , they were led to examine more closely the subject of the sanctuary .
In their investigation they learned that there is no Scripture evidence sustaining the popular view that the earth is the sanctuary ; but they found in the Bible a full explanation of the subject of the sanctuary , its nature , location , and services ; the testimony of the sacred writers being so clear and ample as to place the matter beyond all question . The apostle Paul , in the Epistle to the Hebrews , says : " Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service , and a worldly sanctuary . For there was a tabernacle made ; the first , wherein was the candlestick , and the table , and the shewbread ; which is called the sanctuary . And after the second veil , the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all ; which had the golden censer , and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold , wherein was the golden pot that had manna , and Aaron ' s rod that budded , and the tables of the covenant ; and over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat ." Hebrews 9:1-5 .
The sanctuary to which Paul here refers was the tabernacle built by Moses at the command of God as the earthly dwelling place of the Most High . " Let them make Me a sanctuary ; that I may dwell among them " ( Exodus 25:8 ), was the direction given to Moses while in the mount with God . The Israelites were journeying through the wilderness , and the tabernacle was so constructed that it could be removed from place to place ; yet it was a structure of great magnificence . Its walls consisted of upright boards heavily plated with gold and set in sockets of silver , while the roof was formed of a series of curtains , or coverings , the outer of skins , the innermost of fine linen beautifully wrought with figures of cherubim .
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