Quote:
"Christ's ascension to heaven was the signal that His followers were to receive the promised blessing. For this they were to wait before they entered upon their work. When Christ passed within the heavenly gates, He was enthroned amidst the adoration of the angels. As soon as this ceremony was completed, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in rich currents, and Christ was indeed glorified, even with the glory which He had with the Father from all eternity. The Pentecostal outpouring was Heaven's communication that the Redeemer's inauguration was accomplished. According to His promise He had sent the Holy Spirit from heaven to His followers as a token that He had, as priest and king, received all authority in heaven and on earth, and was the Anointed One over His people." —Acts of the Apostles, pp. 38-39.
"Still bearing humanity, He ascended to heaven, triumphant and victorious. He has taken the blood of the atonement into the holiest of all, sprinkled it upon the mercy-seat and His own garments, and blessed the people. Soon He will appear the second time to declare that there is no more sacrifice for sin." —Signs of the Times, April 19, 1905.
Yes indeed. The inauguration of the Heavenly Sanctuary took place at Christ's ascension.
Quote:
Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying,
"THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT WHICH GOD COMMANDED YOU."
And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood. And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; —Hebrews 9:18-24 (New American Standard Bible).
Please note that the Apostle Paul in these verses is referring back to
Exodus 24:6-8, which is even before the sanctuary was constructed (
Exodus 25).
Quote:
inauguration
n.
1. Formal induction into office.
2. A formal beginning or introduction.
The essence of Old Testament sanctuary typology that Adventists rely on for their eschatology may be summarized as follows:
Quote:
The sanctuary services emphasized three aspects of Christ's work for us: sacrifice, mediation, and judgment. In general, the three parts of the sanctuary corresponded to these three kinds of ministry. Sacrifice occurred in the court, mediation in the holy place, and judgment in the Most Holy Place.
I pity those who can't distinguish between the beginning of Christ's heavenly ministry and the end of it.
