Greetings MOL Family!
Every week, by God’s grace, we strive to present lessons that are spiritually uplifting, containing principles that can be practiced in the daily life! Today we will begin a new series of classes, seeking to guide you and your family to establish and maintain a home sanctuary!
The focal point of the Advent movement is the coming of Jesus. The great objective of the Advent movement is to make ready a people prepared to meet Him. Whenever the bride is ready, the bridegroom will come. To “make ready a people prepared for the Lord” – this is our work!
The Restoration of All Things
This work of preparation has been presented under the figure of the coming of Elijah. John the Baptist came before the Saviour’s first appearing to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Jesus said that he fulfilled the prophecy of Elijah coming. This prophecy is being fulfilled again in the work of the threefold message.
I want you to notice that in all three cases – in the work of the first literal Elijah, in the work of John the Baptist, and in the work of this movement – the gift of prophecy is leading out. It was the gift of prophecy that made Elijah’s work so powerful. It was the gift of prophecy that enabled John the Baptist to accomplish his mission. It has been, and is, and will be, the gift of prophecy in this movement that will make us successful as individuals and as a church in completing our assignment and developing characters that shall be translated from this earth without seeing death.
Most of what we need to know in this course must come from inspired sources, if it’s to be of any real value to us. We are fortunate in having so many inspired instructions on these wonderful subjects.
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. – Matthew 17:11
Elijah’s work was to restore all things. What does restore mean? To put back in its place, to put back like it was. We are told that, in the time of the end, every divine institution is to be restored. This is why the Sabbath is such an outstanding sign of this work and this message. The seal of God is being restored to the law. Let’s notice a very interesting sentence:
The restoration and uplifting of humanity begins in the home. – Messages to Young People, pg. 324
I want you to see that in the Bible. The very last note sounded in the Old Testament, as the shadows fall on the ancient dispensation, is a note of cheer and courage, pointing to the coming of Elijah to restore all things. Notice where it begins:
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. – Malachi 4:5-6
Does he begin with the home? Definitely. Elijah comes to restore all things. He begins with the home, turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers. The work of this message is to prepare us for Heaven. And in order to get ready for Heaven, we must have heaven on earth. This is what Elijah is seeking to do.
Home should be made all that the word implies. It should be a little heaven upon earth. – Adventist Home, pg. 15
Was there ever anything made in this world that was made to be a copy of Heaven? What was it? The sanctuary. Moses made the sanctuary. God gave him the pattern from Mount Sinai. When we read the book of Hebrews, we see that there was more to what Moses saw than some blueprints; he actually saw the heavenly Sanctuary, the heavenly Temple.
Sanctuary means “a dwelling place.” As used in the Bible, it most often relates to a dwelling place for God. So it is written:
“And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.” – Exodus 25:8
God wanted to dwell with us here in this world. He told Moses to make a little house down in this world like His home in Heaven. And to every father and mother in this world comes the message, “Make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among you.”
Notice the instructions that accompany this call. Speaking of the priests who ministered in that ancient tabernacle, Paul says:
Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. – Hebrews 8:5
Moses was to make all things according to the pattern he saw in the mount. Paul says what Moses saw was heavenly things. He saw God’s house in Heaven, and he made a house for Him down here. It was a little house, copied after the great house in Heaven. Can you think of any higher honor, any greater privilege, that could come to anyone in this world than to have his home such a sanctuary? This is your privilege.
Whether you’re married or unmarried, parents or children, brothers or sisters, there’s a place for you in the total plan. As we study from class to class, that will become very clear. You do not need to think you are left out. You are not left out at all. You are very important. You are vital. You are precious. You belong. At least it’s your privilege to belong.
Do not miss anything, thinking this is not for you. It is. Be sure to get it. Make all things according to the pattern. It was a pattern shown by revelation. Moses did not devise the pattern. He did not sit down and think up the plan. His work was to behold the heavenly original and copy it with exactitude. Can you do better than that in your home? Would you be satisfied with any less? Ah, what a privilege we have.
If my little home is to be a copy of that heavenly home, and God had Moses make a copy down here to help us understand what’s going on up there, wouldn’t it be a good thing for me to study this earthly copy and learn some lessons about the heavenly Sanctuary and, in turn, learn how my home is to be organized, managed, structured, and carried on. This is what I want to do with you in these lessons. I’m so thankful for the privilege of studying these things with you, and to study them in the light of the Sanctuary in Heaven from which the glorious light is shining down.
God would have our families symbols of the family in heaven. – Adventist Home, pg. 17
Is your home a symbol of the family in Heaven? If it is, the neighbors, as they look on, as they visit from time to time, they will learn more about Heaven as they learn more about you and your home. This is our privilege. There is no higher missionary work than to demonstrate here in this world what Heaven is like. I’m going to begin that study with you today.
Just Like Heaven
I’d like to have you notice two very important things about the Sanctuary. The first is the building, the structure, the walls. I would have you look upon that today as order. I would like to have you memorize this little statement of five words:
Order is heaven’s first law. – Counsels on Health, pg. 101
Can you picture a sanctuary without walls? There would be no building. A home without order is a contradiction. Do you know what order is? Order is a place for everything and everything in its place; a time for everything and everything on time. Is that the way they do things in Heaven?
Somebody says, “You’ve got me discouraged already.” Listen, the sanctuary wasn’t built in a day. Your sanctuary will not be perfected in a day. Those who were working on that building looked at the pattern every day. I am sure they did, because, when they got through, God moved in. And, as in the original creation, He saw everything and behold, it was very good. Now look at this from Adventist Home:
Every Christian home should have rules. – Adventist Home, pg. 16
Do you believe that? Do you like it? I tell you, if a cold wind is howling, I am glad for some walls. If there is a wolf outside, I am glad for some walls. If there is a thief prowling around, I am glad for some walls. Is there a cold wind blowing out in the selfish world today? Are there wolves prowling in this wicked generation? Are there thieves who would steal away the jewels of virtue and love and unity and loyalty?
Thank God, there is a Sanctuary! If we can get inside those golden walls, thank God we have a wonderful refuge. The Sanctuary in Heaven? Yes. The church, God’s sanctuary on earth? Yes. But in this class, I’m studying the sanctuary of the home. And, oh, what a sanctuary it is – a symbol of the home in Heaven.
As you think of these golden walls of the sanctuary, I want you to think of the rules of the home, the order of the home, the structure of the home, and the organization of the home. Do you think there is anything rigid about the walls? I hope so. After all, that’s what walls are for, isn’t it? We are living in a generation that has lost respect for law and order.
But Elijah is to come and restore all things. Does he bring us back to the law of God? Does he bring us back to the Sabbath? Does he bring us back to rules and order in the home? Yes. And to see this as the copy of the heavenly Temple, this is glory!
I know there are such things as laws and rules that are tyrannical. I know there are such things as dictators and dictatorships. I know there are families where force and iron discipline pervert and distort any image of God in Heaven. That isn’t what we are talking about. We are talking about the reality, the true, the genuine, the great original – the family of God in Heaven. Is there law there? Is there order? Did it even become the object of a rebellion?
Riots in the streets didn’t start with the 20th century. Rising up against the establishment is not original with this generation. It didn’t even start on earth; it started in Heaven, and right on this point of whether law is or is not essential. Oh, I thank God that Elijah has come to restore all things. Every Christian home should have rules.
But now listen: The sanctuary is more than a building; it is a dwelling place for God. And God is love (1 John 4:8), and God is light (1 John 1:5). When you look at the sanctuary on earth, do you see light there? Do you see light in the holy place in the glowing candlesticks and in that heaven-kindled flame on the altar of incense? Do you see the holy light of the Shekinah above the mercy seat? Ah, friends, what would the Sanctuary be without God? Just some walls. And what is the order and structure of your home without the light of love? Just a structure. I thank God that the purpose of the building is that the light of the glory of God may be revealed. And the purpose of the rules and the structure – the organization – is that the light of the glory of the love of God may be revealed. Here is one of the most wonderful statements in inspiration:
True love is a high and holy principle, altogether different in character from that love which is awakened by impulse, and which suddenly dies when severely tested. It is by faithfulness to duty in the parental home that the youth are to prepare themselves for homes of their own. Let them here practice self-denial, and manifest kindness, courtesy, and Christian sympathy. Thus love will be kept warm in the heart. – Messages to Young People, pg. 466
Where is the place for me to get ready to head a Christian home? In the parental home. The place to learn to cook is in the kitchen. The place to learn to nurse is in the sanitarium or hospital. The place to learn to successfully carry a home is in a home. But, if I am interested in learning healthful cookery, I had better get in a healthful kitchen, not in a hamburger joint. And I thank God that everyone who wishes can learn this wonderful science of love – love within the structure of order and discipline.
The young are to prepare themselves for homes of their own by faithfulness to duty in the parental home. Notice how this is emphasized:
The highest duty that devolves upon youth is in their own homes, blessing father and mother, brothers and sisters, by affection and true interest. – Ibid., pg. 326
This whole page is wonderful. This is the highest duty for young people. Thank God. I want you to notice that the Christian home is not only a training ground for those who are going to establish homes of their own, it is the best training ground for missionaries:
Missionaries for the Master are best prepared for work abroad in the Christian household, where God is feared, where God is loved, where God is worshiped, where faithfulness has become second nature. – Adventist Home, pg. 35
Have you been blessed by today’s class? Please let us know in the comment box below!
Invite a friend and join us for Lesson 2!
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* This study has been adapted from classes taken by Elder W.D. Frazee.