We realize that the sanctuary is God's gift to
humanity because not only is it all about Jesus,
but it's all about salvation, how we are saved,
in what ways. And it's the seventh -day Adventist
gift to the Christian world. We're not bragging
when we say we've studied it more than other
denominations because it's just true, because
of our theology and our history. Everything,
you know, we are scholars of the scripture. We
base our complete faith on the Bible. All of
our 28 fundamental beliefs are based directly
on the scriptures. And so we thank the Lord that
he's given us this incredible visual aid to teach
us about Jesus and his salvation. So as it says
on the screen, it's... The sanctuary is God's
battle plan on how to deal with sin. And it's
from the beginning to the end. It's amazing how
complete it is. It's the whole plan of salvation
in symbols. Of course, there's the altar of burnt
sacrifice. You notice on the north side, you
see two people. That's where the lambs were sacrificed.
The lamb died there. and then was sacrificed
on the altar of burnt sacrifices. So we looked
at the views of the sanctuary, the salvation
experience, Jesus' experience, and then the second
coming experience. And it's all right there in
the sanctuary and the festivals. So the Bible
says that we have such a high priest who is set
at the right hand of the throne of the majesty
in the heavens. We know that there's a sanctuary
in heaven. And the one here on earth was just
a little tiny model and miniature of the glorious
sanctuary that's in heaven. It's the throne of
God. And the Bible says, thy way, O God, is in
the sanctuary. Who is so great a God as our God?
Isn't that true? And that's what we want to talk
about, God's way in the sanctuary. And so Jesus
has created an incredible world for us, don't
you think? I mean, when you look around at the
world, in spite of the 6 ,000 years of sin, it's
still beautiful. There's still incredible beauty
in nature. And God gave us this beauty to praise
him, to learn about other things. You know, nature
teaches us about God as well. Not as accurate
as the Bible, but there's still lessons to be
learned in nature. But what if we couldn't see
the beautiful colors of nature? What if God had
created us with a black and white world? You
know, he could have, right? Just like I tell
people, you know, God could have given us motor
oil to eat for energy. He could have given us
anything to eat, and it would have been a chore.
I've got to stay alive, so I've got to stuff
this junk down my... Instead, what did he do?
He gave us incredible things to eat, strawberries
and blueberries. raspberries, and everything
under the sun that you can eat. And it's all
what? Delicious. God is such a wonderful God.
He loves us so much. He's given us so many wonderful
things. So he's given us the colors of the rainbow,
and our eyes are incredibly made, just incredible.
Talk about something that totally defies evolution,
the human eye, or other animals' eyes, for that
matter. However, there's one little problem.
Sin has come into our world, and we don't see
as well as we used to. And some of us are colorblind.
So we're going to talk about the colors of the
Bible, so we have to have a little test and see
what numbers that you see here. And if you don't
see them all, then you might just be a little
colorblind. So just a little test to start a
service. So you can see all these numbers. If
you didn't see one, if it was just like nothing
there, then, you know, you have to go to your
optician, I guess. So did you see all the numbers?
Yeah? Okay, good. Great. So we're going to talk
about the colors of the Bible. There are five
colors. In the sanctuary service. Five, specifically.
No more, no less. Or if you call bronze a color,
I guess you could make that one more. But here
are the colors. White, red, blue, purple, and
gold. Gold is yellow, actually. And that's what
they call it in the jewelry business. It's yellow
gold. Because gold can be... Different shades.
But it's yellow in its essence. And God has given
us an incredible world that reflects all these
colors. Imagine a sunset has all the colors of
the sanctuary. All the colors are there. It's
amazing. So we'll talk about that maybe a little
later if we have time. But does the Bible use
color? As a symbol for anything? Does it really
use an abstract word? Colors is an abstract idea,
right? Does it use abstract ideas to symbolize
something in God's kingdom? And of course the
answer is obvious. Come now and let us reason
together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be
as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though
they be red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
Did you notice something? He uses three different
words for red and three different things for
white. I think he's saying this is important
stuff. Take note. You know, your sins, like red,
they're just staining you all over. But guess
what? I can help you clean yourself of sin. And
you can be as white as snow. So it's God's promise
to us. So red represents sin. It's extremely
obvious. But it also, well, let me tell you what
scientists talk about the word, or the color
red. It's the most dominant color. It's filled
with energy. It accelerates growth, raises the
blood pressure, raises the pulse rate, helps
direction. attention, direct attention outward,
and it's a stimulant. Those are the attributes
of the color red. Red is exciting. Don't let
anybody fool you. Sin is exciting too, isn't
it? God wants us to wean our way away from the
excitement of sin. So red also represents the
cure for sin. Jesus' blood on Calvary. He died
for you and me that we can have life eternal.
And he shall sprinkle, this is from the sanctuary
in Leviticus, and he shall sprinkle the blood,
the blood of the animal, upon it, or the horns
of the altar, with his finger seven times and
cleanse it and hollow it from the uncleanness
of the children of Israel. So there was a lot
of blood in the sanctuary. I'm glad I'm living
in New Testament times. I don't know. I'm sure
I would have handled it because I would have
been raised that way. You know, you get used
to it. But there was a lot of sacrificing, a
lot of killing of animals. And some people could
call it cruel. But guess what was cruel? Killing
the creator of the universe on the cross. That
was cruel. As a matter of fact, that's the cruelest
thing that the universe could ever even think
about. Think about that. The creator, the giver
of life, dying. It's an incredible thought. We
will study that throughout eternity. That's how
deep it is. Amazing. wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement
of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes
we are healed. So Jesus wants to heal us. You
know, there's a curious sacrifice in the Old
Testament, and it was the red heifer sacrifice.
Red heifer sacrifice. The Bible says, And the
priest shall take cedar wood. What color is cedar?
Red. And hyssop. Purge me with hyssop and I shall
be clean. Hyssop is a cleansing agent. Literally.
It's not just a symbolic. Hyssop was an actual
cleansing agent, like soap. And scarlet. And
cast it into the midst of the burning of the
heifer. How do we... What do we say about fire?
We usually think of it as red. Fire trucks most
of the time are red. And then there's the heifer.
So all these things represent cleansing. We're
going to cleanse. That's what Jesus wants to
do is get rid of sin from his human beings. So
the red heifer was sacrificed outside the camp.
He was sacrificed seven times in Jewish history.
That's through the Jewish history. They tell
us about it. It's not necessarily in the Bible.
But it was sacrificed with hyssop, cleansing
agent, fire, cleansing agent, sacrificed with
cedar wood, red, and scarlet cloth. And then
it was red itself. So why was the heifer red?
All of these red things, all of this put together,
unique sacrifice. And by the way, the Zionists
that believe that the Jews are going to rebuild
the temple have made sure that they have a red
heifer already in Israel. So anyway, but the
Bible tells us why the heifer was red. For he,
God, hath made him, Jesus, to be sin for us,
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. He became sin itself. Wow, another
mind -boggling idea. The pure Son of God becoming
sin and receiving the punishment of sin for us.
Again. Come now and let us reason together, saith
the Lord. He is a reasonable God. And one of
the reasons I love the Adventist church is because
it's a reasonable religion. It takes its theology
directly from the Bible and says, let's reason
this thing out. What's truth? It takes the whole
Bible, not just a few passages here and there.
So come now and let us reason together, saith
the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow. So it's obvious what
white represents. He that overcometh, the same
shall be clothed in white raiment. It is the
righteousness of Christ. He is our salvation.
He is our righteousness. We have none of our
own. We can depend on his. And it's done. It's
settled. Every person on earth is saved. You
have to receive it to get it. But Jesus died
for everyone, didn't he? And if only people would
know that. That's why the message is so important.
To go tell it to the world. You're saved in Christ
Jesus. Red is a warm color. Blue is a cold color.
Now, blue, red and white are obvious. They're
very, very clear. Blue, we have to look at a
few more passages to see what blue is. But let's
talk about blue. Blue is a restful and a sedateful
color. It lowers blood pressure and lowers pulse
rate. So it has a calming effect. Have you ever
wondered why the sky is blue? Here's a theological
reason. Because God says, look, I know that in
the last days especially, you guys are going
to be totally stressed out. So you have living
in a world that's going to try to calm you. Green,
by the way, is another restful color. So, you
know, no wonder God says, go out in nature. Relax.
Life doesn't have to be so stressful. So who
prefers blue and green and avoids red? Those
who keep their emotions in check. So blue stimulation
was associated with increased relaxation, less
anxiety, and less hostility, while stimulation
with red definitely increased tension and excitement.
During red stimulation, manifest levels of anxiety
significantly correlated with increased psychological
activation and subjective disturbance, while
the converse was true with blue stimulation.
Interesting. Now, there's an artificial light,
but we don't have time for that. So we'll go
on and talk about the Bible. So, moreover, thou
shalt make the tabernacle. of fine twine linen,
and blue, and purple, and scarlet with cherubims.
So we have those three colors. They were all
over. They were in the covering above. It was
in the priest's garments. It was in the curtains
that separated the compartments. And all of that.
So the Bible says, Speak unto the children of
Israel. and bid them that they make them fringes
on the borders of their garments throughout their
generations, and that they put upon the fringe
of the borders a ribbon of blue. Ah, now we're
getting somewhere. And what was that supposed
to tell us, remind us? And it shall be unto you
for a fringe, and remember all the commandments
of the Lord, and do them. So blue represents...
the commandments of God. Jewish tradition tells
us that the original Ten Commandments that were
written by God's hand were written on a sapphire
stone. It was a blue stone, the commandments.
Interesting. And here's another passage in Exodus.
And they saw the God of Israel, and there was
under his feet, as it were, a paved work of...
sapphire stone and as it were the body of heaven
in his clearness. So interesting to juxtapose
the sapphire and all it was clear as heaven.
It's amazing. So and on the breastplate of the
high priest there were 12 stones and of course
one of them was the sapphire stone. Then I looked
and behold again in Ezekiel in the firmament
Firmament sounds like it should be the earth
because it's firm, but it means heaven. In the
firmament that was above the head of the cherubims,
there appeared over them as it were a sapphire
stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a
throne. Now that, now we're getting somewhere.
The Ten Commandments, we're told, are the foundation
of God's government. So he sits on a throne,
a sapphire stone. It's his throne. It's because
it represents the Ten Commandments. So blue represents
the Ten Commandments. Great peace have they that
love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.
So we're, you know, blue is an incredible color.
So, radical sin. Red is the blood of Jesus, our
grace that saves us. We're saved by grace only,
not of works, lest any man shall boast. White
is the purity, the sinlessness that Jesus gives
us. We don't deserve, but he gives it to us.
And the blue is the Ten Commandments of the law
of God, which Jesus said. In the last days, here
are the patience of the saints, and here are
those who keep the commandments of God. So it's
pretty clear. Purple is neutral biologically.
It's very aesthetic. It's a combination of red
and blue, and it's a royal color. Then came Jesus
forth wearing the crown of thorns. They crowned
him in mockery as the king of the Jews, making
him bleed from his head. And they put upon him
a purple robe, mocking again as the king of the
Jews. Again, we'll study his death on the cross
throughout eternity. That's how important it
is. It is the center of time and space. It's
such an important event. We can't even begin
to emphasize its importance. So red is that warm
color. Blue is the cold color. Jesus puts them
together in his body. He is the embodiment, and
his purple represents Jesus. So we're supposed
to spend a thoughtful hour each day contemplating
Jesus and his great love for us. So we're told
that grace and the law kissed at the cross. Isn't
that true? Jesus kept the law perfectly, and
yet he died the death of a sinner to give us
grace so that we could be saved. Without that,
we'd all be lost. And again, come now and let
us reason together. The invitation goes out very,
very clearly. Believe in Jesus and you will be
saved. So I love the color wheel. I was an art
major in college, actually. Later on, I went
back to the seminary, got another degree, but
I have a degree in art. And the color wheel is
amazing. But I want to tell you something that
you may not know. The color wheel was not devised
by human beings. God created the color wheel.
You see, when you spin a color wheel, what happens?
All the colors merge, and you see white. White
light is composed of all the colors of the rainbow.
And so there's a really interesting thing that
happens in the human eye. It's called complementary
color. In the color wheel, you notice red is
opposite of what color? Green. What is blue opposite
of? Orange. What is purple opposite? Yellow.
We're going to come back to that. But first I
want to prove to you what I'm talking about.
Your eye, God created. I want you to look at
that flag. Look at the dot in the middle. And
I'm going to time you. We have time for this.
I know I'm running out of time, but we have time
for this. So I'm going to time you a minute.
while you look at that black dot in the middle
of the flag. And my watch keeps turning itself
off. So just keep looking. And what's going to
happen is your eye will automatically call up
the complementary colors of those colors. See,
we have green and orange. And so in another 30
seconds, I'm going to move to a blank screen
and keep looking at the screen. And sometimes
some people don't see this, but most do. So it's
almost, I think it's time enough, 45 seconds.
Let's try this. What do you see? You see a red,
white, and blue flag? If you didn't, let's try
this one. Look at her nose. Keep your eye, the
more you can keep your eye still on her nose,
I know it's a little difficult, the better it
is. Now, you notice what this looks like. It
almost looks like a black and white photo, a
negative. It is a negative, but it's not black
and white. Because in another 30 seconds, when
I switch this, you're going to see the miracle
that God put in your eye. God put a miracle in
your eye that when you see one color, your eye
automatically calls up its complement. And that
is an incredible theological implication. So
again, I think 50 seconds is good enough. Yeah.
For some reason, we see it better with a female
than the flag. Not sure why that is. Okay, so
the color wheel is made by God. And theologically,
guess what's happened? Modern religion has moved
one color. When you spin the spinning wheel without
blue, you don't get sanctification. You don't
get white. Now notice, I haven't told you what
yellow is yet, or gold, because I wanted to wait
till now. Guess what happens when you, remember,
purple is Jesus' color. When we have that thoughtful
hour of contemplating the life of Jesus every
day, something happens in our soul. Gold is faith
and love. And so when you see Jesus, faith and
love automatically spring up in the heart. There's
no way you can create love in your heart. Did
you manufacture love for your spouse? Or was
it just for some reason it was just there, right?
That's the same way with God. When we look at
Jesus, love springs up in our hearts. Our task
is to keep our eye fixed on the Savior so that
we have this faith and love springing up into
our soul. That's what God wants. It's a natural
reaction to studying the life of Jesus is to
have faith in God and love. So one of these days,
God's going to come and take us home. And it
is by beholding that we become like Jesus. When
we go to heaven, we will be like Jesus. We will
have love, faith, joy, all the attributes that
God wants for us because we have kept our eyes
fixed on the Savior. So white is sanctification,
and we are going to be sanctified when we get
to heaven. God does the miracle in our hearts.
There isn't anything we can do to conjure up
faith and love. It's by beholding Jesus that
it happens. So Jesus says, I am the light of
the world. Isn't that perfect? I'm the light
of the world. and his raiment became shining
exceedingly white as snow, so as no further on
earth can white them. That was when the disciples
were up on the mountain with Jesus. And here
he was, his raiment was glowing. So balance is
another word in the Christian faith. The balance
of keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus and not letting...
Other little things distract us, which that's
what Satan does all the time, try to distract
us. So in every truth, there's a counterfeit,
except for obedience. There's no counterfeit
for obedience. There's a counterfeit for love.
You can imagine the words I might say for the
counterfeit of love. There's a counterfeit of
all kinds of things. But there's no counterfeit
or substitute for obedience. God is going to
come back and take us to heaven with him. The
heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament
shows his handiwork. And now with our telescopes,
we have incredible pictures of the heavens. And
look what's there. All the colors of the sanctuary.
Incredible. Happens to be Orion. The heavens
declare the glory of God. Day unto day utter
a speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.
Their line is gone out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world. In them
hath he set a tabernacle for the sun. Isn't that
interesting? Tabernacle for the sun. Next time
you see a beautiful sunrise or sunset, you'll
know that God is painting a beautiful picture
of himself in the sky to remind you of who you
are and where you're going. Let us pray. Father
in heaven, we thank you so much for Jesus. His
incredible world that we are living in. Lord,
help us to praise him often during the day. Help
us to think and talk of Jesus and let self be
lost in him. And we pray that you'll bless us
with your presence. In Jesus' name, amen.