December 27 - Christ before the Ancient of Days

"And I beheld in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before Him." (Daniel 7:13, KJV)   

After His ascension, our Savior commenced His work as our High Priest. Paul writes, "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us" (Hebrews 9:24, KJV).   

For eighteen centuries, this ministry continued in the first apartment of the sanctuary. The blood of Christ, offered in behalf of repentant believers, assured them of pardon and acceptance with the Father; yet their sins remained recorded in the books of heaven. As in the typical service there was a day of atonement at the end of the year, so, before the work of Christ for man's redemption is complete, there is also a day of atonement to cleanse the sanctuary. This is the service which began when the 2,300 days ended. At that time, as foretold by the prophet Daniel, our High Priest entered the most holy place to perform the last part of His solemn work—the cleansing of the sanctuary.

The coming of Christ to the most holy place as our High Priest to cleanse the sanctuary, referred to in Daniel 8:14; the coming of the Son of man to the Ancient of Days, as presented in Daniel 7:13; and the coming of the Lord to His temple, foretold by Malachi, are descriptions of the same event; and this is also represented by the coming of the bridegroom to the marriage, described by Christ in the parable of the ten virgins, in Matthew 25.   

The cleansing of the sanctuary involves an investigation—a judgment. This must take place before the coming of Christ to redeem His people, for when He comes, His reward is with Him to give every man according to his work (Revelation 22:12, KJV).   

In the final judgment, position, class, or wealth will not alter anyone's case in the slightest. By the all-seeing God, men will be judged according to what they are in purity, nobility, and love for Christ.