Christ in His Sanctuary : The Reality of the Heavenly Sanctuary Affirmed

Repeatedly we find in the Ellen G. White writings statements on the reality of the heavenly sanctuary, its furnishings, and its ministry. One such was penned in the 1880's as she described the experience of the Advent believers following the disappointment:

“In their investigation they learned, that the earthly sanctuary, built by Moses at the command of God, according to the pattern shown him in the mount, was ‘a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices;’ that its two holy places were ‘patterns of things in the heavens;’ that Christ, our great High Priest, is ‘a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.’...

“The sanctuary in heaven, in which Jesus ministers in our behalf, is the great original, of which the sanctuary built by Moses was a copy....

“The matchless splendor of the earthly tabernacle reflected to human vision the glories of that heavenly temple where Christ our forerunner ministers for us before the throne of God.
“As the sanctuary on earth had two apartments, the holy and the most holy, so there are two holy places in the sanctuary in heaven. And the ark containing the law of God, the altar of incense, and other instruments of service found in the sanctuary below, have also their counterpart in the sanctuary above. In holy vision the apostle John was permitted to enter heaven, and he there beheld the candlestick and the altar of incense, and as ‘the temple of God was opened,’ he beheld also ‘the ark of His testament.’ [Revelation 4:5; 8:3; 11:19.]

“Those who were seeking for the truth found indisputable proof of the existence of a sanctuary in heaven. Moses made the earthly sanctuary after a pattern which was shown him. Paul declares that that pattern was the true sanctuary which is in heaven. John testifies that he saw it in heaven.”—Spirit of Prophecy, 4:260, 261.

Earlier she had written with emphasis on the furniture:

“I was also shown a sanctuary upon the earth containing two apartments. It resembled the one in heaven, and I was told that it was a figure of the heavenly. The furniture of the first apartment of the earthly sanctuary was like that in the first apartment of the heavenly. The veil was lifted, and I looked into the holy of holies, and saw that the furniture was the same as in the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary.”—Early Writings, 252, 253.