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Then Shall the Sanctuary Be Cleansed - Donald K. Short

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iveted <strong>the</strong> attention of <strong>the</strong> Millerites, for "on that<br />

day shall <strong>the</strong> priest make an atonement for you, to<br />

cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your<br />

sins before <strong>the</strong> Lord" (Leviticus 16:30).<br />

The significance of this word sadaq can be seen<br />

in o<strong>the</strong>r translations. Here are five different<br />

renderings: RSV, "<strong>Then</strong> <strong>the</strong> sanctuary shall be<br />

restored to its rightful state;" Lu<strong>the</strong>r's German,<br />

"<strong>Then</strong> shall <strong>the</strong> sanctuary be consecrated again;"<br />

Hungarian, "<strong>Then</strong> shall <strong>the</strong> sanctuary come into its<br />

own again;" Septuagint, "<strong>Then</strong> shall <strong>the</strong> sanctuary<br />

be purified;" Moffatt, "<strong>Then</strong> shall <strong>the</strong> sanctuary be<br />

restored." Plainly <strong>the</strong>se renderings tell us that <strong>the</strong><br />

sanctuary had come into disrepute, was<br />

contaminated and needed to "be put right,"<br />

"consecrated again," and "to come into its own<br />

again." This can only mean "restored" to a<br />

condition that it had held at some previous time.<br />

By definition <strong>the</strong> sanctuary is a consecrated<br />

place and it was this that was to be rehabilitated as<br />

it was devoted to <strong>the</strong> keeping of sacred things. In<br />

this sense <strong>the</strong> Bible uses <strong>the</strong> word sanctuary<br />

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