© 2015 W. D. Frazee Sermons PO Box 129, Wildwood, GA, 30757, USA 1800-WDF-1840 / 706-820-9755 www.WDFSermons.org www.WildwoodHealth.org Published in the USA December, 2015 ISBN: 978-1-944501-03-7 RANSOM & REUNION THROUGH THE SANCTUARY W.D. FRAZEE 4 | Ransom and Reunion W. D. FRAZEE (1906-1996) CONTENTS Foreword 7 1. What Are You Worth? 9 2. Solving the Great Problem 13 3. The Lamb that Dies 17 4. The Priest that Lives 23 5. The Day of Atonement 27 6. The Cure for Sin 33 7. Wounded Afresh 37 8. When Can the Sanctuary Close? 43 9. When It’s Easy to Do Right 47 10. The Way to the Holiest 51 11. “Let Us Draw Near” 57 12. “Blow the Trumpet in Zion” 63 13. The Blood of Sprinkling 67 14. Why Three Places? 73 15. All to Help Us 77 16. The Two Temples 83 17. The Kingdom, the Spirit, and the Sanctuary 89 18. “An Anchor … Sure” 95 19. The Great Disappointment 101 20. Reunion Forever 107 6 | Ransom and Reunion FOREWORD oday we as God’s people need to devote more thoughtful, prayerful attention to the work being carried on in our behalf in the heavenly sanctuary.T We are living in the antitypical Day of Atonement, and God expects much of those who compose His remnant church. “While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of peni- tent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people upon earth” (The Great Controversy, p. 425). Here, a special “work of purification,” a special work “of putting away of sin,” is brought vividly to our attention in these inspired words. “In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found” (Jeremiah 50:20). “He that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy” (Isaiah 4:3). God’s last-generation people are to reveal the character of Jesus to the world. They will overcome as He overcame. They will be victorious living representatives of the Master. The enabling power to live this life, to achieve this character, comes from Jesus. Only through His imputed and imparted righteousness can we prevail. The sanctuary service has many lessons for us as we prepare to meet our soon-coming Lord. Elder Frazee treats these beautifully. After hear- ing his series, I encouraged him to put the material in book form so that more might be blessed. Ransom and Reunion Through the Sanctuary is his response to my request. I feel sure that you will be richly rewarded as you study its contents thoughtfully and prayerfully. May the Lord bless you as you spend many precious hours exploring God’s sanctuaries in the pages of this book. Robert H. Pierson, President 1966-1978 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists 8 | Ransom and Reunion THE BRIDEGROOM TARRIES Written for the 100th anniversary of October 22, 1844 Through fivescore years our great High Priest has waited With earnest longing for the final day— The day when sprinkled on the Seat of Mercy His blood shall wash His people’s sins away. “This generation” wanes and nears its passing. The thickening signs fill earth and sea and sky. Yet still the Bridegroom tarries, while His message A century re-echoes, “He is nigh.” With earnest expectation of redemption The whole creation groaneth, filled with pain. A universe awaits the final cleansing, The blotting out of every guilty stain. What means this long delay—this lengthened night watch With moon and stars arrested in their course? The very God of ages forced to tarry! This awful disappointment—whence its source? O shame, my heart! ‘tis thou hast kept Him waiting, ‘Tis thine own hand hath stayed the clock of God! Thy feet in selfish paths have learned to wander As thou hast spurned the teaching of His rod. In mercy He has sought to turn thee homeward; The thorns that pressed His head have pierced thy feet. O shame, my heart, that thou dost weep and question The providence that calls from doom complete! Wilt thou not raise thine eyes and see Him standing With hands uplifted at the Mercy Seat? Wilt thou not yield thyself for final cleansing, And let Him make His work in thee complete? A universe has marked thy sinful lingerings; A universe is waiting for thy word: “With sorrow and with joy I choose completely The finished work of Christ, my blessed Lord.” —W.D. Frazee 1. WHAT ARE YOU WORTH? udge, have you ever thought about what you mean to God?” I directed my question to a friend who had served as county judge for many “Jyears and whose wife had recently died. Our conversation had turned to the promises of the Bible and the message of comfort they bring. “Recently in Venezuela,” I continued, “a father paid $900,000 to ransom his 13-year- old boy who had been kidnapped. Was he worth it?” “Sure,” my friend assented, “he was worth it to his father.” “Yes,” I agreed. “Now, Judge, tell me, has anyone ever paid a ransom for you? He nodded. He knew about the sacrifice of Calvary. “Judge, are you worth it?” He bowed his head. “No, Mr. Frazee, I’m afraid I’m not.” “Wait,” I urged. “Does God know values? Does the One who made you know your worth? If He says you are worth what He paid for you, would you dispute it? After all, if you are not worth that much, then He cheated Himself, didn’t He? Thank God, Judge, you are worth the ransom.” What makes a man valuable to God? Suppose, when that father was looking everywhere for his kidnapped boy, someone had approached him with this offer: “Sir, I hear that you are looking for your boy and will pay $900,000 for his ransom.” “Yes, indeed! Can you help me find him?” “Well, I think I can get you a boy who will cost you only a thousand dollars. It will save you a lot of money.” Would the father have shown interest? Not at all! He was not look- ing for a boy. He was looking for the boy, his own boy. Why did God pay such an infinite ransom for man? To understand we must recognize God’s purpose in creating him. God made man for 10 | Ransom and Reunion fellowship with Himself. Concerning Israel of old, God said, “This people have I formed for myself ” (Isaiah 43:21). Yes, “the Lord taketh pleasure in his people” (Psalm 149:4). Each one is different, a new individual. Did you ever see anyone like you? Sometimes when I ask this question, someone retorts, “No, and it’s a good thing!” Yes, it is a good thing. If you could find your duplicate, your value would drop at least 50 percent. But there is no danger. You are unique. God “needed” only one like you. But He “needed” that one. “We were brought into existence because we were needed” (Signs of the Times, April 22, 1903). One of the greatest needs in the human heart is to feel needed. To fill the need of one we love, to know that that one fills our need—this constitutes the basis of true fellowship. The husband and wife who have such an experience together enjoy a foretaste of heaven. When parents and children share this communion, there is no generation gap. The satis- factions of true friendship are possible because of mutual need and mutual fulfillment of need. And through all these human relationships God seeks to reveal Himself to us. He longs to have us understand not only what He means to us but what we mean to Him. Many biblical heroes gladdened their Creator by enjoying an intimate fellowship with Him. Enoch walked with God three hundred years. He meant so much to the Lord that He said, “Come home with Me, Enoch, and we will keep on walking together all through eternity.” “Before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5). Enoch made God happy. He met the heart need of the Infinite One, and there are Enochs today (Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 332). Think of Abraham. While the Scriptures record his mistakes and failures, it also states that “he was called the Friend of God” (James 2:23). Who called him that? The Lord Himself. He speaks of him as “Abraham my friend” (Isaiah 41:8). Notice in the story of Genesis 18 the fellowship God enjoyed with His friend. Hear His expression of confidence: “I know him” (Genesis 18:19). Hear Him counseling with Abraham over the fate of Sodom. Listen as Abraham talks with God reverently, yet confidently, suggesting what he thinks would accord with divine justice and mercy. 1. What Are You Worth? | 11 Then consider Moses. “The Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend” (Exodus 33:11). This intimacy, developed during Moses’ years of solitude as a shepherd in Midian, continued unbro- ken (save for that moment of impatience at Kadesh) throughout his forty years as visible leader of Israel. Behold Moses in the mount, shut in with God in closest communion. Here the Lord reveals to him the plans for a sanctuary on earth, a miniature model of the heavenly temple.