TomNicholas.org

(Washed for the Witness — Day 2)

Scripture:

“For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” — Daniel 8:14
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” — 1 John 1:9

🌾 Story Prelude — The Broken Clock

Eli loved fixing things—especially the old, forgotten ones. Radios with missing knobs, rusty bike chains, and toy trains that hadn’t run in years. “Everything broken can be made to work again,” he liked to say.

One afternoon, while visiting his grandfather, Eli noticed a small brass pocket watch lying silent on a bookshelf. The glass was cracked, the hands frozen at three o’clock.

“Grandpa, what happened to your watch?” he asked.

Grandpa smiled. “It’s been stopped for years. I used to carry it everywhere, but one day it just quit ticking. Maybe you can bring it back to life.”

Eli’s eyes brightened. “I’ll try!”

He set to work with the careful hands of a boy on a mission. He polished the case until it gleamed. He rubbed the glass clear. He even wound the key gently until he felt resistance. But the hands didn’t move.

He frowned. “I don’t get it. It looks perfect.”

Grandpa took the watch, turned it over, and slowly opened the back. Inside, the gears were dusty and dark with old oil. Years of grime had built up where no one could see.

“See here, Eli,” Grandpa said. “You cleaned what everyone could see—but the trouble was deeper. What stops the clock isn’t always on the surface.”

He took a small brush and carefully swept away the dust, drop by drop, gear by gear. Finally, with a soft click, the mechanism caught, and the ticking began again.

Eli’s eyes widened. “It works!”

Grandpa smiled and placed the watch in Eli’s hands. “That’s how God works too. He doesn’t fix us by polishing what’s outside. He cleans the inside—where no one else can reach. That’s what judgment is. It’s God opening the heart and brushing away what clogs the soul, so time—and faith—can run right again.”

Eli turned the ticking watch over in his hand. For the first time, he understood: sometimes God has to open us up before He can make us whole.

🌉 Bridge to the Lesson

That’s what Daniel saw when he was shown the cleansing of the sanctuary.
It wasn’t a scene of destruction—it was the divine equivalent of opening the back of the world’s broken clock. What humanity had polished on the outside—religion, ceremony, power—was clogged on the inside with pride and falsehood.

The cleansing was God’s promise that He would not leave His creation broken.
Judgment, in the biblical sense, isn’t about throwing away the old—it’s about restoring what was meant to run by the rhythm of heaven.

✨ The God Who Judges to Save

Daniel 7 had shown us why judgment was needed—because power had replaced purity.
In Daniel 8, God shows how He will heal what’s been broken. The prophet sees the rise and fall of kingdoms—Medo-Persia, Greece—and then a “little horn” that magnifies itself “even to the Prince of the host.” Truth is cast down, the sanctuary profaned, and God’s character misrepresented.

Then comes the question that echoes through time:

“How long will the vision be… to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?” (Daniel 8:13).

The cry is not only Daniel’s—it is the cry of the faithful in every age: How long will truth be distorted? How long will the name of God be misused? How long until grace is seen for what it truly is?

Heaven’s answer comes gently but firmly:

“For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” (Daniel 8:14).

Judgment as Restoration, Not Condemnation

We often think of judgment as God looking for fault.
But in Scripture, judgment is God’s work to make things right.
It is restorative before it is retributive. It’s not about catching sinners—it’s about clearing away everything that clouds His truth.

In Israel’s sanctuary service, the Day of Atonement was the most solemn day of the year, but it was also the most hopeful. It was not a day of fear but of freedom—the day when sin’s record was symbolically removed, when hearts were humbled and forgiven, when the people stood clean before God.

That day was a shadow of something greater. It pointed to Christ’s work in the heavenly sanctuary—the true tabernacle, not built by hands—where mercy and justice meet perfectly.

The Cross Finished the Sacrifice, Not the Ministry

When Jesus cried, “It is finished,” on the cross, He declared that the offering of salvation’s price was complete. The ransom was paid, the sacrifice accomplished, the power of sin broken.

But in God’s pattern, the death of the lamb was only the beginning.
After the sacrifice, the priest still had a work to do: carrying the blood into the sanctuary, applying its merits, and reconciling the people fully to God.

So it is with Christ.
The cross finished the sacrifice, but not the ministry.
After His resurrection, Jesus ascended to serve as our High Priest in heaven’s sanctuary. There He presents His own blood—not to persuade the Father to love us, but to apply the victory of Calvary to each heart that believes (Hebrews 9:11–12).

This is the truth Daniel 8:14 reveals: God’s plan didn’t end at the cross; it continues in heaven. The same Christ who died for us now lives for us, cleansing the record of sin, vindicating His people, and restoring the universe to harmony with His law of love.

Far from diminishing the cross, this magnifies it. The blood shed once for all is now ministered once for each. The sacrifice finished the payment; the ministry finishes the purpose.

Judgment as the Final Phase of Grace

This cleansing—the judgment—marks the final phase of God’s redemptive plan.
It’s not a different gospel, but the gospel’s completion. Forgiveness is only the first half of grace; cleansing is the other.

When God judges, He isn’t searching for reasons to condemn but for opportunities to demonstrate that His mercy has transformed hearts. The record of sin is reviewed not to expose, but to erase.

In the judgment, heaven declares before the universe that Christ’s sacrifice has succeeded—that sinners once lost are now safely, eternally His.

The Hour of His Judgment Has Come

Revelation picks up Daniel’s message and proclaims it to the world:

“Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth.” (Revelation 14:7).

That’s not a threat. It’s a call to worship.
It’s the moment when the world is invited to come home—to the Creator, to the Redeemer, to the rhythm of grace that was always meant to govern life.

The judgment is not the end of the gospel; it is the gospel reaching its full expression.
It’s the moment when Christ’s ministry above and the Spirit’s ministry within unite to cleanse both heaven and earth.

A Gospel of Restoration

The story of redemption began in a garden, passed through a cross, and now unfolds in a sanctuary.
Each phase of God’s plan reveals a deeper truth about His character:

• In the garden, God pursued us.
• On the cross, He redeemed us.
• In the sanctuary, He restores us.

Justice and mercy, once thought to be opposites, are revealed as inseparable friends. The Judge is the Savior. The verdict is grace. And the outcome is restoration.

Living in the Judgment Hour

We live in the most sacred time in human history—the time of cleansing, of decision, of preparation.
Christ’s ministry in heaven is not abstract theology—it’s the living reality that defines our moment.

To live in the judgment hour is to live intentionally:
to cooperate with heaven’s work, to allow the Spirit to purify the heart, to live humbly and faithfully in the light of a God who is finishing what He began.

And for those who trust Him, judgment is not something to fear but something to celebrate. It means that sin’s clock is winding down, that Christ’s victory is nearing completion, and that soon, time itself will give way to eternity.

Like Eli’s clock, the world’s gears have been jammed by sin for far too long. But the heavenly High Priest is brushing away the dust of rebellion, polishing the truth, and setting the heartbeat of creation back in rhythm with His.

Reflection Thought

Judgment is not God searching for reasons to condemn; it is God proving that His grace has been enough all along.
The cross began the work of redemption, and the judgment completes it—cleansing heaven, earth, and the human heart.

✅ For Further Study:

• Daniel 8:9–14 — The sanctuary defiled and cleansed
• Leviticus 16 — The Day of Atonement pattern
• Hebrews 9–10 — Christ’s high-priestly ministry
• Revelation 14:6–7 — The first angel’s message
• 1 John 2:1–2 — Christ our Advocate