One of the most common objections raised against the Adventist teaching of the Investigative Judgment and the Cleansing of the Heavenly Sanctuary is this: How can there be sin in heaven? Opponents argue that since God is holy and heaven is pure, it is impossible for sin to enter His presence. At first glance, this seems like a reasonable point. But what does the Bible really say? And what exactly do Adventists mean when we say our sins are “transferred” to the heavenly sanctuary?
The Earthly Sanctuary as a Type
Adventists understand that the earthly sanctuary was a type, or foreshadow, of the Heavenly Reality. Everything that took place in the tabernacle and later the temple pointed forward to Christ’s ministry in heaven.
For example, in Leviticus 16:18–19, describing the Day of Atonement, we read:
“Then shall he go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.”
Here we can see that the earthly sanctuary itself was polluted from the uncleanness of Israel's sins and therefore needed cleansing.
As Adventists, we understand that this cleansing from our uncleanness requires the Heavenly Sanctuary to require a similar type of cleansing:
“Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”
Hebrews 9:23 clarifies this even more:
“It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”
Clearly, both the type (earthly sanctuary) and the antitype (heavenly sanctuary) require cleansing — but from what?
Misunderstanding the Transfer of Sin
Our critics often imagine that when we say sin is “transferred” to the heavenly sanctuary, we mean that our literal sins — adultery, murder, idolatry, and every form of corruption — float around heaven like some foul cloud of filth. As a result, most Christians reject of our understanding of the sanctuary.
But this is a misunderstanding of what Adventists actually teach. Ellen White clarified it this way:
“The cleansing was not a removal of physical impurities, for it was to be accomplished with blood, and therefore must be a cleansing from sin.” (Great Controversy, p. 417).
Ellen White wanted to ensure that we understood that sin doesn't exist in heaven as a form of physical impurity. In other words, the issue is not literal dirt or physical filth. What is transferred is not the substance of sin, but the record of sin.
"In the great day of final award, the dead are to be “judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” Revelation 20:12. Then by virtue of the atoning blood of Christ, the sins of all the truly penitent will be blotted from the books of heaven. Thus the sanctuary will be freed, or cleansed, from the record of sin." (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 357)
And as the typical cleansing of the earthly was accomplished by the removal of the sins by which it had been polluted, so the actual cleansing of the heavenly is to be accomplished by the removal, or blotting out, of the sins which are there recorded. (Great Controversy 1888 , p. 421)
When we confess our sins, Christ’s sacrifice covers us — but a record of those sins remains until the final judgment. It is this record that is ultimately blotted out during the cleansing of the sanctuary.
On the great Day of Atonement in the type, sins were symbolically removed from the sanctuary and placed upon the scapegoat. In the antitype, the same will occur: the sinful deeds of the redeemed will be fully removed and placed on the originator of sin.
Can Sin Exist in Heaven?
Even if we grant the critics’ point, the Bible itself shows that sin did, for a time, exist in heaven. Ezekiel 28:15 declares of Lucifer:
“Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”
Revelation 12:4 describes how he persuaded a third of the angels before being cast out. Job 1:6 even shows Satan appearing before God after his rebellion. Clearly, in a certain sense, sin can enter God’s presence — though never permanently and never without consequence.
If iniquity could be found in Lucifer in heaven, and if Satan himself once stood in God’s presence, then the objection collapses.
Christ as Our Example
Consider Christ Himself. Was He holy? Yes. Luke 1:35 declares Him “the holy Son of God.” Yet Isaiah 53:6 says, “The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
If the sins of the world could rest upon Jesus without defiling His divine holiness, then the record of sin can certainly rest within the heavenly sanctuary without corrupting its holiness.
Why This Matters Now
We are living in the time of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary — the time of investigative judgment. Every case is being examined; every record is either covered by the blood of Christ or left to bear its own weight.
This is no time for casual religion. As the Bible warns us, God is separating the wheat from the tares. Our duty is to draw closer to Christ, strengthen our families, and devote ourselves to prayer, fasting, and Bible study.
When Christ finishes His work in the sanctuary, there will be no second chances. The records will be blotted out, and the eternal destiny of each soul will be fixed.
