“The Place of God’s Presence: The Holy of Holies”
Hebrews 9:1-14: Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. 2 For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; 3 and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, 4 which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; 5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. 6 Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services. 7 But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance; 8 the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. 9 It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience-- 10 concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation. 11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
The Altar and the Veil
Last week we entered the Holy Place in the Tabernacle where the priests served daily in the presence of the Golden Candlesticks and the Table holding the bread of Presence, and we stopped in front of the Altar of Incense. The priests offered incense and prayers morning and evening on this Golden Altar of Incense as intercessors for the people of Israel. The Incense symbolizes the sweet aroma of continual prayer and praise being offered to God; Our prayers should also ascend to God as the aroma of sweet incense to our God. This altar stood directly against the veil or curtain which led into the Holy of Holies, also known as The Most Holy Place.
The altar of incense can also be seen as a picture of the intercession of Christ. Just as the altar of sacrifice in the courtyard was a type of Christ’s death on the cross on our behalf, the altar of incense in the Holy Place was a type of Christ’s mediation on our behalf—Christ’s work on earth and in heaven. The altar of incense was situated in the Holy Place just before the mercy-seat of the Ark on the other side of the veil—a picture of our Advocate’s standing in the presence of the Father (Hebrews 7:25; 9:24). The incense was to be burning continually on the altar of incense, which shows the perpetual nature of Christ as our Mediator and Intercessor. Christ’s intercession on our behalf is a sweet-smelling savor to God. What a magnificent picture for us today!
The thick curtain which separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place was known as the “veil” and was made of fine linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn. There were figures of cherubim (angels) embroidered on this curtain and gold cherubim on top of the Ark inside the Holy of Holies. We know from Isaiah 6 that cherubim were angels with three pairs of wings who stood in the very presence of God, serving Him and guarding His throne. These embroidered cherubim were reminders that God’s almighty power, presence and Holy majesty was on the other side of the veil in the Most Holy Place, or Holy of Holies, overshadowing the mercy seat of God on the Ark.
The word “veil” in Hebrew means a “screen, divider or separator that hides”. What was this curtain hiding? Essentially, it was shielding a holy God from sinful man. Whoever entered into the Holy of Holies was entering the very presence of God. In fact, if anyone except the high priest should enter the Holy of Holies they would surely die. Even the high priest, God’s chosen mediator for His people, could only pass through the veil and enter this sacred dwelling once a year, on a prescribed day called the Day of Atonement. No other person was ever permitted entrance. Certain death would be the consequence.
The veil stood as a barrier between man and God. Man cannot disregard the Divine Holiness of God. God’s eyes are too pure to look on evil and He can tolerate no sin (Habakkuk 1:13 tells us: “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness.”) The veil was a barricade and stark warning so that sinful man would not carelessly and irreverently enter into God’s awesome presence. Hebrews 9:7 explained this: “But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.”
The Most Holy Place/ The Holy of Holies
God’s special dwelling place during the Israelites’ wanderings in the wilderness was in this smaller inner room of the Tabernacle behind the thick veil. This 15 foot perfect cube was aptly called The Most Holy Place or The Holy of Holies. It was there that God’s very presence appeared as a pillar of cloud by day or fire by night, both in and above the Holy of Holies when God wanted His people to move. God’s presence was in the very middle of Israel’s encampment; each tribe had a specific place to camp with their tents facing the Tabernacle, so that whenever they looked toward the direction of the tabernacle, they would be reminded of God’s everlasting presence night and day. “God in the midst of them”, a symbolic picture of Heaven itself, God at the center of all.
The Day of Atonement
The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27-28), also known as Yom Kippur, was the only day of the year that the High Priest was permitted to enter the Holy of Holies. It occurred once a year on the tenth day of Tishri, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. On that day, the high priest performed elaborate rituals to atone for the sins of the people, described in Leviticus 16:1-34. Only Aaron and future high priests were to come into the Most Holy Place and only on this special day, lest he die (v. 2). This was to make the people understand that atonement for sin was to be done ONLY God’s way.
Before entering the tabernacle, Aaron was to bathe and put on special garments (v. 4), then sacrifice a bull for a sin offering for himself and his family (v. 6, 11). The blood of the bull was to be sprinkled on the top of ark of the covenant inside the Holy of Holies. Then Aaron was to bring two goats, one to be sacrificed on behalf of the sins of the Israelites, and its blood was sprinkled on the ark of the covenant. The other goat was used as a scapegoat. Aaron placed his hands on its head, confessed over it the rebellion and wickedness of the Israelites, and sent the goat out with an appointed man who released it into the wilderness (v. 21). The goat carried on itself all the sins of the people, hence the name “scapegoat”, and so the peoples sins were forgiven for another year (v. 30).
The symbolic significance of the ritual, particularly to Christians, is seen first in the washing and cleansing of the high priest, the man who released the goat, and the man who took the sacrificed animals outside the camp to burn the carcasses (v. 4, 24, 26, 28). Israelite washing ceremonies taught the need for sinful mankind to be cleansed of sin. But it wasn’t until Jesus came and made Himself the “once for all” sacrifice that the need for cleansing ceremonies ceased (Hebrews 7:27). The blood of bulls and goats could only atone for sins if the ritual was continually done year after year, but Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient once for all the sins of all who would ever believe in Him. When His sacrifice was made, He declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30). He then sat down at the right hand of God,(which is symbolic of His work behaving been completed) and no further sacrifice would ever be needed (Hebrews 10:1-12).
“The sufficiency and completeness of the sacrifice of Christ is also seen in the two goats. The blood of the first goat was sprinkled on the ark, ritually appeasing the wrath of God for another year. The second goat removed the sins of the people into the wilderness where they were forgotten and no longer clung to the people. Sin is both propitiated and expiated God’s way—only by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.
Propitiation is the act of appeasing the wrath of God, while expiation is the act of atoning for sin and removing it from the sinner. Both together are achieved eternally by Christ. When He sacrificed Himself on the cross, He appeased God’s wrath against sin, taking that wrath upon Himself: “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!” (Romans 5:9). The removal of sin by the second goat was a living parable of the promise that God would remove our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12) and that He would remember them no more (Hebrews 8:12; 10:17).
“The word atonement carries with it the idea of the just, holy, righteous side of God's nature being satisfied. God's law required death as the penalty for sin. When God saw the death of the innocent sacrifice, he was satisfied that the demands of his law had been carried out. Sacrificing an animal on an altar did not take away the sin. Man was still sinful. The sacrifice only pictured what was necessary for sin to be forgiven—death and shedding of blood. The blood provided an atonement or covering for sin.” (Source: The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus by John R. Cross, published by GoodSeed International) Jesus is our atonement.
The atonement cover (the top of the ark of the covenant, overshadowed by the cherubim, was God’s throne but also His Mercy Seat in the midst of the Israelites. God is on His throne today in heaven and Jesus, our high priest, is at His right side. When we come to God now, we approach a throne of grace.
So the presence of God remained shielded from man behind a thick curtain during the history of Israel. However, Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross changed that. When He died, the curtain in the Jerusalem temple was torn in half, from the top to the bottom. Only God could have carried out such an incredible feat because the veil was too high for human hands to have reached it, and too thick to have torn it. (The Jerusalem temple, a replica of the wilderness tabernacle, had a curtain that was about 60 feet in height, 30 feet in width and four inches thick.) Furthermore, it was torn from top down, meaning this act must have come from above.
As the veil was torn, the Holy of Holies was exposed. God’s presence was now accessible to all. Shocking as this may have been to the priests ministering in the temple that day, it is indeed good news to us as believers, because we know that Jesus’ death has atoned for our sins and made us right before God. The torn veil illustrated Jesus’ body broken for us, opening the way for us to come to God. As Jesus cried out “It is finished!” on the cross, He was indeed proclaiming that God’s redemptive plan was now complete. The age of animal offerings was over. The ultimate offering had been sacrificed.
We can now boldly enter into God’s presence, “the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.” (Hebrews 6:19-20)
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body…let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)
The Holy of Holies is a representation of heaven itself, God’s dwelling place, which we have access now through Christ. In Revelation, John’s vision of heaven — the New Jerusalem — also was a perfect square, just as the Holy of Holies was (Revelation 21:16).
“For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. …But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Hebrews 9:24-26) “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
I. Sin is both propitiated and expiated God’s way by Jesus alone.
A. Propitiation: the act of appeasing the wrath of God.
B. Expiation: the act of atoning for sin and removing it from the sinner.
