“A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” Heb. 8:2.
21. Of what was the blood of all the sacrifices of the former dispensation only a type?
“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Heb. 9:12. See Eph. 5:2.
Note.—Through the sacrifices and offerings brought to the altar of the earthly sanctuary, the penitent believer was to lay hold of the merits of Christ, the Saviour to come. In this way, and in this way only, was there any virtue connected with them.
22. At the death of Christ, what miraculous occurrence signified that the priestly work and services of the earthly sanctuary were finished?
“Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.” Matt. 27:50, 51.
Notes.—Type had met antitype; the shadow had reached the substance. Christ, the great sacrifice, had been slain, and was about to enter upon His final work as our great high priest in the sanctuary in heaven. [pg 243] The priestly work in the earthly sanctuary was typical of the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. In the earthly, the atonement was performed on the last day of the ceremonial year. All who did not then have their sins atoned for were “cut off,” and the camp was cleansed from sin. The atonement day was virtually a day of judgment for Israel, and the people whose sins had been atoned for were free from sin, and could enter upon the services of the new year clean in the sight of God. This work was kept up year after year. In the heavenly sanctuary, the sacrifice is offered but once; and but one atonement, or cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, can be made, which must take place at the time assigned of God for it. And when the great atonement, or cleansing, of the heavenly sanctuary has been made, God's people will be forever free from sin, and the fate of all will be forever sealed. See Rev. 22:11. This, as in the type, will be a day of judgment.
The round of service in the earthly sanctuary was God's service. It had to do with the sins of the people; not that the blood of the sacrifices offered there could in itself take away their sins, for it is expressly said that it could not. Heb. 10:4. It could, however, show their faith in the efficacy of Christ's blood yet to be spilled, and to which the sanctuary work was intended constantly to direct their minds. The work there was a type, or shadow, of Christ's atoning work, and, as such, carries with it a significance that cannot be overestimated. Upon a correct understanding of the type depends a correct understanding of the antitype. The entire sanctuary service was an object-lesson of most important and vital gospel truth,—that of man's salvation and the atonement of sin.
23. What relation does the earthly sanctuary sustain to the heavenly?
“Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount.” Heb. 8:5.