Why is there a sanctuary in Heaven?
Why was there a sanctuary on Earth?
There are some key facts we need to know before we can really understand God’s Everlasting Covenant.
We need to understand why God established and used the operation of a sanctuary system and a high priestly administration under both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.
From the very first sin that man ever committed in the Garden of Eden, sin wasn’t just magically erased or forgiven. Sin had to be taken care of through a specific process and it still does today. That process includes the Everlasting covenant mediated through a sanctuary and through blood and through a high priest. Without fail all of these elements have been required since the beginning of creation and we have no record in the Bible where this isn’t the case.
The Old Testament had a different operation and administration of the Everlasting Covenant than what we find in the New Testament and that’s because of the atonement of Jesus Christ. But, we must remember that only the blood of Jesus Christ could or can erase any sin. Also in Galatians we’re told that “no flesh” has ever been justified by the works of the law. That means that both the Old Testament and the New Testament saints, all the children of God, must have faith in order to receive the free gift of salvation.
Hebrews chapter 11 proves the Old Testament believers were saved by their faith and received the grace and mercy of God the Father because they received forgiveness of their sins and the free gift of eternal salvation which only comes by the blood of Jesus Christ. It’s very interesting to consider that the very term “faith” is an obedience term and to be “unfaithful” is a term that means to be disobedient. We can see this demonstrated in Revelation when Jesus tells us that unbelief is grouped together with other sins also.
Revelation 21:5-8
“And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And He said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
When people really believe something, they act on those beliefs. If we believe God and we are faithful, that means we are doing something, we’re acting on our beliefs. When we’re faithful we are keeping the terms of God’s covenant which include His laws. The Ten Commandments are called “the words of the covenant” and “the tables of the covenant”.
The Ten Commandments are only one part of God’s covenant and we have to study the Bible to learn what else is included in that special Everlasting Covenant.
Moses received The Ten Commandments from God and they are called “the words of the covenant”; Here are some scriptures:
Exodus 34:28
“And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, The Ten Commandments.”
Deuteronomy 9:11
“And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.”
Hebrews 9:4
“Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant”
We know that a faithful spouse is someone who’s keeping the promises of their marriage covenant and the LORD has given us the example of marriage in the Bible to illustrate His relationship with us too. Future segments will cover more on faith and God’s purpose for His laws and how they are incorporated into His Everlasting Covenant.
I’m going to briefly touch on a few topics that I’ll go into more detail later. First I’d like to say that The Ten Commandments alone without the sanctuary system and without faith in the blood of Jesus Christ can’t by itself remediate or erase any sin.
The laws of God teach and show us what sin is, but it has no way of paying for our sin debt because, “the wages of sin is death”. Only Jesus could pay that debt for us because He was sinless and He was alive and able to die to pay our debt; however, He also had to be raised again in order that His sacrifice could be taken up into the heavenly sanctuary.
The apostle Paul tells us that if Christ had not been raised from the dead, then we would all still be dead in our sins (1 Corinthians 15:17).
1Corinthians 15:16-18
“For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.”
Paul also taught us that Jesus was raised again for our justification.
Romans 4:25
“Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.”
It took more than just Jesus’ sacrificial death to erase our sins, He had to be raised up to life again to become our high priest and our mediator. This proves that although the atonement for our sins was made by Jesus at the cross; our sins were not yet erased at the cross on Calvary and there has been a very deep misunderstanding for a long time about the details of what happened at the cross. Paul explains it very well if we will listen to exactly what he is saying and not to what man has taught us to believe. Paul by the Spirit of God warned us that false doctrines would quickly come in and that was around 2000 years ago. But God has preserved His truth just like He promised He would and we can always trust Him and His word.
So the law itself can’t take care of our sins and that’s why the sanctuary system was established by God and also why the priesthood has been required under both the Old and New Testaments. It has been a process to operate and administer the blood atonement, our propitiation, to remove sin and death from off the heavenly record. There’s a heavenly record that’s kept by God on every soul He has created.
Revelation 20:12
“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and THE BOOKS were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”
In James chapter 2 we’re told that true saving “faith” is believing and obeying. Something we tend to forget is that confession and repentance are also obedience to the law of faith because that’s what God told us to do when we commit a sin. Jesus gave us a daily prayer to confirm this as well, it’s The LORD’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:7-15 and Luke 11:2-4.
1John 2:1-6
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we KNOW Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are IN Him. He that saith he abideth IN Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.”
1John 1:6-10
“If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
The apostle Paul explained that the law itself cannot justify us (forgive our sins). He taught the new Gentile converts that EVEN the Jews understood that by the works of the law “no flesh” has ever been justified (forgiven) but that it is by faith and through faith in Jesus Christ that we receive justification which is the forgiveness of our past sins being completely cleansed from all unrighteousness.
We are made holy by the free gift of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s “not of ourselves” because remember that’s an impossibility. No one could possibly earn their own salvation because “no flesh” has ever been justified by the works of the law; neither can we pay for our own sin debt because of being defiled by that sin. A sinless life was required to pay for “the wages of sin is death” debt that we had.
Galatians 3:10-11
“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them”
We are still living under the conditions contained in the covenant of God, the blessings and the curses. Isaiah chapter 24 goes into greater detail about that and it’s a prophesy that hasn’t happened yet, so that means it will happen under the New Testament time period. But Jesus has redeemed His children from the curse of the law which is “the wages of sin is death”; “that being dead wherein we were held”
Romans 7:6
“But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.”
(Meaning such as outward circumcision and the carnal commandments of the earthly sanctuary under the Levitical priesthood.)
(More scriptures like this are:)
Hebrews 7:16
“Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.”
Hebrews 8:13
“In that He saith, A new covenant, He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”
Hebrews 9:10
“Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them UNTIL the time of reformation.”
Hebrews 7:12
“For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.”
Notice that Hebrews 7:12 says that there was a necessity of a change in the law not an abolishment of all laws. The priesthood was changed from the Levitical priesthood to the Melchisedecian priesthood. This means no more animal sacrifices in the earthly sanctuary because the blood of Jesus Christ is the true atonement.
Back to Galatians again.
Galatians 3:10-11
“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them”
Galatians 3:12
“And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.”
“The law is not of faith”, meaning that the law itself isn’t’ Jesus Christ who can live a sinless life, die and be raised back up to life again. The law of the Old Testament was performed by faith (believing) that Jesus their Messiah would come and ratify their obedience to the covenant of God.
The scripture that says, “The man that doeth them shall live in them” means that the man that obeys the laws of God will live in them, they will walk in them and they will be saved because of their faith and obedience to God’s covenant. They lived and were saved because they lived in those laws by faith in Jesus Christ who only could erase their sins and they knew that.
Does this mean that there was no faith in the Old Testament? No, look at all the faith from the Old Testament believers in Hebrews chapter 11. The apostle Paul is talking to the Galatians about seeking the justifications that comes by believing in Christ’s current ministry in the heavenly sanctuary under the New Testament; not the carnal commandments and carnal ordinances of the Old Testament. The scripture is delineating the differences between the two sanctuary systems in both Testaments.
The Old Covenant people “lived in them” Leviticus 18:5; the carnal commands of the earthly sanctuary. They had to bring animals they raised or bought (Their animals were also their money) as well as other offerings, having to physically bring these to the priests every day they sinned, for their justification.
The New Covenant people believe in Christ’s mediation in the heavenly sanctuary. Because of Christ’s sinless life and by His sacrificial death, He was enabled to become our high priest in heaven where He is now our sinless propitiation providing us daily with the ability to come to Him for forgiveness of our past sins and our justification (forgiveness). We have to come to God in prayer with a contrite humble heart in confession, repentance, and a sincere willingness to obey Him while we ask for His mercy and forgiveness. He freely gives it to us. We don’t purchase it; we don’t earn it; we believe in true saving faith and ask for it. We don’t have the kind of faith the devils have or the hypocrites have; but the kind of faith that Abraham had when he heard God and obeyed Him (James 2).
Saved by grace through faith following His plan for our salvation by observing confession, repentance, asking Him forgiveness of past sins, as He commanded us to do in this New Testament / Covenant time period where He is the Mediator of the “new and living way”; not the dead animal carnal way, Who “everliveth to make intercession for us”
Hebrews 10:19-22
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”
Hebrews 7:24-26
“But this Man, because He continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens”
We could never “earn” what took a sinless life to purchase for us – because we were all dirty in sin with no way to recover ourselves or acquire forgiveness to a sinless state without Christ. But in order to receive His free gift there are requirements. If there were no requirements, then everyone would be saved and no one would be destroyed for being wicked. The Bible does not teach that everyone will have salvation, even though it is available to all. The Bible does not teach that everyone will have salvation no matter what they do – unconditional salvation doesn’t exist.
It’s God’s will that all people would be saved; but He has given us freedom of choice. I hope and pray that you have chosen to live and accept God’s free gift of salvation.
1Timothy 2:1-8
“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
Who will have all men to be saved,
and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”
Image Attribution: image by 1890 Holman Bible, public domain
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holman_Table_of_Shew-Bread_Ark_Golden_Candlestick.jpg#mw-jump-to-license