The
Two Sanctuaries
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Welcome to this new Bible lesson! Let us pray:
O Lord our God,
We come to You with gratitude, wishing to thank You for giving us salvation through the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
We would like to study more thoroughly this invaluable salvation through the subject of
the two sanctuaries.
Please help us to understand Your Holy Book through the presence of Your Holy Spirit. In
Jesus Christ.
Amen.
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Genesis 3:21
Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and
clothed them.
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In the lesson «Why Does Evil Exist?»,
we saw how Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan and disobeyed God.
To replace their handsewn clothes of fig leaves, God sacrificed an animal and covered them
with its skin.
In this way, God introduced them to the sacrificial system they had to practice,
foreshadowing the death of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
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Exodus 25:8
And let [the children of Israel] make Me a sanctuary, that I may
dwell among them.
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As time passed, the meaning of this sacrificial system was lost.
Paganism transformed it into idolatry, even adding human sacrifices to it...
So God wanted to restore the original meaning of this system, through which men could
demonstrate their faith in the Savior to come.
So He instructed Moses to build a sanctuary so that He might dwell among His people.
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Hebrews 9:1-5 : Description of the earthly
sanctuary
Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine
service and the earthly sanctuary.
For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and
the showbread, which is called the sanctuary.
And behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All,
which had the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides
with gold, in which were (...) the tablets of the covenant.
And above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat.
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Here is a plan of the earthly sanctuary:
Most Holy Place Holy Place
Courtyard Entry 1. Cherubim of gold
+--------|-------------|-----------------|-------+| 2. Mercy
seat
| +------|-----+-------|--------+ First | N || 3. Ark of the cove-
| | ///@1.@\\\ ) Second #@#@#5. (<--veil W-+-E || nant containing
| |// # # \\(<--veil
)
S | tables of the Law
| |2.######## ) ## ||||||| ( # # / \ -+ 4. Altar of incense
| | # nn # ( ##
|+-|-+| ) #### #####
5. Table of showbread
| | 3.###### ) 4. 6.+--|--+
( 7. 8. | 6. 7-branch
lampstand
| +------------+----------------+<--Tabernacle
| 7.
Laver of bronze
+------------------------------------------------+ 8.
Altar of offering
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Numbers 1:51
And when the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take
it down; and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it up.
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The first sanctuary, or tabernacle, was portable. Later, a permanent Temple in
Jerusalem replaced it.
The sanctuary was made up of three parts:
1. The courtyard;
2. The first part of the tabernacle, called the Holy Place;
3. The second part of the tabernacle, called the Most Holy Place.
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First, let's see the courtyard:
It was an enclosure approximately 50 metres (164 feet) long and 25 metres (82 feet)
wide, surrounded by a fence 3 metres (10 feet) high.
Within the courtyard were placed:
- the altar of burnt offering, where sacrifices were offered for the sins of the people;
- the laver of bronze, where priests washed their feet and hands before entering the
tabernacle to officiate.
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Then, the Holy Place:
It was the first part of the tabernacle, whose entry was made up of a linen veil. A
second veil separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
Within the Holy Place were placed:
- The table of showbread, on which were placed the twelve showbread which were replaced
each Sabbath;
- The seven-branch lampstand, which supplied with oil seven lamps burning day and night,
thus continually lighting up the tabernacle;
- The altar of incense, where incense was burned every morning and evening. Once a year, a
ceremony was performed to purify it.
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And finally, the Most Holy Place (also called the Holiest of All):
It was the second part of the tabernacle where only the High Priest, once a year, on
the Day of Atonement, was allowed to enter, to perform the annual service.
Within the Most Holy Place were placed:
- the ark of the covenant, a chest of acacia wood, overlaid with pure gold inside and out,
containing the two tablets of stone on which God had written the ten commandments;
- the mercy seat, serving as a lid to the ark of the covenant, surmounted by two cherubs
of solid gold, facing each other and each spreading one wing over the mercy seat, with the
other pointing at the ground.
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Exodus 29:38,39,42
This is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs of the first
year, day by day continually.
One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight.
(...)
This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the
tabernacle.
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Two religious services were regularly held in the sanctuary:
- the daily service;
- the annual service.
The daily service, described here, took place only in the courtyard and the Holy Place. It
consisted of sacrifices offered twice a day for the sins of the people.
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Leviticus 4:30
Then the priest shall take some of [the sin offering's] blood
with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour its
remaining blood at the base of the altar.
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During this daily service, sins were transferred to the sanctuary through the
lamb's blood.
The sinner, having disobeyed God's law, was deserving death, but God accepted in his place
the death of an animal, foreshadowing the death of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, for the
repentant sinner's salvation.
Now, let us see the annual service.
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Leviticus 16:29-31
In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall
afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a
stranger who sojourns among you.
For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be
clean from all your sins before the Lord.
It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls.
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Each day, the people confessed their sins, transferring them to the sanctuary.
It was therefore necessary, at the end of the religious year, to purify the sanctuary
during a service on the Day of Atonement.
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Leviticus 16:7-9
[Aaron the High Priest] shall take the two goats and present them
before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.
Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for
the scapegoat.
And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord's lot fell, and offer it as a sin
offering.
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The first goat, representing Christ, was sacrificed as a sin offering.
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Leviticus 16:10,21,22
But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be
presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the
scapegoat into the wilderness. (...)
Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live
goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and their
transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall
send it away into the wilderness by the hand on a suitable man.
The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land.
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The second goat, symbolizing Satan, bore the responsibility for the people's
sins (hence the expression «scapegoat»).
That goat was sent away into the wilderness, foreshadowing the exile of Satan on the
desolate earth during the millennium (this will be the subject of a future lesson).
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Hebrews 9:21,22
Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all
the vessels of the ministry.
And according to the law almost all things are purged with blood, and without shedding of
blood there is no remission.
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The aim of the sacrifice of an innocent animal was to show the sinner the
horror of sin, and the amazing love of the Savior who was willing to die for repentant
man.
The Day of Atonement was thus the opportunity to examine one's conscience, each one having
to admit the gravity of his sins, and the price of God's forgiveness: His Son Jesus.
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Hebrews 9:6,7
The priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle
[Holy Place], performing the services.
But into the second part [Most Holy Place] the high priest went alone once a year, not
without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins.
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These verses summarize well the two services of the sanctuary:
- the daily service, performed by the priests in the Holy Place;
- the annual service, performed by the high priest alone in the Most Holy Place, on the
Day of Atonement (also called Day of cleansing of the sanctuary).
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Hebrews 9:8-10
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.
It was symbolic for the present time (...) until the time of reformation.
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The Bible teaches us that the earthly sanctuary's services were given until the
time of reformation: what would replace them thereafter?
Let us note first that the above verses describe the earthly sanctuary as the first
tabernacle. We must then conclude that a second one exists.
Where is that second sanctuary, according to the Word of God?
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Exodus 25:9
According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the
tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.
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Acts 7:44
Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the
wilderness, as [God] appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that
he had seen.
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To instruct Moses in how to build the sanctuary, God showed him a pattern
already existing.
What was that pattern?
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Hebrews 8:4,5
For if [Jesus] were on earth, He would not be a priest, since
there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow
of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the
tabernacle.
For He said, «See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the
mountain.»
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The earthly sanctuary was thus the copy and shadow of a sanctuary situated in
heaven: the heavenly sanctuary.
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In his vision of heaven, John recognized the earthly sanctuary's furnishings:
«I saw seven golden lampstands.» (REVELATION 1:12)
«There were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne.» (REVELATION 4:5)
«Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. And he was
given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the
golden altar.» (REVELATION 8:3)
«Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His
temple.» (REVELATION 11:19)
«I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was
opened.» (REVELATION 15:5)
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John 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,
«Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!»
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Matthew 27:50,51
Jesus, when He had cried out again with a loud voice,
yielded up His spirit.
And behold, the temple's veil was torn in two from top to bottom.
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At the very moment Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed, the earthly
sanctuary became useless.
God clearly transmitted this message by tearing the veil of the temple at the moment of
Jesus' death.
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Hebrews 9:11,12
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.
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.
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At His ascension to heaven, after His resurrection, Jesus became both our High
Priest and, as the Lamb of God, our atoning sacrifice.
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Jesus Christ now serves as our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary:
«We have such a High Priest who is seated at the right hand of
the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true
tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.» (HEBREWS 8:1,2)
«This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters
the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having
become High Priest forever.» (HEBREWS 6:19,20)
«For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the
true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.» (HEBREWS
9:24)
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1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the
Man Christ Jesus.
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Romans 8:34
It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even
at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
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Hebrews 7:25
[Jesus] is also able to save to the uttermost those who
come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them.
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As our High Priest, Jesus makes intercession for us.
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Hebrews 9:21-23
Then likewise [Moses] sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle
and all the vessels of the ministry.
And according to the law almost all things are purged with blood, and without shedding of
blood there is no remission.
Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified
with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
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The Word of God says that the heavenly sanctuary will also have to be purified,
just as the earthly sanctuary did.
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Daniel 8:13,14
«How long will the vision be, concerning (...) the giving of
both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled under foot?»
[The angel] said to me,
«For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.»
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Many centuries ago, the prophet Daniel had a vision concerning the cleansing of
the heavenly sanctuary: it is the prophecy about the 2300 days, which will be the subject
of a future lesson.
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Let us thank God for His presence among us:
Our Father,
In times past, You asked men to sacrifice innocent animals, not because You are a cruel
and bloodthirsty God, but because You wanted people to realize the horror of sin, and
because of Your great love for men, revealed in Jesus Christ.
We thank You for Your Son, who is not only our Lamb but also our High Priest, our Mediator
before Your throne.
We will be forever thankful for Your love, in Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The test of Lesson 12 is waiting for you!