Our High Priest and the Heavenly Sanctuary

When Christ ascended from the earth, He entered into His role as our High Priest in the Heavenly Sanctuary. By studying the earthly sanctuary, we can gain a clearer understanding of the work Jesus is currently doing for us in heaven. This knowledge helps unlock the meaning of the cleansing of the sanctuary, which began at the end of the 2300-day prophecy in Daniel 8, and reveals its connection to the judgment and the final phases of Christ’s ministry on our behalf.

God’s way of dealing with sin is revealed through the sanctuary service. In the Old Testament, God gave Moses detailed instructions for building the earthly sanctuary and outlined the ordinances that were to be carried out within it. Through this service, God intended to teach the people about Himself and how He was addressing the sin problem. By studying the sanctuary, we see how God was preparing His people to understand the coming of the Messiah—who would fulfil the types and shadows represented in its ceremonies.

"Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God?"—Psalm 77:13

Today, few realise that the earthly sanctuary of the Old Covenant was patterned after the true tabernacle in heaven. When Moses received the instructions for the earthly sanctuary, he was shown the heavenly one and was told to build the earthly structure in exact accordance with that pattern.

"And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. 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."—Exodus 25:8–9

The earthly sanctuary consisted of two main compartments: the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. Inside the Holy Place were the table of showbread, the golden lampstand, and the altar of incense. The Most Holy Place contained only one item: the Ark of the Covenant, which held the Ten Commandments. These two compartments were separated by a veil. Outside the entrance to the Holy Place was the outer courtyard, which included the laver of water and the altar of burnt offering.

For simplicity, the work of the sanctuary service can be broadly divided into two main parts:

1. Daily, sin was symbolically transferred into the sanctuary;

2. Once a year, the sanctuary was cleansed, and sin was permanently removed.

   
   

Each day, a repentant sinner brought a sin offering to the entrance of the tabernacle. Placing his hand on the head of the sacrifice, he confessed his sins, symbolically transferring them to the innocent animal (Leviticus 4:4). The animal was then slain.

"And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission."—Hebrews 9:22

This was because, as Scripture says, “the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). Since the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23), a life had to be given in order for sin to be purged. The slain animal bore the guilt of the sinner and died in their place. The priest then took the animal’s blood—representing its life—into the Holy Place and sprinkled it before the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy, behind which was the Ark of the Covenant containing God’s broken law (Leviticus 4:6).

In some cases, the blood was not taken into the Holy Place. Instead, the priest was required to eat part of the flesh of the sin offering (Leviticus 6:26), symbolically bearing the sins of the people himself (Leviticus 10:17). When the priest offered a sin sacrifice for himself, the blood was always brought into the Holy Place and sprinkled both before the veil and on the altar of incense (Leviticus 4:6).

From this we see that the sins of the people were transferred to the sanctuary through the sacrificial system. However, once a year, this process was reversed. On the Day of Atonement, the High Priest entered the Most Holy Place, and the accumulated sins that had been symbolically stored in the sanctuary were purged. These sins were then placed upon the scapegoat, which was led into the wilderness and left to die (Leviticus 16).

"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 all 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 of a suitable man. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness."—Leviticus 16:21–22

On this solemn day, the sanctuary was cleansed from the sins of the people. In this way, their sins were permanently separated from them. Until the Day of Atonement, however, those sins remained within the sanctuary, awaiting final removal.

TWO COVENANTS - TWO SANCTUARIES

The Old Covenant revolved around the ordinances and priestly ministry of the earthly sanctuary.

"Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary."—Hebrews 9:1

This earthly sanctuary system was a shadow—a symbolic representation—of the greater work that Christ is now performing on our behalf. Just as the Old Covenant was centred on the ministry of priests in the earthly sanctuary, the New Covenant is centred on Jesus’ ministration for us as our High Priest in the Heavenly Sanctuary.

Salvation has always been through Christ alone. The blood of animals had no inherent power to remove sin, but it pointed forward to the true sacrifice—Jesus Christ—whose blood alone brings healing and redemption.

"For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins."—Hebrews 10:1–4

The great truth of the New Covenant is this: we now have a High Priest who ministers on our behalf in heaven itself.

"Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: 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

Just as the earthly priest took the blood of the sin offering into the Holy Place day by day, so Christ, after offering His own life for our sins, entered the Heavenly Sanctuary and presented His own blood as the true offering for sin.

"But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 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."—Hebrews 9:11–12

"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. 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 9:23–24

Further evidence that Jesus entered the Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary at His ascension is found in John's vision recorded in Revelation. John saw the lampstand—an item of furniture that belonged specifically to the Holy Place—positioned before the throne of God.

"And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God."—Revelation 4:5

The golden lampstand with its seven lamps was a central feature of the Holy Place in the earthly sanctuary. Likewise, the altar of incense, also located in the Holy Place, is referenced in connection with the heavenly ministry:

"Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints."—Revelation 5:8

These scenes confirm that at His ascension, Christ began His High Priestly ministry in the Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary. There, He presented His own blood before the Father as an offering for sin. As the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, Jesus bore our sin in His own flesh; as our High Priest, He has now transferred our sin to the Heavenly Sanctuary.

THE BIBLE'S LONGEST TIME PROPHECY

However, as the earthly High Priest entered the Most Holy Place once a year to cleanse the sanctuary of accumulated sins, so Christ must also perform a final work of cleansing in heaven.

"And he said to me, 'For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.'"—Daniel 8:14

This verse contains the longest time prophecy in Scripture. Each of the holy days prescribed in the Levitical law symbolised a specific aspect of Christ’s redemptive work. For example:

• Passover prefigured His death (see 1 Corinthians 5:7),

• The feast of unleavened bread represented His burial,

• Firstfruits pointed to His resurrection (see 1 Corinthians 15:20), and

• Pentecost anticipated the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples (see Acts 2:1–4).

In the same way, the Day of Atonement represented a distinct phase of Christ’s heavenly ministry. At the end of the 2300-day prophecy, Christ would begin the work foreshadowed by the High Priest’s entrance into the Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement—cleansing the Heavenly Sanctuary of the sins that had been symbolically transferred there.

The question now is: When did the 2300-day prophecy reach its conclusion?

To answer this, we must return to Daniel chapters 8 and 9.

In a previous article, we explored the 70-week prophecy of Daniel 9, which clearly pointed to Jesus as the promised Messiah. That prophecy began with the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, issued by King Artaxerxes in the autumn of 457 B.C. (Northern Hemisphere). But how does this relate to the 2300 days?

Daniel 9:24 tells us:

“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city…”—Daniel 9:24

The Hebrew word translated as “determined” is chathak, which literally means “cut off.” This implies that the 70 weeks (490 years) were to be cut off from a longer time period—and the only longer time period previously mentioned is found in Daniel 8: the 2300-day prophecy.

In Daniel 8, Daniel was overwhelmed by the vision and fainted before it was fully explained:

“And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.”—Daniel 8:27

When the angel Gabriel returns to Daniel in chapter 9, he resumes the explanation of the vision—specifically addressing the matter of time, which had been left incomplete. Since the 70-week prophecy is clearly connected to the 2300 days, and no other time prophecy is introduced, it logically follows that the 70 weeks were "cut off" from the 2300 days. This gives us the starting point for both time periods: 457 B.C.

Applying the day-for-a-year principle (as seen in Ezekiel 4:6 and Numbers 14:34) that was applied to accurately decipher the 70-week prophecy, we understand the 2300 days to represent 2300 years. Adding 2300 years to 457 B.C. brings us to the autumn of 1844 A.D.

That year, the Day of Atonement fell on October 22, and this date is held to mark the moment when Jesus entered the Most Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary to begin the final phase of His High Priestly ministry—the cleansing of the sanctuary.

What does this cleansing work involve? And how does it impact us today?👉 Click here to find out!