The
Cleansing of the Temple
The Day of Atonement’s focus was
on the cleansing of the temple
itself. During the past year, the
guilt of the sin had been transferred
from the sinner through blood and
defiled the temple veil and both
altars. Therefore, to cleanse the
temple, the guilt of sin (represented
by the blood from the sinner’s
sacrifice) was “canceled”
on the horns of the altars by
applying a mixed blood offering!
After the blood was applied, the
temple itself was no longer defiled.
Again, what is this mixed blood? It
was the blood of the bull and the
goat. The bull was the high
priest’s offering and the goat
was the Lord’s offering for the penalty
of sin. The bull’s blood
represented a sin offering for
individuals. Christ is our sin
offering. The blood of the goat
represented a sin offering for the
whole camp of Israel (corporate
atonement). For God so loved the
world! (John 3:16) When these
sacrifices were mixed together,
atonement was complete. The mixed
blood, applied to the atonement cover
on the Ark and horns of the altars,
made the unholy into something holy!
The blood of Christ not only cleanses
us from our sins, it cleanses the
temple, too!
The cleansing process also involved
three pieces of furniture mentioned
in the following order: the Ark of
the Covenant, the Altar of Incense
and the Altar of Burnt Offering. The
“order” of atonement is
described twice in Leviticus
16:20-33, which indicates that the
specific order the high priest
followed in cleansing Heaven’s
Temple was important. First, the high
priest offered atonement at the Altar
of Incense and the last step in the
atonement process was at the Altar of
Burnt Offering. Notice the high
priest offered atonement from the
inside out – first the Most Holy
Place, Next the Holy Place and then
to the courtyard, where the Altar of
Burnt Offering was located. After the
high priest completed the cleansing
process on the Altar of Burnt
Offering, he placed his bloody hands
on the head of the scapegoat. This
act symbolized the transference of
guilt from the temple to the goat.
Finally, the scapegoat was led out
into the wilderness to die.
(Leviticus 16)
God prescribed a specific order to
cleanse the Earthy sanctuary because
the process parallels the concluding
work of Christ in Heaven. On Earth,
three articles of furniture were
cleansed of guilt and restored to a
holy state each year. Each act of
atonement performed by the high
priest shadows a specific event Jesus
conducts in Heaven’s Temple. For
example, the high priest’s
atonement before the Ark represents
phase one of the cleansing process in
Heaven’s sanctuary. In 1798, God
called Heaven’s court to order.
At that time, the Father asked for
someone, who was considered worthy of
the calling, to take the book sealed
with seven seals and begin to open
each seal. (Revelation 5:1-6) Only
Jesus, the Christ, was found worthy.
He alone could make atonement
for God’s law. He alone, in
the entire universe, was born under
the condemnation of law and tempted
in every possible way, and yet, never
sinned. He alone confirmed the
holiness and virtue of God’s law
by living a perfect life and then
laying it down in humble submission
as a perfect sacrifice. He alone
was found worthy to restore
God’s law to its rightful honor.
He alone could reconcile an
evil world to the Father and He alone
could rescue the faith-full from the
coming wrath of God that the law
requires. (Romans 4:15; 5:9,10) Make
no mistake about it! Jesus fully
vindicated God’s character and
restored the holiness of God’s
law before He began cleansing
Heaven’s temple.
After offering atonement for the Ark,
the high priest moved to the Altar of
Incense. During the past year, this
altar had been contaminated by the
morning and evening sacrifices (for
corporate sins). The high priest
sprinkled blood on the horns of the
Altar of Incense and it was made
clean. The parallel for this action
is found in Revelation 8: 2-5. Just
before the seven trumpets begin on
Earth, services performed in
Heaven’s Altar of Incense will
come to an end. The angel will cast
the censer down indicating that
corporate daily intercession is no
longer available. Jesus will step out
of the way and consequently,
God’s wrath will begin on Earth.
As the seven trumpets blow in Heaven,
corresponding events occur on Earth.
Although these events will be
horrendous, God’s wrath will be
“mixed” with mercy. These
Trumpets events are intended by God
to awaken the whole world to the
nature of His law, sin, penalty,
grace and the orderly way He redeems
man. These events will cause many
people to put their faith in Jesus,
the Lamb of God, and be saved.
After the high priest provides
atonement for the Altar of Incense,
he moves to the Altar of Burnt
Offering. The Israelites contaminated
this altar throughout the year for
their sin offerings. The high priest
sprinkled blood on the horns of the
Altar of Burnt Offering also
cleansing it. The parallel for this
segment of the atonement services is
described during the seventh trumpet.
The mystery of God will be
accomplished just before the seventh
trumpet sounds. (Revelation 10:7;
Colossians 2: 1-3; Romans 11:25; 16:
25; Ephesians 1: 9-14; 3: 6-12) At
that time, everyone will make his or
her decision for or against
God’s truth. The Holy Spirit
will seal people in Christ or they
will receive the mark of the beast.
At the seventh trumpet, people will
make their final decision and God
will close the door to mercy.
Just before the door of mercy closes,
however, a great number of people
will be martyred for the cause of
Christ. This is the meaning of the
fifth seal. The blood of souls under
the Altar [of Burnt Offering]
indicates that these sacrifices are
for the salvation of other people.
The blood of martyrs will convince
many people to take their stand for
the cause of Christ. When each person
has made his/her decision, the Altar
of Burnt Offering will be cleaned.
Thus, the cleansing of the Heavenly
temple will finally be completed.
The only portion of the service
remaining is to transfer the sins of
the righteous to the head of the
scapegoat (devil). This end-time
parallel event will occur 1,000 years
after Jesus takes His people home.
Then all the inhabitants of Earth
will be present to witness the
results of God’s judgment and
the restitution required by the
saints. (Revelation 20:11; 1
Corinthians 6:1-3) Many more
spiritual lessons can be drawn from
the Day of Atonement service than can
be described in these few paragraphs.
This brief study is designed to cover
the “big picture,” so you
might begin to appreciate the direct
relationship between the sanctuary on
Earth and the temple in Heaven. God
reveals a great deal about His future
plans if we are willing to
investigate them in His Word. If the
Day of Atonement teaches anything, it
teaches that God has a well-defined
plan for dealing with the properties
of sin. The complexity of issues
involved with the resolution of sin
proves how terrible sin is – it
is much more hideous than human
beings recognize. Throughout the
endless ages of eternity, the people
redeemed from Earth will study
God’s law, sin, penalty, grace
and the orderly way that He saved
man. This knowledge, no doubt, will
compel all inhabitants of the
universe to never allow sin to rise
again.
The Feast of Ingathering
(Tabernacles)
The Israelites presented the last and
largest display of firstfruits five
days after the Day of Atonement at a
feast called the Feast of
Ingathering. The Israelites
commemorated this seven-day feast at
the end of the summer growing season
and the title reflects the
“gathering in’ of the last
harvest. They also called this feast
the Feast of Tabernacles because
every Jewish male was required to go
to Jerusalem to participate in this
feast. There were not enough
“motels” to accommodate
such a large crowd, so they erected
temporary tents (or tabernacles) for
this joyous occasion.
Just as the Feast of Weeks
illustrated the first phase of the
Holy Spirit’s work on the human
heart, this feast reveals the final
work of the Holy Spirit on behalf of
mankind. A great outpouring of Holy
Spirit power will occur upon all
people just before Jesus comes. (Joel
2:28-32) This final stage of the Holy
Spirit ministry will be highly
visible and marked by clear lines of
demarcation. (Zechariah 4:6) Everyone
will have the opportunity to know
God’s truth and make his or her
decision for eternal salvation.
People who listen to the Spirit will
be led into all truth. (John 16:13)
People who refuse to listen to the
Holy Spirit will be led into
damnation by the devil’s evil
schemes. (2 Thessalonians 2: 9,10)
The people who love God’s ways
(His truth) will have their faith
severely tested. If they do remain
loyal to God, they will receive a
wonderful gift. God will give them
the “gift of a sinless nature
– a nature which will have no
propensity or attraction to sin. Just
before the first plague of God’s
final wrath begins (the first of
seven plagues), the faithful children
of God will be granted a nature like
Adam and Eve’s nature, before
their sinful fall. (Hebrews 8: 10-13;
Romans 1:17; 1 John 3:2)
The final two phases of the Holy
Spirit’s work demonstrate
God’s great compassion for the
human race and His deep desire that
not one person be lost. First, the
Holy Spirit stirs each person’s
mind and heart to consider the ways
of God. The individual who responds
to the Spirit’s prompting will
recognize his/her need for Jesus
Christ as a perfect substitute. The
people who accept Jesus Christ will
then willfully submit themselves to
the Gospel of Christ. (John 14: 15; 1
John 2:5) with this decision, they
are reckoned as righteous (imputed
righteousness), even though the
moment of glorification (God’s
gift) has not been given yet. (Romans
8:1) During the time of the trumpets,
each person’s decision to follow
God’s ways will be tested. Then,
at just the right time during the
closing scenes of Earth’s
history, those people who pass the
final test of faith will be granted a
new nature. The righteousness of
Christ will be imparted to
every faithful child of God!
(Colossians 1:27; Revelation 10:7)
When this process is completed,
God’s people who are still alive
will no longer need an intercessor or
mediator in Heaven. Every one of
God’s children will be sealed in
a righteous character. Jesus marks
this highly important moment by
declaring, “Let him who
does wrong continue to do wrong; let
him who is vile; let him continue to
be vile; let him who does right
continue to do right; and let him who
is holy continue to be holy.” (Revelation
22:11) Later, at the end of the seven
last plagues, Jesus Christ will
appear in the clouds at the Second
Coming. At this time, He will change
the mortal bodies of saints into
immortal bodies (glorification). (1
Corinthians 15:53)
Notice the following parallels: In
ancient times, man prepared the soil
and planted the field. God watered
the seed and brought forth the
harvest. The union of humanity with
divinity is apparent in this
illustration. The Feast of
Ingathering point forward to the
Second Coming, when the final
ingathering of all the saints occur.
Down through the ages, faithful
Christians have prepared the soil and
planted the world field. God waters
the seed and brings forth the harvest
just in time for the ingathering.
With great joy and rejoicing, men and
woman, boys and girls will
“tabernacle” in the
Heavenly city of God until Jesus
Christ creates a new Heaven and a new
Earth.
Just like the other harvests, the
firstfruits of the last, great
harvest will be presented before the
Lord. The firstfruits of the harvest
are 144,000 men and woman who serve
God as prophets during the Great
Tribulation. (Revelation 7:1-4; 14:4)
Since the firstfruits of the earthy
harvests were the exclusive property
of the high priest of Israel (Numbers
18), the 144,000 servant/prophets
(firstfruits) will belong to Jesus,
man’s High Priest. They will
accompany Jesus throughout eternity
and serve Him wherever He goes.
The 144,000 will be the first to
experience the gift of the new
nature. They receive the
“gift” of righteousness
from Christ first because they are
sealed first. (Revelation 7:1-4)
similarly, those who live by faith
and stand firm for the truth as it is
revealed in Jesus Christ will be
sealed just as the 144,000 were
sealed. Then, at the end of the Great
tribulation, Jesus will “gather
in” the faithful. There will be
a great feast filled with good food,
inexpressible praise and joyous
celebration! (Revelation 19:9)
The Sum of All the Parts
The Lord is righteous in everything
He does. “He is the Rock, his
ways are perfect, and all his ways
are just. A faithful God who does no
wrong, upright and just is
he…” (Deuteronomy 32:4)
The Earthy and Heavenly temples
confirm that god is upright and just.
His works are perfect and His ways
are beautiful beyond words.
In this brief study, we have examined
several elements of the Earthy and
Heavenly temples. We have analyzed
the Heaven/Earth Linkage Law and have
observed the parallel operations of
both temples. We have reviewed the
Earthy temple’s essential
services and examined their practical
applications. We have studied the
temple furniture, the annual feasts
and their meanings. In every aspect
of the temple services, we have
observed how the ministry of Jesus is
revealed. It is clear that god used
the earthy sanctuary and the Heavenly
Temple of God as a teaching tool for
human beings to grasp the PLAN of
salvation. Indeed, all the lessons
learned from this study point to the
revelation of all that Jesus is!
High Priest
Finally, no study about the Temple of
God would be complete without
considering the High Priest’s
appointment. We can glean numerous
and beautiful illustrations as we
study the details of this position.
In the case of Aaron, Israel’s
first high priest, the story begins
with the call of Moses.
God appeared to Moses at the burning
bush and “called “ him to
lead the children of Israel out of
Egypt. At the time he was called,
Moses had been a Shepard for 40
years. He was very reluctant to
undertake such a huge task at the age
of 80, since he had already attempted
to deliver Israel at age 40 and
failed. Moses foolishly complained to
God and tried to excuse himself from
the responsibility by saying he did
not know the language. (Exodus 4:10)
His greatest worry was that the
Israelites would not believe him. The
adversities of life humbled Moses and
he knew that he could not, in his own
human strength, accomplish such a
task. Therefore, to assist Moses with
this responsibility, the Lord sent
Aaron, Moses’ elder brother, to
be the spokesperson. It did not take
long for the elders of Israel to
recognize the “priestly
calling” of these two Levite
brothers. (A priest is one who is
appointed by God to represent men
before Him. Hebrews 5:1) God
confirmed that He was speaking
through Moses and Aaron by using
incredible manifestations of divine
power. The people of Israel listened
and responded, and soon like Pharaoh,
came to regard Moses like God and
Aaron as a prophet. Notice: “Then
the Lord said to Moses, “See, I
have made you like God to Pharaoh,
and your brother Aaron will be your
prophet.” (Exodus 7:1)
In temperament, Aaron’s
character lacked the fortitude and
directness that Moses demonstrated.
When God commanded Moses to meet Him
on Mt Sinai for 40 days, Aaron
capitulated to the demands of the
people and allowed them to create a
golden calf. Although Aaron’s
character was flawed, one of his
positive virtues was the willingness
to listen and be sympathetic toward
the people’s needs. This
attribute reveals an essential
characteristic about the position of
high priest – he must love
people. The high priest should have a
special burden for the people of his
“flock” and do whatever he
can to serve them and meet their
needs. (Obviously, Aaron went too far
and sinned against God when he
allowed the people to build a golden
calf.) At the same time, since the
high priest stood between God and the
people, he had to satisfy God’s
needs, as well.
Moses anointed Aaron with oil as the
high priest of Israel. (Exodus 30:30;
Leviticus 16:32) In this role, God
appointed him to conduct the
“essential” services of the
tabernacle. His sons were also
anointed as priests and they
conducted the routine services in the
sanctuary. Aaron’s firstborn son
was to be his successor in the office
of high priest. Remember, Pharaoh and
the people considered Moses like God,
and Aaron as his prophet. This
arrangement revealed two fundamental
aspects regarding Christ’s
ministry in Heaven! Jesus is both,
King of kings (role of Moses), and
Lord of lords (role of Aaron).
(Revelation 19:16) Jesus’ role
as High Priest includes both
authority and mediation. Only Jesus
can balance these two roles
perfectly. Jesus loves the human race
and is willing to do whatever it
takes to save people. Jesus listens
to people and responds to their
needs. He knows our struggles, as no
one else does. (Hebrews 4:15)
However, Jesus also loves His Father
and is anxious to defend the
righteousness and purity of
God’s government. The methods
Jesus uses are perfectly aligned with
the will of God. Is this a conflict
of interest? Can Jesus actually
please god and sympathize with man?
Yes! For He is both man’s
perfect substitute and the Lamb of
God. (Romans 5:10) He alone can
resolve the issue of man’s
salvation and exonerate god from
Lucifer’s falsehoods.
Someday, all the angels of Heaven and
the people of earth will marvel at
what a wonderful person Jesus Christ
is! A day is coming soon when
Jesus’ words will be fulfilled: “By
myself I have sworn, my mouth has
uttered in all integrity a word that
will not be revoked: Before me every
knew will bow; by me every tongue
will swear. They will say of me,
‘In the Lord alone are
righteousness and strength.’ All
who have raged against him will come
to him and be put to shame.” (Isaiah
45: 23-24)
Conclusion
We have a friend in Jesus. He is a
friend who understands our needs. He
also understands our limitations,
weaknesses and foolishness.
Notwithstanding, He is willing to be
our High Priest and present us before
God without a blemish. He is willing
to save us and grant us power to
overcome the ravages of sin. He is
willing to release us from anxiety,
doubts and bad habits. He has the
power to do all of this and more! Why
not surrender your heart to Him! Why
not say, “Lord, I am willing to
go, be and do all that you ask.”
If you are willing, He will enable
you to succeed in all that He has
asked you to do! You have a friend in
Heaven who loves you so much that He
was willing to die the second death
for you. Can mere mortals comprehend
such love? Not easily. That is why we
find it difficult to call on Him to
help us with our greatest needs.
However, be sure of this, He is
capable of dealing with any problem
you are wrestling with today. So, let
Him help you. He is ready. Are you?
