Salvation in the Sanctuary

When Adam and Eve first sinned and communion with God was broken in Eden, He introduced His plan for their return to Him (Genesis 3:15). It was a plan that was conceived in the heavenly sanctuary long before the first humans were separated from Him by that baleful thing called sin (Revelation 13:8).

God deeply desires a saving relationship with us, His most cherished creation. Ultimately, that’s what the sanctuary and its services are all about, a saving relationship with our Creator and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. The very essence of the ancient sanctuary system was the sacrifice of Jesus Christ,the foundation of God’s Plan of Redemption for human souls.

It was on a Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. almost two thousand years ago. The Jewish High Priest was about to offer the evening sacrifice on behalf of the nation of Israel. It was a tradition they practiced for more than two thousand years. But this sacrifice was different. For as the priest raised his hand with the knife that was to slay the innocent lamb, the heavens shudder, the sky became dark, the earth quaked violently, and the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom as by an unseen hand. The apostle Matthew recounted that fearful and memorable event thus, “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose” (Matthew 27:51-52).

As we look at the ancient Israeli sanctuary and its feast days, we will discover that they were that plan, in type, and pointed to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and the timeline of His work for our salvation.

Before we get to the feast days, let’s take a look at the basic, fundamental function of the earthly sanctuary that God instructed Moses to build. The record reads thus, “And let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it” (Exodus 25:8,9). This was God’s way of telling His people that He wants them to know Him, His work on their behalf, and to have that saving relationship with them. Every component, from the largest curtain to the tiniest piece of furniture of that sanctuary, or tabernacle as it is sometimes called, represented some aspect of the plan of salvation and the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

It was designed to help the children of Israel, and us today, see, experience, and comprehend the workings of God in the heavenly sanctuary in a very practical way. The Psalmist Asaph sums it up this way, “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?” (Ps 77:13). Here Asaph is simply referring to the manner in which God operates with regard to our salvation from sin, ransom from its penalty, which is death, and ultimate reunion with Him.

Following God’s specific instructions, Moses oversaw the construction of a most magnificent and beautiful structure. It was pitched in the wilderness and travelled with the Israelites throughout their 40+ years of wilderness journey from Sinai to Canaan.  Around it was the courtyard enclosed by linen curtains and suspended with silver hooks on brass pillars. The structure itself was 45ft x 15ft and located on the western side of the court yard which was 150ft x75ft. It contained two compartments, the Holy and the Most Holy places.

The ancient Israeli sanctuary and its services were an object lesson of God’s love, His justice and His mercy. As the people performed the rituals and followed the instructions of the priests, they got a better understanding of who God is and what He required of their lives. As a result, they were shielded from the false concepts of worship that surrounded them, except of course, those who chose to go contrary to God’s will as revealed in the sanctuary.

The knowledge of the sanctuary and the lessons it teaches have been largely neglected and forgotten by most of Christendom. In the process, they have deprived themselves of the power the sanctuary offers to live a victorious Christian life. As a direct consequence, they have allowed themselves to be engrossed in and are deceived into accepting a plethora of false doctrines, firmly believing them to be true. In an age when knowledge is increased beyond measure in the secular world, God’s professed people are subscribing to an unending array of false Biblical teachings and vain, perverted theologies. It is for this reason that a prayerful study of the sanctuary is vitally important to those who call themselves Christians.

The sanctuary gives the only correct view of God and His dealings with His people. It reveals God’s true perspective of sin and His plan for human redemption from it. The sanctuary reveals Jesus Christ, His plan and purpose for the salvation of fallen man. In the sanctuary, all false doctrines are turned upside down and God’s truth comes alive in their places with brightness and glory.

The Apostle Paul, in attempting to persuade his fellow Jews that their sanctuary services pointed to Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah, declared, “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on 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 pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man (Jesus Christ)  have somewhat also to offer” (Hebrews 8:1-3). And if Jesus has something to offer then we want to direct our focus to where He is, in the heavenly sanctuary.

M.L. Andreasen, a noted scholar on the subject, writes: “There are professed Christians who do not see much of importance or value in the God-ordained temple services; yet the gospel plan of salvation as revealed in the New Testament is made clearer by anunderstanding of the Old Testament. In fact, it may confidently be said that he who understands the Levitical system of the Old Testament can much better understand and appreciate the New Testament. The one foreshadows the other and is a type of it” (M.L. Anderssen, The Sanctuary Service, pg 20).

Perhaps the most important reason to study and understand the Sanctuary is because Our Savior admonishes us thus: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). Jesus was verily speaking of the revelation of Himself in the ancient sanctuary and its services. The Feast Days, in particular, outlines and gives a clear timeline of the works of Jesus Christ as our Sacrifice, Savior, High Priest and soon–coming King.

When prayerfully studied and understood, it will shelter us from the strong, overwhelming delusions that are rapidly spreading in intensity and scope around the world, particularly in professed Christendom. It is “ONLY” by knowing Jesus Christ and understanding His work in His sanctuary that we will be saved from the delusions of the enemy and what is to shortly come upon the world as an overwhelming surprise.

The Psalmist David declares, “They have seen thy goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary”(Psalm 68:24). God gave it to the ancient Israelites, and to us today, as a means of teaching them who He was and what His plan for their salvation truly entails. So, therefore, the apostle Paul could confidently declare, “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it”
(Hebrews 3:16).

Here now are explanations of these feasts days and their fulfillment in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Passover/Unleavened Bread
“The fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord’s Passover … and on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord” (Leviticus 23:5-6)(Exodus 12:5,13)
Fulfillment in Jesus Christ
“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump as ye are unleavened.  For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us”  (I Corinthians 5:7) (Matthew 27:51-53).

First Fruits
“Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, when ye come into the land which I give unto you, ye shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest unto the priest… and ye shall wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted for you” (Leviticus 23:10-11).
Fulfillment in Jesus Christ
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruit of them that slept… But every man in his own order:  Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ at his coming” (1 Corinthians 15:20)

Pentecost
“And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete:  Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord” (Leviticus 23:15, 16)
Fulfillment in Jesus Christ
“And when the day of Pentecost were fully come, they were all with one accord in one place… and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting… and they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 1:1, 2, 4).

The gift of the Holy Ghost was given to the disciples by Christ fifty days after his crucifixion. As Jesus was anointed as our High Priest in the Heavenly Sanctuary, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost.
Death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua. Luke 23:54-56; 24:1 —–3 Days
Seen by over 500 for 40 days. Acts 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:6 ———-40 Days
Anointed as our Heavenly High Priest.  Exodus 29:7,35 ————–7 Days
                                                                          Total———————50 Days

Trumpets /Atonement
“Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, in the seventh month, in the feast day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing trumpets in holy convocation… Also on the tenth day of this seventh month, there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord” (Leviticus 23:24, 27)
Fulfillment in Jesus Christ
“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell upon the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people… saying with a loud voice, “fear God and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made the heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountain of waters” (Revelation 14: 6-7).
NOTE: The call to come back to the worship of the true God, the God of creation, the God of the Sabbath goes out to all humanity today.

Tabernacles/Booths
“Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, the fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles (Ingathering) for seven days unto the Lord… Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a Sabbath and on the eight day shall be a Sabbath… Ye shall dwell in the booths seven days, all that are Israelite born shall dwell in booths” (Leviticus 23:39, 42).
Fulfillment in Jesus Christ
“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord…  And I saw thrones, and they that sat upon them, and Judgment was given unto them.  And I saw the souls of them which were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received the mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17) (Revelation 20:4) (Revelation 21:1-4)

NOTE: The feast of the Tabernacles/Booths foreshadows the return of Jesus Christ to earth to gather His elect and to take them to heaven for 1000 years.  As the Jews returned to their homes after the feast, so will the people of God return to an earth made new, after the thousand years, to spend the ceaseless ages of eternity with Him (Matthew 5:5).

The Feasts Days provide an  unbroken chain of divine truth regarding the life and ministry of Jesus Christ that cannot be found any place else. It was to these feasts that the apostle Paul was referring in the book of Colossians, Chapter 2 verses 11-17.  They were indeed shadows of the life and ministry of Christ, ‘a shadow of things to come’. Those feasts were God’s object lesson for the people of Israel and to us today. Through that system, the people were to get a clearer picture of God’s Plan of Redemption for men’s souls.