God directed Moses, the leader of the ancient Hebrew nation: “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).

God wanted to show His people the plan of salvation by this object lesson. He wanted to show them how they could be reconciled to Him, so that He could dwell among them.

The exact construction of the tabernacle is described in Exodus chapters 25–27. After 480 years, this tabernacle was replaced by the temple that Solomon built. Solomon’s temple was twice the size of the tabernacle and was destroyed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in 587 B.C. It was modestly rebuilt many decades later and had been magnificently expanded by King Herod during Jesus’ time on earth. This was the temple where Jesus sometimes taught.

In the outer court of the tabernacle, and later of the temple, the priests served every day by offering “bloody” animal sacrifices and “unbloody” thank offerings for the whole nation, for individuals and for themselves. But not only the priests were to bring offerings.

“And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty; or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge: then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering” (Leviticus 4:27–29).

Can you imagine how the sinner went burdened and sad to the outer court to bring his sin offering? Maybe people were watching him while he was on his way to bring his sacrifice. However, they were not condemnatory about it because they, too, all experienced the same. When the sinner arrived there, he took his animal before the brazen altar to lay his hand on his offering and confess his sin. Then he himself had to slay this innocent animal. What a terrible moment! I do not know about you, but for me it would be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to look this cute, innocent animal in the eyes and then cut his throat. I believe, however, that this was an important lesson for the Israelites. They needed to see the agonizing pain that sin causes. Likewise, we need a clear picture of what sin cost God. Christ took our guilt upon Himself and suffered in our place as the innocent Lamb of God. When we dwell upon the love, suffering, and death of Jesus, we can see how terrible sin really is.

The sinner then left the brazen altar with joy, knowing that his sins were now confessed and forgiven. However, here the reconciliation between the sinner and God was not yet finished. He needed now to trust the priest.

“And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar. And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour unto the LORD; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him” (Leviticus 4:30, 31).

Here something very important happened. The priest took the blood, put some of it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and poured out the rest of it at the bottom of the altar. Why was that so important? The Bible gives us the answer in Leviticus 17:11: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” We can clearly see that it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul. When Adam and Eve sinned, they lost their oneness with God; they lost the character of God and were no longer in harmony with His holy law. A separation took place, and it is the blood that now brings reconciliation. God’s plan for you and for me is to bring us back into harmony with Him, so that His beautiful character is reflected in us.

So, the blood was put on the horns of the altar. But what does this altar represent? It represents the cross. There Christ brought a complete atonement. “Type met antitype in the death of Christ, the Lamb slain for the sins of the world. Our great High Priest has made the only sacrifice that is of any value in our salvation. When He offered Himself on the cross, a perfect atonement was made for the sins of the people. We are now standing in the outer court, waiting and looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”—The Signs of the Times, June 28, 1899.

You and I are guilty of breaking God’s law, but Jesus paid the fine. He exchanged His perfect life for our life full of transgression. He restored us back to divine favor. Through His sacrifice on the cross, Jesus reestablished the connection between heaven and earth. But the plan of salvation does not stop here. The cross is like a bridge that reconnects the gap of separation between God and man. Jesus put an end to this separation by giving His blood on the cross for the human race. However, we must go across this bridge to become one with God again. Even though the cross is the greatest proof of God’s love to humanity, it is not the end of plan of salvation—but rather the beginning of a work.

“The intercession of Christ in man’s behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. By His death He began that work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete in heaven. We must by faith enter within the veil, ‘whither the forerunner is for us entered.’ Hebrews 6:20.”—The Great Controversy, p. 489.

We can see that Christ’s ministry as high priest in the heavenly sanctuary is a very essential point in the plan of salvation. We saw that Christ paid our debts and caused “the sacrifice and the oblation to cease” (Daniel 9:27), but the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:17 that “if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” So even though Christ paid for our sins on the cross, if Jesus had not been raised from the dead, we would still be in our sins. This point is very important to understand! This means that at the time when Christ cried out on the cross, “It is finished!” and died there for you and for me, we were still in our sins. Something else needed to happen in order for us to benefit from the sacrifice God gave in our behalf. In Romans 4:25 the Bible tells us that Christ “was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” This word “justification” means to be forgiven and declared righteous. This is what needed to happen. Death could not hold our dear Saviour. Because of His sinless life and His resurrection to serve as our High Priest, He offers you forgiveness and is able to declare you righteous.

On the cross, the way was opened for you to be forgiven. The way was made for you to be found righteous. However, on the cross, salvation from the power of sin (1 Corinthians 15:17) and forgiveness and cleansing from sin (Romans 4:25) was not accomplished.

That is why Jesus had to be raised to take another role in this plan of salvation, so that He could continue the work of reconciliation between God and man. Now He bestows His merits upon every repentant sinner, so that you can be free from sin and be found righteous.

The sanctuary service is like God’s G.P.S. (Gospel Plan of Salvation), to show us the way of redemption. Nowadays it’s difficult to get lost. A simple glance on Google or Apple Maps shows us where we need to go to get to our desired destination. However, in our spiritual life it sometimes happens that we lose track and are confused about which way to go. That is why we need God’s G.P.S.—and this leads to and through the sanctuary. “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?” (Psalm 77:13).

When we are confused about the gospel, all we need to do is to look to the sanctuary; to behold the same way God preached the gospel to the Israelites in the wilderness. In Hebrews 4:2 we read, “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.”

So simply by looking at and studying the sanctuary, we can understand what the everlasting gospel is all about.

If we look at the sanctuary again, we can see that the blood was shed in the courtyard, and that this blood is representing the blood of Christ on the cross. The blood, however, did not stay there on the altar. Symbolically, some of the blood was brought into the holy place.

This means that Christ made the atonement on earth and then took His own blood to heaven to administer it to you as a remedy. Why? As we have already seen, when He died, we were not yet forgiven. When He exclaimed, “It is finished,” we were not yet declared righteous, but we were still in our sins. That is why He took the blood with Him to heaven, and He can now give you and me the merits of His life, so that we will no longer be in our sins and instead be found righteous.

“But Christ came as high priest of goods with God by the greater and more perfect tabernacle, which is not made with hands, that is: which is not of this creation. Neither did he enter into the sanctuary by the blood of goats or calves, but by his own blood once for all, having obtained an eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:11, 12).

Why is His blood mentioned here? Because the blood is absolutely necessary. We already saw that it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul (Leviticus 17:14) and God’s word clearly tells us that “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22).

“Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17).

Isn’t that wonderful? Christ brings His own blood into the holy place, and what does He do? He makes atonement for us! Christ bought a perfect atonement for the sins of the people on the cross, and then went to heaven to make that atonement available to you and me.

That is why the altar of incense, which stands in the holy place is like a miniature of the brazen altar. Both are made of acacia wood and have four horns. What Jesus wants to show us here is that if you want to have access to the cross, if you want to have access to His life (because “the life of the flesh is in the blood”), if you want to have access to His victory, all you have to do is to come to Him in prayer. That’s how you can have access to the power of the atonement!

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

We can only experience forgiveness and cleansing of our sins when we let our prayers ascend like holy incense to the throne of God.

“True prayer takes hold upon Omnipotence and gives us the victory. Upon his knees the Christian obtains strength to resist temptation. . . . The silent, fervent prayer of the soul will rise like holy incense to the throne of grace and will be as acceptable to God as if offered in the sanctuary. To all who thus seek Him, Christ becomes a present help in time of need. They will be strong in the day of trial.”—Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 616.

That is how you and I can benefit now from our great high priest Jesus Christ, how we can experience forgiveness of sins and cleansing from sin, and how He shares His victorious life with you. It is like Christ giving us a blood transfusion. In essence He is saying, “I give you my blood so that you can live victoriously.”

“For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer” (Hebrews 8:3).

Therefore, we cannot stop at the cross. As already mentioned, when Jesus died there, we were still in our sins, we were not righteous! Therefore, it was necessary that He becomes High Priest, so that He can offer us the gifts and the sacrifice of His life!

And how encouraging and comforting it is to know that our High Priest knows us inside and out. He knows how it is to be tempted. He knows how difficult temptations can be; but even though He was tempted to the maximum and in all points, He stayed loyal to His Father.

“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:14, 15).

Jesus knows exactly what you are struggling with, and He offers you the remedy for your sins—His victorious life. He is more than willing to let His merits flow to you. He longs to be your High Priest, your Intercessor; and He waits for you. He wants you to come to Him, that you might find peace for your soul, and forgiveness and cleansing from your sin.

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

May we access His merits by coming to our great High Priest in prayer—and may His life flow into your life. Amen!

Without beginning and without end

Jesus is this sinner’s Best Friend.

From the order of Melchizedek He came

To die for my sins and bear my shame.

Now back to Heaven He’s gone

To intercede there for everyone.

My name is graven upon His hands

And He has fulfilled the law’s demands.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God Most High

Intercedes for me so I won’t die

Before the throne He cries, “Father, forgive”

He gave His life that I might live.

This great King of kings and Prince of peace

is none other than my Great High Priest.

Praise God that He is my Saviour, too,

and can do that which no one else can do.

—Roy Allen