Paul tells us that Jesus entered the Holy of Holies or Most Holy Place once (Hebrews 9:12) and sat down (cf. Hebrews 1:2-3), implying rest from his redemptive labor (cp. Genesis 2:1-3). Notice that Paul mentions this, placing it between the two references to the Old Covenant ordinance of entering that Sanctuary with the blood of animals (Hebrews 9:10, 12-13). The validity of the Old Covenant stood or took its validity from the blood of animal sacrifices and frequent and various modes washing etc. (Hebrews 9:10). Not so the new order, for the New Covenant is entirely based upon the effectiveness of the Sacrifice of Jesus, which concerned his own life’s blood.
The text never says Jesus brought his own blood with him into the Holy of Holies, either here or elsewhere in the New Covenant. Hebrews 9:12 says: “…having obtained eternal redemption for us,” i.e. “through his blood, he (Jesus) entered once into the Holy Place.” The verse puts Jesus’ sacrifice in the past, before he entered. In other words, his life’s blood was poured out on the cross and then onto the earth, soaking into the dirt. Later, he appeared after his resurrection, not in flesh and blood, but in flesh and bone (Luke 24:39)!
The high priest under the Old Covenant, on the other hand, had to continually offer animal sacrifices not only for the sins of the people but also for himself, showing that the Old Covenant ordinance (G2937 – verse-11) could never cleanse the sinner’s conscience (Hebrews 9:9). Nevertheless, Jesus entered the Holy of Holies once **without** blood, having already spilt it all on Calvary’s cross, and sat down upon the Mercy Seat (Hebrews 1:3), implying rest from his redemptive labors, which were completed there on Calvary’s cross (cf. Genesis 2:1-3; Hebrews 4:1-11). He did not, as the high priests under the Old Covenant, have to continually labor and suffer for our redemption.
While the blood of bulls and goats (speaking of the Day of Atonement – Leviticus 16:6-19) and the ashes of the red heifer (placed in water and sprinkled upon the people – Numbers 19:1-21) were able to ritually cleanse the flesh (Hebrews 9:13), the old ordinance under the Levitical priesthood was absolutely impotent for the needs of the spirit, such as a person’s conscience (Hebrews 9:14).
The blood of Christ, on the other hand, wasn’t spilt within the Temple compound, as that of the animals under the old ordinance that were offered as sin and burnt offerings was. Rather, Christ was sacrificed and his blood was spilt outside the gate near the “third altar” where the red heifer was slain. Life, as the Scripture says, is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11), but Jesus appeared after his resurrection, not as flesh and blood, but as flesh and bone (Luke 24:39). Therefore, Jesus entered the Holy of Holies, not under the power of flesh and blood, but, rather, under the power of the eternal life giving Spirit (Hebrews 9:14), and there sat down upon the Mercy Seat (Hebrews 1:2-3), having already accomplished our eternal Redemption outside the camp (Hebrews 9:15; cf. 13:13). In other words, because we are **in** Christ, we have eternal redemption (Romans 3:24; 8:1-2), because of the eternal life-giving Spirit, and as Jesus said, because he lives, we live as well (John 14:19).
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4 responses to “Gaining Eternal Redemption”
From the YLT…
Rom 3:25 whom God did set forth a mercy seat, through the faith in his blood, for the shewing forth of His righteousness, because of the passing over of the bygone sins in the forbearance of God—
Here in the YLT, hilasterion is translated as “mercyseat” instead of “propitiation” as in the KJV. Notably, the KJV translators did use mercyseat in Heb 9:5 for the same word.
In Exo 25:22, we find where God meets with His people…
Exo 25:22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
Further, we can look to Lev 16 and the atonement sacrifice to find the key that ties it together…
The goat that dies, its blood was utilized to cleanse the tabernacle and mercyseat from the pollution of the sin of the people…
Lev 16:15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:
Lev 16:16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: …
Yet, the goat that carried the sins of the people didn’t die….
Lev 16:21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: …
If we utilize the YLT translation of Rom 3:25 (mercyseat) instead of the KJV translation (propitiation), we find Paul explaining that Jesus, by His faithfulness to the Abrahamic covenant (Gal 2:26) and by His own blood, became the mercyseat in His blood…the place free of the pollution of sin where God can tabernacle and meet with His people, where we can come to ask forgiveness of our sin and strength to overcome them.
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me.
What’s the big deal, one might say? It changes our perception of God from the paganism of a god who required a sacrifice to appease his wrath to one who honored the faithfulness of His Son to fulfill the covenant He made with Abraham. God forbade human sacrifice. Thus, to believe He would ok the sacrifice of His own doesn’t correlate. So, the YLT translation of Rom 3:25 provides us the insights we need to understand the atonement sacrifice of Lev 16 in light of Exo 25:22.
Peace!
Greetings, Bill, and thank you for reading and for your comment.
I agree with you up to your take in your final two paragraphs. First, Galatians 2:26 must be a typo and you’re referring to Galatians 3, but I don’t know which verse. Nevertheless, Galatians 3 refers to Genesis 15 where the Lord went through the slain animals while Abraham slept. This means the Lord held himself responsible for the covenant he made with Abraham. That covenant was unilateral, not bilateral as was the Mosaic Covenant. Abraham couldn’t break the covenant the Lord made with him because God held himself as the sole responsible party.
So, too, is the New Covenant. Jesus is, in fact a human sacrifice, and I go into this kind of thing throughout Hebrews 10, and the sense actually began in my post yesterday (Our Hope and Surety of a Better Covenant). Tomorrow’s offering continues in the same vein. Jesus’ Blood ratified the New Covenant. Just as the blood of animals was used to ratify the Mosaic Covenant, so Jesus had to die in order to ratify the New Covenant, so human sacrifice was necessary. The pagan image is a corruption of the truth, which probably was known from the time Adam rebelled, but had since fallen into ignorance (cp. Romans first chapter).
I was really blessed by the Lord in this study. I have come to ‘see’ him in a way not known before. It was a difficult study, but a rewarding one. I much prefer studying the Gospels and Acts. :-)
Lord bless you, my friend.
Hi Eddie.
Gal 2:16, not 26 ;-)…sorry.
Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law:
I agree that Jesus was a sacrifice as we look at Dan 9:26. The word for “cut off” is karath…
A primitive root; to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication to destroy or consume; specifically to covenant (that is, make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces):
What was Jesus being faithful to? The covenant God made was with Abraham and Jesus…
Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
Gal 3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
Rom 15:8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:
…both references to Paul’s view of the Dan 9:27 covenant and how the “circumcision” would come into Abraham’s family. Not by the law or by dna or by physical circumcision, but the faith of Christ Jesus and their belief in His faith. As such, we enter in likewise manner.
I will keep reading the series as you post. I enjoy your studies. The atonement sacrifice of Jesus has to fit the shadow of Lev 16, though. And the goat that died, his blood cleansed the tabernacle and mercyseat so they could be free of sin’s pollution, so God could dwell there. The goat that carried the sins of the people didn’t die.
My best to you and yours.
We are in full agreement, here, Bill. Sorry that I misunderstood you. Lord bless you, always, my friend.