The Lord told Moses to build a sanctuary — a special building that would serve as a dwelling place for the God of heaven. It was an elegant, tent-type structure of upright boards set in silver sockets and overlaid with gold, with two rooms: the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, separated by a thick veil. The courtyard around it was fenced with fine linen on 60 pillars of brass.

God’s way — the plan of salvation — is revealed in the earthly sanctuary. The Bible teaches that everything in the sanctuary (the building, furniture, and services) are symbols of something Jesus did in saving us. So we can fully comprehend the plan of salvation as we understand the symbolism connected with the sanctuary.

God Himself gave Moses the construction specifications. The building was a copy of the original sanctuary in heaven.

A. The altar of burnt offerings, where animals were sacrificed (Exodus 27:1–8), represents the cross of Christ; the animal represents Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice (John 1:29). B. The laver — a large brass basin between the altar and the entrance, where priests washed their hands and feet (Exodus 30:17–21). The water represents cleansing from sin and the new birth (Titus 3:5).

A. The table of shewbread (Exodus 25:23–30) represents Jesus, the living bread (John 6:51). B. The candlestick represents Jesus, the light of the world (John 9:5); the oil represents the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:1–6). C. The altar of incense represents the prayers of God’s people (Revelation 5:8).

The Ark of the Covenant — the only piece of furniture in the Most Holy Place (Exodus 25:10–22) — was a chest of acacia wood overlaid with gold. On top were two angels of solid gold, and between them the mercy seat, where the presence of God dwelt. This symbolized God’s throne in heaven, which is likewise located between two angels (Psalm 80:1).

The Ten Commandments, which God wrote on tables of stone (Deuteronomy 10:4,5). But the mercy seat was above them, signifying that as long as God’s people confess and forsake sin (Proverbs 28:13), mercy is extended to them through the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat (Leviticus 16:15,16). The animal’s blood represented Jesus’ blood shed for the forgiveness of sin (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 9:22).

The sacrificing of animals was necessary to help people understand that without the shedding of Jesus’ blood their sins could never be forgiven (Hebrews 9:22). The wage for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). The sinner was to slay the animal with his own hand (Leviticus 1:4,5), which indelibly impressed the awful consequences of sin and the desperate need of a Savior-Substitute. The sacrificial system taught that God would give His own Son to die for their sins (1 Corinthians 15:3; John 1:29). There is no other source of salvation (Acts 4:12).

The sinner laid his hands on the animal’s head and confessed his sins. This symbolized the transfer of sin from the sinner to the animal. Now the sinner was considered innocent and the animal guilty, and it had to pay sin’s wage — death. By slaying the animal with his own hand, the sinner was graphically taught that sin caused the innocent animal’s death and that his sin would cause the death of the innocent Messiah.

The blood was taken by the priest (who represented Jesus — Hebrews 3:1) into the sanctuary and sprinkled before the veil. Thus the sins of the people were symbolically transferred to the sanctuary. This ministry foreshadowed Jesus’ present ministry for us in heaven. After dying on the cross, Jesus went to heaven as our High Priest to minister His blood in the heavenly sanctuary (Hebrews 9:11,12), applying it to our sins and showing they are forgiven when we confess them in His name (1 John 1:9).

Jesus serves as the Sacrifice for our sins and as our heavenly High Priest. This accomplishes two miracles for us: A. A complete life change — the new birth with all past sins forgiven (John 3:3–6; Romans 3:25). B. Power to live right in the present and future (Titus 2:14; Philippians 2:13). These miracles make a person righteous. Righteousness cannot be earned by works; a person becomes righteous by trusting the Savior to do what he cannot do for himself. This is “righteousness by faith.”

A. He will cover our past sins and count us guiltless (Isaiah 44:22; 1 John 1:9). B. He will restore us to God’s image, in which we were created (Genesis 1:26,27; Romans 8:29). C. He gives the desire to live righteously and the power to do it (Philippians 2:13). D. He causes us to happily do what pleases God (Hebrews 13:20,21). E. He removes the death sentence by crediting us with His sinless life and atoning death (2 Corinthians 5:21). F. He assumes responsibility for keeping us faithful until He returns (Jude 1:24).

Yes. Jesus said we must do His Father’s will (Matthew 7:21). Although we cannot work the miracles needed to become righteous, we must daily recommit to Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:31), inviting Him to direct our lives, and follow where He leads (John 12:26; 1 Peter 2:21). Sin can be overcome only by God’s power (Mark 10:27). Many wrongly believe Jesus will take to heaven all who merely profess salvation, regardless of conduct — but this is a deception.

Once each year, on the Day of Atonement, a solemn day of judgment took place in Israel (Leviticus 23:27). All were to confess every sin; those who refused were cut off from the people (Leviticus 23:29). Two goats were selected: one the Lord’s goat, the other the scapegoat, representing Satan (Leviticus 16:8). The Lord’s goat was slain, and its blood taken into the Most Holy Place and sprinkled before the mercy seat (Leviticus 16:14). The confessed sins of the people were transferred from the sanctuary to the high priest, then to the scapegoat, which was led into the wilderness (Leviticus 16:20–22). Thus the sanctuary was cleansed of the people’s sins.

Yes. That day’s services pointed to the blotting out of sin by the true High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary. This special judgment day foreshadowed the final atonement for planet Earth. It assures us that our faithful High Priest, Jesus, still mediates in heaven and stands ready to blot out the sins of all who exercise faith in His shed blood. The final atonement leads to the final judgment, which settles the sin question in every life.