So... now the true 'Joshua' has
come...
Y'shua / Jesus now leads the way across the 'spiritual' Jordan and into the
'promised land'.
He has accomplished what the Law
and its (animal) sacrifices could not.
As seen in the following passages, those
things were of limited usefulness,
and they were never meant to be the way through which the 'promised land'
would be attained ---
Hebrews 10:1-4 "For the Law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. (v.2) For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshippers, once purged, would have had no more consciousness of sins. (v.3) But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. (v.4) For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins".
Galatians 3:23 "...before faith came, we were kept under guard by the Law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed".
Galatians 3:24 "Therefore the Law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith".
Acts 13:39 "... and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the Law of Moses..".
In Hebrews 10:4 (above), it is plainly stated that the blood of animals was never intended to be the means through which man's relationship with God would be reestablished. Animal sacrifice was only intended as a symbol (or "shadow") 71 of what would be necessary, and that was the substitutionary death of a sinless man. Only a sinless man could properly pay the price for mankind's sin.
And now, that man has finally come
on the scene...
As we've seen ---
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Jesus has come out of heaven (John 8:42) (represented by the Most Holy Place)... |
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Taking on a physical form, he lived his life in the 'place of relationship with God here on earth' (represented by the holy place)... |
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Eventually, Jesus experienced the 'water' represented by the 'bronze basin'... in the sense of being baptized in the Jordan river which both literally and figuratively separated Israel from the 'promised land' of Canaan. Jesus' baptism was a statement of his willingness to leave the place of relationship with God, and be 'made sin' 72 in order to become the substitute for sinful man... |
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Then, at the appropriate time, he willingly experienced the 'blood' represented by the 'altar of sacrifice'... giving his life on behalf of all mankind. |
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And thankfully, because of his dual bloodlines, ultimately, death "could not hold him". 73 |
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He was thus "resurrected
on the third day" 74
now sits at "the right hand of God".
75 (just as predicted years previously). 76 |
Or, as the tabernacle's symbolism illustrates it, Jesus has now ---
The fact that Jesus has entered the "Most Holy Place" can be seen in the following passages, which describe him as having ---
Hebrews 6:19 "... entered the presence behind the veil..." 77
Hebrews 6:20 "... where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever..."
Hebrews 9:12 "Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood he entered the Most Holy Place once for all..".
Hebrews 9:24 "... into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us".
In Hebrews 6:20 (above), it is worth noting that Jesus is referred to as "High Priest"...
Remember, in the days
of the Law and its sacrifices,
it was the High Priest who ultimately 'brought everyone in' to God's presence.
Thus, Jesus now fulfills
that role in the literal sense...
As the true and eternal High Priest, he is the one who truly brings everyone
into God's presence.
This can be seen here ---
Ephesians 2:4-6 "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, (v.5) even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved,) (v.6) and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus..."
In this passage, we see that
believers are considered to be sitting "...
together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus"...
In other words, the believer has indeed been 'brought in' and now has access
to the innermost room of the tabernacle...
the "Most Holy Place"...
...the actual presence of God!
Whereas in the days before Jesus'
sacrifice,
the common people did not have direct access to the tabernacle's 'promised
land' at all,
now... through Y'shua / Jesus, all believers are free to enter the tabernacle
and may ---
Hebrews 4:16 "... come boldly to the throne of grace..."
Hebrews 10:19 "... having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus"
Galatians 4:4-5 "...when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, (v.5) to redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons".
2 Corinthians 6:18 "...I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty..."
This is quite a change in mankind's relationship with God.
Clearly, Jesus' death has indeed
accomplished
what the Law & the deaths of all the sacrificial animals could not.
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