December 26 – The Heavenly Sanctuary Cleansed

“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” Hebrews 9:22-23 (KJV)

What does it mean for the sanctuary to be purified? The Old Testament Scriptures provide clear descriptions of ceremonies related to the purification of the earthly sanctuary. But can there truly be something in Heaven requiring purification? Hebrews 9 explores the purification of both the earthly and heavenly sanctuaries in depth.

The purification, whether in the symbolic service of the past or the actual heavenly ministry, was always to be accomplished through blood. In the earthly sanctuary, it was the blood of animals. In the heavenly ministry, it is the precious blood of Christ.

This purification does not involve the removal of physical impurities. The use of blood signifies a cleansing from sin. Just as, in the earthly service, the sins of the people were symbolically transferred to the sanctuary through the blood of sin offerings, so too, in reality, our sins are transferred to the heavenly sanctuary through the blood of Christ. The earthly sanctuary’s purification was achieved by the removal of sins that had been symbolically placed upon it. Similarly, the heavenly sanctuary must be cleansed by the removal, or blotting out, of sins recorded there.

This cleansing requires an investigative process. It determines who, through repentance and faith in Christ, is entitled to the benefits of His atonement. On the great day of final reckoning, through the power of Christ’s atoning blood, the sins of all true penitents will be blotted out from the heavenly records.

Christ intercedes for His people, seeking not only their full forgiveness and justification but also their participation in His glory and their place beside Him on His throne.