Reading
SAA Notes
Details, details! They all give us the knowledge that God is taking particular care in building this heavenly Temple – so as Peter writes: We are living stones being built into a spiritual house – the body of Christ the true Temple.
SJA Notes
* Dear God, thank You for Your word today. Please write it on our hearts that we might not sin against You.
“And he said to me, ‘This is the Most Holy Place'”.
We should take seriously what we do on a Sunday, the new sabbath, when we join together in corporate worship of our God.
It is very interesting that in this new temple shown to Ezekiel (and never built on earth) there is a Most Holy Place.
The Most Holy Place was an inner place where the High Priest could only enter once a year to offer up sacrifice to God for the sins of the people.
Leviticus 16 tells us,
“And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.”
Once a year. Sacrifice for sin. Atonement for the people. Only the High Priest.
The book of Hebrews help us greatly. Jesus is our great High Priest. He secured for us eternal redemption, He atoned for our sins.
In chapter 9 we read,
“For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.”
Now if the temple shown to Ezekiel is not built with human hands, if it is a vision of the heavenly true things, and there is a most holy place there – Then this is what Hebrews speaks of, the holy places opened (because the first “copy” section no longer stands).
Then. Because Jesus opened up the way into the holy places, and because we are living stones making up this new template – we are able to enter the Most Holy Place in this new temple.
This is why we must take seriously what we do when we come together to worship our God on a Sunday, on the New Sabbath.
Because we enter into the presence of our King, our God, into the very heavenly realities.
* Father God,
Please help us understand Your Word today.
Please write it on our hearts.
Please help us discern truth and discard lies.
Amen.