Hebrews 9

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The first promise God made, the one to Moses, had a holy place. In Leviticus, the Law describes a tent, which later became the more permanent structure of the temple. In the first part of the tent, there was a lamp, a stand, and the bread of presence. Any priest could go in here to do their job. The second part of the tent was the Holy of Holies, and only the chief priest could enter. This part contained a gold incense burner and the Ark of the Covenant. This ark is not a boat but a huge chest. In the ark was a jar of manna, Aaron's staff, and the tablets that had the promise written on them. Hence the name, Ark of the Covenant (promise). All of this is described in much more detail in Leviticus. The chief priest only ever entered the Holy of Holies once a year when he made a blood sacrifice for himself and then for all of the people. This sacrifice cleansed them of their sins, but we all know from living our own lives of sin that this cleanliness probably did not last long. The Holy Spirit used this to show that we could live in the holy place, the Promised Land, but we could not reach the Holy of Holies, Heaven. The Holy Spirit also lived in the Holy of Holies before the crucifixion. The first part of the tent represents the present because people brought their gifts but they could not be at peace about their relationship with God. In the same way, we can't be good enough to get to Heaven. It doesn't matter how much we give to God or to others. Christ as the chief priest went into the holiest pace, a place not even made by human hands. He used His own blood as the sacrifice instead of the blood of animals, and He settled our debt due to sin once and for all. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of cows cleaned people's bodies and made them holy, but the blood of Christ, since He was perfect and sinless, had a greater effect. He cleared us completely from sin, and even cleared our conscience. Now we can serve the Living God. Christ offered Himself to God so that we can have a new promise from God. Because He died, we are free from the sins set out under the old promise. He gave us an inheritance that will last forever. For a will to take effect, the person who made the will must die. That's why Moses sealed the first promise with blood. He covered the tablets on which the promise was written in blood, and then he sprinkled blood on all of the things in the tent to make them clean because if no blood is shed, no sins can be forgiven. Blood is the price for forgiveness from sin. The things in Heaven had to be cleansed with something greater. Jesus went before God to ask forgiveness to our sins just as the chief priests went into the Holy of Holies each year. Christ only went before God once, however, because that was enough. People die once and then are judged. Christ died as a sacrifice, but when He comes again, He will come to save those who await Him.