24 For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.
Jesus place is now in heaven. His sacrifice makes it possible for us to be in the presence of God without fear of punishment or shame. This is the way it was in the Garden of Eden in the beginning. God dwelt with man. There was no separation. Sin had not taken a toll on the relationship. We were not separated from his presence. All the Old Testament worship elements were simply earthly representations of heavenly realities. They were a way for God to illustrate the path back to Himself in a language that the people could understand. There is no need for a sacrificial altar in Heaven. Sacrifice is an earthly reality, not a heavenly one. All the earthly sacrifices pointed to the one sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. All the symbols and rituals were a Sunday School lesson for the Children of Israel. They were all there to teach them about what Christ would do. They were all God’s way of teaching us about His character and our fallenness, and about the way to be restored to intimate fellowship with Him. And because Christ entered the heavenly sanctuary, He is there to represent us in God’s presence. And because we know Christ, Heaven will be a familiar place when we arrive. The point of this passage is that Jesus is a better priest, a better representative, a perfect intermediary for us. He didn’t do His work in an earthly, temporary copy of the heavenly reality. He did His work in the heavenly reality. And that work was done once for all time, for all people, for all sin. There is no need to repeat it. The job has been done. Sin has been dealt with completely.
The Arnold Journey 