It would seem, what does the regulation about the high priest entering the sanctuary behind the veil have to do with us? Not only do most of us not belong to the descendants of Aaron (or even to the Levites), but also...
It would seem, what does the regulation about the high priest entering the sanctuary behind the veil have to do with us? Not only do most of us not belong to the descendants of Aaron (or even to the Levites), but the sanctuary itself has long since ceased to exist, so there is nowhere to enter.
Yet in the consciousness of the first Christians this ordinance did not lose its meaning. We see an example of how they understood the connection between themselves and the Old Testament high priest in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb 9). It is clear that God dwells not only and not so much in the tabernacle of the covenant as in the sanctuary according to whose pattern it was made.
Therefore the real High Priest, the one who truly fulfills this prescription, can only be a man who has entered heavenly glory, clothed himself in garments of glory, and brought a sacrifice for the cleansing of the whole people. Naturally, Christians knew that the only man who satisfies the requirements of the law in full measure, and not only in a "prefigurative" way, is one alone - the Man Jesus Christ.
If we now reread this passage from the Epistle to the Hebrews once more, we will see that such an interpretation is not merely allegory or typology of images, but the direct consequence of the new faith, by which the words of the Law are clarified and turn into testimony to Grace.
