A New Temple: To Separate the Holy and the Common

In Ezekiel 41:4, the bronze man goes into the Most Holy Place and measures it – but Ezekiel does not enter there.

Ezekiel sees a vision of the heavenly temple – the eschatological temple – but he still cannot enter the Most Holy Place.

Hebrews 9:6-7 comments on this: “the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.”

And then Hebrews 9:8 explains the meaning of this: “By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age)”

I want you to think about this. The first section of the temple represents “the present age,” by which Hebrews refers to the Mosaic age – with its rituals “imposed until the time of reformation.” And in Hebrews 9:11, we hear that “when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)
he entered once for all into the holy place, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”

According to Hebrews, the temple is a picture of redemptive history. Even as the holy place was preparatory to the Most Holy Place, so also the Mosaic age was preparatory to Christ.