will be so kind. You'll notice that I got my wife busy on the typewriter and Mr. Graham very kindly volunteered to be the printer. And so, according to our promise tomorrow, this morning we have an outline for you and you didn't have to wait until tomorrow. That's how we do things in Park of the Plum. I wonder, while the outlines are being distributed, do we have anyone in the service tonight who hasn't been at any of the other sessions because you've only just arrived? Yes, I see one or two folks, and so you'll be able to catch up a little as we go very, very swiftly over that part of the outline which we have already covered in the Epistle to the Hebrew. Now you'll observe that there are two main sections. The first one is a long one and it deals with the person of Christ. And the second is a short one and it deals with the practice of Christianity. God gives to us a long, long look at the Lord Jesus and then he says in effect, now having looked upon him, you know the way that you are supposed to act. And just in case you don't, I'm going to tell you, he says. And so from chapter ten and verse nineteen through to the end of the epistle, we have these practical things, beginning with a plea for fidelity. But that is, of course, a future study. Now as the Spirit of God brings the person of Christ before us, he presents him to us first of all as a revelation of God. You see that here on the outline. And as a revelation of God we see him in chapter one superior to the prophets and in the rest of chapter one and chapter two superior to the angel. But we noted that part of those two chapters is in brackets. There are four parentheses they spill over actually into chapter six. And they are linked with the expression or the word therefore and the phrase letters. Here they are listed for you just to remind you of our previous study, Therefore Heed. That is in chapter two. That exhortation is four verses long, and in it we have a demand for attention, therefore heed. In chapters three and four we have a parenthesis, and it pivots around upon the words, therefore fear, and it's a demand for devotion. Again in chapter four comes our third bracket, therefore labour. It's a demand for the right kind of occupation. And then chapters five and six have a parenthesis. Therefore go on, and here we have a demand for progression. Now that we've covered in our earlier studies. The Lord Jesus as a revelation of God superior to the prophets and superior to the angels. And then in chapters three and four he is brought before us or presented to us as a saviour from God. And here he is seen to be superior to Moses in chapter three and part of chapter four, and superior to Joshua also in chapter four. But we have moved into the third part of this main, this first section. And here the Lord Jesus is presented as a high priest before God. There are four things particularly that our attention is focused upon in this portion that runs from chapter four and verse fourteen all the way through chapter ten and verse eighty. And these four things are all better things. There is a better priesthood, and there is a better sanctuary, and there is a better covenant, and also a better sacrifice. Now we have in our earlier studies covered the superior or better priesthood, and we noted in chapter four the last three verses the introduction of Christ as high priest. In chapter five, the first ten verses, the superiority of Christ as High Priest. And there we have shown why he is the better High Priest. In chapter six, verses thirteen through twenty, we have the function of Christ as High Priest, and then all of chapter seven, twenty-eight verses, the illustration of Christ as High Priest, and that was our study for this morning. And, of course, the illustration or the type is found in that mysterious figure Melchizedek, and we studied him during our session earlier today. We looked at the type, this Melchizedek, and we looked at the fulfillment of the type, this man, that is the Lord Jesus. Now tonight we're going to look at the superior or the better sanctuary and there are two short sections we're going to read. Let's turn then to Hebrews chapter eight and read the first five verses and then Hebrews chapter nine and the first eleven verses. Now what the Word of God says is far more important than anything I might have to say about it. So please note the reading very carefully. Now, of the things which we have spoken, this is the Son. We have such an high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, a minister of the true sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices, Wherefore it is of necessity that this man, that is the Lord Jesus, have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth he should not be a priest. We covered that this morning because he was not of the tribe of Levi, but instead of the tribe of Judah. And Moses said nothing of priests arising from that line, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the Lord. That's a reference to the Levitical priesthood. Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things. As Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle. For see, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount. Now in these first five verses we have, as you will see on the outline, a reference to the new sanctuary. Now I want you to read one verse in chapter nine in this connection, and it's the verse eleven. But Christ, being come, and high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building. These are the verses then that refer to the new sanctuary. Now since this is referred to as a new sanctuary, there must have been an old one. So now let's read about the old one which has been replaced. Hebrews nine and verse one. Then Beverly the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service and a worldly or earthly sanctuary. Now because it was an earthly one, a worldly one, obviously there was room for improvement. This was the old sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made. The first wherein was the candlestick and the table and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary, and after the second veil or curtain the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all, which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and errands rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant. and over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat of which we cannot now speak particularly. Now, when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God, but into the second went the high priest alone. Once, every year, not without blood which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people, the Holy Ghost this signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing, which was a figure for the time then present in which we were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not make him, but did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience, which stood only in meats and drinks and divers washings and carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time of re-formation. Now these are the verses then that have to do with the old sanctuary. Now, Sinful men, let me remind you at the beginning of our study this evening, sinful men has always stood in need of a way back to God. Under the old order, under the old the Jewish economy, this need for a way back to God resolved itself into four things. Number one, there was a need, there was need of an assurance in which to come to God. That was very necessary. An assurance in which to come to God. A man had to know that he was coming to God the right way, and his coming had to be with confidence. He needed an assurance. Number two, under the old economy, this need of man was resolved into The need for an animal with which to come to God. Not only an assurance, but an animal. He had to come with an offering. He had to come with a special presentation to God. He needed an animal with which to come to God. Thirdly, he needed an approach by which to come to God. His assurance and his animal had to be on the right basis, and his approach to God had to be the right approach. Then fourthly, he needed an abode to which to come. A place... to which he called in his confidence, bring his animal, and know that his approach was a lawful one. Four things. Now, under the old economy, the first need, the need for assurance, was met in the covenant with its specific promises. Under the old economy, the second need, the need for the animal, was met in the sacrifice with its particular qualifications. The third need, the need for an approach, was met in the priest with his recognized virtues. And then fourthly, the fourth need was met in the tabernacle, with its various ceremonies and its obvious lessons. Now can I give you that again? Man needed an assurance, he needed an animal, he needed an approach, and he needed an abode. The first need was met in the covenant that gave him his assurance because of its specific promises. The second, the need for the animal was met in the sacrifice. Any animal wouldn't do it, had to be an animal with special virtues without blemish. The third need, the need for the approach was met in the priest with his special qualification. And the last one, the need for the abode was met in the tabernacle with its various ceremonies and its obvious lessons. Now the main part of this epistle that we are studying proves that each of these has been superseded. The covenant, the sacrifice, the priesthood and the tabernacle. Now we've talked about the better priesthood. Now let's talk about the better sanctuary. And if we are going to recognize the virtues of the second, then we've got to know something about the first. So we look at the old sanctuary to begin with. Now there are four things that are pointed out to us about the old sanctuary in chapter nine. Will you turn to that chapter and notice? First of all, number one, it was passing. It is called a worldly sanctuary, an earthly sanctuary. And that very adjective, that very description, reminds us that it was transient because earthly things are, worldly things are. Therefore a little time and the first thing that is obvious about this first sanctuary, this old sanctuary, is that it was passing. It doesn't exist today. God did not intend that it should continue indefinitely. It was meant for just a certain period of time. It was passing. Then look again and read on, and you'll find that this old sanctuary was partitioned. It was in two parts. There was a holy place into which the priest went to minister, and there was the holiest of all, into which only the high priest went, And when he went, it was only once a year, and he dare not enter without the shedding of blood." Now tradition tells us, this is not found in the Bible, but tradition tells us that when the high priest went into the holiest of all, he went in with a rope tied around his waist that trailed out from behind the veil so that Should he presume in the presence of God and be struck dead, no one would have to trespass behind the veil to remove his carcass, it could be withdrawn by means of a rope. So very, very solemn a thing was it to enter into the holiest of all. So this old sanctuary was partitioned. Now its construction was in two parts, and its ceremony was in two parts. We have the descriptions for us here. Verse two says, there was a tabernacle made, the first, or that is, the first part, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary or the holy place. And after the second veil, now the first veil was the entrance to the holy place. The second veil was the entrance to the holiest of all. After the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all, which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant, and over it the cherubims of glory, shadowing the mercy sweet. Now he said the construction was in two parts. In the first was the candlestick or lampstand, the table, and the present spread. All of them are illustrative. and then beyond that second veil the holiest of all in which was the golden censer and the golden ark. Inside the golden ark there was the manna, there was Aaron's rod, and there were the tablets. Now we ought to take just a moment to think about the significance of all of this, particularly the holiest of all. The golden censer bespoke God's pleasure. The golden ark containing these things, first of all containing the manna, spoke of God's power. Here was a constant reminder that God was able to supply his people while they wandered because of their own folly in the wilderness, and he did it by means of angels' food. He did it by means of manna. And here is a portion of the manna to remind these people of God's power. He was able to do it through these forty years. And then Aaron's rod. Now you know the story of Aaron's rod that budded. It was a reminder of God's presence. power lay only in God himself, and it was only God's presence with Aaron, as with Moses, that accomplished the impossible. And the rod that budded was a reminder of God's presence. And then the tablets, of course, of the law were the reminder of God's purity. Now I'd like to take time and talk about these, but you think about them. God's pleasure in the golden censer, And then in the three things contained in the Golden Ark, God's tower, God's presence, and God's purity. Now you can see that this first tabernacle, this first sanctuary, the tabernacle as it was called, having two parts, constructed in two parts, was a very, very important thing to the Israelite, and God intended it to be that way. This was a sanctuary to fulfill a very vital function and to be a precious thing to the people of God. How be it? It was a passing thing. Now not only was it partitioned as to construction, it was partitioned as to ceremony. Its construction was in two parts. and its ceremony was in two parts. There was a daily ceremony involving the priest, and there was a yearly ceremony involving the high priest. Now you find this in verse six and verse seven. Look, verse six says, Now when these things were thus ordained, the priest went always, that is daily, into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God." Now there was the daily ceremony. But verse seven, into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the errors of the people. There is the yearly ceremony. So you have the old sanctuary not only passing but also partitioned, both as to its construction and as to its ceremony. Now look at verse eight, will you? The Holy Ghost, this signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing, which was a figure for the time then present. We've said that the old sanctuary was passing. We've said that the old sanctuary was partitioned. Now we read that the old sanctuary was a parable. It was parabolic. It was, if you will, a picture. God is saying to the children of Israel, there is a veil, a second veil. There is that beyond which only the high priest can go, and that only once a year. The rank and file are not allowed into the holiest of all. And while the tabernacle thus stood, there was no way opened up into the holiest of all. This was a parable. Now when it says, while as yet the first tabernacle was standing, this isn't referring to the two parts, it's referring to the first part into which the priests went. In effect, God is saying here, while the veil remains, there are two places in the tabernacle, and while that condition exists, there is no way for the rank and file into the holiest of all. Now when was that change? You say, when the old tabernacle or temple was done away? No. When Jesus died, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the bottom to the top. No, from the top to the bottom. It had to be that way. Because man couldn't tear that veil. I have read somewhere. that if you had taken a team of horses, six in number, and put them in one spot, and another team of horses, and put them in another spot, and then attached a rope to each corner of the curtain, the veil, it would have taken two such teams to rend it. But when eventually that veil was rent, God did it. That's why it was rent from the top to the bottom. Now what happened in one fell swoop? I'll tell you. The holiest of all and the holy place suddenly became one. And it was at that point it could be said that now the first tabernacle no longer stands. The first tabernacle in a sense was destroyed because when the veil was gone the first and the second tabernacles were no longer separated. And entry into the one meant automatic entry into the other, because now they had become one. And that's a very, very precious thing. Because every believer is bitten to come boldly to the throne of grace, and where is that? That's the holiest of all. So here we have in the old sanctuary that which was parabolic, epictorial. It was teaching a lesson. And the first tabernacle was destroyed when the veil of the temple was rent from the top to the bottom. The fourth thing about the old sanctuary is this. Yes, it was passing. And yes, it was petition. And yes, it was parabolic or pictorial. But the fourth thing, it became pointless. It became pointless. Look at verse eleven, will you, of chapter nine. But Christ being come, and high priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hens, that is to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. And then we go on to read that the blood of Christ has so cleansed us as to open up for us that way into the holy presence of God itself. Now let me ask you, when you come into the presence of God, does there seize your heart a sense of wonder and awe and a tremendous privilege Or have we, having been saved for so long a period of time, have we become so used to coming into the holiest of all, that we do it without thought, we rush into God's presence, or perhaps even worse, we don't even come at all. You know, it's very, very easy for us, because we are so human, to take things for granted. And this matter of coming into the presence of God is one of the things that tragically we do take for granted. You know that's observable sometimes when we come into a service and we sit down and we talk about all kinds of things forgetting. But to come into the presence of God demands reverence. I know a meeting where a lady brings cookies to the meeting. and passes them around before every meeting, almost. Now it seems to me that when we lose our sense of reverence, when we lose our realization of the tremendous privilege of coming into the place that the high priest dare not enter but once a year, then we've lost something that's infinitely precious to us, and to God. Here then is the old sanctuary, passing, partitioned, parabolic, and now today pointless. Why? Because the shadow has given place to the substance. The picture was so important. The picture was so significant, the picture was so precious, but now the reality has taken its place and the shadow having given way to substance, the old sanctuary has become pointless. Now on Thursday night we'll pay a visit to the temple area. We'll take a look at some of the Jewish people at the wailing war. I'm very interested to have read since I came home that they have in further excavations in the temple area come up with new discoveries of an extension of the old temple wall. And what is more, Israel has recently declared that she expects shortly to uncover the ruins of the holiest of all. And Israel has uttered a decree that when those ruins come to light and they expect them very shortly, No man will be permitted to enter them, because there is no priest and there is no high priest. We're living in very wonderful days, and I hope to prove that to you on Thursday night, if the Lord will. Now the old sanctuary then was wonderful. The old sanctuary was made according to a pattern that God gave and God demanded of Moses that he must not deviate from it one iota. You must make it, said God, according to the pattern shown the on the mount, and that was how the tabernacle was produced. Now the old tabernacle was so wonderful. What about the new sanctuary? Let's see what is said about this in these earlier verses, shall we? It, of course, revolves around the person of the Lord Jesus. In that verse eleven of chapter nine we read of it as a greater and more perfect tabernacle. Now straight away we must sit up and take notice. The first tabernacle was tremendous. It was wonderful. I don't know whether you've ever studied a tabernacle. How many of you have ever seen a good model of the tabernacle? Would you raise your hands please? And you heard some real good addresses on the tabernacle. And when you came away from them, you were breathless, because it was such a tremendous thing. And God taught so many lessons, and gave so many wonderful pictures of the person of the Lord Jesus. Now the old is gone, because the better has taken its place. The shadow has dissolved. because the substance is here. The greater and more perfect sanctuary. Now look at chapter eight in verse two, and you'll find the Lord Jesus is spoken of as a minister of the sanctuary. and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. Now Israel used to pitch that tabernacle. Every time the pillar of cloud or of fire moved, then they had to pack up their traps, and among them the tabernacle, and according to a given prescribed order, they had to carry the tabernacle, and then they had to pitch it, and once again make camp. Now they did this from time to time. Man pitching the old tabernacle, the old sanctuary. But this must be a greater one. This must be a more perfect one, because man didn't pitch this one. The Lord pitched it, and not man. And you will notice, not only is its pitcher God, but its priesthood is eternal and enthroned. Look at verse one of chapter eight. We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. Here then is the priesthood of the new sanctuary, both eternal and enthroned. And this sanctuary, of course, is permanent. When the Lord Jesus entered into the sanctuary, he entered into heaven itself. And there isn't any passing away for this. And this sanctuary has no partition. The rent veil has shown to us that the way into the holiest is now being made perfect. The holiest and the holy place have become one. The ministry of the new tabernacle is complete as to sacrifice. The Lord Jesus made one sacrifice for sins forever. And then he sat down. Now I know you've been reminded that there was no place in the old sanctuary for the priest to sit down, or the high priest either, because their work was never done. When the Lord Jesus offered one sacrifice, the sacrifice of himself, he offered that sacrifice once and for all. And he sat down, because at last the work was complete. So the ministry of this tabernacle is this new sanctuary, is complete as to sacrifice, but continuing as to gifts. We find this in chapter nine and verse nine. The basis of ministry in the new sanctuary is not conditional. It is not ceremonial. Look at the comparison in verse ten of chapter nine. The old ministry stood only in meats and drinks and divers washings and carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time of reformation, until the time of replacement. Now there is no condition. Every believer is bidden to come into the holiest. Every believer has a right to come bold. Every believer has access, and the high priest is always at hand to intercede. You see, the ministry of the new sanctuary is not ceremonial either. It is very, very personal individual. There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. We have a living Savior. We have a living intercessor. And this is the reason why the new sanctuary in which he ministers so completely overshadows and supersedes the first. Now tomorrow morning, if the Lord will, we're going to look at the better covenant. Again we shall look at two portions of the scripture, and you might like to read in the course of preparation the chapters eight and nine again. You'll go over these scriptures that we've just read tonight, and you'll go over those that we want to read, if the Lord will, tomorrow. Now shall we bow in prayer, and after we have prayed, we'll sit for a quiet moment while the organ is played, and our service will be over. Our Heavenly Father, we thank thee for the day in which we live. We live in the days of the prophets longed to see. We live in the days of fulfillment. We live in the days of the substance, while they lived in the days of the shadow. Oh, Lord, with privilege comes responsibility, and God forbid that we should fail to appreciate the newness of these things in Christ, their eternal and ever-fresh character. And God forbid that we, to whom is given the privilege to come at any time, in any place, under any circumstances, into the holiest of all, into thy very presence, should ever do it without thought, and taking it for granted. Accept our thanks for the privilege. Accept our thanks again for the Lord Jesus, through whom the privilege comes to us. We ask for His name's sake. Amen.