The Way of the Saints - Lesson 1 Jesus Who Applied His Blood in the Heavenly Sanctuary

The Gospel That Solves the Fundamental Problem

For a Christian, the starting point of faith and the most fundamental issue to be resolved is the forgiveness of sins.Have all your sins been forgiven?Is your name written in the Book of Life in heaven?Have you received citizenship in heaven?The gospel contained in the Bible is what resolves these questions.

Many people know that Jesus forgave our sins on the cross, but the gospel actually runs through the entire Bible—from Genesis to Revelation.When we come to understand this gospel precisely, our hearts are transferred into the kingdom of heaven.

Lately, I have often reflected on what true happiness is.The more I think about it, the more I realize that happiness cannot be found anywhere except in the gospel that has brought me into God.This happiness is like that of the younger son in Luke 15.He left his father’s house with his inheritance and lived a prodigal life, but when he returned home, he received another inheritance—true happiness in the Father.

The longer I live, the more precious the gospel becomes.To be saved does not merely mean that our sins are forgiven.It means that God’s righteousness dwells within us, that the Lord speaks to us, and that we now live under God’s influence.

Just as an airplane is not designed to stay on the ground but to soar in the sky, a saved person is not of this world but belongs to heaven.Though we live on earth, our citizenship is in heaven.From the Old Testament onward, the Bible reveals this truth through various shadows and symbols.

The Stream of Atonement Running Through Scripture

The subject of atonement, which grants heavenly citizenship, can never be overemphasized.Throughout Scripture, the great current of redemption through blood flows like a river.

The sacrifices of atonement can be classified by their scope:

1. Individual atonement

2. Atonement for the nation

3. Atonement for the world

In Leviticus 4, the sacrifice for individuals is described: a person brings a spotless female goat to cleanse his sin.In Leviticus 16, we see a national sacrifice—the Day of Atonement—when all Israel’s sins were forgiven at once.In the New Testament, we see Jesus, the Lamb of God, receiving the sins of the world through John the Baptist’s baptism, and shedding His blood on the cross for the forgiveness of all humanity.The scope of atonement widens—from one person, to a nation, to the entire world.

We can also divide atonement by where it took place:

• In the realm of time (earthly sanctuary)

• In the eternal realm (heavenly sanctuary)

In the Old Testament, sacrifices were offered in the earthly tabernacle, so each time sin was committed, another offering was required.But Jesus, after His resurrection, entered the heavenly sanctuary with His own blood, achieving eternal redemption once for all.

The Atonement for the Individual

In Leviticus 4:27–31, when an ordinary person sinned, he brought a spotless female goat as an offering.He laid his hands on the animal’s head, symbolically transferring his sin to it, and the priest would sprinkle its blood on the altar’s horns and pour the rest at its base.

The blood was applied to the horns of the altar because sin was considered engraved there (Jeremiah 17:1).By covering the horns with blood, the record of sin was blotted out—foreshadowing Jesus applying His own blood on the heavenly altar.

The sinner’s heart was cleansed not by his effort but by believing that the offering had atoned for him.Likewise, in our time, faith in Jesus’ sacrifice removes sin from our conscience.

The Atonement for the Nation

In Leviticus 16, on the Day of Atonement, two goats were chosen:

• One “for the Lord,” which was sacrificed,

• And the other “for Azazel,” which carried the people’s sins into the wilderness.

Aaron laid his hands on the living goat, confessed all the iniquities of Israel, and sent it away.As the people watched the goat disappear into the wilderness, they believed their sins and judgment had departed from them.

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12)

This was a vivid symbol of God’s desire for His people to know that their sins had been carried away forever.

The Atonement for All Humanity

All these sacrifices in the Old Testament pointed to Jesus Christ, the true Lamb of God.Before Jesus was crucified, He had to receive the world’s sins through John the Baptist’s baptism (Matthew 3).Thus John declared,

“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

Jesus bore all our sins and died on the cross, paying the full price—death itself—so that we might live.

“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 4:25)

From Temporal to Eternal Atonement

In Exodus 24, God showed Moses the heavenly tabernacle on Mount Sinai.Moses later built an earthly version according to that pattern.But sacrifices offered there were temporary, limited by time.When people sinned again, they became guilty again and had to offer another sacrifice.

In Numbers 19, however, we see a shadow of future forgiveness—the sacrifice of a red heifer burned with cedarwood, hyssop, and scarlet yarn, symbolizing atonement for future impurity.The ashes of the heifer were mixed with water and sprinkled for purification.

The red heifer symbolized Christ;the cedar and hyssop represented all of humanity—from the highest to the lowest;the scarlet yarn symbolized sin itself (Isaiah 1:18).

Yet even these sacrifices were bound by time.Their power faded.But the sacrifice of Christ, offered in eternity, never fades.

“But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come... not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” (Hebrews 9:11–12)

In heaven, Jesus entered the eternal sanctuary—not built by human hands—and applied His own blood to the altar, achieving eternal atonement for all sin—past, present, and future.Those who believe this truth receive the life of heaven within them, even while living on earth.