Hebrews 9:24 (ESV) … “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.”
The New Covenant Christian has reality! We are not depending on a high priest on earth who annually visits the holy of holies in a temporary sanctuary. We depend on the heavenly High Priest who has entered once and for all into the eternal sanctuary. There He represents us before God, and He always will.
Beware of trusting anything for your spiritual life that is “made with hands” (Heb. 9:24). It will not last. The tabernacle was replaced by Solomon’s temple, and that temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. When the Jews returned to their land after the Captivity, they rebuilt their temple; and King Herod, in later years, expanded and embellished it. But the Romans destroyed that temple, and it has never been rebuilt. Furthermore, since the genealogical records have been lost or destroyed, the Jews are not certain who can minister as priests. These things that are “made with hands” are perishable, but the things “not made with hands” are eternal.[1]
The Old Testament Tabernacle was a type, a model, that was cleansed ceremonially with blood. On the Day of Atonement every year, the high priest went into the Holy of Holies with a basin of blood to sprinkle afresh the mercy seat. The Lord Jesus has now entered into the reality of which the Tabernacle was but a shadow. He has gone into the real Holy of Holies in heaven, into the very presence of God. He has taken with Him better sacrifices. All the Old Testament sacrifices and offerings converge on Him, therefore His sacrifice is here stated in the plural. He has gone into God’s presence on behalf of His people just as did the Hebrew high priest of old. That is the Lord’s present appearing. The high priest of Israel could not stay in the Holy of Holies. Soon he had to leave, and the veil fell behind him again, shutting him out for another year. Not so Christ! He appears in God’s presence to stay there in order to minister for us as our great High Priest and to deal effectively with the power of sin in our lives.[2]
[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 312). Victor Books. [2] Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring Hebrews: An Expository Commentary (Heb 9:23–28). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.