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Jon said:2) Christ is said to have entered the holy places, which the writer already designated as the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary. You continually refuse to accept this point.
I do refuse your characterization of the data. In fact you too admit to an inauguration. There can't be inauguration without entering the most holy.
But here is the longer defense of my view from my other thread which you did not address in detail.
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Quote- Tall73
On Jesus entering the Most Holy Place, first I should make it clear that I am not sure there is a two compartment sanctuary in heaven. Hebrews says Christ entered “heaven itself which suggests that the two apartments were symbols of something greater and that all of heaven is the true. But whether there are two compartments or not I see Christ entering into the equivalent of the MHP. Here are the evidences I see:
1. He inaugurated and all admit that inauguration involved all of the temple and the temple furniture, requiring Moses to go into the MHP.
2. Jesus is said to have gone into God’s presence, sitting down at His right hand.
In the earthly type despite the flexibility of the term "before the Lord", God made it clear where His presence was most completely manifested.
Exo 25:21 And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. 22 There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.
Lev 16:2 and the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.
Num 7:89 And when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and it spoke to him.
3. There is the question of why the author would even raise the high point of the Hebrews cultic year if he did not intend to show that Christ was better. That was the whole point of the book to show how Jesus went beyond Moses, beyond angels, His covenant was better, His blood was better, His priesthood was better, etc. By focusing special attention in his introduction of the earthly sanctuary on the Day of Atonement he sets up the later section where he details the fulfillment.
4. There is Day of Atonement imagery used.
Even Richard Davidson, who is probably the strongest inauguration proponent, is constrained to see at least one direct reference to the day of atonement:
I agree with Young that Hebrews 9:7 and 9:25 refer to Day of Atonement, because of the clear references to “once a year” and “every year” respectively.
Inauguration or Day of Atonement? Andrews University Seminary Studies, Spring 2002, pg. 79
5. The phrase “within the veil” which has been seen by some to be a reference to the Day of Atonement or the inauguration, but is admitted by most to be used consistently in the LXX in reference to entering the second veil, is another evidence, but since both Day of Atonement language and Inauguration language are used already it doesn’t add much to the argument. Therefore I won’t belabor the point other than to say that most Adventist scholars now admit this is a reference to entrance into the Most Holy, though some postulate just to inaugurate and then leave.
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As to my reasons for not believing there are two apartments:
The issue of whether the heavenly sanctuary has two apartments at all is another question asked by Johnsson. No specific reference is made to two compartments in the heavenly sanctuary in Hebrews.
While we emphasize the type and its fulfillment the whole text, like the rest of Hebrews, is actually a contrast. Just as Jesus was better than Moses and better than angels His ministration is better.
The old High Priest would die and needed to be replaced as we learned in an earlier chapter. But Jesus had an indestructible life. The old High Priest had to be from the tribe of Levi. But Jesus was from Judah, after the order of Melchizedek--He was Priest and King. In the old service the High Priest went through the same cycle every year entering only once per year (limited access), only with blood not his own, only with incense to shield him, and with everything perfect or he would be destroyed. But this High Priest entered not with blood of bulls and goats, and not over and over, but once, for all with his own blood. He did not enter only once and then withdraw quickly to repeat it the next year but sat down in God’s presence and has made a new way for us to have direct access to God . That was the very thing they did not have in the old system. Only the High Priest had access. But now we can come boldly before the throne of grace through the new and living way opened for us.
The old system was all about the limited access to God that is now a thing of the past.
Just as the above shows that the fulfillment often went beyond or even contrasted with the type, so this question over whether there are two apartments seems to be a contrast.
The earthly is spelled out in terms of a two apartment sanctuary in the beginning of the chapter. But the limited access of the old sanctuary is not what is pictured in the heavently sanctuary. Instead we see that it is heaven itself: We see that we have direct access to God--as contrasted with the limited once per year access of the earthly high priest.
Heb 9:24 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 reality far transcends the type. Since the NT indicates that heaven itself is the real sanctuary we should not read a two compartment sanctuary back in, just as we don’t insist that Jesus be of the tribe of Levi when the NT says otherwise.
Related to whether there are two compartments in the heavenly sanctuary is the discussion of the term τα αγια.
In the Daniel and Revelation committee they note that the best translation is of ta hagia is simply sanctuary:
The committee believes that ta hagia should be regarded as a general term that should be translated in most instances as “sanctuary” unless the context clearly indicates otherwise (such as in chapter 9:2, 3).
Jesus entered into the heavenly sanctuary which is heaven itself.There is no indication of a holy and holy of holies in heaven. And there is no indication of limited access. Instead there is a new and living way.
Now again Jon, you claim that you cannot debate Greek when it suits you, but your main argument rests on the Greek in contradiction with
a. The context
b. Our own scholars
c. Your own view of inauguration.
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