Leviticus 16:14, commentary and pictures

On the great Day of Atonement on the tenth day of the seventh month, the high priest entered the most holy place of the tabernacle and temple with the blood of the bullock and of the goat for the Lord, and sprinkled it upon the mercy seat and seven times before it, directly over the law contained in the ark, and also upon the altar of incense. The sevenfold sprinkling is an act expressing perfection. By that sprinkling satisfaction was made for the claims of the law, a substitute was accepted in the sinner's stead, and sin was transferred to the sanctuary rather than canceled by the victim's blood. The rite is fulfilled by Christ as both High Priest and sacrificial victim in the great antitypical Day of Atonement in the heavenly sanctuary, opened in 1844 at the close of the 2300 days, where He presents and pleads His own blood upon the mercy seat to blot out the sins of His faithful people and reconcile humanity to God. As Israel afflicted the soul and waited in solemn humiliation while the atonement went forward, God's people now are to confess sin, search the heart, and by faith lay hold on the merits of Christ's atoning blood for cleansing before judgment closes.

The Earthly Atonement Rite

Leviticus 16 describes the process of cleansing the sanctuary, the dwelling-place of God's glory upon the earth. That sanctuary was first made as the movable tabernacle in the desert of Sinai, in Arabia, erected that God might dwell among His people, and afterward as Solomon's temple built in Canaan with its holy and most holy place, receiving the vessels of the movable sanctuary. The verse belongs to the work of the great Day of Atonement, done once a year for the cleansing of the sanctuary, completing the yearly round of ministration. That work fell on the tenth day of the seventh month, when the high priest entered the most holy place after careful and solemn preparation.

The high priest brought sacrificial blood inside the veil, the blood of the bullock and of the goat on which fell the lot for the Lord, slain as a sin offering for the people. He sprinkled it upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat, and also sprinkled the blood upon the altar of incense before the veil. The mercy seat is the cover of the ark containing God's law, the ark of the testament containing the ten precepts, so the blood was offered upon and before the mercy seat directly over the law. The sprinkling of the blood seven times before the mercy seat is an act expressing perfection.

While this atonement went forward every man was required to afflict his soul, all business was laid aside, and the whole congregation spent the day in solemn humiliation before God with prayer, fasting, and deep searching of heart. The people waited in solemn silence, praying for divine blessing while the high priest came before the mercy seat where God conversed with him. They feared for the priest if he remained unusually long, and his return and blessing relieved them. The whole ceremony with its blood rite was designed to impress Israel with the holiness of God and His abhorrence of sin, and to show that contact with sin pollutes.

Meaning and Heavenly Fulfillment

Sprinkling the blood upon the mercy seat directly over the law made satisfaction for the law's claims. A substitute was accepted in the sinner's stead, but sin was not canceled by the victim's blood. That blood provided a means by which sin was transferred to the sanctuary. By the offering of blood the sinner acknowledged the authority of the law, confessed guilt in transgression, and expressed desire for pardon through faith in a Redeemer to come, yet was not yet entirely released from the condemnation of the law. After the cleansing the high priest in his character of mediator took the sins upon himself and bore them from the sanctuary, placing his hands on the head of the scapegoat and confessing all the sins over him to transfer them in figure to the goat, which bore them away so they are regarded as forever separated from the people.

The act points to Christ's work in the great antitypical Day of Atonement in the heavenly sanctuary within the second veil, where as great High Priest He blots out the sins of His faithful people from Abel onward until the ministry of the gospel ends. The earthly service was a pattern of heavenly things, and the opening of the heavenly temple and sight of the ark point to the opening of the most holy place in 1844 at the close of the 2300 days, when Christ closed one ministration in the holy place and opened another in the most holy, coming before the ark and mercy seat to present and plead His own blood for sinners in the closing work of atonement. The sanctuary to be cleansed is in heaven and not the earth to be purified by fire at Christ's second coming. In the fullest sense the door of mercy was opened in 1844 and probation for sinners had not closed.

Christ fulfilled the figure as both high priest and sacrificial victim: type met antitype in His death as the Lamb slain for the sins of the world, when He offered Himself on the cross and made perfect atonement, the only sacrifice of any value in salvation. After giving His life He took the blood of His atonement into heaven's holiest place, presented the virtue of His offering, sprinkled it on the mercy seat and on His own garments, and blessed the people, reconciling humanity to God through the blood of the cross. The sprinkling seven times before the mercy seat is an act expressing perfection. Christ entered once for all into the most holy place and ever lives to make intercession as Advocate, High Priest, Intercessor, and the one Mediator between God and man. He alone is sin-bearer and sin-offering, saves to the uttermost all who come to Him in faith, needs no man's virtue and no man's intercession, and while His intercession continues no other propitiatory sacrifices are to be offered. His return will bring the declaration that no further sacrifice for sin remains.

The atonement for guilt is full and precious, purifying from the defilement of sin. With a heart of unalterable love Christ still pleads His sacred blood with wounded hands, pierced side, and marred feet for fallen man whose redemption was purchased at infinite cost, and neither time nor events lessen the efficacy of the sacrifice, so as Aaron's work was accepted the merits of Christ are accepted by God today. All the types point to Jesus Christ as the Sin-bearer and Substitute for the offender, who takes away the sin of the repentant, believing transgressor. On the Day of Atonement the defilement of a sinful, contaminated people was exposed and Satan pointed to it and accused the sinful human priest, and so Satan now stands as adversary to accuse repentant transgressors as lawbreakers and unworthy, but Christ Himself cannot be accused as a sinner was accused.

The solemn sanctuary work calls for constant attention because the work in heaven concerns every individual and is connected with judgment. It is the final day of atonement before the books are opened and every person is judged by the record of deeds, in which each person must consider how their case will stand. Sins are to be confessed so they may go beforehand to judgment, the blood of Jesus must cleanse the soul from all defilement and every stain, God can write pardon against the name, and the church must seek purification through repentance, humility, and deep heart-searching, with eternal results at stake. The ceremony with warm blood sprinkled on the mercy seat while the fragrant cloud of incense ascended illustrates how believers confess sins and plead the efficacy of Christ's atoning blood, so prayers ascend to heaven fragrant with the merits of His character. The efficacy of His blood must be presented with freshness and power that faith may lay hold on its merits, removing every sin acknowledged with a contrite heart notwithstanding unworthiness, and this faith is the life of the church. God's people are now like the Israelites on that day, standing as in the outer court waiting and looking for the glorious appearing of the Lord and Saviour, with every heart bowed in contrition pleading for pardon of transgression, and prayer and confession are to be offered only to Christ.