What happensPermalink
The high priest entered the Most Holy Place once each year with animal blood; but Christ, the mediator of a new covenant, entered heaven itself with His own blood, purifying the conscience and granting eternal redemption. Just as a covenant—or will—requires death to take effect, so Christ’s death inaugurated the new covenant, fulfilling what the old could only foreshadow. And just as people die once and then face judgment, so Christ died once to bear sin and will appear again—not to atone, but to save those who eagerly await Him.
Why it mattersPermalink
The external rituals of the old covenant anticipated Christ’s inward and eternal work. His once-for-all sacrifice transforms worship and secures hope for His return.
Key versePermalink
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.