And the Lord spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the Lord, and died; And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. ~ Leviticus 16:1-2

We often refer to the three areas of the tabernacle as the outer court, the inner court, and the Holy of Holies. When doing so, the distinction is often made between the inner court and the Holy of Holies as the holy place (the inner court) and the Most holy place (the Holy of Holies).

Now, the scriptures do not always use this language, so it is vitally important that we follow the context and the flow of thought to correctly understand which part of the tabernacle is being referenced in a given text. Leviticus 16:1-2 referenced above, is a perfect example.

Notice the mention of the holy place, which is a description often used to refer to the inner court. However, this text is not referring to the inner court, but the Most holy place. We know this because of the context. Aaron the High Priest, is warned not to come into this Holy place except for the appointed time, and this holy place is referred to as the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat. So the holy place referred to in this text is the Most Holy place where the glory of God rested on the mercy seat.

In contrast to the once a year entrance into the Most Holy Place, Aaron (the High Priest) was to minister daily in the inner court which is also referred to at times as the holy place.

Now, there is a traditional error that states that on the Day of Atonement the high priest entered the Holy of Holies with a rope tied around him in case he were to die in the presence of God. According to this teaching, the people would understand that the high priest had fallen dead because they would cease to hear the bells on the robe of the high priest and therefore they could retrieve his dead body with the rope tied around him without having to go into the Holy of Holies. This has been taught by many ministers, but it is entirely unscriptural, and is an extra Biblical rabbinical teaching. It is not found in scripture.

Now, let’s back up a little to get the wider picture. In Exodus 28 we are given a detailed description of the priestly garments worn by Aaron the high priest in his daily ministration within the service of the tabernacle. These garments consisted of the ephod, the curious girdle of the ephod, the breastplate of judgment, the robe (all blue) of the ephod, the mitre (bonnet) with the plate of gold, the linen coat, and the line breaches. This is the full attire of Aaron’s High Priestly garments, as well as his successors.

The garment of blue was the garment which had bells and pomegranates on the hem of it. It was this garment that made a sound that could be heard by those outside the tabernacle, but this garment was not worn into the Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement, as we will see later in this article, but first let’s consider Aaron’s service in the inner court and the garment of blue which had the bells and the pomegranates.

And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent. And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not. ~ Exodus 28:31-35

This text is one of the references that might be used to promote the teaching that the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement with a rope tied around him because of the use of the words, “before the Lord.” This text however, is not referring to the Most holy Place but the the inner court. The language, “before the Lord,” is used for the altar of sacrifice in the outer court, just as it is for the inner court and the Holy of Holies.

When the High Priest burned incense at the altar of incense, which was in the Holy place (the inner court), it was said to have been done before the Lord.

And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it. A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about. And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal. And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.

Notice that Aaron was to minister at this altar, every morning, and every evening. This was the part of the daily ministry of Aaron as the High Priest, and it is the place of ministry which Exodus 28 is referring to when it speaks of the robe of blue which had the bells and the pomegranates on the hem of it. The bells were separated by pomegranates because without them, the bells could make an unpleasant sound clanging together. Paul seems to allude to this in 1 Corinthians 13 when he says, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:1

Without the fruit of God’s love, being gifted with spiritual endowments bear little to no lasting fruit for God’s Kingdom. When the high priest ministered in the holy place (not the Holy of Holies) the bells with the pomegranates would make a pleasant sound and the High Priest was heard within the tabernacle as he daily carried out his service in the holy place (the inner court). However, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest wore only the linen garments into the Holy of Holies. He did not wear the full attire of his beautiful priestly garments which included the garment of blue which had the bells and pomegranates. In Leviticus 16, which details the ministry of the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, we read the following:

He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. ~ Leviticus 16:4

And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there… ~ Leviticus 16:23

And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments… ~ Leviticus 16:32

On the Day of Atonement, Aaron and his successors wore only the linen garments, and not the full attire of the Priestly garments which were worn in the daily ministrations of their office. In the book of the Revelation we find that linen garments represent, the righteousness of the saints (Revelation 19:8).

The laying aside of the full attire of the Priestly beautiful garments, and being clothed in only the linen garments, speaks to the powerful truth that when Jesus entered into this world he laid aside his glory and majesty and humbly took on human flesh, becoming servant. Paul tells us in the book of Philippians that Jesus was in the form of God, and being equal with God made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. ~ Philippians 2:6-8 

When Jesus entered the presence of God for us after his death on the cross, he did so in his pure and humble humanity. In this manner, he made intercession for us, having obtained eternal redemption for us with his own blood.

Now before we close, I would like to draw your attention to another truth that could easily be missed when reading the book of Hebrews. In Hebrews 9, the writer of Hebrews mentions all the furniture in the Holy place (the inner court), and the Most Holy Place (the Holy of Holies), except for one of the furnishings. He mentions the table of showbread, the lamp stand, and the Ark of the Covenant with the mercy seat as its covering. There is no mentioned of the altar of incense.

Is this an oversight, or is something else going on here that we need to see? I am persuaded that the writer of Hebrews intentionally leaves out the altar of incense because Hebrews 9 is written with the Day of Atonement in view. On the Day of Atonement incense was taken from the altar of incense into the Most Holy Place with the golden censer which the writer of Hebrews mentions instead of the altar. Thus the writer of Hebrews is attempting to take us from the Holy place which was preparatory, into the Most Holy because of the finished work of Christ.

For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary (the inner court). And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. ~ Hebrews 9:2-5

Notice that he associates the golden censer with the Holiest of all, rather than the Holy place where the High Priest ministered daily at the altar of incense. Leviticus 16, which details the ministry of the High priest on the Day of Atonement, tells us exactly what the writer of Hebrews is telling us.

And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail: And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not… ~ Leviticus 16:12-13

When Jesus died on the cross, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). The incense from the altar of incense represents prayer (Revelation 8:3), but no prayer but that of our High Priest could bring an end to that which separated humanity from a Holy God. Jesus is the High Priest, who took the incense (the prayers for salvation, deliverance, and redemption) from the Holy place into the Most Holy, (Heaven itself) having secured our permanent redemption with his own blood.

As we read the following in closing, keep in mind some of the things which we have covered in this article.

Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? ~ Hebrews 9: 6-14 

May the Lord increase our understanding. Blessings.