Ezekiel 41:1-42:14

“The inner room of the sanctuary was 35 feet long and 35 feet wide. ‘This,’ he told me, ‘is the Most Holy Place.’” (Ezekiel 41:4, NLT)

As Ezekiel was taken on a guided tour of the millennial temple, he was led into the innermost room of the sanctuary known as “The Most Holy Place”. In Solomon’s temple the ark of the covenant was located there. But according to Jeremiah 3:16, in the millennial kingdom the ark of the covenant “shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.” Probably the ark of the covenant will no longer be needed because the Lord Himself will be dwelling with His people.

Now even though Ezekiel was a priest, under the old covenant he would not have been permitted to enter the Most Holy Place. Only the high priest was authorized to enter on one day of the year, namely the Day of Atonement. A thick veil separated the Holy Place (where the priests routinely entered) from the Most Holy Place. But when Christ died on the cross this veil was torn in two from top to bottom, indicating that the way had been opened for believers to enter the Most Holy Place and into the very presence of God.

The author of Hebrews writes to Christians:

“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19–22, NKJV)

The beautiful thing is that we don’t have to wait for the millennial temple to enter the Most Holy Place. Because of the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, we can draw near to God with confidence that we will not be rejected. We can have the full assurance of faith that we can approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and grace to help in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). We can have our hearts sprinkled with the blood of Christ to cleanse us from a bad or defiled conscience and be washed with the pure water of the word of God.

So the question is, are we taking full advantage of our privilege? Are we often entering the Most Holy Place? Or are we content to remain at a distance?