Timothy to Hebrews - The Preterist Archive

504 Hebrews IX. 11, 12.
here before lis as the teacher of Israel." Compare also Heb. xii. 25.
The import of the clause is tliis : Christ entered into the holy of
holies by a more i)crfect tabernacle than that was by which the Old
Testament high priests entered into the holy of holies. (By the
oKrjvi] is, of course, to be understood specially the Trpwr?/ aKTjvi'j^ as
it is distinguished from the holy of holies.) In what respects that
holy place by which Christ entered into the holy of holies was better
than the holy place of the Mosaic tabernacle, is now shewn in the
words not made loith hands, that is, not belonging to this creation.
In opposition to the Mosaic^ typical first tabernacle is placed a real
first tabernacle, which bears the same analogous relation to the Mosaic
as the New Testament holy of holies into which Christ entered,
bears to the Mosaic holy of holies. This npforrj oktivi], is not described
positively, but negatively, namely, as one " not made with
hands, that is, not belonging to this creation." If this last clause.
that is, not belonging, etc., were not there, one might be contented
to understand this reXeiorepa oktjvtj (with Zuingle, Bucer, Tholuck,
Bleek, and the most of commentators) of the canopy of heaven (the
sidereal heavens) through which Christ passed into the upper
heaven, into the sphere of glorified corporality, subject to no death
or change.* But that clause which is added renders every explanation
of this kind impossible. Moreover the parallel itself between
the heavens and the Mosaic rrpwr?/ ok7]V7] would be altogetiier without
significance or meaning. In what would the analogy between the
two aKTjvai consist ? At most it might be said, that there is an
analogy in the outward circumstance, that the Mosaic -piort] oKrjvrj
stood locally outside of the Mosaic holy of holies, and the visible
heavens are outside of the heavenly holy of holies ! But such frigid
parallelisms are not in accordance with our author's manner. We
must rather seek the key to the solution of ver. 11 in the profound
and subtle' thoughts of vers. 8-10, It was there shown that the
Mosaic holy of holies was itself only typical; the antithesis between
the Mosaic and the heavenly holy of holies, is essentially not so much
one of place, as rather of time and quality; it is not the heaven
viewed as a place that makes the true holy of holies, but the heaven
and throne of God as the scene of i\\Q finished true atonement and
reconciliation of God with man. The true and inoper antithesis
between the Mosaic and the heavenly holy of holies is that between the
prophetic type of an atonement and the actual fulfilment of it.
Now
the ojjposition between the Mosaic -n-pw-// aKT]vi] and the reXeiorepa
(npoWTj) cKipn] must be analogous to this. Wc have licre, as it were,
a question in proportion to solve
* Calov, Vriemont, and others explain it moat unsuitably of tlio New Testament church.
This was ratlicr first founded by Christ's entrance into the holy of holies. How then can
he have gone thither through it ?