The sacrifices offered on the brass altar symbolized Jesus, who through His death on the cross became “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). When the repentant sinner came to the altar with his sacrifice and confessed his sins, he received forgiveness and cleansing. In a similar way, the sinner today obtains cleansing through the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God (1 John 1:9).

In the first room, or Holy Place, the seven-branched lampstand burned continually, representing Jesus as the never-failing “light of the world” (John 8:12). The table of consecrated bread, the bread of God’s presence, symbolized His satisfying our physical and spiritual hunger as “the bread of life” (John 6:35). The golden altar of incense represented Jesus’ prayer ministry for us in the very presence of God (Revelation 8:3, 4).

The second room, or Most Holy Place, contained the gold-covered ark of the covenant. It symbolized the throne of God; its atonement cover, or mercy seat, represented the intercession of Christ on behalf of sinful human beings who have broken God’s moral law. The two tablets of stone on which God gave the Ten Commandments were kept below the mercy seat. Golden cherubim of glory hovered over the mercy seat on each end of the ark. A glorious light shone between these two cherubim, a symbol of the presence of God Himself.

A curtain hid the Holy Place from the view of the people as the priests ministered to them in the courtyard. A second curtain stood in front of the Most Holy Place, blocking this inner room from the view of the priests who entered the first room of the sanctuary.