God's plan from the Beginning has been to fulfill the
types,
images and
legal requirements of the Old Covenant and to bring them into reality in our lives and that of all humanity. For a long time I studied the
tabernacle, the
sacrifices and the
priesthood extensively and was blessed to see how Christ had fulfilled every aspect of the Old Covenant. It is a
graphic picture of what God was planning for us to experience. However, beautiful the MODEL was it cannot be compared to the reality that it portrays. The Author of Hebrews makes this point when he says that that making a NEW COVENANT
necessarily involves doing away with many aspects of the FIRST COVENANT. If the Father did not need to make any changes He would have left their system of worship unchanged
As the author of
Hebrews 8:13 says:
By speaking of a new covenant, He has made the FIRST ONE obsolete; and what is OBSOLETE and AGING will SOON DISAPPEAR.
(Hebrews 8:13)
The word OBSOLETE comes from the Greek word
παλαιόω [palaioó] which means: to
make (or, passively, become)
worn out or old,
or to
declare a thing to be old and so
about to be abrogated. The event that finally brought this about was the destruction of the Temple by the Romans. With no place to worship there was no place to
offer sacrifices. At that point,
Mosaic Judaism was replaced with a
facsimile called "
Rabbinical Judaism" which had new laws and traditions. Perhaps God HAD to render the priesthood and sacrifice laws obsolete in order to turn their focus on Messiah.
You speak as if God failed the first time and had to correct Himself later. That is not what Jesus taught.
Jesus said plainly, “Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished” (Matthew 5:17–18 ASV). Heaven and earth are still here. So the Law is not destroyed.
Fulfill does not mean abolish. It means to bring to fullness, to complete its purpose. A seed fulfills its purpose when it grows into a tree, but the life inside it is the same. Jesus did not say the commandments were obsolete. He warned that whoever breaks the least commandment and teaches men so “shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19).
You quote Hebrews. But even there, God says what the New Covenant is. It is not the removal of His law. It is this: “I will put my laws into their mind, And on their heart also will I write them” (Hebrews 8:10 ASV, quoting Jeremiah 31:33). The law is not erased. It is written deeper.
Jesus Himself honored the Temple while it stood (Matthew 21:12–13). He told healed lepers to present themselves to the priest as Moses commanded (Matthew 8:4). After His resurrection, the apostles were still in the Temple daily (Acts 2:46; 3:1). If the system had already become worthless, why were they there?
Yes, the sacrifices pointed to Him. Yes, He is the Lamb of God (John 1:29). But shadows do not mean error. They mean promise. God was not correcting a mistake. He was revealing a plan step by step.
The destruction of the Temple in AD 70 was judgment, just as Jesus foretold (Luke 19:43–44; 21:6). It proved His authority. But it did not mean God changed His moral standard. Jesus said, “If thou wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). He did not say they would soon disappear.
The priesthood changed because Messiah is our High Priest forever “after the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4). That was written long before the Temple fell. This was always God’s plan, not an emergency adjustment.
Be careful not to call what God gave “obsolete” in a way that makes Him look unstable. God does not age. God does not correct Himself. What He began in Moses He completed in Christ. The picture was true. The reality is greater. But the God behind both is the same, and His righteousness does not expire.
When you look at the sanctuary as a type of the ministry of Christ. A type of the plan of salvation
Was salvation completed at the cross?
Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 8:1-2
1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; 2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
Heb 9 the whole Chapter....
Was salvation completed at the cross?
In the earthly sanctuary, sin was dealt with in stages. In Book of Leviticus 4, when someone sinned, the animal was slain. Blood was shed. That was real atonement. But the work was not finished in that moment. The priest then carried the blood into the sanctuary and ministered before God. Later, on the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16, there was a final cleansing of the sanctuary. So in the type, there was sacrifice and there was priestly ministry.
if we look at Jesus.
On the cross, He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30 in Gospel of John). What was finished? The sacrifice. The Lamb had been offered. Just as in the sanctuary, the victim was slain once. There is no repeated sacrifice. In that sense, the atoning offering was complete. But does Scripture show that everything in the plan of salvation was completed at that moment? No.
After His resurrection, Jesus said in Gospel of Matthew 28:18–20 that all authority was given to Him and He sent His disciples to make disciples of all nations. That shows the saving work would continue in history as the gospel goes out.
In Gospel of Luke 24:46–47, He said that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations. The sacrifice was made, but the application of forgiveness would go forward as people repent and believe.
Even more clearly, salvation is spoken of as both present and future. Jesus says in Matthew 24:13, “He that
endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.” That shows salvation has a future completion tied to perseverance.
He also speaks of a coming judgment. In Matthew 25:31–34, the Son of Man comes in glory and separates the nations. Then He says, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.” That inheritance happens at His return, not at the cross.
At the cross:
The sacrifice was completed. The price for sin was paid. The Lamb was offered once for all.
After the cross:
Christ rose, ascended, and reigns. The message of forgiveness goes out. People enter salvation through repentance and faith.
He intercedes and prepares a place (John 14:2–3 in the Gospel of John).
At His return:The final separation happens. The kingdom is inherited. Salvation reaches its full visible completion.
So was salvation completed at the cross?
The sacrificial foundation was completed. Nothing can be added to that offering.
But the full plan of salvation, including the gathering of believers, the judgment, the resurrection, and the eternal kingdom, unfolds after the cross and reaches completion when Christ returns.
In the sanctuary pattern: The lamb was slain. Then the priest ministered. Then came the final cleansing.
In Christ: He died once. He lives and reigns. He will return and bring the final redemption.
The cross is the center. But Scripture shows the story does not end there.
