Universal Cleansing
The restoration of God’s creation to its original condition, one free from sin and uncleanliness, was represented in the Day of Atonement ritual. On that day the high priest came closer to the presence of God than on any other day of the year. The daily cleansing of the people that day reached its consummation and therefore pointed to the time when the whole universe will be free from sin.
How does Daniel describe the final triumph of God over the forces of evil? Dan. 8:13, 14.
Daniel uses Day of Atonement symbolism to describe the consummation of God’s redemptive work in Christ. The heavenly temple is where God has been—through the mediation of Christ—dealing with the sin problem. This work of mediation will come to an end through the final cosmic cleansing from sin and rebellious sinners—a process that began at the end of the 2,300 “days.” This cleansing is associated with God’s end-time judgment. In Daniel 7 this work of judgment takes place before His angelic host (Dan. 7:9, 10, 22) in the context of a court of law, showing that their final destruction has a legal foundation.
How does the high-priestly work of mediation and judgment in the Old Testament find its fulfillment in Christ’s mediation? Heb. 9:23.
The cleansing power of the sacrifice of Christ has also a future expression, represented in the cleansing ritual performed by the Levitical high priest during the Day of Atonement in the earthly sanctuary. In fact, Christ’s work of mediation reaches its climax in the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, which is His work of judgment. By referring to the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, Hebrews points back to the cleansing effectiveness of the sacrifice of Christ while pointing forward to its ultimate completion in the experience of His faithful people at the Second Coming (Heb. 9:28). This cleansing also looks forward to the establishment of the kingdom of God (Heb. 12:28), when all the enemies of Christ, who have already been defeated (Heb. 2:14), will “be made his footstool” (Heb. 10:13, NIV). This cleansing will result in an executive judgment “that will consume the enemies of God” (vs. 27, NIV), an act that will be the final cleansing of the universe from the presence of sin and evil.
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