2 Questions: How is the Second Appearing a fulfillment of the Day of Atonement? and When do the saints go to Heaven?

**These are two answers I gave to a friend. It is a hurried response with minimal editing, but I think you'll like it.**

2 questions: "How is the Second Appearing a fulfillment of the Day of Atonement?" and "When do the saints go to Heaven?"

Long quote. Hebrews 9:23-10:1. Brackets are my comments. Everything is spoken of from the perspective of the Hebrews writer.

Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now [after His ascension - before His second appearing] to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another [Day of Atonement] - He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many [His Death]. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come [the Day of Atonement was a shadow of Jesus' first and second appearing], and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. (Heb 9:23-10:1)

1. Jesus blessed His disciples before entering the MHP - Luke 24:50-51

2. Appears in the presence of God for us - Hebrews 9:26-28

3. As long as He is in the MHP, nobody else can go in - Leviticus 16:17

4. Appears a second time apart from sin, but for salvation - Hebrews 9:26-28

Now, in relation to the second question, let's focus on point three.

When would the MHP be opened up?

The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, (Heb 9:8-9)

In order for the MHP to be opened up, the earthly tabernacle, which symbolized the Old Covenant age, would have to fall. However, one couldn't enter the MHP while the High Priest was working during the Day of Atonement until He came out. Therefore, the time of Jesus' second appearing is the time of the fall of the earthly dwelling place.

This is supported in other places as well...

Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, "Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. "Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months. (Rev 11:1-2)

And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. (Rev 11:8)

And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city [the one identified in the first two passages] fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly [this next part is not postponed]. Then the seventh angel sounded [the last trump of the seven]; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever." And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, "We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. "And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged [resurrection out of Hades], and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name [time for the giving of the inheritance], the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth." And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened [the earthly dwelling place falls, so the heavenly is opened]; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm. (Rev 11:13-19)

Hope that made sense.. Two more..

And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality." ... And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them." (Rev 14:8-13).

Assuming Babylon is the same city that is discussed in Revelation 11, then again we have the MHP being opened upon the fall of the earthly one - which stood for what the Hebrews writer called "the present age."

Same idea in the passage below.

After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. (Rev 15:5-8)

So in all four of these passages we have the same theme:

1. Heaven isn't opened until the Second Appearing.

2. The Second Appearing had to do with the fall of the earthly MHP.

3. The earthly MHP fell in AD70.

4. The Second Appearing, and entrance into the MHP, was in AD70 - which, according to the Hebrews writer, was soon to take place: Hebrews 10:25, 37 (Hebrews 1:1, 8:13).