Sanctuary

Sanctuary (Hebrew miqdash, from qadash, to be holy; Greek hagion) denotes a holy place set apart for the presence and worship of God. In the broadest biblical usage it can refer to the Holy Land itself (Ex. 15:17; Ps. 114:2), but more specifically it designates the tabernacle (Ex. 25:8; Lev. 12:4), the Jerusalem temple (1 Chr. 22:19; 2 Chr. 29:21), or the inner holy place within either structure. The essential idea is that the sanctuary is the appointed place where God's presence dwells among his people, requiring reverence, ritual purity, and proper approach through the ordained mediatory system. The tabernacle and temple are explicitly called "sanctuaries" to emphasize their character as holy ground, not merely religious buildings. God himself is called a sanctuary for his exiled people (Ezek. 11:16). The New Testament reinterprets the sanctuary concept: Christ's body is the true temple (John 2:21), the church is the dwelling place of the Spirit (Eph. 2:21–22), and the believer's body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). The heavenly sanctuary into which Christ entered with his own blood is the antitype of all earthly sanctuaries (Heb. 9:11–12).