What did the high priest do in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement?
On the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies behind the veil alone once every year. He never went in without blood, which he offered for himself and for the heirs of the people. This was the Old Testament ritual, a figure for the time then present.
Les explains that Hebrews 9 rehearses the Day of Atonement and speaks of the High Priest. According to Hebrews 9:7, the High Priest went into the second room, the Holy of Holies behind the veil, alone, once every year, never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the heirs of the people. The Holy Spirit was signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was yet standing. This was back in the time of Moses and the Law. Les teaches that all of this taking place in the Old Testament economy was a figure, symbol, or illustration for the time then present, as they practiced sacrificial worship. Those gifts and sacrifices could not make the one who did the service perfect pertaining to the conscience; the blood of animals could not take away sin.
But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: