The Real Thing or a Copy?

January 19th, 2026
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 8:4-7 Now if [Jesus] were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; 5 who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “See,” He says, “that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.” 6 But now [Jesus] has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.

The superiority of Christ’s priesthood prevented Him from mediating inferior sacrifices and gifts in the inferior Jerusalem temple. This is why He currently reigns as Priest while at the right hand of God in heaven. Verse 4 says, “if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all,” for Christ does not offer gifts “according to the Law” (v. 5). The Law, the priesthood, and the entire old covenant of Moses served merely as a “copy and shadow of the heavenly things.” But since Jesus is the Substance, He is superior to the shadow. He is the Priest, not the picture of the priest as the Levitical priests typified. It is no wonder then that God allowed the temple to be destroyed in AD 70. When the Substance came and fulfilled God’s perfect will, the shadow and copy of things became useless. This is why God allowed the Jerusalem temple to be destroyed.

Obviously a shadow has no substance and cannot exist apart from the substance. Yet it exists as evidence of the real thing. A copy can be more specific, for it fully reflects what it represents. But if it is a contract copy, it will not hold up in a court of law. Consider a copy of the Declaration of Independence versus the actual thing. One you can buy in a gift shop for a few bucks, the other is priceless. Only the real thing is acceptable. Now the tabernacle that Moses set up in the wilderness during the 40 years of Israel’s wanderings was a shadow and a copy of the heavenly things (Exod. 25). It reflected the real thing, the heavenly one where God the Father dwelt and where God the Son mediates as Priest. The Aaronic priests performed their priestly duties in the copy of the heavenly tabernacle on earth that God instructed Moses to make. Also, each item that went into the tabernacle had great significance, but they too were mere shadows and copies of what Jesus fully embodied.

Verse 6 begins with good news: “But now…” This little phrase shows that the past was inferior, and the future is superior. The inferior past with shadows and copies has been discarded in favor of the Substance—the real thing: Jesus the Messiah. His ministry of service is “more excellent” because He is the “Mediator of a better covenant… enacted on better promises.” While it was Moses who mediated the first covenant of the Law on Mount Sinai (Gal. 3:19-20), Jesus is the Mediator of the superior covenant. Now a mediator is one who stands between two or more people or groups, and both Moses and Jesus did this. Both stood between God’s people and gave them something. But Jesus’ mediation is superior—in heaven at God’s right hand.

The covenant being spoken of here is another quote and prediction from the OT, specifically Jeremiah 31:31-34. Once again, the author told the Jews to look at their own Scriptures for proof that the superior was coming. The Jews then, as now, have only to look at the inferiority of the Law to see that something better is needed. That better covenant came with their Messiah.

Food For Thought
In the OT, we see a covenant between God and Israel. Israel was to obey God’s Law, offering animal sacrifices for sins when they sinned. Yet each intricate detail served as a mere copy and shadow of what was to come. Sadly, Jews today continue to miss this. Their own Bible tells them about the new covenant, but they cling to the inferior. So do all the others.