Hebrews 13:10 — We Have an Altar

The priests of Israel ate from the altar. Their portion of the offerings was their food (Leviticus 6:26; 1 Corinthians 9:13). Hebrews says believers have an altar too, and those who cling to the earthly service have no right to eat from it. Verses 11-12 explain: the bodies of the sin offerings were burned outside the camp, and Yahushua “suffered without the gate.” The altar is where he was offered.

That altar is not at the front of a building. The Catholic Mass places an altar in the sanctuary, and many Protestant churches call the rail below the pulpit “the altar” and the room itself “the sanctuary.” Hebrews moves the altar outside the gate and calls the people out to it: “Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach” (13:13). The living temple eats from that altar, not from furniture.