The Sanctuary and it's service, as given by God to Moses, was in symbol, God's method of saving his people from their sins. The confession of sins and killing the animals illustrated that our sins cost Jesus his life as a substitute. For the "wages of sin is death". The priest bears the sins, transferred to the animal from the sinner, by either transferring the blood to the earthly sanctuary or eating the animal. Just so Christ took our sins in Gethsemane, and on the Cross. Those sins were transferred in symbol to the sanctuary by the priest. Likewise the record of our confessed sins are in the heavenly sanctuary await judgment..

There was a yearly service to cleans the sanctuary to remove the accumulated sins of the people. This is symbolic of a judgment of God people before Christ Second coming. This is a judgment only for those who have confessed their sin and accepted Christ sacrifice for them. It say nothing to those who have not confess and trust in Christ for righteousness. The last event is the bearing of the peoples sins by the goat sent into the wilderness. This show that the sins of God's people will finely be born by Satan who conceived them. Once we come to these basic understanding we can see how these services tie into the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation.

Since this is new to some, we will look a little more at the concept of a judgment prior to the coming of Christ.

"Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, "Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you." Act 24;25

Notice here there is a judgement to come.

In Mal 3:1-6 we read, "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed."

Though these word have an application to Christ first coming, they have a primary application to the time just before his second coming. Notice the reassurance "ye sons of Jacob are not consumes" "I will come near to you". This is however a time of judgment, a time of refining, and cleansing. It is not a pleasant time but necessary and wonderful. It is a judgment of God's people prior to His second coming.

Let us read some of the sanctuary service and we will find it exceedingly clear.

"And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before the LORD.
And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation:" Lev. 4:4-5

The laying on of the hand symbolized the confession and transferring the guilty of the sinner to the innocent animal. After the animal was killed, the priests would take the blood into the sanctuary. This symbolized the transfer of sin (in the form of the blood) to the sanctuary area itself.

We see a similar idea in Lev. 10:17+18 "Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD?

Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded."

The iniquity of the people was brought into the sanctuary by the priest, either by bring the blood in or eating their sin offering. He then was to make atonement for them, bring them into an acceptable relationship to God.

Leviticus 16 here is discussing the Day of Atonement

"And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.

And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.

And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:

And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness." Lev. 16:16-22.

The cleansing of the sanctuary on the earth was the yearly day of judgment. The Jew still celebrate the Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Judgment, repentance and confession of sins are the essence of the Yon Kippur. The orthodox Jew see this day as the final opportunity to come before God to plead for a merciful judgment.

Summarizing  Lev. 16;

1. The Priest makes an atonement for the holy place, because of all their sins: and for the tabernacle of the congregation.

2. No man in the tabernacle, only the Priest.

3. The Priest shall take of the blood of the bullock, goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar

4. Sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it.

5. Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the sins putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

This is in symbol how Christ the high priest remove forever the sins of His people who have accepted his forgiveness. No man is in the tabernacle. It is by Christ merits alone. The blood is sprinkled seven time meaning a complete sacrifice has been made. Satan receives all the sin in the end that he has caused God people to commit.

Heb. 9:28  "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."
When Christ was on earth the first time he bore our sins. At the 2nd coming he will have cleansed the sanctuary and Satan will be bearing our sins.

Lev. 16:30  "For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord."

As the sanctuary in heaven is currently being cleansed from sin so also are we to be cleansed of all sin. ( Mal. 3)

Rev 14:7 "Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

Rev 14:12 "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."

Rev 14:14 "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle."

The order here is:
1.Judgement
2.The refining of a holy people with the faith of Jesus
3.The second Coming

Dan 8:14 put a time frame for the cleansing to the heavenly sanctuary and the judgment of God People on the earth.

Dan 8:14 "And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."

We must understand the prophecies of Daniel to discover the time of the cleansing of the Sanctuary in Heaven. If this is all new a good sight for further bible study is Amazing Facts.

Daniel did not initially understand the vision or 2300 day as is evident by the text.

Dan 8:26+27 " And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.  And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it."

During Daniel prayer (in Chapter 9) Gabriel come to Daniel to explain the vision of the 2300 days.

"Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
  And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.
  At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
  Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." Dan 9: 21-27

Gabriel give Daniel the begin point of the vision "that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem". The 70 week prophecy described above is the most remarkable fulfilled prophecy in the bible . Its establish the day for a year principle in interpreting the 2300 day prophecy. Numb:14:34 and Ez. 4:4-6 indicates that the day for a year principle is valid. And the remarkable exactness of the 70 week prophecy confirms this application.

A brief description of the fulfillment of the 70 week prophecy: In 457 BC the Decree to restore and build Jerusalem we given. See Ezra 7:7. In 408BC the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt, 49 years after 457 (7 prophetic weeks). In 27AD Jesus was baptized, "unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks (49days), and threescore and two weeks(62weeks or 434days)". In the midst of the 70th week the Messiah was to be cut off,  but not for himself. This date would be 31AD exactly the date of Christ Crucifixion!