Ariel HaNaviy Messianic Jew and Torah Teacher with Messianic Congregation 'The Harvest'

Yes, there will indeed be sacrifices in the Millennium—and they will NOT merely be memorials, although they will likely include this memorial aspect. Essentially they will do the exact same thing they did thousands of years ago: provide a remedy to wash away ritual impurity from the Sanctuary of the LORD and from the worshippers who approach him. And for those who have genuine faith in Messiah, besides providing purification of the flesh so that they can approach the Sanctuary, the sacrifices will also assure them that Yeshua’s death cleansed them of both ritual as well as spiritual impurity.

We must understand that atonement takes place on two levels: the earthly/temporal, and the heavenly/eternal. The sacrificial system of old did not compete with Yeshua (Jesus). On the contrary, it complimented Yeshua’s eternal sacrifice. The sacrifices did indeed purify the flesh/temporal/earthly level, and Yeshua’s sacrifice did indeed cleanse the conscience from dead works (eternal/heavenly level):

Hebrews 9:13, 14 explicitly teaches this:

“For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

Also remember Paul and those men under a vow in Acts 21:23, 26? James tells Paul to go with the men into the Temple to complete their vow and to purify himself along with them. Purify himself? But if Paul is already ritually pure in Yeshua, why does he have to “purify” himself with these men? (“…We have four men who are under a vow; take these men and purify yourself along with them…”) The answer is obvious, James, like the writer to the book of Hebrew, like the writer of Leviticus, understood purification/atonement on two complimentary levels.

The animal sacrifices conveyed both a temporal and an eternal message to the participants. The older idea that “atonement” was only a “temporary fix” for sins for those who lived in the time before the coming of our Messiah must be abandoned. The idea of atonement as portrayed in the Scriptures encompasses both a temporal aspect as well as an eternal one.

Conclusion: The sacrifices, performed with a genuine heart of repentance, afforded real-life forgiveness, but only to the purification of the flesh and purification of the Temple; only the eternal blood of the Perfect Sacrifice—to which the animals pointed—could allow for purity in both body and soul. The two working together was the optimal view in God’s perspective.

September 04 2015 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

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