Teaching Team
Temple and Sacrifices in Torah Club Five
I received the following letter from one of our subscribers today:
I am blessed to receive your teachings on the Torah. I have a question that I hope you will be able to answer. A friend of mine is a new subscriber to the Torah Club. She brought to my attention some information she received about Vol. 5 Rejoicing Of The Torah. The paragraph states: Learn how the sacrificial system functioned in the past and understand why the Scriptures say it will be reestablished in the Messianic era. Would you please clarify what part of the sacrificial system is being talked about. Also, if there is any other pertinent information that would clarify that statement I would greatly appreciate your input.Thank you for your time and effort.
God bless you,
J. O.
Shalom,
Thanks for writing in to FFOZ. The sacrificial system under discussion in Torah Club Five is the levitical system outlined in the first several chapters of the book of Leviticus and practiced in the Tabernacle and in the Temple in Jerusalem. Christian interpretation traditionally holds that the Temple and its associated sacrifices were abolished by the Gospel, but this position is challenged by two vexing problems. First we note that during the Apostolic era recorded in the book of Acts the early believers continued to function within the Jerusalem Temple and even participate in the sacrificial services. Second we note the unanimous testimony of the prophets, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, who speak of a Messianic Age restoration of the Jerusalem Temple, the Levitical priesthood and the animal sacrifices.
In Torah Club Volume Five’s comments on Exodus and Leviticus we examine the purpose and function of the Temple, priesthood and sacrifices, and their relationship to the death and resurrection of Yeshua. This examination lays the ground work for a better understanding of those institutions and plausible reconciliation of the Gospel and the continued validity of the Temple system both in the Apostolic era and in the Messianic Age to come.
Grace and Peace,
First Fruits of Zion Teaching Team
D. Thomas Lancaster
Tishrei 27, 5768
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Visitor Feedback:
Thanks for addressing this very controversial subject. I have seen for years that this is so. You cannot deny in Ezek. 43:18-27 that these sacrifices made in the Mellinium temple will be for a sin offering. I would like for you to comment on the reason for this. Is it because in the Mellinium, there will be some who do not accept Yeshua as their full atonement? Or is it just a "show & tell" kind of thing?
DTL Replies: The sin offerings of the levitical system are brought primarily for purification. For example, the sin offering brought by a woman after giving birth in LEviticus 12. The Hebrew word for sin (chatah) can mean purification in the infinitive form (l'chatah). In TCV5 I argue that it should be translated "purification offering." We may assume that sin offerings in the Millenium would serve a purification role.
EAJ | October 15, 2007 12:11 PM
Thank you so much for being such a wealth of information. Our family is just beginning to learn about our Hebrew roots. I have a question regarding the temple system being re-established. How do you reconcile that view with Isaiah 11:9 which says:
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
Thank you so much,
Connie
DTL Replies: Thanks for commenting. I guess I don't see a difficulty with Isaiah 11:9. It is clearly not in reference to sacrifice or the levitical system but to the violence of aggressors who would throw down God's Holy House, such as the Babylonians and the Romans.
Connie Bendickson | October 15, 2007 4:57 PM
One interesting difficulty you didn't mention is that many Christians believe this rebuilt Temple will be desacrated in the future by Antichrist. The question they fail to answer is how the Temple can be "de"sacrated unless it was "con"sacrated or holy in the first place. They acknowlege the existence of a holy Temple after the work of Messiah, but fail to explain the basis on which this structure can be considered a holy place. Thank you for your work which has finally reconciled this enigma.
Jim Moretti | October 15, 2007 5:01 PM
Wonderful subject! Even though us Messianics believe that Yeshua did not come to do away with Torah, we have no problem in throwing out the central pillar of Torah and probably 1/3 to 1/2 of it - the sacrificial system. Perhaps that means we need to reassess the work of Messiah.
I have heard Messianic "rabbis" state, as one of the bloggers, that these sacrifices are only for remembrance (the blogger stated for "show and tell"). So, let me get this right... we are killing lambs again to remember that we no longer need to kill lambs? Huh? Well Ezekiel 45 states that they are for "atonement".
The Book of Hebrews tells us the Yeshua is our great high priest. So why should we have a problem with sacrifices? Part of the work of Messiah was to graft us in. So why then are we shocked at the thought of being part of Israel in the way it was first established? Is it reasonable to think that since the Messiah shed his blood, he has now established a "bloodless" system? If we are not to add to or take away from the Torah, then would it not seem logical to insert our Messianic faith into the given model instead of the other way around?
John M | October 27, 2007 9:33 AM