From: Monty Warren
To: <heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
Subject: Animal sacrifices
Eddie,
I would like to address what the book of Daniel has to say about the 70th
week.
Daniel 8:11 in all known english translations to me has translated the
hebrew word Ruwm (Strong's 7311) as "taken away". This word's meaning in
holy scriptures comes from the context of rising or raising and has
moreoften than not been translated exalt or exalting and so on. The word
Ruwm has been used 209 times in the old testament. The overwhelming support
of the interpretation of this word through evaluation of the context of the
scriptures in which it has been used clearly shows us that it means to rise
or exalt. It has several times been translated "take up" or "take
from"
but in context has always been in a sense of raising not taking away or
casting away. Daniel uses the hebrew word Ruwm 13 times in his book. Of
these thirteen uses all have a context of something being raised or lifted
up or exalted or being made high. A close examination of Daniel 8:11 in
some manuscripts shows the word Ruwm used twice consecutively. The literal
translation of the text would read, He was magnified before the prince of
the host and the daily sacrifice was exalted, the exalted cornerstone of
the holy place(the messiah) was cast down.
The exalting of a daily sacrifice of bulls or goats or of any blood other
than our Messiah is an abomination to our Lord and Savior. This can be
seen in Hebrews 9:23-10:18 very clearly. The reason that the Temple was
left standing in Jerusalem for 40 years after our savior made the one and
only true sacrifice, was to give witness to all that the animal sacrifices
would never be acceptable to our Lord and Savior. There were many signs
during this 40 year period that all believers should read and study. They
are a key to understanding that no other sacrifice will ever be acceptable
for any man's sins, except the one true sacrifice Which was set as the
cornerstone of the true temple. Any exalting or raising of another
sacrifice for sins would be an abomination to our Lord and Savior.
This interpretation leads to many problems with current believers thought
patterns. It would place the prophecy of Daniel's "midst of the week"
starting with the Daily sacrifice being "called back" not being "taken
away". Let's look at Daniel 12:11. The hebrew word here for "taken
away"
is Cuwr(Strong's 5493). This hebrew word has a meaning of turning. This
translation of "taken away" appears to be in direct contrast to Daniel
8:11. This can be reconciled by determining what is being turned from. It
is apparent from the context that they are turning from one thing to
something that is an abomination. Knowing that any animal or daily
sacrifice is insufficient is key. To believe that there will ever be a day
that any animal sacrifice would be acceptable and pleasing to God
contradicts Hebrews 9:23-10:18. With this knowledge we can use a perfectly
acceptable translation of the word Cuwr being "called back". In this
context the Daily sacrifice would be called back to prominence which would
be turning from the true sacrifice(Yeshua) and turning to the unacceptable
sacrifice(blood of bulls and goats). This would also exclude the taking
away of alter sacrifices as being seen in the eyes of the Lord as an
abomination. In fact, any one who would accept the blood of bulls and
goats as acceptable would be casting down the one true sacrifice(Yeshua).
Any one taking away something seen as an abomination in the eyes of the
Lord should be heralded. I don't believe that Holy scriptures teaches, in
any fashion, that the Anti-christ would do any thing good in the eyes of
the Lord. The fact is that scriptures teach he will do things to try and
deceive the very elect, if it were possible. He(the Anti-christ) will be
so close to the real thing that only those that "know" the true sacrifice
made for sins will not be fooled. He will be religious, he will be
cunning, and he will be false all at the same time. He will use major
parts of scripture to implement his cunning plan. He just won't use all of
it. There is one part of scripture we know he will leave out of his plan,
Yeshua the one and only TRUE SACRIFICE!
This is given for those watching for the true signs of the Great
Tribulation.
Shalom,
Monty
*****************************************************************
To:
heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
Subject: Animal sacrifices
From: Charles D. Rempel
Dear Sir,
Q: If we are to obey the Law, why do we not sacrifice animals as they
did in the old testament?
>From Eddie:
**************
The answer is very simple. There is no Temple.
Sacrifices can
only be done in the Temple.
I bet you will be surprised to learn that
the Apostle Paul
performed animal sacrifices in the Temple AFTER the death of
Yeshua/Jesus and AFTER he was a believer in Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah.
In Acts 9:1-19, Paul is converted on the
way to Damascus. As
Paul begins to be obedient to the L-rd's calling in his life, he
begins to preach that Yeshua/Jesus is Messiah to both Jew and non-Jew.
The Jews who did not accept Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah begin to have
controversy with Paul because he was preaching to the non-Jews that
Yeshua/Jesus was Messiah and did not require of them what the Jews who
did not believe that Yeshua/Jesus was Messiah thought what was
required of non-Jews to become part of a Jewish faith.
This is the basis behind the gathering
and ruling in Acts 15.
So, Paul begins to be accused that he has forsaken the Torah and is
not Torah observant. About three times in the book of Acts, Paul vows
and testifies that he is Torah observant.
In Acts 21:24, 26 it is written:
"Take them and PURIFY thyself with them, and be at charge with them,
that they may SHAVE THEIR HEADS and all may know ... that thou thyself
also walk orderly and keep the TORAH ...
Then Paul took the men and the next day PURIFYING HIMSELF with
them ENTERED INTO THE TEMPLE to signify the accomplishment of the days
of purification until that an OFFERING (animal sacrifice) should be
offered for every one of them"
You see
Christianity doesn't spend much time explaining
what happened in these passages. What happened was that Paul performed
animal sacrifices in the Temple AFTER the death of Yeshua/Jesus as
Messiah and AFTER he accepted him as Messiah. Paul in Acts 21:24,26
had taken a Nazirite vow. This is found in Numbers 6. In Numbers 6:5
it is written:
"All the days of the vow of his separation there shall be NO RAZOR
come upon his head ..."
Afterward,
animals were required to be sacrificed in the
Temple. In Numbers 6:10-13 it is written:
"And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles or two young
pigeons, to the priest to the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation: and the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering
and the other for a burnt offering and make an atonement for them ...
and he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation and
shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering ... and
this is the law of the Nazarite ..."
This is clearly
what is being done in Acts 21:24:
"Then Paul took the men and the next day PURIFYING HIMSELF with
them ENTERED INTO THE TEMPLE to signify the accomplishment of the days
of purification until that an OFFERING (animal sacrifice) should be
offered for every one of them"
So, Paul offered animal
sacrifices in the Temple AFTER he
accepted Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah and it had NOTHING To do with
salvation but EVERYTHING to do with being obediant to the Torah.
We have been taught for so
long in Christianity that
animal sacrifices do not save. True! But they NEVER did! Not even in
OT times.
It is a virtual uninversal Christian belief
that the death of
Yeshua/Jesus did away with animal sacrifices and so they therefore
will never again be instituted and to do so would be an abomination
against the death of Yeshua/Jesus.
However, the scriptures tell us that there WILL
be animal
sacrifices during the Messianic Age.
The reason why there is no animal
sacrifices today is
because there is no Temple. When the Temple was destroyed in
70 C.E. (Common Era), the sacrifices ceased to exist. However,
during the Messianic Age when Yeshua/Jesus will rule from the
Jerusalem there will be a Temple during this time and there will be
animal sacrifices. Why? To take away sin? NO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hebrews 10:4:
"For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should
take away sins"
During the days of animal sacrifices, did
the animal
sacrifice take away sin? NO! Man has ALWAYS been justified in the eyes
of God by FAITH
Hebrews 11:6:
"But without faith it is impossible to please him (God) ..."
Galations 2:6
"Even as Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for
righteousness"
What does the "OT" say?
Habakkuk 2:4
"... but the just shall live by faith"
What does the "NT" say?
Hebrews 10:38
"Now the just shall live by faith ..."
Even in the days of animal
sacrifices, God required that
those were justified before him by FAITH.
The offerer needed to
sacrifice the animal with a
repentant HEART and do the act as an expression of his FAITH in the
redeeming work of God. It the HEART was not repentant and if the
animal wasn't offered by FAITH toward God in the HEART, then it was
empty religion. Committing the act and TRUSTING in the act WITHOUT a
HEART change, G-d did NOT accept. It was THIS attitude that God
condemned in Isaiah 1:3-4, 10-11:
"The ox knows his owner, and ass his master's crib: but Israel does
not know, my people does not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people
laden with iniquity ... Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of SODOM
... ye people of GOMORRAH. To what purpose is th multitude of your
sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings
of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of
bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats"
In these passages, God is
addressing a SINFUL people who
have STONY HEARTS. What God was condeming was the HEART attitude
toward God and how they performed the ritual but lived like people of
"Sodom and Gommorah" (Isaiah 1:10)
God states the same thing in
Psalm 51:15-17:
"O Lord, open thou my lips and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest
not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a
broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou will not despise"
God desires one thing of his people ---
their HEART!
What is the GREATEST commandment?
Matthew 22:36-37:
"Master (Jesus), which is the great commandment in the TORAH? Jesus
said unto him, You shall love the Lord thy God with ALL your HEART,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind"
God desires for His people to have a pure heart:
Matthew 5:8:
"Blessed are the PURE IN HEART: for they shall see God"
Psalm 24:3-4:
"Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his
holy place? He that has clean hands and a PURE HEART ..."
Christianity has placed the problem on
the TORAH and the
animal sacrifices. But, in the Bible, God places the problem on the
HEART. It was God who instituted and commanded the animal sacrifices.
If God then says that they are an abomination to Him after He
commands them to be done, then God is schitzophrenic. But, God is not
schitzophrenic. The problem is not with God. The problem is with the
HEARTS of God's people.
Let us use a modern day
anology. God commands His people
to praise Him:
Psalm 100:1-2
"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with
gladness: come before his presence with singing ... Enter into his
gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise: be thankful
unto him ..."
Most Christian churches sing songs in their services. What if God
walked into one of our church services and said, "Oh you sinful
people, you people of Sodom and Gomorrah. your song services are an
abomination to me ..."
Why would God do this? Because God's people sing songs on Sunday and
lives like the world on Monday. So what good was it to sing a nice
song to G-d on Sunday? What God really desires is a broken and
contrite heart (Psalm 51:17) . What God really desires is His people
to have a pure heart (Matthew 5:8).
The problem is
not the animal and the problem is not the
songs. The problem is the hearts of God's people because the greatest
commandment is to love God with all your HEART. Animal sacrifices
don't save you and singing nice songs on Sunday doesn't save you. But,
a song in faith from the heart God will accept and an animal sacrifice
from the heart, God will accept. Singing songs on Sunday by tradition
does not praise God if there is no sincerity of heart. Animal
sacrifices God despises if there is no sincerity of heart in doing the
sacrifice.
So,
why animal sacrifices during the Messianic Age?
Animal sacrifices are commandments in the Torah. Torah means
"INSTRUCTION". So, why the animal sacrifices during the Messianic Age
when the Messiah will be in Jerusalem at the Temple? It is for
INSTRUCTION. In order to LEARN, we NEED to be SHOWN. Animal sacrifices
are an act of INSTRUCTION (Torah).
Ezekiel 40-48 describes the Temple of the Messianic
Age.
Ezekiel 41:1
"Afterward he brought me to the temple ..."
God told Ezekiel to "show the house (the pattern of heavenly things as
given by instruction in the Temple) to the house (God's people):
Ezekiel 43:10-12
"Thou son of man, SHOW THE HOUSE TO THE HOUSE of Israel, that they may
be ashamed of their iniquities, and let them MEASURE THE PATTERN. And
if they be ashamed of all that they have done, SHOW THEM, the FORM of
the HOUSE (Temple), the FASHION thereof, and the GOINGS OUT thereof,
and the COMINGS IN thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the
TORAH thereof: and WRITE IT in their SIGHT, that they may KEEP the
WHOLE FORM thereof, and all the ordinances thereof and do them. THIS
is the TORAH of the HOUSE ... Behold, THIS the the TORAH of the HOUSE"
The TORAH of the house is to
"show the house to the house"
according to the pattern so that they may KEEP the whole form.
"SHOWING" the house to the house is INSTRUCTION. So, why animal
sacrifices? For INSTRUCTION.
Let us continue in Ezekiel 40-48.
Ezekiel 46:2:
"And the PRINCE (the Messiah) shall enter by the way of the porch of
that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the
PRIESTS shall prepare the BURNT OFFERING and his PEACE OFFERINGS ..."
Ezekiel 46:4-5
"And the BURNT OFFERING that the PRINCE (the Messiah) shall offer unto
the Lord in the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a
ram without blemish. And the MEAT OFFERING shall be an ephah for a
ram, and the MEAT OFFERING for the lambs as he shall be able to give,
and a hin of oil to an ephah"
Ezekiel 46:20:
"Then said he unto me, This is the place where the PRIESTS shall boil
the TRESPASS OFFERING and the SIN OFFERING, where they shall bake the
MEAT OFFERING, that they bear them not out into the outer court, to
sanctify the people"
Therefore, here in Ezekiel 46 we see ALL five offerings being
offered:
#1) Burnt offering
#2) Meat offering
#3) Trespass offering
#4) Sin offering
#5) Peace offering
and they will be offered during the Messianic Age at the
Temple
as a way of "SHOWING the house (the pattern of the Temple to
understand heavenly things as given by God) to the house (God's
people)".
I pray that this answers your question.
**********************************************************************
To educate, train and equip for study both the Jew and
Non-Jew in the Rich Hebraic Heritage of our Faith.
Please visit the Hebraic Roots Global Network
Web Site located at:
http://www.hebroots.org/
Eddie Chumney
Hebraic Heritage Ministries Int'l