The Hebrew Sanctuary

[Tim2]

What a blessing it is to have a light that shines brighter and brighter until that perfect day -- when we will see the Lamb face to face.  The more we contemplate these deep themes, the more truth unfolds; not only in this area of the Hebrew sanctuary, but in every doctrinal area.  Have you noticed how the Holy Spirit is moving in these last days?  It is such an exciting time to be alive and in Christ. 

[Mimi]

I adore this subject even though my participation has been scant through the years. Regarding Satan as the ultimate parallel (type/antitype) of the scapegoat used in the Day of Atonement services in the wilderness, consider this:

The scapegoat, bearing the sins of Israel, was sent away "unto a land not inhabited;" so Satan, bearing the guilt of all the sins which he has caused God's people to commit, will be for a thousand years (the millennium) confined to the earth, which will then be desolate, without inhabitant, and he will at last suffer the full penalty of sin in the fires that shall destroy all the wicked.

For every type within the wilderness sanctuary service, there is an antitype. 

[Tim2]

Amen!!

[ian rankin]

Hi,
I am a late contributer to this topic and I ask for your tolerance. I too consider the Hebrew Sanctuary to be a vital part of God’s revelation of Himself and His plans for dealing with evil.

I notice that recent discussion has been on the symbolism of the scapegoat and I get the impression that much of the discussion centres on defending conclusions rather than starting with an examination of the data.

Let me explain. On the Day of Atonement there were a number of sacrifices and these included animals
Lev 16:3  Aaron shall enter the Holy Place with a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering
V5 he shall take from the congregation two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.
V6 he shall offer the bull for a sin offering…to make atonement for himself and his household
V15 he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people…bring the blood inside the veil and do with the blood as he did with the blood of the bull 

Note, the blood of both the bull and the goat is sprinkled within the veil.
My question is, does the bull represent Christ? Does the goat represent Christ?

In the Bible, Christ is the Lamb of God, not the goat of God.

That day would have begun with the priestly morning offering of the lamb of God. Tradition has it that the High Priest sequestered himself in the sanctuary and took over the performance of all the sanctuary services some days before the Day of Atonement in order to avoid accidental defilement.
Regards,
Ian

[Richard Myers]

Welcome back, Brother Ian.

What are your thoughts on these verses?
Leviticus
 16:6   And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which [is] for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. 
  16:7   And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD [at] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 
  16:8   And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. 
  16:9   And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him [for] a sin offering.

In these verses I see a bullock representing Christ and a goat representing Christ. There is no offering for sin, other than Christ.

[ian rankin]

Hi Richard,
You write:- 'In these verses I see a bullock representing Christ and a goat representing Christ. There is no offering for sin, other than Christ.'

I read what you are saying, but it somehow doesn't make sense
I have a problem with your statement. I agree completely that there is no offering for sin, other than Christ, but I am uncomfortable at the suggestion that I can offer Christ. The Catholic Church claims that the mass is an offering of Christ, that the priest turns the bread and wine into the real body and blood of Christ.
No offering of mine can atone for sin. Nothing I can do requires God to save me.
The High priest was no more saved after he offered the bull than he was before, but then of course he would have been struck dead if he had not made the offering.
Am I making any sense?
Ian

[Richard Myers]

No, I am afraid not. You said that Jesus was the Lamb of God. Do you not believe that when the lamb was slain in the outer court that it was a symbol of Jesus being slain on account of our sins?

[ian rankin]

Hi Richard,
In answer to my query, ‘Am I making sense?’ you answer ‘No, I am afraid not. You said that Jesus was the Lamb of God. Do you not believe that when the lamb was slain in the outer court that it was a symbol of Jesus being slain on account of our sins?

No, I do not. The lamb that was slain as a symbol of Jesus been slain on account of our sins was the daily morning and evening lamb of God offered by the priests and at the annual Passover service
The daily individual Hebrew’s offerings were a covenantal consequence of the daily offering of the lamb of God, not a repetition of it.

Consider please the following regarding the meaning of the Hebrew sanctuary.

1.   The Hebrew sanctuary presented God’s plan for the salvation of mankind and the destruction of sin. The priest’s daily morning and evening continually  burning offering of the lamb of God kept open the access to God.

2.  The origins of the sanctuary service go right back to Eden, but at Sinai it became a national form of service as opposed to something performed by the patriarchal of each family.

3. Jesus was the essential figure in the plan of salvation and while nearly every part of the sanctuary and its services symbolised Jesus, yet the lava represented the Holy Spirit, the Shekina glory was God

4.   The death of Jesus, symbolised in the Passover, was the first and essential act of the seven acts of God symbolised in the seven annual feasts of the sanctuary.

5.   The various offerings required of the individual nearly all concerned ceremonial defilement of both himself and his family. It was only adult males who could bring offerings. The purpose of these offerings was to maintain covenant relationship, for only while they were in the covenant were they covered by the daily offering of the lamb of God.

6.   There were no offerings for deliberate, wilful breaking of the commandments.
Apart from Passover, the popular conception of a daily stream of lambs being sacrificed by repentant Hebrews is not Biblical.

      7. We do not have to have righteousness for salvation, it is by God’s grace we are saved. It will not be till this mortal puts on immortality and this corruption puts on incorruption that we will have a righteousness of our own.


God bless,
Ian

      
 

[Richard Myers]

3. Jesus was the essential figure in the plan of salvation and while nearly every part of the sanctuary and its services symbolised Jesus, yet the lava represented the Holy Spirit, the Shekina glory was God

Brother Ian, can you explain this more fully? The part that states, "nearly every part of the sanctuary and its services symbolized Jesus..." You say the lamb being sacrificed in the outer court (representing the earth) is not a symbol of Jesus. What then does it symbolize?   Thank you.

[ian rankin]

Hi Richard,
You ask some hard questions.
You write:- 'You say the lamb being sacrificed in the outer court (representing the earth) is not a symbol of Jesus. What then does it symbolize?'

I am  not aware I made that statement, but I do see the lamb offered by the priest in the daily morning and evening sacrifice as unique. It alone represented Jesus.

Abel's offering of a lamb did symbolize his faith in Jesus. However after the setting up of the sanctuary, individual offerings by the family patriarch were replaced by the priests' daily morning and evening offering.

The individual family head was responsible now for maintaining his covenant relationship and this was done through offerings for ceremonial uncleaness.
These offerings ranged from grain, oil, wine, doves and other animals up to bulls, depending on his status and office.

Could you please give me the bible references you have in mind?
The only ones I can think of which call for the offering of a lamb as a symbol of Jesus are the passover service.

God bless
Ian

[Richard Myers]

Brother Ian, I got that statement from your post on March 6. Here is your post in full:

Hi Richard,
In answer to my query, ‘Am I making sense?’ you answer ‘No, I am afraid not. You said that Jesus was the Lamb of God. Do you not believe that when the lamb was slain in the outer court that it was a symbol of Jesus being slain on account of our sins?

No, I do not. The lamb that was slain as a symbol of Jesus been slain on account of our sins was the daily morning and evening lamb of God offered by the priests and at the annual Passover service
The daily individual Hebrew’s offerings were a covenantal consequence of the daily offering of the lamb of God, not a repetition of it.

Consider please the following regarding the meaning of the Hebrew sanctuary.

1.   The Hebrew sanctuary presented God’s plan for the salvation of mankind and the destruction of sin. The priest’s daily morning and evening continually  burning offering of the lamb of God kept open the access to God.

2.  The origins of the sanctuary service go right back to Eden, but at Sinai it became a national form of service as opposed to something performed by the patriarchal of each family.

3. Jesus was the essential figure in the plan of salvation and while nearly every part of the sanctuary and its services symbolised Jesus, yet the lava represented the Holy Spirit, the Shekina glory was God

4.   The death of Jesus, symbolised in the Passover, was the first and essential act of the seven acts of God symbolised in the seven annual feasts of the sanctuary.

5.   The various offerings required of the individual nearly all concerned ceremonial defilement of both himself and his family. It was only adult males who could bring offerings. The purpose of these offerings was to maintain covenant relationship, for only while they were in the covenant were they covered by the daily offering of the lamb of God.

6.   There were no offerings for deliberate, wilful breaking of the commandments.
Apart from Passover, the popular conception of a daily stream of lambs being sacrificed by repentant Hebrews is not Biblical.

      7. We do not have to have righteousness for salvation, it is by God’s grace we are saved. It will not be till this mortal puts on immortality and this corruption puts on incorruption that we will have a righteousness of our own.


God bless, Ian

I bolded  the part I quoted. I agree with this very much. It all points to Jesus and His sacrifice. The birds, the bread, the water, the blood, the incense, the grain, the oil, the candlestick, the curtains, the heifer, the priests, laver. It all represents our Lord and His righteousness, His great sacrifice for us.

We have covered a lot of this already in this topic. You may want to take a look through it and see if you agree. It is a most beautiful picture of the plan of salvation and the love that God has for us while we were yet sinners.

Thank you for your patience and interest in this study, dear brother Ian.

[ian rankin]

Hi Richard,
Thanks for your reply. It is good that we agree that Jesus is the Lamb of God and the sanctuary is God's revelation of this greatest of all truths.

The concern that is in the back of my mind is a fear of people interpreting the individual sanctuary offerings as a means of attaining righteousness to cover their sin. Like the Roman Catholic mass were the priest re-sacrifices Jesus and claims to dispense forgiveness of sins.
To me the individual sanctuary offering did not in any way earn salvation or righteousness.
They acknowledged depedance on the Lamb of God, but the individual was no more righteous after the offering than he was before
Hebrews 10:1-4. The offerings were a reminder of sin, 'impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin
Hebrews 9:14 the blood of Jesus cleanses the conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
God bless.
Ian

[Richard Myers]

I understand your concern, dear brother. The Jews believed they were saved by the blood of bulls and goats, most them anyway.  None of the sacrifices saved anyone. Only the sacrifice of Christ can save, and then only when a person dies to self. And that was the purpose of the sacrificial system. It was to teach the Jew and the world that God's Son would take upon Himself the sins of the world and die in our place. The only way that sacrifice can save a human is if it is allowed into the heart. Then self dies and Christ is enthroned within. Then the fruits of the Spirit are seen in the life, not one is missing. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to guilty man and the righteousness of Christ is imparted to all who will submit to Christ as ruler in their lives.

We agree on the danger of thinking that there is any merit in any sacrifice other than the sacrifice of Christ that atones for our sins.  My understanding is that all of the sacrifices were "symbolic" of the sacrifice of Christ. There was no merit in sacrificing anything. None whatsoever. Obdedience was good, but it did not bring salvation. Only accepting the sacrifice of Christ, accepting Him as Savior can save and change us.

I think we are coming into some agreement here dear Brother Ian!  

[ian rankin]

Hi Richard,
I couldn't agree more
God bless
Ian

[Richard Myers]

The fruit of respecting each other's opinion even when we disagree! It is always a blessing to study with you dear Brother Ian! Your Sabbath is well over, but we are just headed to church on our Sabbath Day!  I always find it amazing how God can bring us into fellowship when we are so far apart! I pray your Sabbath was a blessing, dear friend!

[Richard Myers]

The Hebrew Sanctuary

"And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them." Exodus 25:8.

[Richard Myers]

Hi Richard,
This is a hot topic and so it should be. Amen
I see many postings since the one I am here replying too, I hope my thoughts are still revelant to where the discussion has come?

You ask for clarification concerning my contention that the Bible teaches that there was no sanctuary sacrifice available for an Old covenant believer who deliberately broke the commandments.

You write:- ‘This thought has come up before. I have never heard a good explanation of how these deliberate sins could be forgiven if there were no sacrifice made for them. Can you explain your thinking on this, Brother Ian? Thank you’.

As always, the challenge delights me. I will try my best to meet it.
My reply also an attempt to respond to Brother Steve Billiter’s response to my post.

How is sin forgiven?
It is always God’s initiative.
In Old Testament times it was faith in the promise of God that He would provide a Redeemer.
In New Testament times it is faith that Jesus Christ is that Redeemer.
Forgiveness is and ever has been a matter of a faith response to God’s grace. It is never His response to our worth or works. It is always God’s initiative.

Pagan thinking, both ancient and modern, believes we can make an offering that atones for our sin. It is also imbedded in the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.

The sanctuary sacrifice that atoned for sin was the priest’s offering of the morning and evening sacrifice of the lamb of God.
It was not the peoples’ sacrifice, it was God’s sacrifice.

The individual Israelite’s offerings were for ceremonial defilement and were for the purpose of keeping them in covenant relationship, under the covering of this morning and evening continually burning offering.

It was the mediation of the priests that provided salvation and this culminated in the high priest’s ministry on the Day of Atonement.
Again I draw your attention to the RC church teaching that salvation comes through the church and the mediation of the priest.

An Israelite’s assurance was in being in the covenant, being born an Israelite, being circumcised and being accepted into the covenant responsibilities when he became of age.

Isn’t this true of you and I as Christians? We are saved, are we not, by being born again in Christ, being in the New Covenant? We are not saved by any sacrifice we make, that would be salvation by works. Salvation is only and only ever has been by faith in the Redeemer, the Lamb of God.

An Israelite’s covenant assurance was conditional on the Israelite being careful to maintain his covenant relationship. That was maintained by his attention to providing the offerings required for ceremonial defilement such as touching a dead body, birth of a child etc etc.
His covenant relationship was tested once a year on the Day of Atonement.

There was provision for becoming aware of having unintentionally broken the commandments. Leviticus 4, Numbers 15:22-31, Hebrews 9:7.
But when David was faced with his wilful adultery and murder, Ps 51, there was no avenue of forgiveness through sanctuary offerings. It wouldn’t matter how many thousand sheep he sacrificed, his action had separated him, cut him off from the covenant privileges.

David suddenly recognised his position of separation from covenant protection and did the only thing he could do. He humbled his heart and pled for God’s forgiveness, and for his restoration to covenant membership.

Ps 51, ‘according to your loving kindness…greatness..compassion’. ’create in me a clean heart’, ‘take not your Holy Spirit from me’.

As always, God answered such a prayer and David was accepted back into covenant relationship and once again covered by the Lamb of God.

That is how I understand it, but I am also aware that this is a huge subject with many, many grey areas, so I don’t offer these thoughts as definitive answers, just discussion points.
God bless,
Ian

Well....sorry to take so long to reply, dear Brother Ian.

I am very much agreement with you regarding the fact that God is the one who initiates repentance. The Bible tells us that it is the "goodness of God that leadeth thee to repentance."  And, "Godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation."  The first quote is easy to understand, the second we must look at to see God's initiative. Godly sorrow for what? True sorrow for what our sins have done to Christ and our heavenly Father. How does this come about? It comes when we see God's great love for us while yet sinners. Jesus said "If I be lifted up, I will draw all unto me."  So, repentance comes as a result of God's love and His active drawing. The Holy Spirit first convinces of sin, then He lifts us up out of the dust.

Having agreed with you on this, I am prepared to add more as to the sinner's need to do something in order to be forgiven. 

[ian rankin]

Hi Richard,
I think we are on good ground when we establish our points of agreement as our starting point rather than our points of disagreement.

I think one such starting point would be that we agree on the basic truth of free will of all humans. God is not willing that any should perish, but He respects a person's choice.
The Day of Atonement revealed the true condition of every Israelite's commitment. It was confirmation of salvation for the faithful, but the close of probation for those who had grown careless. Leviticus 16:30 and 23:29-30.
In this, as it says in Hebrews 10:1 'the Law was only a shadow of the good things to come'
We who live in the anti-typical Day of Atonement are not judged by our obedience to the Law of Moses, but by our submission to the Holy Spirit; allowing Him to manifest the image of Jesus through us.
That makes us accountable, but does not give our actions any saving merit. By faith are you saved.
I*an

[Richard Myers]

By grace are ye saved.    For Christ died for us while we were yet sinners.

I agree that man can merit nothing, but we cannot do away with God's justice. Both mercy and justice met at the cross. It is not merit that is being judged in the Investigative judgment, it is man's heart that is revealed by his motives, his thoughts, and his deeds. These are not meritorious in the least, they are evidence of his belief in Christ as Saviour. It is evidence of who he belongs to. It has nothing to do with earning salvation. Justice demands a full heart surrender to Christ. If self remains alive, then there is no conversion,  no new life, no true baptism, therefore no eternal life. God alreadys knows, but the judgment is for the benefit of all others.

When Jesus tells us that we can know the false teacher, He is saying that we can judge another by their fruits. Fruits are not meritorious, they are evidence of a changed heart. When we understand this important doctrine, all else falls into place. The evangelical "gospel" is seen to be a deception. God not only forgives the repentant sinner, but He cleanses us from all sin.  Conversion brings forth a new creature made in the image of Christ. The heart has been purified and the motives are in harmony with truth, the truth understood by the saint at that moment. More than that, the new Christian has each of the fruits of the Spirit, not one is missing.

The Herbrew Sanctuary and its services confirm this gospel of grace. It was the gospel in types and shadows.

[ian rankin]

Hi Richard,
There is so much we agree on that I hesitate to raise a question, but could you please clarify what you understand to be 'the evangelical gospel' that you criticise?
As I understand it you are saying that the 'evangelical gospel' teaches that santification is an ongoing experience, 'the work of a lifetime', while you believe we are sanctified when we are justified?
Am I correct?
Ian