September 15, 2007
The Fall Feasts of Israel
Selah » Holidays and Holy Days.........by jack kelly

(On September 13, 2007 we began year 5768 on the Hebrew Calendar. As I often do with articles that commemorate annual events, I have updated this study on the Fall Feasts and added new information for your review.)

The fall is arguably the most important time of the year in Judaism. Three of Israel's holiest days are celebrated then, and all in the space of 15 days. They are Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, followed 10 days later by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and 5 days after that the Feast of Tabernacles. On our calendar they usually fall (no pun intended) some time between mid September and early October due to the differences between the Jewish (lunar) calendar and the western (solar) one.

Each of these holy days has both historical and prophetic significance, the prophetic fulfillment to occur on the day itself. Therefore Christians study them for glimpses into the future as well as to gain a better understanding of Jewish culture.

Happy New Year

Gentiles are sometimes confused in their studies of these holy days by the fact that the Lord changed the Jewish calendar at the time of the Exodus (Exodus 12:2). What had been the 7th month was thereafter to be the first, placing the beginning of the year in the spring.

But because of the harvest, the Jews have always retained their original calendar as well, so now they have a religious year which begins in the spring and a civil year beginning in the fall. Therefore the Jewish New Year has always been celebrated in the fall and remains so today. This feast is known by two names, Yom Teruah, which means day of blowing but is called the Feast of Trumpets, and Rosh Hashanah which means "head of the year"

Rosh Hashanah is a time of new beginnings. Jewish tradition holds that the creation was completed on Rosh Hashanah, and therefore Adam was born on that day as well. If so, then the counting of time actually began then, on the first day of the first month of the first year. Rosh Hashanah.

Many students of prophecy place the birth of the Messiah on Rosh Hashanah, giving the day its first prophetic fulfillment, and believe that the beginning of Daniel's 70th week and 7 years later the Lord's Second Coming will also occur on Rosh Hashanah.

Others think that the Rapture of the Church will happen on Rosh Hashanah, but I'm convinced that the Rapture is a number specific event rather than a date specific one, meaning that the Church will be raptured when "the full number of gentiles has come in" making the day and hour unknown to us in advance, except that it will precede Israel's re-awakening (Romans 11:25) and Daniel's 70th week. (Acts 15:15-16) About the only thing we know for sure where the Rapture's concerned is that it didn't happen on this Rosh Hashanah.

Religious Jews believe that in Heaven books recording the deeds of mankind are opened on Rosh Hashanah for an annual review of man's behavior. To this end, they spend the previous month in a sincere effort to right all the wrongs they may have committed during the year just ending.

When the books are opened, the names of those whose life has been exemplary in every respect are entered into the book for another year of life, while those who have demonstrated no redeeming qualities are scheduled for death. Since normal bell curve distribution would indicate that very few fit at either extreme, the majority are given 10 days until Yom Kippur to "get right with God." These 10 days are called the Days of Awe where each man's destiny hangs in the balance as he goes about asking forgiveness from friends and neighbors for sins he's committed in the year just past. A common greeting among Jews during the Days of Awe is, "May your name be written in the Book."

On the afternoon of Rosh Hashanah Orthodox Jews go to a running brook or stream where fish swim and throw pebbles or crumbs they've gathered into the water, symbolizing God's casting away of their sins. While doing so, they recite Micah 7:18-20. "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago."

This is one of the most eloquent descriptions of God's grace to be found anywhere in Scripture. It reminds God of His promise to be merciful to them in the coming judgment of Yom Kippur.
The fish's dependence on water symbolizes their dependence on God. The fact that fish can't close their eyes reminds them to be thorough because God sees everything. This ceremony is called Tashlich, Hebrew for "You will cast", a reference to Micah 7:19.

Judgment Time

Ten days later, on Yom Kippur, judgment is rendered, the books are closed and everyone's fate is sealed for another year.

Yom Kippur was the only day of the year when it was permissible to speak the Name of God. Yes God does have a name, but it's not Jehovah or Yahweh. These names were created out of the four letters that Hebrew scribes used to represent God's name in the Old Testament. Wherever the word LORD appears all in caps, you'll find the Hebrew letters JHVH, (or YHWH) in the Hebrew text. Theologians call these four letters the tetragrammaton, which is Greek for "four letters".

So, in effect these four letters are God's initials, standing for His real name which some say contains 72 syllables.

Since Hebrew has no vowels, early English language translators added an E, an O, and an A, (vowels they took from from Elohim, a form of the Hebrew word meaning God and Adonai, Hebrew for Lord) to JHVH and created the name Jehovah. We used to think that was God's name. And in Hebrew the four letters are pronounced yod, he, wah, he, which probably gave rise to the "Yahweh" we use today. Neither one is really His name.

As I've said, it was forbidden to speak God's actual name except for once a year on Yom Kippur when it was spoken 10 times. After the Temple was destroyed, the Yom Kippur ceremony gradually changed until the name of God ceased to be used and was subsequently lost.

So no one alive today knows God's name, and it probably hasn't been spoken on Earth for about 1700 years. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Philippians 2:9 says that Jesus, or if you prefer the Hebrew, Yeshua is now the name above all names. This is now the name by which God chooses to be known.

Back to Yom Kippur. During a great and awe inspiring ceremony at the Temple two goats were brought before the High Priest. One was a goat "for the Lord" to be presented as a peace offering as commanded in Lev. 16:7-10. The other was called "the scapegoat" because all the sins of the nation were symbolically placed upon its head, and then it was led outside the city to be killed. The goat had done nothing to deserve this but was chosen to demonstrate the fact that only the shedding of innocent blood could atone for the sins of the people. The death of the two goats symbolically set aside the sins of the nation, made their peace offering acceptable and gave them peace with their Creator. The people spoke the Name of God in heartfelt thanks.

Here are a couple of interesting tidbits from Jewish tradition. When the goats were brought before the High Priest, their respective roles in the ceremony were determined by lot. Two golden lots were placed in a golden bowl and as he placed his hand upon the head of each goat, the High Priest reached into the bowl and pulled out one of the lots. Before the cross the goat that was to be presented to the Lord as a peace offering was always on the right hand of the High Priest. After the cross it never was.

While the scapegoat was symbolically receiving the sins of the people upon its head a scarlet ribbon was tied from one of its horns to the door of the temple. As the goat was taken into the wilderness the ribbon was cut, leaving some on the horn and some on the door. At a predetermined location outside the city, the goat was pushed off a cliff and fell to its death. In all the years before the cross, at the moment of the scapegoat's death, the remnant of ribbon on the temple door turned from red to white symbolizing the passage from Isaiah 1:18, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow." After the cross this never happened again. The One Who sits at the right hand of the Father and Who had fulfilled the role that both goats had only symbolized had come and forever taken away the sins of all who would choose to accept Him.

The Law Is Only A Shadow ...

In Christendom a view holds that the Lord Jesus began His ministry on Yom Kippur announcing in effect that the judgment that was due mankind was to be borne by Him (Luke 4:16-21) and that man no longer need live in fear of judgment nor have to endure the 10 Days of Awe every year.

It's easy to see the Lord in the role of our scapegoat, whose shed blood purchased our pardon forever (Hebrews 10:1-4) but He was also our peace offering. "He is our peace, Who has broken down every wall." (Ephe 2:14)

In the prophetic sense, Tribulation survivors from the nations will receive their fulfillment of the Yom Kippur judgment in the days immediately following the Lord's return. This is described to us in the Sheep and Goat judgment (Matt 25:31-46) where those who've cast their sins at the foot of the cross during the Great Tribulation will be granted life in the Kingdom, and those who haven't will be sent away for death. In Matt. 19:28 the Lord told His disciples that the judgment of Jews who survive would take place then, too.

For those of all ages who reject the Lord's vicarious atonement, the prophetic fulfillment of Yom Kippur will come at the end of the Millennium in the so-called Great White Throne judgment, when all the unsaved dead are brought back to life to be judged according to their works. (Rev. 20:11-15).

Happy Thanksgiving

The Feast of Tabernacles was a harvest celebration and is the inspiration for the American Thanksgiving Day. It began as a seven-day feast, later expanded to eight, when all the tithes the Israelites had set aside during the year were brought to Jerusalem for a joyous time of national celebration and thanksgiving for the Lord's bountiful provision. The aroma of delicious foods cooking over open fires permeated the whole city. For seven days where ever you went there was an air of joy and festivity as the people remembered their Provider and gave thanks. (Deut. 14:22-26).

Historically the Feast of Tabernacles commemorates the time of God's dwelling with the Israelites in the wilderness. Its prophetic fulfillment comes in the Millennium when the Lord will once again dwell among His people; with the Church in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21) and Israel in Jehovah Shammah, the new name of the Holy City in the Promised Land.(Isaiah 62:2 & Ezekiel 48:35)

Somewhere along the way a water libation ceremony was added to the Feast of Tabernacles. Each morning a procession of priests would descend the steps from the Temple to the Pool of Siloam and dip a silver pitcher into the water. Carrying the water back to the altar, they would pour it into the ground that had been exposed by the removal of a paving block near the altar, while offering prayers for rain. The purpose of this daily ceremony was to remind God to bring the fall rains needed to prepare the ground for planting. In Israel it doesn't rain during the summer and the ground gets very hard. Gentle rains were needed to soften the ground to prepare it for the fall planting.

On the last day of the feast the High Priest himself would officiate and on this day instead of a silver pitcher one of pure gold would be used. The High Priest would be dressed in all his finest and attended by a huge contingent of similarly attired priests, blowing trumpets, singing psalms, and waving palm branches. When it was first described to me, I was struck by its beauty and pageantry. I've since read that extra balconies were set up around the Court of the Priests so more people could observe it.

One year just as the High Priest was about to pour the water into the ground, a loud voice interrupted the ceremony shouting, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." (John 7:37-38) It was Jesus and He was referring to the Holy Spirit, who believers would soon receive. This caused many to believe that He was indeed Israel's Messiah. (We're not told what the High Priest's reaction was, but it couldn't have been pleasant.)

Let's Get Spiritual

Following the thought that events that were external and physical in the Old Testament are often internal and spiritual in the New, there is a sense in which these holy days also reflect the life of the believer.

As Jesus came to live in the world at His birth (Rosh Hashanah), so He comes to live in our hearts at our new birth. As He required the shedding of innocent blood to reconcile Himself with Israel (Yom Kippur) so He shed His own Blood to reconcile Himself with us. As He dwelt with the Israelites in the wilderness of Midian (Tabernacles), so He dwells with us in the wilderness of Earth. "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age," He promised. (Matt 28:20) Even so, Come Lord Jesus. (Rev. 22:20) You can almost hear the Footsteps of the Messiah.

.........................................................benny

Thank you benny!

Benny, beautiful job ... Halleluyah and Maranatha. Just a great post.
As we say in hebrew ... yasher koa-ch .... may you go from strength to strength.

Shalom

voice

Shalom,

As you can tell I wrote this a couple of years back but without reviewing it I can feel fairly confident that it is still rather accurate even if my position may have changed a bit by the leading of The HOLY SPIRIT. Obviously any dates mentioned would be changed to meet the current year.
Written by Pastor Eric Aschendorf
Thursday, 25 November 2004
Please visit or start a discussion at our "Discussion Forums"

Rosh Hashanah In CHRIST
Word in Due Season

Leviticus 23:24
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. In scripture this day is called the "day of blowing trumpets". We call the trumpets Shofar. It is necessary to blow the Shofar to produce particular sounds. These sounds represent the desperate cry of a sinner that realizes the depth of his fall. They are the sounds of repentance! There is the long (tki'a), changing (shvarim) and with interruptions (tru'a).

The sound of the Shofar is much like the sound of John in the wilderness calling people to repentance!

Each day, during the week prior to Rosh Hashanah it is the duty of every Jew to say "slihot" or to ask GOD for forgivness and to make proper all his relationships with his neighbors. These days and the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are called "Yamim Nora'im" or Terrible Days, because the righteous Judge of All will judge everyone according to his deeds.

In Leviticus 23:24 we read;
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation

The sound of the trumpet is a memorial or a remembrance, but of what?

In Numbers 10, the LORD commands Moses to make two silver trumpets, to use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps into the desert, the Wilderness of Sin! When they blew the trumpet, they were to take their journey following the LORD. Today, when we hear this sound, we remember that the LORD is with us, and HE also goes before us and leads us similar to the way HE lead our fathers in the desert. HE cares for us and shows us the way to walk and makes us to rest in HIS place of rest. The sound of the trumpet, the sounds of repentance calls us to follow the LORD!

Turn to Numbers 10:9-10

And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your GOD, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.

So here the trumpet calls to the LORD your salvation! It is symbolic of the voice of one calling out in the wilderness! GOD is our SAVIOR! HE is our defense and the wall of protection around us! HE is our victory over all our enemies! The sound of the Shofar reminds us of the perfect victory we have in HIM!

Vs 10 gives us further instruction into the use of the Shofar. We are to blow the trumpet, "Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your GOD; I am the LORD your GOD."

We have a reason to rejoice in the day of our joy as well as in the day of our sorrow; the LORD remembers us! HE promised in Heb 13:5, "...I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Thus the sound of the trumpet or Shofar brings us into remembrance before the LORD!

Remember I said earlier that the days before Rosh Hashanah every Jew was to say "slihot". They were to ask GOD for forgivness and to make proper all his relationships with his neighbors. During this time before Rosh Hashanah and between it and Yom Kippur the righteous Judge of All was to judge everyone according to his deeds. At Rosh Hashanah the High Priest reveals whose names are written in the "Book of Life"; whose have been blotted out and who is provisional status, (the intermediates).

Basically, the wholly righteous are written into the Book of Life; the wholly wicked are blotted out and written into the Book of Death and the intermediates are held suspended from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur. Then according to the finding of the Priest they are inscribed into the proper book.

Thus a common greeting at this time is, "May your name be inscribed in the Book of Life!"

In order to insure that your name would be inscribed into the Book of Life the Jews developed a "works theology". They created three ways to prevent being blotted out.

One is called Teshuvah. It is translated "repentance", however a literal translation would render it more accurately, "return". You don't, through Teshuvah become a new person, but rather you return to the "goodness" that is supposed to be inherent within all of us.

The second way is called Tevillah. Normally this is translated as "prayer". In this they are referring to attaching oneself to GOD. Basically man is to "strengthen" his attachment to GOD.

The third way is called Tzedakah. It comes from the Hebrew word meaning "justice" and is translated "charity". Justice then demands that man give to others.

If you look at all three of these you can see the needed works;
a) Return to your inherent goodness
b) Pray
c) Give

Traditional teachings have it that when the Temple stood the altar brought atonement. Now a person's table brings atonement. In other words, without the Temple sacrifice for our sins, we can only rely on acts of charity to be entered into the Book of Life.

As with all works theology, these only mask the problem and take you away from GOD by giving you a false security into your place before GOD. They give you something to "look" at and say see I'm not so bad, when the reality is that you have never truly confronted your sin!

Exodus 32:30-32

30) And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; preadventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.
31) And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
32) Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

Moses understood who was the keeper of the Book of Life and he took the sins directly before GOD!

GOD's response to Moses' plea for the children of Israel was, "whoever has sinned against ME, I will blot him out of MY book" (Ex 32:33).

But everyone has sinned against GOD? Does this men that accordingly everyone will be blotted out? GOD is merciful, so no! In HIS mercy, HE will always provide a way of atonement.

In Deuteronomy 30:19 we read, " I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that, I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:"

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement is first mentioned in Leviticus. It is a day of fasting and prayer to GOD for forgiveness. When the Temple still existed, the High Priest was the mediator for the people before GOD. On this one day of the year he would take a live goat, lay hands upon its head and confess all the sins of Israel onto it. By this he transferred the sins of the people onto the animal. Then he would enter into the Holy of Holies to make the sacrifice to GOD placing the blood of the animal upon the altar. This then became known as the "scapegoat". In accepting this substitutionary sacrifice, GOD could inscribe HIS people into the Book of Life.

When the Temple was destroyed, the priesthood disbanded and the sacrifices discontinued the rabbis rationalized themselves into works theology. The problem is that this is non-scriptural. The Bible teaches that there is no forgiveness without an intercessor and a shedding of blood.

On Mt. Horeb, Moses fulfilled this role between the people and GOD. The High Priest would fulfill this role during the Temple days.

When JESUS' earthly ministry started John The Baptist proclaimed, "the lamb of GOD that taketh away the sin of the world."

In Genesis 22 we read the story of Abraham and Isaac. As they are going to make a sacrifice unto the LORD Isaac says, "Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" (vs 7) Abraham then answers in verse 8, "My son, GOD will provide HIMSELF a lamb...." That HE did many years later once and for all times in the form of HIS SON, JESUS the CHRIST! Is it any wonder that after this sacrifice of HIS SON that GOD tore the vale in the Temple in two from top to bottom and that all sacrifices stopped?

When the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies he had gold bells and dried pomegranates tied to his clothing. This was done in order that that outside they would know that he was purified before GOD and acceptable. If he had not been he would die and the noise created by the bells and pomegranates would cease.

When JESUS entered the Holy of Holies for us there was "a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind...." (Acts 2:2)

Another time that they blew the trumpets was at the enthroning of the king in Israel! When Solomon was anointed as the king, they blew the trumpet, exclaiming, "Long live king Solomon!" (1 Kings 1:34) the people heard the trumpet call and rejoiced in the LORD, because HE kept HIS promise to David and established his seed as the king over Israel.

The trumpet call proclaims that the new King has been enthroned!

Now turn to 1 Corinthians 15:52.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incoruptable, and we shall be changed.

At the final trumpets sounding the new King shall eternally be enthroned. The work of the truly High Priest will be completed and, "He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before my FATHER, and before HIS angels." (Rev 3:5)

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from GOD, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband... and nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Rev 21: 1, 2, 27)

During this season of the New Year and atonement what will you do? Will you go the way of the modern Jew and depend on your goodness, on your works to get you there? Or will you let GOD provide himself for the lamb? Will you try to go into the Holy of Holies unprepared; without an intercessor and without a sacrifice? Or will you be prepared and let JESUS become your sacrifice and High Priest? In which book will we find your name?

..I set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life.... (Deut 30:19)

This will happen for His Name's Sake...Because that is what the Lord tells us.

Can a dead tree turn? No.

This will be the work of our Savior alone. Jump for joy!

Any dead old rod can grow leaves if the Lord breaths.

I'm glad you found us Semachiah...

I met a Jewish guy a year and a half ago who was explaining the OT scriptures, as he is a teacher by trade, and 5 minutes into his talk I was dumb founded at this mans insight into the scriptures.

Everyone in the room was amazed also, as he linked the significance of the Jewish tradition and the Christian tradition in a most spectacular way!


Then i latter realized that this man is sort after all over the world, in demand in Jerusalem to America to Asia. Not your average joe at all!!!


If you are Jewish or Christian this man you would find astounding because he provides very rare insights indeed.

The whole experience has changed my outlook on many things.

Solomon's Great Temple Tefillah/Prayer Part I

2 Chronicles 6:1-45

1Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

2But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever.

3And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood.

4And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth to my father David, saying,

5Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel:

6But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.

7Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

8But the LORD said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart:

9Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.

10The LORD therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken: for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

11And in it have I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, that he made with the children of Israel.

12And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands:

13For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven.

14And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:

15Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.

16Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.

17Now then, O LORD God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David.

18But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!

19Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:

20That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place.

21Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.

22If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;

23Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.

24And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house;

25Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.

26When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;

27Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance.

28If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be:

29Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house:

30Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:)

31That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.

32Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house;

33Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.

34If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name;

35Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

36If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;

37Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;

38If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:

39Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.

40Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.

41Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.

42O LORD God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.

No mention of blood is needed for the many instances of forgiveness of sin. Not even sacrifice is mentioned. If the whole nation is exiled (obviously the temple itself would be empty, as in the case of the Syrian/Greek invasion by Antiochus in the story of Chanukkah) and they pray toward the Holy Land of Israel where the temple is/was, forgiveness of sin will ensue - without any blood sacrifice, in fact without any sacrifice.

Rabbis who reject the Christian message believe this.
Are they correct?
What do you think:?:

or does one look for answers elsewhere?

***************************************************************************


King Solomon's Prayer-God Answers Part II

Did God approve and answer King Solomon?


2 Chronicles 7 :1-22

1Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house.

2And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD's house.

3And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

4Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD.

5And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.

6And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood.

7Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the brasen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, and the meat offerings, and the fat.

8Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt.

9And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.

10And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away into their tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the LORD had shewed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.

11Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king's house: and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously effected.

12And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.

13If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

14If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

15Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.

16For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

17And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments;

18Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel.




Rabbis who reject the Christian message believe this.
Are they correct?

What do you think ?

or does one look for answers elsewhere?

Shalom,

Voice wrote:

Leviticus (Vayikra) 17:11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for yourselves; for it is the blood that makes atonement because of the life.'
It was already an established requirement of The Torah.

absolutely true, yet the question was why was it not mentioned in Solomon's Prayer and in God's answer?
Especially when the temple would be either abandoned or destroyed or possessed by the enemy?

in addition :


Can flour alone make atonement?


According to verses in Leviticus 5:11-13 in verse 12, the priest will “take a handful of it [i.e., the flour] as a memorial portion, and burn it on the altar on top of the offerings made to the Lord by fire.” Then (verse 13) “the priest will make atonement for him.” In other words, does the priest, in his capacity as mediator for the people, and having mingled the flour with the blood sacrifices that were already upon the altar, make atonement for his fellow Israelite?” Yom Kippur is coming and this is also an important question.







RESPONSE:


One view and analysis :

I must say that one could be on shaky ground here with this interpretation. I will just point out that Rabbi Skobac's view, that the flour is in the place of the blood, is exactly the one taken by Professor Milgrom in his work on Leviticus page 306. (Neither he nor I would accept him as an 'authority', but I think that it is quite clear that our view is not 'outside' of an objective reading of the text accepted by top scholars.)


I think we need to examine this issue. We all agree that the flour offering was burnt on the alter; however we have a disagreement as to whether the flour alone caused the atonement and forgiveness (that this sacrifice clearly does what is stated in verse 13) or whether it was caused by the mixture of the flour with sacrificial atonement blood. There are two possibilities:

1. There is no mixture of flour with blood (as Rabbi Skobac argues) which would make anyone saying that it is mixed , mistaken .
2. There there was a mixture with sacrificial atonement blood, showing that blood is always needed for sin atonement.



This second case does not prove that this mixture causes the atonement (unless a verse stating that this mixture does can be found.) The view taken by Milgrom and Skobac could still be correct even if this was the case. However with regards to the argument it would at least be a draw on this issue.



For the answer, we need only look at what the Torah says with regards to the use of blood in sacrifices.


The clearest verse about the use of sacrificial atonement blood is in Leviticus 17. There we see that the atonement of the blood comes from it being placed on the alter. The question is was this atonement blood at any time, placed in the same place as the flour was burnt. (For the moment I will ignore the issue of if the inner alter or the outer alter were used for the blood and discuss it as if there was only one alter in use.)



We know from Leviticus 5 that the flour was placed on the top of the alter and burnt on a fire there.



In the Torah there are 4 types of animal sacrifices, two are for sins, Chatas and Ashem, and two are voluntary, Shlamim and Olah. (The Rabbis indicate that the Olah did have some uses in atonement of sin, but there is no clarity in that.) In each sacrifice, we are told in detail what to do, including what to do with the blood. Let us examine the sacrifices and see if any of the sacrificial atonement blood makes it to the top of the alter where the flour was placed.



1. The blood from the Olah is sprinkled around the alter on the walls (1:5, 11, 15).
2. The blood for the Shlamim is placed in the same manner as the Olah. (3:2, 8, 13)
3. The Chatas for the Kohen and the Congregation is first sprinkled on the curtain and then placed on the corners of the alter, with the rest of it poured out at the base of the alter. (4:6-7, 17-18 )
4. The Chatas of the ruler and for an individual is only placed on the corners of the alter, and then spilled out at the base of the altar. (4:25, 30, 34)
5. For the Chatas on a sliding scale (of which the flour offering was a part.) For an animal or bird the blood is sprinkled on the walls of the alter, and then the rest spilled out (5:9)
6. The blood from the Asham is dealt with like that of the Olah (7:2)
7. For the Yom Kippur sacrifices the blood is either sprinkled on the curtain and/or on the corners of the altar. (16)



In no case do we see that the blood is placed where any sin sacrifices are burnt. The pieces from the Olah that are placed on the alter are long after the life blood has left it and in any case we see that they are washed first. (1:9)

From this we MUST conclude that at no time is the meal offering ever in contact with the sacrificial atoning blood. This, of course, should make sense since were there to be any amount of this blood spilled on the fire, it would extinguish the fire itself. We must, therefore, conclude that, as Skobac and Milgrom state, it is the flour alone, being burnt on the alter that is bringing the atonement.

Flour can make atonement without blood.

Rabbis who reject the Christian message believe this.
Are they correct?
What do you think
or does one look for answers elsewhere?

When Daniel was very young, he was taken CAPTIVE to babylon

we think that he served the babylon govt till he died, at a very old age.

the Scripture says that God loved Daniel very much, and Daniel was RIGHTEOUS (an OT SAINT).

But, Daniel did NOT observe the Jewish Festivals, and probably (?) didn't make animal sacrifices in Babylon.

we know that daniel prayed, believed, received visions, read and studied Scripture (OT).

my point is:

Daniel had no OPPORTUNITY to obey ALL the Law of Moses--------he couldn't go to jerusalem on Passover................
he couldn't offer an animal sacrifice on the Temple Altar (the Temple was destroyed),........etc

God does not punish us for things that are beyond our control.

God is NOT un-fair.

Daniel understood that animal sacrifice IN JERUSALEM was REQUIRED (the OT told him so)----but, Daniel couldn't get to jerusalem

True, and that is why prayer was and is efficacious.
And your post proves the validity of King Solomon's prayer and God's answer to it.


and in addition:



Leviticus 17:11 is often cited to "prove" that blood atonement is needed to atone for sins. The KJV translates it like this: For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

This interpretation has some problems. First, the passage does not say that blood is the only means to atone for souls, and, in fact, Torah lists several other means -- e.g. flour (Lev 5:11), money (Exodus 30:15-16), jewelry (Numbers 31:50) or putting fire from the altar in a censure (Numbers 17:11). In addition, Hosea 14:3 says that our lips (i.e. prayers from our lips) can substitute for bulls (i,.e. blood sacrifice), Micah (6:6-8) says G-d wants a good heart rather than blood sacrifices, and the both Isaiah (1:11) and the Psalmist (40 and 50) say that G-d does not need or care about blood sacrifices. Blood is just one of many means for atonement.

Secondly, Leviticus 17:11 speaks of atonement ("kapare" in Hebrew) for our souls, but not for 'sin' -- i.e. an act of intentional wickedness. What else could atonement be for? The Bible evidently has additional uses for the word, because the Bible speaks of atonement for acts committed by mistake (which we do not usually consider sins), and also speaks of making atonement for the altar (Exodus 29:36). The word here may have the implication of making durably holy by applying a coating (see the story of Noah's ark), but whatever the meaning, one cannot impute deliberate wrongdoing to an altar.

The Rabbis have said that one cannot apply this verse to Jesus' blood in any event, because it specifies blood on the altar, and Jesus did not die on any altar, let alone the altar in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem which is clearly the altar Leviticus is referring to. Are they correct?

Finally, is perhaps the verse taken out of context. Verses 10 to 14 say (KJV):

*

10 And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. 12 Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood. 13 And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. 14 For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.

In other words, does the verse have nothing to do with salvation? It is about the dietary laws then? -- specifically, the comments about the life being in the blood are an explanation for the prohibition against eating blood. Such is the opinion of classic Rabbinic Judaism.

Shalom,

Scripture references are from,
the SET (Stone Edition Tanach) for the OT
and the PNT (Power New Testament) for the NT unless otherwise specified.

Jn 7:24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
Traditionally as men we judge by what we see and apply that to every aspect. This was the problem that faced my Jewish forefathers when Y'SHUA walked the earth and it is the same today. Before The Torah men lived by faith in YHVH. After they lived generally by the written law of The Torah rather than by intent of the instructions of The Torah. This legalism took man further from YHVH. This kept man from being able to have a relationship with YHVH.

You point out that Y'SHUA died on a cross rather than the altar in Jerusalem within The Temple. YHVH declares where the sacrifice is to be made, not man. YHVH had Abraham make an altar in the wilderness for the sacrifice that was to be Isaac. The point is not the legal "where" or what. It is not whether it is meal or meal mixed with.... YHVH made HIS declaration that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent/satan and HE did.
HE promised Abraham that HE would provide HIMself the LAMB for the sacrifice and HE did.
HE promised David that his throne would never be empty of a member of his family and that is what HE provided in The CHRIST.
HE promised Mary that The HOLY SPIRIT would overcome and impregnate her and HE did.
Thus with HIS Word, HIS Logos YHVH promised things that all came together in the form of a male child that grew to be a man, HE promised and the Word became flesh as YHVH kept HIS word, as HE fulfilled HIS promise. This promise culminated HIS tenure on the earth when HE was sacrificed upon the cross by the spilling of HIS life, a.k.a. HIS blood, upon the many aspects of the cross and at it's base. When Adam disobeyed the one requirement of YHVH, (when he sinned), that Adam should not even touch the any part of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil Adam died. He died in that his spirit was no longer alive with The SPIRIT of YHVH providing it life as YHVH had done for him as we read about it in Gen 2:7. This life could only be purchased back by the death of an innocent Lamb that had no sin taking on the sin of all that lived under the curse of Adam. This is the price that Y'SHUA paid. This one sacrifice is the only sacrifice that is needed today. It paid the price for all of those before it and for all of those after for this one is the only one begotten by YHVH HIMself for this purpose. It is the only one, for only one is needed to pay for the one sin of Adam that started the sin-life of all of mankind.
Lev 24:17 And a man - if he strikes mortally any human life, he shall be put to death.
Lev 24:18 And a man who strikes mortally an animal life shall make restitution, a life for a life.
Lev 24:19 And if man inflicts a wound in his fellow, as he did, so shall be done to him:
Lev 24:20 a break for a break, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; just as he will have inflicted a wound on a person, so shall be inflicted upon him.
The serpent/satan brought and thereby through extension inflicted death upon the innocent creation of YHVH - mankind. The sacrifice of an innocent, sinless life of a Lamb/man was thereby laid down as atonement or repayment for these sin/blemished lives. One life for the one original sin. All then who accept this offering are included as a part of the one nation/people of YHVH (1 Jn 3:2). This is the offering by YHVH HIMself as the Lamb that HE has provided for HIMself as HE spoke through Abraham that HE would provide before The Torah existed. This spoken word to Abraham, to the serpent, to David, to Mary is the Promise or Vow of YHVH made flesh in the form of Y'SHUA (Jn 1:14).
Jn 4:23 In fact an appointed time is coming and is now, when the true worshippers will worship The FATHER in spirit and truth: for The FATHER is seeking such as these who worship HIM.
24 YHVH is spirit, and it is necessary for those who worship HIM to worship in spirit and in truth.
Once the legal requirement/ the repayment was made by YHVH in the form of a sinless lamb/man sacrificed for all men this Scripture was fulfilled and now we are not to worship by legal means but by The SPIRITual leading of YHVH. We no longer are required to do this or that once we accept the final payment for our dept.
1 Pet 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people that has become YHVH's property, so that you would proclaim the manifestation of the divine power of The One who called you out of darkness into HIS marvelous Light:
1 Pet 2:10 Those once not a people but now a people of YHVH, those who had not received mercy but who now have received mercy.
HIS "mercy" is the forgiveness of our debt!
HE provided the Lamb, the sacrifice that we could not provide for our "SELF" (a dirty four letter word for sin).

Amen.

God's word is eternal, inviolable and unchangable.

Whatever He has specifically said, or specifically says or specifically will say ... nothing can dare be added to it and nothing can ever be taken away or changed.