Atonement, Expiation and Appeasement
For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:10 NASB
Reconciled – “When Yeshua died on the cross, God’s wrath was appeased.” Is that true? “When Yeshua died on the cross, He expiated our sins.” Is that true? “When Yeshua died on the cross, He atoned for us.” Is that true? Step back into the world of Paul’s letter to the qehelah in Rome and ask if your answers make sense to the people who first read his proclamation.
Appeasement? Yes, the pagan culture of Rome was well aware of the need to appease the gods. Men felt it necessary to turn away the anger and subsequent wrath of the gods if only because their continued prosperity depended on it. In the pagan world, the gods were fickle but powerful. If they were upset with something a man did, they could inflict considerable damage. But this isn’t the character of YHWH. He does not demand appeasement because He is not angry with men. He is heartbroken. He seeks reconciliation in order that men may enjoy His full concern. Appeasement of a vengeful God is not part of the good news. Yeshua did not die to appease the Father.
Expiation? As Christian theology defines the term, expiation deals with removal of guilt through payment due under the law. Did Yeshua die to expiate our sins? In one sense, the answer is, “Of course.” The sacrifice on the cross did remove guilt from God’s perspective, allowing a believer to appropriate that removal for his or her own condition. The Greek term is hilasmos. The Hebrew equivalent is kipper. This connection emphasizes the fact that expiation is about offering and the results that occur when an offering is made. Forgiveness is the goal of the sin offering. In biblical thought, God Himself provides the sin offering through the action of His Son. Life is offered for life. Our lives are preserved because His life is not spared. But, of course, this must mean that the death (sacrifice) of Yeshua cannot be understood as the death of a single man since no single man can offer himself as expiation for all other men. So while it is commonly understood that Yeshua died to expiate our sins, technically this is not true. God provided expiation by attributing the guilt of all men to the sacrifice of Yeshua because Yeshua as God manifest in the flesh paid the price for all men.
Atonement? As above, kipper is also a word for atonement. Not surprisingly, the Day of Atonement plays a significant role in Judaism and in the background of the New Testament. Pagans also understood the process of atonement, but atonement for them was specific, that is, it was about my transgressions interfering with my hopes. There is no universal concept of atonement in pagan thought. Furthermore, Yeshua’s atoning action was not the action of a hero. It was the action of God Himself manifest in Yeshua; an action on behalf of enemies, not friends. Atonement is actually backwards from what we as pagans would expect. Atonement reconciles God to us, not us to God. It is God’s action on His behalf breaching the chasm between Himself and His creation. We are the beneficiaries of His action, but we are not players in the drama. In this sense, Yeshua’s death is not an atonement for us. It is an atonement for God. He is the injured party and Yeshua’s sacrifice restores His relationship to us.
Appeasement? No, I don’t think God was angry with creation nor do I believe He sought revenge against it. Expiation? Yes, there was a price to pay, but it wasn’t for my sins. It was for the effects of Sin against all the creation. Atonement? Certainly, but not because I had anything to do with it. God’s action through His Son restored His relationship to us. That was its principal goal. We benefit when we appropriate the results, but we were bystanders in this drama.
Maybe this quick examination helps us realize the cosmic proportions of Yeshua’s death.
Topical Index: reconcile, atonement, appeasement, expiation, kipper, hilasmos, Romans 5:10
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt of life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
’til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand
We gain far more in Christ than we ever lost in Adam.
~God will provide Himself the Lamb..~
“Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29
“… the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:8
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5
And Thomas answered and said unto Him, -My LORD and my God.
Any particular reason this Man was crucified during Passover?
“Atonement reconciles God to us, not us to God.”
And yet the text above says “we were reconciled to God.” Perhaps you’ll explain further. 🙂
Yes it does. I suppose I needed to add the sequential order. God first reconciles Himself to us, and as a result, we are then able to be reconciled to Him. Paul’s perspective is post-God’s act of reconciliation.
and immediately ‘beyond atonement’- the veil of the temple was torn in two.. -from top to bottom.
Yeshua, the Passover Lamb, provided not only atonement, but also access.
Ah, yes, but which veil? There were 5 veils in “Herod’s” temple! Which one was torn? It is commonly taught that it was the veil between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, but there were 2 veils there, each around 12″ or so thick with a void between them that the High Priest would pass through 5 times on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).
The scriptures suggest that the torn veil could be seen from the Mt of Olives. The only veil that could be seen from there was the veil separating the outer court from the Holy Place.
It is also commonly taught (in error, I believe, when one studies the temple service in detail) that as a result of the veil being rent, that we as believers (the “priesthood of all believers”) now have unrestricted access to the “Holy of Holies”. The problem is that only the High Priest can go into the Holy of Holies and then only on Yom Kippur. The Letter to the Hebrews tells us that Yeshua is our High Priest, ministering in the heavenly tabernacle before the throne of YHVH.
Are we not called priests? Are we ever called High Priests? No! There is only one High Priest – Yeshua. We are priests who have access to the Holy Place – the place wherein are the Menorah (the “light of the world” and the Ruach of YHVH), the table of Shewbread (the bread of witness and the bread of life) and the golden altar of incense (the prayers of the righteous). We have freedom to offer our prayers to our Father on the altar of incense, flanked by the Bread of Life and the Light of the World; our High Priest then takes the golden censer, with the coals and the incense, into the Most Holy Place (the throne room of the Most High) and offers them before our Father on our behalf. Praise Yah!
Oh, by the way, when he returns He’ll be crowned King of Kings. Now that is going to be some coronation ceremony! Oh, Happy Day!
“We are priests who have access to the Holy Place ”
then who are all these folks?
Re 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Re 7:10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
Re 7:11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
Re 7:15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
Re 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
When does this take place? After what events? What is the context? We have to answer those questions first, before we can answer “who are all these folks”.
Those my friend are good questions all of which are answered by at least dozens of opinions. This appears to be a Sukkot procession in my opinion. The date harvest is in the fall and that’s when the people entered Jerusalem for Sukkot waving the fronds.
I agree. As I read it, this is a description of the situation at the end of the millennial reign, after the final judgement, when the enemies of YHVH are destroyed and the “tabernacle of God is with men”. Then there will be no need of a High Priest.
Rodney,
Greetings to a brother from the land of down under.
Recently, I have been clearing and going through papers and items in the attic from the last 20 to 30 years of my life ( this is a good story waiting to be told). In the process, I found some excellent articles published by, Yavo Digest. Roy Blizzard was the President of this publication, and I believe it ran from March of 1987 to June of 1998. Some of the scholars who contributed to this publication was Roy Blizzard, David Bivin, Brad Young, Ken Hanson, William McDonald, Martin J. Mann, David Flusser, Rachel Levine, and Robert Lindsey. There is a much to be written about this publication, but for expediency, I will mention an article written in 1991, by Ken Hanson, Volume 5, number 4, called “The Torn Curtain.”
I bring this up because of Carl’s use of this passage in Matthew, and then your particular response. Ken Hanson in this article writes on p.12:
Of course, the tearing of the veil is only one of the miraculous signs recorded here, but if we “reconstruct” the passage in Hebrew, the verb”was torn” (translating the Greek eskisthe) stands out, the verbal root being karah. Interestingly enough, this verb is, in Hebrew, a “technical term,” which suggests, not just “tearing,” but a “rending” of garments; and this “rending” is invariably related to acts of mourning. It isn’t necessary in Hebrew to say that one “rends his garments”; it is enough simply to say that he “rends,” because the very term karah implies that garments are being rent, during mourning for the dead! In short, I suggest that in the most graphic way possible, our Gospel text is indicating that the Holy Temple itself is mourning the crucifixion of Jesus….. this the end of my quoting Dr. Hanson.
He gives examples of this happening within the Jewish culture, and is taken from the Babylonian Talmud, the Bavli Maed Katan 25b. These are examples of when pious religious leaders died, and the extraordinary phenomena that took place in nature, inanimate objects, and the Temple itself. He goes on to suggest that the Temple was not only mourning Jesus death, but its own demise that Jesus prophesied about.
I appreciate your comments on this blog and your thorough research that is reflected. I hope this is beneficial to your ongoing research. Anything you will like to add or comment on, would be much appreciated. In His Care, Brian
~Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of YAHuah , by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the household of G-d, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.~
“G-d, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when
He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”
There is a Man in glory! There is a Man, risen, exalted, and seated upon the throne of G-d.
The Lamb’s Book of Life is His-story. How anyone can read the word of G-d and miss the Messiah, the sinless, spotless Savior, is a mystery to me.
I’ll go ahead and ask.. why is Yeshua rejected as Savior-Shepherd-Sovereign King of the Jews? Is it because they cannot believe or that they will not believe? (~we will not have this Man to reign over us..~) How can anyone trample over the blood of the cross? Whose blood was spilled out at Calvary?
My research and considered opinion is that the Jews who rejected Yeshua (and, of course, many did NOT) did so on the basis of their understanding of the requirements of Torah. Yeshua came with a message that could easily be seen as an attack on Torah, especially in the controversial things he said that could appear as endorsements of pagan religion. Under the edicts of Moses, orthodox Jews would be required to reject such a pretender as a false prophet. I believe that if we look for this theme in the encounters with his detractors, we see not men who blatantly dismiss Him, but who do so on the grounds of their religious convictions. Of course, there are those whose motives are not so pure.
Today, Jews that reject the Christian Jesus do so probably as a result of the Church’s endorsement of a misunderstanding of Paul. The Church proclaims that Paul abandoned Torah and that Torah was “finished” at the cross. No Jew who believes in the God of Israel can accept this interpretation. Christianity is opposed to Judaism on this crucial point, and not for good reasons. It is the influence of Hellenism and in particular Greek philosophy that shifted the gourd for a Torah based religion to this “grace vs. Torah” version. Jews are right to reject such a claim, although unfortunately in the process they are rejecting their own Messiah. But with all the accumulation of Christian doctrine piled on top of a fundamental misunderstanding of Paul, it is no wonder that Judaism cannot embrace the Messiah. He has been disguised as a pagan in Christian garb.
Wow! Skip, you are so on time with what G-d gives you. I had a friend ask a simular question yesterday, and I did not know how to give an answer without offending or confusing her. I had posted Leviticus 19:18 as my status on FB and asked the question “does this sound familar? Do you suspose Jesus knew Torah?” She replied,”I remember that the Jews did not acknowledge Jesus, and when they turned their back’s on him, then God turned his back on them.”
All I could think of was Romans 11:17-21 and Romans 11:28-32.
I was thinking of sending an email request of you to help me give a right answer because it is hard for me to communicate my thoughts in words. That’s is why I am so excited to see the explanation by you in the above comment! G-d is truly wonderful! Now, I have to ask your permission to copy and paste your above comment (with aknowledge of your authorship) to anwser her statement? Thank you for all that you do.
Permission granted, of course
Hi Skip,
I have a question. Have you read anything on “The Secret Gospel” by Morton Smith? I have not read any of his works and I wanted to know your thoughts are on his writtings.
Thanks
I am not familiar with it.
Skip – Any similarities here between what you are saying and the story of Joseph with his conspiring and sin/guilt bearing brothers? Heard a pastor describe in passing the idea that when the brothers returned to Joseph they did not recognize him because he was dressed in Egyptian clothing. Joseph intentionally permitted himself to be garbed in pagan Egyptian clothing so as to “hide” his true identity from his brothers. It was only when – and not before – his brothers confessed what they had done to Joseph with repentant hearts, that Joseph fully revealed himself to them. I can see some similarities here where Yeshua has permitted Himself to be re-fashioned and adorned with the garb and adornments of pagan cultures and philosophies (certainly if not Hellenized, he has most certainly in modern times become Americanized…oy ve!). This leaves us with both sides (Jews and Christians) needing to come to Yeshua/Jesus with slightly different paths (which explains why Messianic Jews simply accept Yeshua as Messiah while Gentiles convert to the one True God and His Son, and forsake the idolatry of self) but still with the same need to confess our sin of wanting to be the authority and control in place of God, and even of God’s righteousness and of His plan for righteousness in His world (our “systems” on managing God’s righteousness for Him in His world which we have sanctified for Him – in essence, religion – God in our box).
So for the Jew…I see Romans 10:1-2 as being their great need for salvation. The need to accept Yeshua as God’s true Messiah and plan for salvation and to submit to God’s righteousness through Him.
So for the Christian…I see II Cor 11:3-4 as being both the great danger and the great need for further confession and repentance. The need to forsake “other Jesus’s” (images or adornments of Yeshua that are different than or add-ons to the true Yeshua as He has revealed Himself to be in Scriptures).
It might be an “eye” problem – not seeing what God has revealed of Himself because either He has not chosen to reveal Himself more fully but is waiting for the right heart response or because we have clothed Him in so much historical, cultural and philosophical baggage that He is under there somewhere but really difficult to “see” – but I am inclined to think it is more of a “heart” problem for both groups. Very few people today want to talk about repentance and very few people think that they are the ones who need to repent. Especially religious people.
I think there are similarities. Joseph is often cast as a type of the Messiah, especially the suffering servant. But I don’t think Jews see this as a problem of “salvation.” After all, they worship YHWH and he provides a means of atonement. I think that language that suggests the Jews need salvation is Christianized. What they need is to recognize Yeshua as Messiah. Many did, and I don’t think they had “being saved” on their minds. We evangelicals have added that to the equation. Contemporary Christian thinking doesn’t do a very good job of separating salvation from the role of the Messiah as King and Judge.
Nevertheless., Yeshua on more than one occasion expressed his desire to conceal himself (I speak in parables, for example). Only those who seek will find and to seek you have to be wiling to put aside the weight of tradition. that was true for the Jews in the first century and it is certainly true for Christians in this century.
http://www.jtsa.edu/The_Library/Collections/Guide_to_the_JTS_Archives/Smith_Morton.xml
I found this under “Early Christianity”……might be interesting
I would only counter with these [ although i am intrigued by your insight Mr. Skip Moen ] points . And any feedback would be appreciated. thanks Michael 🙂
Comments from Rabbi Tovia Singer [ A Jewish Anti-Missionary ] :
…Jesus could not die for anyone’s sins, whether they were committed intentionally or accidentally. To begin with, the Jewish people were strictly prohibited from offering human sacrifices under any circumstances. There is not one place throughout the entire corpus of the Jewish scriptures where human sacrifices are condoned. In fact, over and over again the Bible warns the Jewish people that it is a grave sin to bring a human being as a sacrifice.
response:
The above comments by Rabbi Tovia Singer of Outreach Judaism shows just how far traditional Jews will go to deny Yeshua! Notice first of all that, in order to keep the world’s Savior a “Christian myth”, Singer refuses to use His given, Hebrew Name which means YHWH is Salvation….
Question: If YHWH created the universe and everything in it, including mankind who was created from dust, why can’t He present an aspect of Himself in human form, especially since He’s done it before (Genesis 3:8, 18:1-3)?
Rabbi Singer is correct in suggesting God never demanded a human sacrifice. But there is no Torah prohibition against martyrs – which is what Y’shua was! He was a human martyr who had a divine qnoma/nature. However, while we weren’t supposed to offer human sacrifices, YHWH – as our Elohim and Almighty and Creator of the entire universe – certainly can do anything He wants. And what the Bible clearly shows He planned on doing (as evidenced throughout the Tanach, and specifically in Isaiah 53 and in the Biblical Feasts) was to send us a Messiah who would carry out His Word to the letter. And that Messiah chose to martyr Himself….as a sin OFFERING.
Offerings “qurbana”[ ܩܘܪܒܢܐ ܩܕܝܫܐ qûrbānâ qadîšâ in East Syriac, pronounced qurbono qadisho in West Syriac)] and sacrifices “dabekha” are two different entities. Although there are certain aspects to Mashiyach’s death that are utterly unique to him (Zechariah 12:10, etc.), his death nevertheless echoes aspects of offerings and sacrifices that came before. The qurbana is the human life (nefesh) that Yeshua voluntarily offers up on the stake. The result of that offering is his blood put out on the “altar”; hence dabekha.
However, this is certainly not, as some critics suggest, human sacrifice. Rather, this indicates Y’shua’s status as Mashiyach ben Yoseph. Per strict accordance with Isaiah 53 and Genesis 22:8, Mashiyach ben Yoseph was required to suffer and die. After his death, the offering of himself became a sacrifice that was taken up, and he was resurrected three days later. Many of YHWH’s prophets also suffered and were martyred at the hands of those who fought against the Malchut Elohim. In the case of Mashiyach, his shed blood is counted as the acceptable offering, the Lamb of YHWH, which is most Set Apart unto YHWH.
Deuteronomy 18:18-19: I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen, like you (Moses), and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak all that I command him. And it shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.
YHWH sent us a DIVINE Offering in the form of Yeshua, the Torah observant Messiah in a human “shell”, who was an aspect of YHWH sent to Earth in a form with which we could identify – as opposed to talking through a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-5), appearing to Abraham in human form/”three men” at the Oaks of Mamre (Genesis 18:1-2;17; Isaiah 48:12,16) or speaking through a donkey (Numbers 22 and 23). Yeshua was to teach us about YHWH, to show us how we were to worship YHWH, and how to live together according to His desires; and then to offer Himself – the Divine Entity who raised the dead, walked on water and turned water into wine – as the Final Sin Offering.
Yeshua did exactly what the Torah Scriptures predicted. What more could be asked of Him? Isaiah 53 and Daniel 9 both predict the death of Messiah and His resurrection. And Zechariah tells us something very interesting about the Messiah’s return:
Zechariah 12: 10 “And I (YHWH) will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.”
All of us know that God is not interested in human sacrifice. But are you aware that the Hebrew Scriptures, the Talmud, as well as the New Testament clearly teach that the death of the righteous has atoning power? When the Messiah, the totally righteous one, laid down His life, it was the ultimate act of atonement in human history.
The Talmud (m. Makkot 2:6;b. Makkot 11b; see also Leviticus Rabbah 10:6) asks the question: Isn’t it the exile of the innocent manslayer [in the city of refuge] that expiates? The answer is no. “It is not the exile that expiates, but the death of the high priest.” And Milgrom comments, “As the High Priest atones for Israel’s sins through his cultic [i.e., ritual] service in his lifetime (Exod. 28:36; Lev. 16:16, 21), so he atones for homicide through his death.”
This theme finds its climax in the Hebrew Scriptures in the portrait of the righteous, Suffering Servant of the Lord in Isaiah 53. There we read these powerful words:
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; an the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
In the closing verse of Isaiah 53, God promises, “Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (v.12). The Messiah bore our sins! This is exactly what Peter, known as Shimon Kepha, wrote more than 150 years before the Mishnah was finalized:
When the hurled their insults at him he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls (1 Peter 2:23-25).
So in light of this – what are the 1st Century Jews missing that the Apostles haven’t, especially Kepha who was saturated in Jewish tradition and thought ?
Comments from Rabbi Tovia Singer:
.. ” .Moreover, if missionaries want to use Leviticus 17:11 to bolster their position that blood sacrifices are indispensable for procuring an atonement, they must use all of the verse, not just a part of it. Leviticus 17:11 specifically says that the blood of the sacrifice must be placed “upon the altar to make atonement for your souls.” That is to say, Leviticus 17:11 explicitly declares that blood can only effect atonement if it is placed on the altar. Jesus’ blood, however, was never placed on the altar. If the church is going to take the “blood” part of the verse literally, they must also take the “altar” part literally as well. Jesus’ blood was never sprinkled on the altar, and therefore his death could not provide atonement for anyone. ”
response:
Obviously Rabbi Singer, like most traditional Jews, sees the message of Yeshua as the final Sin OFFERING as being contradictory to the scriptures which provide for two other methods of atonement: heartfelt repentance and charity. (See Numbers 5:6-7 and Leviticus 5:16.) Singer specifically cited Leviticus 17:11 which says that the blood of the sacrifice must be placed “upon the altar to make atonement for your souls”.
What is the problem with his argument? The fact that he elevated the “altar” to be a place of supreme importance! YHWH never said that an “altar” had to be a “special place” made out of special materials; the altar was simply the place where the sacrifice was offered. Yes, there has to be an altar for the sacrifice and, yes, the altar is a holy place – but the altar is not the central issue.
In Exodus 20:21 (which is verse 24 in some Bibles), YHWH says: “For Me, you need only make an altar of earth….” He goes on to say that if you do make an altar out of stone, not to use cut stones because if you use a tool on it, you profane it….
When Yeshua offered Himself on our behalf, where did his blood spill? On the Earth! The Earth was the altar! Yeshua’s blood was sprinkled on the altar to make atonement for us! He WAS, in essence, the final sin sacrifice! He martyred Himself on our behalf. He chose to do that! He could have called down legions of angels to take him off that stake, but He KNEW WHO HE WAS – and He obeyed His Father’s Will….
Comments from Rabbi Tovia Singer:
Finally, the prophets loudly declared to the Jewish people that the contrite prayer of the penitent sinner replaces the sacrificial system. Therefore, atonement for unintentional sins today is expiated through devotional supplication to the Merciful One.
response:
No matter what approach one might take to argue the issue (including Talmud, a man-made document full of human ideas about what YHWH said or meant), the bottom line is, the Bible does say that sacrifices are necessary; the entire Book of Leviticus is about this subject. Nowhere does the Torah suggest that prayer, good deeds and charity have replaced the need for blood sacrifices! As a matter of fact, we read in Leviticus 17:11:
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for our souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement”
Who gives anyone the authority to suggest we don’t have to obey that rule anymore? Who has the authority to say that one can simply fast and do good deeds? The entire Tanach is fraught with YHWH’s people offering blood sacrifices to become acceptable in His sight.
Comments from Rabbi Tovia Singer:
The prophets never instruct the Jews to worship any crucified messiah or demigod; nor does scripture ever tell us that an innocent man can die as an atonement for the sins of the wicked. Such a message is utterly antithetical to the teachings of the Jewish scriptures. Rather, it is the prayers of the sinner that would become as bulls of the sin offerings.
response:
Yeshua was NOT an idol or a “demigod”! Yeshua, as YHWH’s “Son” (Proverbs 30:4) was fully divine and fully human. He was the “arm” of YHWH (Isaiah 53:1); He was not any other entity separate and distinct from the one God of Israel. Through him YHWH revealed Himself in human form over and over in the Torah (Genesis 18:1-14; Genesis 32:24-30; Exodus 24:9-11; Proverbs 30:4 – John 14: 8 -9 ). He is the same God who spoke through a burning bush (Exodus 3:4) and revealed Himself as a Pillar of Cloud by day and a Pillar of Fire by night (Exodus 13:21). Of all the ways YHWH has revealed Himself, Yeshua was the only manifestation to receive a name. Translated, Yeshua means “YHWH is Salvation.” He is the “seed of a woman” as promised in Genesis 3:15; and His virgin birth was to be a sign to Israel of His Messiahship.
What else do the Scriptures say?
Proverbs 30: 4 – Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has cupped the wind in the palms of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name?
Yeshua’s goals were to provide divine interpretation to Torah and to offer Himself as the final Sin OFFERING for Israel and all humankind. The Torah tells us that the Messiah would be a descendant of Abraham through Isaac through Jacob through Judah, of the house of David, that he would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) in the town of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), that he would be preceded by a forerunner (Malachi 3:1), and it even predicts that he would arrive before the destruction of the Temple – which occurred in the year 70 C.E. (Daniel 9:24-26).
Furthermore, the Messiah would be a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18-19), rejected by his own people (Isaiah 53:3), betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9), sold for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12), smitten, spat upon and mocked (Psalm 22:7-8), crucified (Psalm 22), but would be raised from the dead in three days (Psalm 16:10, Jonah 1:17).
Isaiah prophesied that Messiah will be a light to the nations so that God’s salvation may reach to the end of the earth (Isaiah 49:6). Yeshua has been that light to the Gentiles. Yeshua has become the most popular, the most studied, the most influential figure in the history of mankind. No Jewish person should be indifferent to the fact that this Jew should have had such a tremendous part in the religious history of mankind.
There are nearly 400 Tanach prophecies which all find their fulfillment in one particular man….Yeshua of Nazareth! We challenge Rabbi Singer to present any other “messiah” who has accomplished all that Yeshua has.
These points are what i would like to share with Orthodox Jews to reveal their Messiah.
*It is interesting how the EARTH is the altar in which YHWH hears the Dalet-Mem cry out on the behalf of [ for ] Humans. Dalet: Birth, Death, Blood, and Door. + Mem (Water)
The new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel. see Hebrews 12:24
These ideas are deeply integrated with the Dalet Alphabetic Verses. I begin with the verse above which opens with a hidden reference to the Fourth Letter. The word translated as bare, (teled), is an anagram of Dalet. (Actually, it is Dalet spelt backwords.) It comes from the root (yalad), which, depending on vowel points, denotes the ideas of birth, bare, labour, child, or son. This further integrates with the Number 4 throught this identity:
(yalad, birth/son/child) = n44
More than a few (including myself) see this as linked to the English word “Lad.” The idea of Birth integrates with Spoke 4 both thematically and alphanumerically.
This child issues from the union of the Father and the Mother:
Father ( , Av) + Mother ( , Am) = n44
Birth and Death are both associated with Blood, which is a prominent Dalet-KeyWord that first occurs in Genesis 4:
(Dawm, Blood) = n44
When analyzed according to the symbolic force of its letters, we understand Blood as:
Blood = Dalet (Door of Birth/Death) + Mem (Water)
In simple English, Blood is the “water” (liquid) that issues forth when one passes through the Door of the World.
Dawm, the Hebrew word for Blood is familiar to Christians through the name Aceldama, which means field (Acel) of blood (dama) as it is written in Acts 1.19, Book 44 of the Bible.
All of this integrates with the birth of Israel when God commanded the blood of the Passover Lamb be sprinkled on the doorposts (Exodus 12:22):
Peace and Blessings
Michael 🙂
Obviously, a response to this is going to take some time, especially when I very limited internet and TIME for the next 3 weeks.
be well and enjoy your trip Skip and G-d bless! 🙂