The list maker yet again references a Torah source as a prophecy fulfilled by Jesus that is not prophetic at all. Vayikra / Leviticus 17 is a chapter speaking of how, when and where to slaughter kosher animals (Jesus was not a kosher animal and he was not slaughtered per kosher laws). Line 11 is a completion of a thought begun in line 10 – do not eat the blood of kosher animals. Why? Read line 11! Vayikra / Leviticus 17:11 does say that the life of the flesh is in blood. This simply means that it is blood (oxygenated, flowing through our veins) that keeps us alive. Vayikra / Leviticus 17:11 should not be read by itself – it is part of a passage which says that Jews are not to eat (drink) the blood of kosher animals (the only animals Jews may eat). We are forbidden from eating blood – and this message from Vayikra / Leviticus 17 is repeated in many other passages. Eating blood is disgusting to G-d. Eating blood, spiritually (as in Christian communion) or literally (e.g. eating a rare steak) is a sin. Vayikra / Leviticus 3:17 " 'This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.' " Vayikra / Leviticus 7:26 And wherever you live, you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal. Vayikra / Leviticus 7:27 If anyone eats blood, that person must be cut off from his people.' " Vayikra / Leviticus 17:10-11 "If any person, whether of the family of Israel or a proselyte who joins them, eats any blood, I will direct My anger against the person who eats blood and cut him off [spiritually] from among his people. This is because the life-force of the flesh is in the blood; and I therefore gave it to you to be [placed] on the altar to atone for your lives. 17:11 It is the blood that atones for a life. . . Vayikra / Leviticus 17:12 Therefore I say to the Israelites, "None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood." Vayikra / Leviticus 17:13 " 'Any Israelite or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth' " Vayikra / Leviticus 17:14 "because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, "You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off." Contrast all of this admonishment to not eat blood with Matthew 26:28 which says “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” This passage from Matthew indicates that Jesus’ blood forgives sin. This is unbiblical. Vayikra / Leviticus 17:10-11 tells us that the life force is in the blood, and that the blood of a kosher animal must either be thrown into the dirt (Vayikra / Leviticus 17:13) or placed upon the altar as part of a kosher sacrifice. Jesus’ blood was not part of any Jewish covenant, and if he bled then his blood was neither thrown into the dirt (which would not be a sacrifice) or placed upon the Temple altar as defined in Vayikra / Leviticus 17:10 “it (blood) is given to you to be [placed] on the altar to atone for your lives” Human blood is not fit for a sacrifice – the spilling of human blood is disgusting to G-d. Bamidbar / Numbers 35:33; "you shall not corrupt the land in which you live, for the (human) blood corrupts the land, and the blood which is shed in the land cannot be atoned for except through the blood of the one who shed it." Aside from the fact that human sacrifice is forbidden, Torah tells us that a proper sacrifice must be of a kosher, domestic animal (the animal is often identified as a bull, a seh (goat or lamb), etc (see Sh'mot / Exodus 13:13; Vayikra / Leviticus 22). Jesus, being a human (or even a demi-god) was obviously not a kosher animal and thus was unacceptable as a sacrifice. While human blood could not atone for sins (to the contrary of Matthew’s claim in 26:28) the Torah tells us that the sin sacrifice (חַטָאת קָרבָּן / chatat qorban) only atoned for mistakes (a "missing of the mark" -- you tried to do the right thing and "missed." It did not atone for sins that had not yet been committed (so Jesus’ “blood” could not have atoned for people alive today), on top of that Intentional sins could be forgiven with acts of charity and repenting -- but not with blood (sin) sacrifices). The only other type of blood sacrifice which atoned for wrongdoing was the אָשָׁם / asham (guilt / trespass) sacrifice. These were very specific wrong-doings that were not major either. The חַטָּאת / cḥattat (accidental sins) and אָשָׁם / asham sacrifices were PRIVATE offerings brought by INDIVIDUALS, not “atonement” offerings on behalf of the entire nation. Also, no individual sacrifice could be brought for someone else or in advance. The type of offering was specified (female goat or lamb being the most common, but sometimes a bull, birds or flour) -- only domesticated (not wild) kosher animals were fit for sacrifice. Human sacrifices (Jesus anyone?) are totally forbidden by the Torah. Read Vayikra / Leviticus chapter 5 to learn about the אָשָׁם / asham (guilt / tresspass) qorbanot (sacrifices) and the very few things they covered: Read Vayikra / Leviticus chapter 5 to learn about the אָשָׁם / asham (guilt / tresspass) qorbanot (sacrifices) and the very few things they covered. How about Mark 10:45, the second Christian bible reference purporting to “fulfill” the prophecy of Vayikra / Leviticus 17:10? Nope, it doesn’t speak of blood at all – let alone blood atoning for sin. Mark 10:45 says “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Can a person give his life as a ransom (sacrifice) for many? No, of course not. D'varim / Deuteronomy 24:16; "Fathers shall not be put to death because of sons, nor shall sons be put to death because of fathers; each man shall be put to death for his own transgression." Melachim II / II Kings 14:6; "it is written in the book of the Torah of Moses, which the L-rd commanded saying: "Fathers shall not be put to death for sons, nor shall sons be put to death for fathers, but each man shall be put to death for his own sin." See also Sh'mot / Exodus 32:31-33; Yirmiyahu / Jeremiah 31:29 [30 in a Christian Bible]; Yechezkel /Ezekiel 18:4,20; and T'hillim / Psalms 49:7. Aside from the fact that human sacrifice is forbidden, Torah tells us that a proper sacrifice must be of a kosher, domestic animal (the animal is often identified as a bull, a seh (goat or lamb), etc (see Sh'mot / Exodus 13:13; Vayikra / Leviticus 22). Jesus, being a human (or even a demi-god) was obviously not a kosher animal and thus was unacceptable as a sacrifice. Torah teaches that sacrifices can only atone for sins committed PRIOR to the offering of the sacrifice. No sacrifice could ever atone for sins committed AFTER the sacrifice was offered. Thus, no sacrifice could ever atone for people born after the sacrifice was offered. So, as you can clearly see that the death of Jesus could never atone for any sin, much less all sins of all people for all time? NOT AT ALL, NEVER! The story is pagan in its entirety and breaks all the laws of Jewish sacrifice. The missionaries who say that Jesus was a human sacrifice whose death "atoned for the sins of the world makes a common mistake regarding sacrifices. They seem to think that G-d needed them (bloodthirsty god perhaps?) Missionaries seem think there was some "magic" in blood sacrifices and this is not supported by the Jewish bible. Indeed sacrifices were not so much for G-d as they were a gift from G-d. The Rambam explained this when he told us that G-d doesn't need sacrifices. Man does. In other words, the Jews were used to bringing sacrifices and this is why G-d permitted them. Sacrifices gave man a way to feel closer to G-d by giving Him something of value (be it money, flour, an animal, etc.). In pagan religions the gods were bloodthirsty and needed blood to be satisfied. In Judaism G-d permitted man to bring sacrifices because man needed them -- He needs nothing. The Rambam's "The Laws of Repentence": "If a person violates any mitzvot of the Torah, willingly or unintentionally. . .he must repent. . .Similarly, people who are sentenced by the Rabbinical court to be executed, or to be lashed, do not attain atonement through their death or lashing unless they repent and confess. . . Now that the Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple) is not standing, and there is no sacrificial altar for atonement, we are only left with repentance. Through repentance, G-d forgives our sins, and no mention is made of these sins even if one sinned one's whole life and repented only in his final moments. As it is written, "The wickedness of the wicked will not cause him to stumble when be turns back from his wickedness." (Ychezkiel / Ezekiel 33:12)." Sacrifices were not magic -- they were a gift of G-d to help us truly atone by giving up something of value to Him. G-d forbids and abhors human sacrifice. The death of Jesus (if he ever even lived) couldn't have atoned for the sins of anyone, he was simply murdered by the Romans as were tens of thousands of Jews.
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