Yet again the list maker chooses a Torah reference that is not a prophecy, let alone a messianic prophecy. Vayikra / Leviticus 16:15-17 is speaking of one of the Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) sacrifices – none of which were human sacrifices, and none of which had to do with forgiving all the sins of all the people. Somehow we are back again to the idea that blood, blood, blood is all that atones -- and that specifically Jesus' blood (and death) replaced the Day of Atonement sacrifcies which (Romans erroneously seems to think) atoned for everyone's sins. . . The author of Romans seems to miss the point that the goat which took away sins of the Jewish people was sent ALIVE into the wilderness (this is the goat for Azazel). There was no sacrifice on Yom Kippur where an animal was sacrificed and this cleansed the all Israelites sins. It is ironic (considering Romans) that the thing on Yom Kippur that cleansed sins was the scapegoat that was not sacrificed. It was sent ALIVE into the wilderness. On top of all of the above, there is no connection between Vayikra / Leviticus 16:15-17 (or any part of chapter 16) with the messiah. What does Hebrews 9:7-14 claim? The anonymous author of Hebrews does speak of the Yom Kippur sacrifices. There are numerous errors in this passage, take for example Romans 9:10 which states that these sacrifices and other Yom Kippur rituals were only “until the time of the new order.” This contradicts the Torah which says (Vayikra / Leviticus 16:29) “[All] this shall be an eternal law for you.” There is no "new order" which replaces the Torah, or Yom Kippur. Ask yourself: should you believe G-d who says Yom Kippur is eternal, or the anonymous author of Hebrews (Paul, who had no authority to change the words of G-d)? Not to get distracted, but some missionaries point to the "new covenant" spoken of by Y'rmiyahu / Jeremiah 31. This is not a "replacement" -- it is a renewal of the existing covenant with the Jews (the prophet even says "with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" -- aka "with the Jews"). Indeed, all the covenants (contracts) between G-d and people in the bible never go away -- each covenant with G-d builds on the previous covenant. None is ever replaced. Don't believe me? Do you believe the prophet Isaiah? "And a redeemer shall come to Zion (Israel), and to those who repent of transgression in Jacob (the Jewish people), says the L-rd. As for Me, this is My covenant with them, says G-d. My spirit, which rests upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth nor from the mouths of your children, nor from the mouths of your children's children, says G-d, from now and to all eternity." Y'shayahu / Isaiah, 59:20-21. Returning to the claims made by the list maker. . . Line 11 of Hebrews claims that Jesus was a priest. This is untrue. Jesus was, supposedly, of the tribe of Judah (although if you believe the virgin birth he had no tribal status). Jewish priests are only of the tribe of Levi. A person cannot be of more than one tribe as a tribal status is passed only from a biological Jewish father (and a Jewish mother) passing his tribal status to his sons. . . (and to his daughters, but the girl’s status changes to that of her husband’s tribe upon marriage). I don’t want to get into the whole craziness that some claim Jesus was a priest “like Melchitzedek” in this post – because the priesthood of the King of Salem (called Melchitzedek) was NOT a Jewish priesthood, it pre-dated even the covenant with Abraham. The only Jewish priesthood is the eternal priesthood with Aaron (Moses’ brother) and his descendants who were of the tribe of Levi. This was discussed in the post “Is Jesus a Priest like Melchitzedek?” So, no, Jesus was not a Jewish priest and if he was a non-Jewish priest he would have been an apostate and definitely not "king of the Jews." Hebrews goes on to state that Jesus was a sacrifice by means of his own blood (not the blood of animals. This is unbiblical. Human sacrifice is forbidden. This was discussed in the post G-d is not a man and human sacrifice is forbidden. Also see the post: From beginning to end. . .human sacrifices are FORBIDDEN. . . "if a man strikes down any human being he shall be put to death.. . . one who strikes a person shall be put to death. . . One law shall be exacted for you, convert and resident alike, for I am the L-rd, your G-d. Vayikra / Leviticus 24. Jews are also forbidden from drinking blood or eating non-kosher meat (thus the idea of Christian communion is rejected by the Torah. . . Can human blood be a sacrifice (as per Romans 9:14 “the blood of (Jesus), who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to G-d”) – absolutely not! "you shall not corrupt the land in which you live, for the 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." Bamidbar / Numbers 35:33. Let’s return to the subject of Yom Kippur, the heart of Romans 9 being quoted by the list maker. It seems to infer that the sacrifices of Yom Kippur have been replaced by Jesus’ death. This makes it seem that it was the sacrifices on Yom Kippur which atoned for the sins of the people. This is actually not true – and is unbiblical. The key to understanding the difference between Yom Kippur and every other day of the year is that we can turn to G-d at any time. On Yom Kippur G-d comes to us. Normally we bring sacrifices, or prayers, or acts of charity to G-d. We go to Him and we thank Him, or ask Him to forgive some wrong we did. We can do this at any time, all through the year. On Yom Kippur He comes to us. The difference with Yom Kippur and all other days of the year is that instead of US asking Him for forgiveness -- He seeks us out and in His infinite kindness and mercy forgives us -- the day itself is the atonement. "On Yom Kippur, the day itself atones... as it is written, For on this day, it shall atone for you." Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 1:3 "Yehuda HaNasi said: Yom Kippur atones whether one repents or one does not repent." Talmud, Shevuot 13a It isn't the sacrifices which atone on Yom Kippur -- or even our prayers. It is the day itself which atones -- and this is what makes Yom Kippur so special. This is the day G-d comes seeking us (rather than the other way around). There were individual and communal sacrifices on Yom Kippur described in Vayikra (Leviticus) 16 that atoned for very specific things -- but not for the sins of all of Israel. There was a sacrifice brought by the kohein gadol (high priest) for himself and his family. One for the kohein gadol and the other priests. . .The חַטָּאת cḥattat (accidental sins) and אָשָׁם asham sacrifices were PRIVATE offerings brought by INDIVIDUALS, not “atonement” offerings on behalf of the entire nation. As mentioned the sin sacrifice, aka the חַטָּאת chatat, was for a missing of the mark (you tried to do good but missed) and the guilt sacrifice, aka the אָשָׁם asham, was for three different types of violations:
The communal Yom Kippur (“Atonement Day”) ceremonies are detailed in chapter 16 of Vayikra (Leviticus), where AN OX was offered for the kohein gadol (high priest) and all the other priests (verses 3, 6, 11) and two GOATS were offered for the nation (verses 5, 7-10, 15). As I already mentioned, the one sent away into the desert, and NOT killed was the "scapegoat" who symbolically “carried away” the nation's sins. Vayikra / Leviticus 16:16 is speaking of a specific sacrifice made for accidental defilement of the Temple (not general sins let alone "all" sins). Missionaries seem to skip over the word "unclean." "He (the high priest) shall then slaughter the people's sin offering goat, and bring its blood into [the inner sanctuary] beyond the cloth partition. He shall do the same with this blood as he did with the bull's blood, sprinkling it both above the ark cover and directly toward the ark cover. 16:16 With this, he will make atonement for the Israelites' defilement, as well as for their rebellious acts and all their inadvertent misdeeds." Vayikra / Leviticus 16:15-16. The Torah says לְכָלחַטֹּאתָם, חַטָּאַת which means an unintentional sin. Here is Rashi's commentary: "from the defilements of the children of Israel-. [i.e., atoning] for those who, while in [a state of] uncleanness, had entered the Sanctuary, and it never became known to them [that they had been unclean], for it says: לְכָלחַטֹּאתָם, חַטָּאַת denotes an unintentional sin. - [Torath Kohanim 16:42; Shev. 17b] ". . .and from their rebellions. [i.e., atoning] also [for] those who, in a state of uncleanness, willfully entered [the Sanctuary, thereby defiling it]. - [Torath Kohanim16:42; Shev. 17b] ". . .He shall do likewise to the Tent of Meeting.i.e., just as he had sprinkled from [the blood of] both [the bull and the he-goat] inside [the Holy of Holies, with] one sprinkling above and seven below, so shall he sprinkle from [the blood of] both [the bull and the he-goat] on the dividing curtain from the outside once above and seven times below. - [Torath Kohanim16:43; Yoma 56b] which dwells with them, [even] amidst their defilements. Although they are unclean, the Divine Presence is among them." [Torat Kohanim 16:43; Yoma 56b] Likewise the priest sacrificed a bull for himself and his own household for the very same reason: "When Aaron enters [this inner] sanctuary, it must be with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. Aaron shall present his sin offering bull, and make atonement for himself and his (fellow priests)." Vayikra / Leviticus 16:3-11 The priestly and communal sin sacrifices atoned for people who had entered the Temple in a state of ritual impurity (uncleanness) -- not for "all" sins or even major sins. Ask yourself why the author of Romans does not point this out to the readers of the Christian bible? Perhaps ignorance? Perhaps deceit? Why doesn't Romans mention the BULL's BLOOD that is sprinkled on the ark cover to atone for the priests' sins? If the goats blood covers "all" of the Jews then why do the priests have to bring this sacrifice? Note that the sins in question are a "missing of the mark" -- an unintentional sin. A reading of Vayikra / Leviticus 16 destroys the idea in Romans 9 that somehow the goat sacrifice atoned for "all sins?" After all it is the blood of the bull which atones for any unintentional sins by the priests. Romans cannot change the Torah -- the author does not have the authority to change the eternal word of G-d! On Yom Kippur a LIVE goat carries away sins big and small: "Aaron (the high priest) shall press both his hands on the live goat's head, and he shall confess on it all the Israelites' sins, rebellious acts and inadvertent misdeeds. When he has thus placed them on the goat's head, he shall send it to the desert with a specially prepared man. The goat will thus carry all the sins away to a desolate area when it is sent to the desert." Vayikra / Leviticus 16:21-22 Alive. Hmmm -- another oversight by the missionary! The goat is not sacrificed. It is sent alive into the wilderness. The goat carried away all the sins. What???? No blood??? No. No blood. On Yom Kippur it is the day itself that atones. From 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. . . 1:2] The goat that is sent to Azazel is for forgiveness for all Israel; therefore, the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) recites a verbal confession that includes all Israel, as it is written, "And he shall confess on it, all the transgressions of Israel." (Vayikra / Leviticus 16:21). This goat atones for all transgressions in the Torah: both those punishable by death and not punishable by death; intentional sins and unintentional sins; those the transgressor is aware of, and those of which he is unaware. This applies only if one repents. If one does not repent, the goat atones only for the light sins 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." (Y’chezkiel / Exekiel 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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