Merry Christmas & Sanctuary Study Pt. 12
I think I'd be a little remiss if I didn't mention that today is Christmas Day. :)
No, it's not the day Christ was born, but it is the day we choose to celebrate His birth by giving to others.
Christ's entire life is about sacrificing self and giving to others. Celebrating Christmas is recognition of giving.
Yes, people might say it's all commercialized and it's about getting not giving, but you can't get unless someone is giving, right? So it's about both really. It's giving in the spirit of such and being able to receive graciously as reward to the gift giver.
To have a day that helps remind us that giving is a good thing can't be all that bad. Even if you don't have *things* to give you can give of your spirit, give your happiness, your well wishing, give the things that cost nothing at all to give, sometimes they can be the best gifts of all.
May we all remember to give selflessly, to love one another, to do as Jesus would have us do through His power, through the power of the Holy Spirit, by the Grace of God now and always. May this coming year be filled with each of us growing closer and closer to Christ until we are known by Him fully, to be of Him.
We will pick up with the study on the Sanctuary now, because there is never a day we should miss studying whenever we can.
With God guiding us let us continue now, taking our Bibles and looking up everything so we can see for ourselves.
Light From the Throne (William Grotheer) -- Part 2 --
The most important service performed in the daily ministration of the sanctuary rituals was that performed in behalf of individuals the sin offerings.
The sin offering did not relate to sin or sinfulness in general, but to a particular manifestation.
"If a soul should sin through ignorance" (in error), prefaced the explanation of the law of sin offerings (Lev. 4:2)
These were sins which arose out of the weaknesses of the flesh.
Those committed with a high hand, that is, "presumptiously," were to be punished by extermination.
The offender was to be"utterly cut off." (Num. 15:28-31)
Lev. {4:2}
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin
through ignorance against any of the commandments of the
LORD [concerning things] which ought not to be done, and
shall do against any of them
Num. {15:28} And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul
that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance
before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it
shall be forgiven him. {15:29} Ye shall have one law for
him that sinneth through ignorance, [both for] him that is
born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that
sojourneth among them.
{15:30} But the soul that doeth [ought] presumptuously,
[whether he be] born in the land, or a stranger, the same
reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from
among his people. {15:31} Because he hath despised the
word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that
soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity [shall be] upon him.
The appeal of the Gospel was based upon the superior ministration of Jesus Christ because "through this Man is preached unto you forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." (Acts 13:38-39) Jesus Himself declared that there was only one sin which could not and would not be forgiven "in this world" nor "in the world to come" and that was the sin of "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 12:31-32)
While the law of the sin and trespass offerings are one (Lev. 7:7), the steps of the ritual are given only for the sin offerings. (Lev. 4) It is through this outline that we catch glimpses of the reality of the provision made for man to receive victory over the sin problem. The sin offerings pertained to two categories of sin - corporate and individual - and to two groups in each category; namely, the high priest in his official capacity and the entire congregation; the rulers and the ordinary individuals. It was under the category of "ruler" that the priests as individuals were covered. In Numbers 3:32, the word translated, "chief" (nasi) is the same as translated "ruler" in Lev. 4:22.
In the sin offerings, the kind of animal sacrificed, the disposition of the blood, and the status of the priest who ministered, differed depending whether the sin was corporate or individual. Being a burnt offering, rules governing the basic burnt offering as first outlined in Leviticus applied. It was to be offered "at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation." (Lev. 1:3; 4:4) The offerer was to place his hand upon the head of the sacrifice. (Lev. 1:4; 4:24) The sacrificial animal was to be "accepted for him to make atonement for him." (Lev. 1:4; 4:26) In each instance, the one bringing the sacrifice, slew the animal. (Lev. 1:5; 4:29)
The first category of corporate guilt concerned the High Priest, the spiritual leader of the people. The instruction was that "if the annointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people" (Lev. 4:3 NKJV), he was to bring a bullock, the largest of all the sacrificial animals, and equal to that required for the whole congregation. (Lev. 4:3,14) While the priest brought the offering as a corporate individual, he ministered the sacrifice in his office as high priest. (4:4-5) The blood was brought into the sanctuary and sprinkled seven times before "the vail of the sanctuary." It was fingerprinted "upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the Lord," and the remainder of the blood was poured at the base of the altar of the court. (4:6-7) The fat was removed from the inwards, the kidneys and the folds above the liver. The fat and the kidneys were burned upon the Altar of Burnt Offering. (4:8-10) The rest - "the whole bullock" - was carried "without the camp" and there burned." (4:12)
The same procedure was to be followed when the whole congregation sinned. (4:13-21)
Note again - it was the high priest who ministered the sacrifice, and the blood was brought into the sanctuary. It is important to note these two basics in the law of the sin offering.
These applied to corporate sin; individual sin was dealt with differently.
When a ruler or a "common" person sinned, the sacrificial animal became a goat instead of a bullock.
Three other distinct differences need to be noted.
For the individual, be he a ruler or a common person, one of the sub-priests ministered the sacrifice.
The blood was not taken into the sanctuary, and the whole animal was not burned without the camp.
Instead, the blood of the sacrifice was placed on the horns of the altar of the court, and the balance of the blood poured at the base of the altar. (4:22-26)
The officiating priest was to eat of the victim in the court, designated in this instance as a"holy place." (Lev. 6:25-26)
This was explained by Moses to mean that by this act these common priests were to "bear the iniquity" of the individual members of the congregation "to make atonement for them before the Lord." (Lev. 10:17-18)
The result to the individual and to the congregation as a whole of the mediation of the sin offering was forgiveness. (4:20, 26, 31)
Only in the case of the high priest, when he sinned in such a way as to cause guilt to come upon the whole congregation, is it omitted that forgiveness resulted.
The significance of this difference in the mediating of forgiveness needs to be pondered long by those who stand as spiritual guardians of the people.
The record of confession was marked on the horns of the altar of incense, but how God related to it in type, and how He will relate in reality is not given.
Christ spoke fearful woes upon the spiritual leaders of His day who caused the people to reject truth. (Matt. 23:13-33)
{23:13} But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against
men: for ye neither go in [yourselves,] neither suffer ye
them that are entering to go in. {23:14} Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’
houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye
shall receive the greater damnation. {23:15} Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and
land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make
him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. {23:16}
Woe unto you, [ye] blind guides, which say, Whosoever
shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall
swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! {23:17}
[Ye] fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the
temple that sanctifieth the gold? {23:18} And, Whosoever
shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever
sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. {23:19}
[Ye] fools and blind: for whether [is] greater, the gift, or the
altar that sanctifieth the gift? {23:20} Whoso therefore shall
swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
{23:21} And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by
it, and by him that dwelleth therein. {23:22} And he that
shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and
by him that sitteth thereon. {23:23} Woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise
and cummin, and have omitted the weightier [matters] of
the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have
done, and not to leave the other undone. {23:24} [Ye] blind
guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
{23:25} Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter,
but within they are full of extortion and excess. {23:26}
[Thou] blind Pharisee, cleanse first that [which is] within
the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean
also. {23:27} Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which
indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead
[men’s] bones, and of all uncleanness. {23:28} Even so ye
also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are
full of hypocrisy and iniquity. {23:29} Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the
tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the
righteous, {23:30} And say, If we had been in the days of
our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in
the blood of the prophets. {23:31} Wherefore ye be
witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them
which killed the prophets. {23:32} Fill ye up then the
measure of your fathers. {23:33} [Ye] serpents, [ye]
generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of
hell?
The lessons and glimpses of the Reality as revealed in the Law of the Sin Offering need to be carefully considered.
***
We're going to stop here for now and consider all this we've just read.
Yes, differences are there for a reason.
Yes, we need to understand as much as we can.
No, we won't be able to fully comprehend not until Christ comes again, but we need to do our best to try and understand, to seek understanding, enlightenment through the Holy Spirit by the Grace of Jesus.
None of us want to be with those classed as hypocites. We need a clean and righteous heart in Jesus. None of us need an outward showing that is false, God sees right through such an outward showing. We need to be thoroughly and wholly God's, inside and out.
In His Name.
Amen.
12/25/09
Rev 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
Prophecy speaks of the birth of Jesus and today; the day the world traditionally celebrates the day Christ was born (even though it's not *really* His birthday) I'm going to touch on this verse in Revelation.
Sin had been in the world for thousands of years before it was time for Christ to be born. Satan, once a covering angel in heaven, close to God, chose to let pride well in His heart as he developed delusions of being like God Himself-- the created being thinking himself as powerful and deserving as a creator in his own right. Thousands of years this sinning angel not yet cast from heaven was allowed to move back and forth between earth and heaven.
Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
Now, it's time for Christ to be born--
Rev 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
Rev 12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Rev 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
Rev 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
A woman in prophecy is symbolically depicting God's people. God's people had reached the pinnacle of travailing and it was time for the Savior to be born. At that time Satan didn't want a Savior born into the world he wanted to claim as his own. He drew one third of the angels of heaven to earth as his angels-- it is here at this time they are cast down from heaven-- Satan has marshaled all his forces in an effort to defeat the Savior wanting from birth to destroy him, to destroy God's own. It was by God's will alone that Jesus escaped the murder of infants ordered by the king who wanted to destroy the prophesized Savior. Jesus was born and then He was caught up unto God, slain on Calvary so that we may live. He died in our place, taking upon Himself our sins.
Born to die. Some would say it's the fate of all mankind to be born and die and they wouldn't be far off, most are born only to eventually die. They say the only surety in life is death. Jesus gave up His place in heaven to take on humanity starting His life on earth as an infant, born in human flesh. He gave up the power that would keep Him from dying, He gave up more than we can ever realize and as His life progressed He taught us all that we-- like Him -- need to look to God, the Father, for all things.
We are tempted and taunted on all sides by Satan, just as Christ was make no mistake- from the moment of His birth Christ was the promised Savior and Satan was His sworn enemy. We do need to recognize the miracle of the birth of Christ, the birth of the Savior and we need to remember that He came to save us from something. Jesus was born for a purpose and He fulfilled that purpose. We can't trivialize the reason Christ was born because to do so is at an eternal loss. Until Christ comes again we need to remember His birth, His death, and His defeat of death in rising again from the grave victorious. Christ was born to save us from sin, from Satan a very real power on earth with his forces of angels. We might not see them but we see daily the results of their working.
May God bless and keep us all in Him. We praise God for His love, for the glory of His love in His Son's birth, death, and rising again to life everlasting. Thank you Lord for all You've done and will do. By Your will now and forever.
Amen.
12/25/10
Jas 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
We are surrounded by mirrors. Every house has a mirror, every bathroom has a mirror, we have big mirrors and tiny hand held mirrors. Maybe I'm being presumptuous, I'm sure there are a lot of homes without mirrors but not in the United States. Our stores have mirrors, restaurants have mirrors, etc. Barring a mirror there are many reflective surfaces that surround us all the time.
Watching clips from the show Survivor after the contestants are sent back to a camp if they are put on the jury, it's very common for each person returning from the game to the camp to be shocked at how they appear when they get their first real glimpse of themselves in a mirror. They're amazed at how they look and mostly NOT in a good way. They've become so used to viewing themselves daily- several times a day- that to go without access to a mirror is a huge deal to them.
We DO look into reflective surfaces all the time and yet when we go away from the mirror and set about our business do we fully recall our appearance? Some will be quick to say they do but truthfully if they really remembered -would they have to look at themselves so often?
What are we doing when we look into the mirror? What are we expecting to see? We are appraising our appearance aren't we? We are judging whether or not there are imperfections we need to fix-aren't we? Hair that needs to be brushed just so. Dirt on a face that needs to be washed. Teeth that need to be brushed. Blemishes that need to be noted and tended. We are trying to look a certain way aren't we? We call it respectable, decent, well groomed and so on and so forth. We are trying to look our best. A lot of people look into mirrors to put make up on their faces to alter their natural appearance. People style their hair this way and that and they do it hoping it will look good. Some people look in mirrors and are disgusted with what they see- some honestly, genuinely disgusted and others using self-delusion believing they are disgusting when in truth they are not. Mirrors can be good things, showing us things we might not otherwise see that need seeing. Mirrors don't always have to be used for vanity, right?
Looking into a mirror and seeing our natural faces we look at them and then we walk away and we no longer are face to face with ourselves having to see ourselves, examine ourselves. We can begin to imagine we are better than what we appeared in that mirror- right? We don't have to see ourselves any longer and see the truth of our appearance. When we don't see ourselves we can imagine so many other things about ourselves, yes? Some might want to forget what they look like, some might want to forget the imperfections in themselves.
Someone who only hears but does not obey the word of the LORD, is like a person who doesn't want to be face to face with the reality of themselves, their sinfulness.
One who hears the word of the LORD and then does what the word tells them to do is like someone who leaves the mirror and remembers exactly what they saw there, forgetting nothing - it's as if they continue looking into the reflection of themselves so they don't forget what they are seeing. They want to see their imperfections so they can understand that it is God who is great, not them.
Jas 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
When we look into the WORD of God we are free to believe in Him, free to have faith, free to love, free to be saved by the grace of our Lord. If we continue to believe in the word of God, NOT FORGETTING the word, we are blessed. If we follow the word of God- actively- then we are blessed in what we do.
We cannot allow ourselves to be stop at hearing the word of God, hearing, ever hearing and NEVER making the word of God real in our lives. It isn't easy making the word of God real in our lives- it involves suffering the death to self that we naturally rebel against. Is it any wonder the majority of people would rather hear and not do.
May we forever and always be hearers and doers of the word of God no matter the pain it brings, no matter what trails, what temptations, whatever it is we are called to face. May we forever continue to grow in the grace of the LORD. Please Lord, help us to be doers of Your word ALWAYS, help us, please we are lost without You.
In Your amazing love!
By YOUR GRACE!
Amen.
12/25/11