The New Testament proclamations that Jesus was God's perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world and that Jesus fulfilled the law in this regard are simply blatant misrepresentations of the Old Testament teachings.
One of the key assertions of the New Testament (NT) writers was the concept of "original" sin. This doctrine claims that sin is hereditary and is passed to all humans through Adam.While the Old Testament (OT) indicates man has an inclination to sin, it is does not originate from one person (Adam). The NT verses which establish this doctrine leave no room for anyone to escape this hereditary sin from Adam.
Rom 5:12,17-19
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by
sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they
which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness
shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to
condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift
came upon all men unto justification of life.
For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by
the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
This claim that all the offspring of one man (Adam) inherited
"original" sin which contaminates all humanity is
contradicted by the OT teachings which state that each will die
for his own sin and that through repentance each will redeem
himself.
Ezek 18:20-22,30
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the
iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the
iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be
upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath
committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful
and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be
mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he
shall live.
Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one
according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn
yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be
your ruin.
Original sin is a NT invention which is used to set the stage for
the need of a special savior, the man/god Jesus. This concept of
original sin, taught by the NT, launches the mission of Jesus who
is claimed to be the "sin" offering that pays the debt
or atones for the sins of all humanity.
The NT writers portray Jesus as claiming he came to earth to
fulfill the law (Matt 5:17). The NT goes further by
claiming that only bloodshed can atone for sin. It claims that
without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness of
sin.
Heb 9:22
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and
without shedding of blood is no remission.
This verse is an utterly false statement. In the OT there are
different types of sins that require different types of
sacrifices or atonement. Forgiveness does not always require
bloodshed. Offerings of fine flour (Lev 5:11 ), money (Ex
30:15-16), jewelry (Num 31:50) and prayer ( Hos
14:1-4) can also atone for sin. In order for Jesus to meet
the requirements and to fulfill the law for being a
"perfect" atonement sacrifice for unintentional sin
(which hereditary sin is), there are several conditions required
for a proper unintentional sin offering which must be met:
1) The offering must be a "clean" animal, an animal approved by God for such a sacrifice (Lev 4). Humans are not on the list of animals which can be offered as sacrifice. Jesus was not qualified and failed to meet this requirement of the law.
2) The animal must be unblemished (Lev 22:22). Jesus was whipped, beaten, and circumcised. Circumcision was considered mutilation of the flesh according to the NT (Philip 3:2 and Gal 5:11-12). Jesus failed to meet this requirement of the law.
3) The offering must be made at the alter and the sacrifice would die of blood loss. The blood was then poured out at the alter and the sacrifice was burnt upon the alter. Jesus did not qualify and thus failed to meet these requirements of the law as he did not die of blood loss and did not die at the Temple and alter but on a hill.
4) Most importantly, the offering must be made/presided over by a Levitical priest. The full service priesthood was the exclusive domain of the Levites(Exo 29:9)(Exo 40:13-15).
No Levitical priest offered or ritualized Jesus as a sacrifice for sin. Jesus failed to meet this requirement of the law. (The NT writers attempted to get around this problem which will be discussed later in this essay.)
Jesus in no way fulfilled the requirements of the Mosaic law
and his sacrifice does not qualify as a valid sin offering to
God.
The NT twists the OT teaching of God by ignoring his law. Then
the NT twists the OT teachings further by claiming Jesus was the
Passover lamb sacrifice. The Gospel of John portrays Jesus as the
Passover lamb and Paul states he was the Passover lamb.
1 Cor 5:7
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as
ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for
us:
John 1:29
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
But this claim is also a direct contradiction of the OT
teachings. The Passover lamb was NOT a sin or even an atonement
sacrifice. The blood which was shed by the lambs was used to
"paint" the door frames of houses to identify people of
Israel so that the firstborn males of the Israelites would be
spared from the plague of death which God would deliver to the
land of Egypt ( Exo 12).
The Passover lamb was also not a community sacrifice as each household was to sacrifice it's own year old lamb. The lambs were also to be roasted and eaten. Jesus certainly did not fulfill this requirement of God's law and as the Passover lamb was in actuality many lambs which were NOT atonement sacrifices, the claim that Jesus was the Passover lamb who took away the sins of the world is completely bogus and a sham.
The closest OT representation of what Jesus was supposed to
accomplish can be found in Lev 16 where all the sins of
all the people are atoned for by the use of a scapegoat. This is
called The Day of Atonement. The instructions given in Lev 16
speak for themselves:
Lev 16:20-22
And when he(Aaron) hath made an end of reconciling the holy
place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he
shall bring the live goat:
And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live
goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of
Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins,
putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away
by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land
not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
The Lev 16:30-34 instructions conclude with:
For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to
cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins
before the LORD.
It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your
souls, by a statute for ever.
And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall
consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's
stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen
clothes, even the holy garments:
And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he
shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation,
and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the
priests, and for all the people of the congregation.
And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an
atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a
year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.
This Day of Atonement pays for the sins of all the community, is
to be performed by Levitical priests, is to be done each year,
and the scapegoat is not killed but released in the
desert. Although this sacrifice most closely fits the description
of the type of atonement Jesus was supposed to have accomplished
for the sins of mankind, Jesus failed to meet these requirements
as he was not a goat, was not released alive in the
desert, and was not ritualized by a Levitical priest. In summary,
Jesus failed in all respects to fulfill the law as proper
sacrifice for the sins of anyone.
This analysis would be incomplete without taking a look at how
the NT writers attempted to "fix" the problem of
Jesus not being a Levitical priest as required by law to offer a
sacrifice. As will be demonstrated, the NT writers claimed Jesus
was from the tribe of Judah and was not a descendant of Aaron and
consequently not a Levite.
The full service priesthood was solely the property of the
Levites as stipulated in (Ex 29:9, Num 25:13, and Jer
33:18).
The NT writers, in order to get around this problem, performed
some dishonest deconstruction of the OT teachings to accomplish
their mission of turning Jesus into a priest so he could
sacrifice himself.
The book of Hebrews is filled with these antics which deconstruct the Old Testament. Here is how it was done:
Heb 7:11
If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for
under it the people received the law,)
First, the author of Hebrews attempts to discredit the Levitical
priesthood. The first part of Heb 7:11 makes a false and
misleading statement. The initial laws, including the commonly
referred to Ten Commandments, were given to the people before the
Levitical priesthood was established (Ex 20). The
Levitical priesthood was actually established (Ex 40)
after the Israelites had worshipped the golden calf and the
Levites redeemed themselves by putting down the rebellion by
killing their fellow Israelites (Ex 32). The people
already had the law and did not receive it under the Levitical
priesthood.
The author of Hebrews then introduces a "need"
for a new priesthood in the continuation of Heb 7:11:
Heb 7:11 (cont).
what further need was there that another priest should rise after
the order of Melchisedek, and not be called after the order of
Aaron?
The false statements continue:
Heb 7:12
For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a
change also of the law.
This is another false statement. The law doesn't have to change
because the priesthood changes. The commonly referred to Ten
Commandments were the same under the people's priesthood as they
were under the Levitical priesthood. You'd think that if the
Melchizedek priesthood actually superseded the Aaronic
priesthood, Moses would have mentioned it.
There is no priesthood which ever superseded the Levitical
priesthood as the author of Hebrews claims.
No such thing was ever done in the Old Testament.
The following verses continue the deconstruction of the OT teachings:
Heb 7:14-16
For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah; of which
tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of
Melchisedek there ariseth another priest,
Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after
the power of an endless life.
As noted earlier, here the NT writer admits Jesus is not a Levite
but declares that Jesus is a "special" priest "like"
Melchizedek and a bona fide full service priest based on his "indestructible
life" and not on his ancestry. This is probably one of
the most blatant examples of dishonest doctrine creation that the
NT writers performed. God stated long after the era of the
people's priesthood that only Levites (Ex 29:9) would be
full service priests.
Heb 7:17
For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of
Melchisedek.
(This verse refers to Psa 110:4)
Melchizedek was a king in Genesis (Gen 14:18) who
performed some priestly functions. He performed these functions
long before the full service Levitical priesthood was established
by God. After the golden calf incident, the Aaronic (Levitical)
priesthood superseded all other forms and was never replaced by
anything as it was promised to the Levites as a lasting covenant.
(Ex 29:9, Num 25:13 and Jer 33:18).
In Heb 7:17 the author of Hebrews has attempted to make Ps
110:4 about Jesus when it is about David.
Ps 110:4
The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for
ever after the order of Melchizedek.
Heb 7:17 refers to Ps 110:4 which is about David,
not Jesus. David was a priest like Melchizedek in that he
performed some but not all priestly functions (2 Sam
6:17). While burnt and peace offerings existed prior to the
Levitical priesthood, the full services of the Levitical
priesthood did not. Instructions for sin offerings don't appear
as a ritual until Ex 29. Until the tabernacle was built,
there was no full service priesthood.
The new doctrine of deception is further advanced in the following:
Heb 7:18-19
For there is a setting aside of the commandment [that only
Levites could be full service priests] going before for its
weakness and unprofitableness, (for the law perfected nothing,)
and the introduction of a better hope by which we draw nigh to
God.
God never set aside his following regulation that only
Levites could be full service priests:
Ex 29:8-9
And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.
And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and
put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs
for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his
sons.
The Levites, by acting as God's enforcers to quell the rebellion
which occurred when the people worshipped the golden calf,
ensured themselves of God's promise that they, and only they,
would be full service priests:
Ex 32:28-29
And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and
there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, even
every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow
upon you a blessing this day.
The regulation regarding the priesthood, which the author of
Hebrews declares is "weak and useless" is in fact God's
Law, and God's law is not "weak and useless" but perfect
and eternal as the following verses clearly show:
Ps 19:7
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting
the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the
simple.
Ps 119:160
Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy
righteous judgments(laws) endureth for ever.*
*Also translated as eternal in Psa 119:160.
The author of Hebrews has invented a new doctrine, and in effect
declares God's prior law concerning the priesthood NULL and VOID.
However, there is no "new" priesthood which
replaced the Levitical priesthood.
This is a fabrication which twists a verse about David into one
about Jesus and then claims it is also a new priesthood which
replaced the "faulty" Levitical priesthood. No
such replacement ever occurred since the Levitical priesthood
superseded all other forms and was promised to them as an
everlasting covenant.
Once the author of Hebrews has turned Jesus into a new priesthood
of one member, the former requirement that only Levitical priests
could make such offerings is bypassed.
The end result of all the scripture twisting and deconstruction of the OT teachings is finally manifested:
Heb 7:27
...for this he(Jesus) did once, when he offered up himself(as a
sin sacrifice).
Problem solved! Jesus, who could not be a Levitical priest can
now make a sin offering. A new priesthood is invented by claiming
that Jesus is the subject of Ps 110:4 instead of David and
that God's promise which proclaimed that only Levites could be
priests and make sin offerings was overturned.
The New Testament writers created a new priesthood for Jesus, ignored virtually all the requirements of a proper sin offering sacrifice, claimed Jesus was a singular Passover lamb which ignores the non-atonement nature of the Passover lambs (plural) sacrifice, ignored the promise by God that sin was not imputed by heredity from father to son, ignored the fact that Ps 110:4 is about David, and foisted a counterfeit sacrifice and priest upon the world and called him the Savior which all men MUST believe in to avoid the everlasting flames of hell.
Jews who follow God's instructions by obeying his laws and repenting when they sin are consigned to the flames of hell because they do not believe that Jesus was everything that the NT writers claimed he was. The fate of Jews who faithfully honor and hold to the teachings of the OT is sealed by the NT writers.
John 3:18
He that believeth on him(Jesus) is not condemned: but he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed
in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
The innocent (those who follow the law and repent according to
the OT instructions) are condemned by the doctrine of
"original" sin and their failure to believe Jesus is
the Savior. The guilty (those who disregard God's laws and
instructions and instead worship a man/god) are acquitted by the "perfect"
sacrifice of Jesus for the sins of all men.
Christians would do well to take to heart the OT teachings they
so often ignore: He that justifieth(acquits) the wicked, and
he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to
the LORD. (Prov 17:15)
Since the New Testament writers could not fool the Jews into believing these concocted claims, they turned their evangelizing efforts to the Greeks and other non-Jews who had no detailed knowledge of God's laws as defined by the Old Testament. Non-Jews had little or no interest in looking up God's laws in the Jewish scriptures to see if they matched the claims of the Christian writers.
The final irony is that over the centuries millions have
swallowed the bait, hook, line and sinker without ever looking at
what the Old Testament actually says. Christian believers don't
even submit these New Testament claims, which they declare as
God's word to the world, to even basic scrutiny.
Candy coated salvation, concocted priesthoods, and improper
sacrifices may please the senses but they do not stand up to the
requirements as set down in the Old Testament.
Also in an ironic sense, the following Old Testament scripture seems prophetic when applied to Christians who have rejected God's word and have accepted the New Testament counterfeit sacrifice and priest:
Isa 29:13
Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me
with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have
removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is
taught by the precept of men:
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