DMcFadden
Puritanboard Commissioner
This is from the Pre-Trib Research Center
Pre-Trib Research Center: Why Sacrifices in The Millennium
Sorry, Dr. Ice, I'm not convinced.
Pre-Trib Research Center: Why Sacrifices in The Millennium
Why a Temple andSacrifices?
The purpose for a Temple throughout Scripture has been to establish a location upon earth-which is under the curse of sin-for the presence of God that reveals through its ritual God's great holiness. God's plan for Israel includes a relation to them through a Temple since He wants to dwell in the midst of His people. Currently the church is God's spiritual Temple made of living stones (1Cor. 3:16-17; Eph. 2:19-22). The millennium will return history to a time when Israel will be God's mediatory people but will also continue to be a time in which sin will be present upon the earth. Thus, God will include a new Temple, a new priesthood, a new Law, etc., at this future time because He will be present in Israel and still desires to teach that holiness is required to approach Him. This is contrasted with the fact that no Temple will exist in eternity (Rev. 21:22) because God and the Lamb are the Temple since there will be no sin in heaven,thus no need for ritual cleansing.
The painstaking detail in Ezekiel 40-48 is similar to the instruction given to Moses for building of the Tabernacle and then to others for building the Solomonic Temple. Such detail is meaningless unless taken literally as were the Tabernacle and first two Temples. If the detail was intended to be symbolic, the symbols are never explained, as is usually the case with genuine biblical symbolism. Because no textual basis exists for a non-literal interpretation, those attempting such explanations become subjective in their many and various guesses about the meaning of the passage.
It must be remembered that the Levitical sacrifices of the Mosaic system are said by the Bible to "make atonement" as well (for example, Lev. 4:20, 26, 31, 35, etc.). If these sacrifices in the past actually atoned for the people's sins, which, of course, they did not, then they would be equally blasphemous in light of Christ's perfect sacrifice. Hebrews 10:4 says, "it is impossiblefor the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." Furthermore, there would have been no need for Christ's once and for all atoning sacrifice if these past acts did the job.
So what do both past and future sacrifices accomplish if they don't actually remove sin? These sacrifices provide ritual cleansing of the priests, sanctuary, and utensils. Only Christ's sacrifice on the cross actually removes one's sin. Jerry Hullinger provides asolution that:
. . . deals honestly with the text of Ezekiel,and in no way demeans the work Christ did on the cross. This study suggests that animal sacrifices during the millennium will serve primarily to remove ceremonial uncleanness and prevent defilement from polluting the temple envisioned by Ezekiel. This will be necessary because the glorious presence of Yahweh will once again be dwelling on earth inthe midst of a sinful and unclean people.
Because of God's promise to dwell on earth during the millennium (as stated in the NewCovenant), it is necessary that He protect His presence through sacrifice . . .It should further be added that this sacrificial system will be a temporary one in that the millennium (with its partial population of unglorified humanity)will last only one thousand years.
Critics of future millennial sacrifices seem to assume that all sacrifices, past and future,always depict Christ's final sacrifice for sin. They do not! There were various purposes for sacrifice in the Bible. Many of the sacrifices under the Mosaic system were purification rituals. This is why atonement can be said in the past to be effective, yet still need Christ's future sacrifice, because many of the sacrifices did atone ceremonially, cleansing participants and objects in Temple ritual. In Ezekiel 43:20 and 26, the atonementis specifically directed at cleansing the altar in order to make it ritually clean. The other uses of atonement also refer to cleansing objects so that ritual purity may be maintained for proper worship(Ezek. 45:15, 17, 20).
The presence and purpose of millennial sacrifices neither diminish the finished work of Christ,nor violates the literal interpretation of these prophetic passages. Nothing in Ezekiel 40-48 conflicts withthe death of Christ or New Testament teaching at any point. The supposed contradictions between a literal understanding of Ezekiel and New Testament doctrine evaporate when examined specifically and harmonized. Although there will be millennial sacrifices, the focus of all worship will remain on the person and work of the Savior. The millennial Temple and its ritual will serve as a daily reminder of fallen man's need before a Holy God and lessons about how this same God lovingly works to remove the obstacle of human sin for those who trust Him. Maranatha!
Sorry, Dr. Ice, I'm not convinced.