In the Time to Come all offerings will be abolished but the thank-offering will never be abolished. (Leviticus Rabbah 27:12)


Written in Stone



'...written in stone' is an idiom we are all familiar with. It refers to something permanent, unchanging, or eternal. It is an allusion to the Ten Commandments which God inscribed on tablets of stone when He gave His Torah at Sinai. Most believers have bound themselves to these 'Jewish' commandments and affirmed their eternal value. These commandments have become the moral code by which billions of Christians lead their lives. That's good.

Western culture has gone farther and adopted many other laws found in the Torah. Commandments concerning civil and judicial matters have been incorporated into our governmental structures. These commands have become such a cornerstone of our civilization that their eternity seems necessary for its continuation.

Pomp and Circumstance

But there is another type of commandment in the Torah, a type which has been less revered by the Body of Messiah for nearly two millennia. Ironically, only these commandments are specifically declared eternal by the mouth of God:

 

 

  • Israel is to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:17)

  • Aaron and his descendants are to trim the Menorah (Exodus 27:20, Leviticus 24:3)

  • They are to wear priestly garments when serving in the Temple (Exodus 28:43; 29:9)

  • Only they are to eat the heave offering (Exodus 29:28, Leviticus 10:15, Numbers 18:8, 11, 19), the trespass offering (Leviticus 6:18, 7:34, 36)

  • They are not to take wine or strong drink when on duty in the Temple (Leviticus 10:9)

  • They are to wash their hands and feet when serving in the Temple (Exodus 30:21)

  • They are to blow the trumpets (Numbers 10:8)

  • A priest is to make an offering on the day of his anointing (Leviticus 6:22)

  • Israel is to keep the Sabbath (Exodus 31:16)

  • Israel is not to eat fat or blood (Leviticus 3:17)

  • Israel is to afflict themselves on the Day of Atonement and to cease from labor (Leviticus 16:29, 31;)

  • The High Priest to make atonement for Israel on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:34)

  • Israel is to bring their offering to the Tabernacle instead of offering them to devils (Leviticus 17:7)

  • Israel is not to eat produce of the field of any year until the Firstfruits have been brought to the Temple (Leviticus 23:14)

  • Israel to observe Firstfruits as a holy convocation and to cease labor on that day (Leviticus 23:21)

  • Israel to observe the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days (Leviticus 23:41)

  • The priests to set the bread on the Table of Showbread every Sabbath (Leviticus 24:8)

  • They are to eat it in the Holy Place (Leviticus 24:9)

  • The stranger is to do as the native born. One law for both (Numbers 15:15)

  • The one who gathers the ashes of the red heifer is to wash his clothes and is unclean until evening (Numbers 19:10)

  • One who sprinkles the ash and water of the Red Heifer is to wash his clothes and is unclean until evening (Numbers 19:21)

  • Phineas and his descendants have a Covenant of Peace forever (Numbers 25:13)

  • Ammonites and Moabites are never to enter into the congregation of Israel (Deuteronomy 23:3)

  • Israel is never to seek their peace (Deuteronomy 23:6)

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

One is immediately aware that almost all of these commandments are ritual or ceremonial. and relate specifically to the institution and services of the Temple.

What is this!? How can it be?

The idea repels us. After all, 'Jesus is the final sacrifice', 'Christ died once and for all.' Do we 'crucify Christ again' if we admit the permanence of these commandments? Or is God schizophrenic and abolished that which He had previously declared eternal?

How do we respond to this? Why would God put us on the horns of such a dilemma? Why keep commandments which have no apparent reason for their existence?

The answer, I think, lies in the nature of being human. It is easy to understand the eternal basis for a moral command. After all, moral commandments are an expression of the character of the Eternal God. But ceremonial and liturgical commandments seem wooden, empty, and transient and so are easily dismissed. Because of these tendencies God may have found it necessary to be emphatic.

We are told that the Tabernacle was made after a heavenly pattern (Exodus 25:9, Revelation 7, 11, 14, 15), that the services of the Temple were given by God to Moses, and that David was given additional instruction for the Temple and its services by the Spirit of God (1 Chronicles 28.) Repeatedly, Yeshua and the Apostles use the Temple and its services as pointers to Him and the redemptive plan of God. God's has ordained these things to bring us corrupt mortals to Messiah, and having brought us to Him, to continually remind us of God's love and Kingship.

Forever is a Long, Long Time

But does forever really mean forever? Well...not necessarily. The Hebrew word olam is usually translated 'eternal' or 'forever.' Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon indicates that this word can also mean 'an epoch or age.' Here is a case where the sages of Israel and the New Testament converge.

The sages divided the history of the world into two distinct ages: this Present World (olam hazeh) and the World to Come (olam haba, sometimes called the atid lavo or Time to Come). For example, consider the following quotes from the Talmud.

Just as the fishes of the sea, as soon as the sun scorches them, die; so man, when struck by the sun, dies. This can be applied to the present world,[ or to the world to come... (Avodah Zarah 3b)

Jerusalem of the world to come [will not be like Jerusalem of the present world. [To] Jerusalem of the present world, anyone who wishes goes up, but to that of the world to come only those invited will go. (Baba Bathra 75b)

Parallels from the New Testament which refelct the use of this language include:

And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world , neither in the world to come .(Matthew 12:32 KJV)

And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, 30 Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. (Luke 18:29-30 KJV)

Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:(Galatians 1:3-4 KJV)

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (Titus 2:12 KJV)

Bound or Loosed?

What becomes obvious from these passages is that we are still living in the Present World. We may conclude that these eternal, ceremonial commandments will be binding until we reach the time of the World to Come.

Can we still participate in these ritual commandments? Yes, and no. It is not possible to keep these commandments in biblically prescribed manner today because they depend on the existence of the Holy Temple and an Aaronic priesthood. Fortunately this does not prevent us from commemorating many aspects of Temple-related commandments through customary practices of Judaism. These customs preserve the memory of the Temple rituals and keep their tutorial elements alive for the next generation.

Time Out of Mind

The time is coming when there will be no more time. The book of Revelation tells us that after a thousand years of Messianic rest when there will be no more Temple. Humanity will experience the reality of the World to Come. The inhabitants of the New Earth are redeemed, incorruptible immortals. Sin and death have been abolished. There will no longer be the need for constant reminders of God's redemption because everyone on earth is perfect, complete, and untarnished. The very reasons for the existence of a Temple vanish. And so the Temple vanishes and we will find ourselves standing in the Garden of Eden.

R. Phinehas and R. Levi, and R. Johanan in the name of R. Menahem of Gallia say: In the Time to Come all offerings will be abolished but the thank-offering will never be abolished; all forms of thanksgiving will be abolished but the thanksgivings expressed by the thank-offering will never be abolished. (Leviticus Rabbah 27:12)

Kehilat Sar Shalom