Lesson: Sacrifices and Offerings of Eloah during the Millennium

Goal:

To review the basic concepts related to the sacrifices and offerings of Eloah under Messiah and into the Millennium, and the symbolism that is involved in the text.

Objectives:

1. Who our High Priest is now.
2. Children will be able to identify if the a.m. or p.m sacrifices continue in the Millennium.
3. Children will be able to identify who will be administering the Temple in the Millennium.
4. Children will be able to identify three of the five duties of the priest.
5. Children will be able to name the three sacrificial items and what they symbolically represent.

Resources:

The Sacrifices and Offerings of Eloah under Messiah (No. CB120) 

The Golden Jubilee and the Millennium (No. 300)

The Priesthood of Eloah from Messiah Onwards (No. CB118)

The Harvests of God, The New Moon Sacrifices, and the 144,000 (No. 120)).

Relevant Scriptures:

Ezekiel 43:7

Ezekiel 45:8-10

Format:

Open with prayer.

Ask the Children if they think the sacrifices will ever be reintroduced in the future?

Review the Questions and Answers.

Conduct the activity on the sacrifices in the time of Ezekiel.

Close with prayer.

Lesson:

Read:  Sacrifices and Offerings of Eloah during the Millennium (No. CB121)

Questions are in bold.

Q1.      Who is our High Priest now?

1. Messiah from 30 CE when he was the perfect acceptable sacrifice.

Q2.      Does Eloah now delight in physical sacrifices or what type of sacrifice should we be offering?

1. Though the Jews were offering physical sacrifices, God said in Psalm 51:17: “I do not like delight in sacrifice rather a poor and contrite heart”.

Q3.      What are the five main duties or responsibilities of the priest?

1. The five main duties of a priest are:
2. Live by the word of Eloah (Deut. 8:3; Mat. 4:4; Luke 4:4)
3. Explain the Law of Eloah  (Neh: 8:7)
4. Teach the Law of Eloah  (Deut. 33:10; Lev.10:11; Ezra 7:10)
5. Keep or preserve the Law of Eloah  (Mal 2:7; Neh 18:18)
6. Judge by the Law of Eloah (Deut. 17:2-13; 21:5)

Q4.      Are praying, fasting and helping the widows and the orphans part of the priestly duties?

1. Yes they are.

Q5.      After the marriage supper will those that are in the First Resurrection be spirit beings? If so what will they be doing?

1. As we continue to move forward in time we have seen from the Marriage Supper of the Lamb that people who qualified in their physical lives are made into spiritual beings at Messiah’s return. They will be functioning as kings and priests under Messiah during the Millennium.

Q6.      Which book in the Bible tells us a lot about the millennial Temple?

1. In Ezekiel we see a future Temple yet to be built.

Q7.      Who will be the High Priest in the period of Just Rule? What line will the physical priests be of?

1. The Temple will be functioning under Messiah the High Priest through the priesthood of Melchisedek. The physical priests will be of Zadok of Levi since their fathers were obedient to the laws of Eloah.

Q8.      Will any pagan temples, customs or practices be brought in the Period of Just Rule?

1. No, we see that the pagan temples and ornaments must be truly, completely and totally destroyed. If people do not obey Eloah’s Law they will not get rain in due season and suffer the plagues of Egypt.

Q9.      If we obey Eloah what does He do with our thoughts?

1. If we obey God, He directs our thoughts (Prov. 16:3); this means Eloah helps us to think more and more like Him.

Q10.    During the period of Just Rule will things be fair and just?

1. Yes, once we see that Satan and the fallen Host are put away and Messiah is administering God’s Law, things we will be fair, right and just (Ezek. 45:8-10). People will want to obey Eloah since they see the blessings others are receiving for their obedience to the Laws of Eloah.

Q11.    What will the robes of the priests be in the Millennium?

1. White linen (Ezek. 44:15-19).

Q12.    Are priests allowed to shave their heads or have long hair?

1. No (Ezek. 44:20). Shaving the head was a mourning ritual and rendered the mourner unclean (Lev. 21:1-5). Long hair implied taking a vow, which could prevent the priest from serving (Num. 6:5). Also the apostle Paul tells us that it is a disgrace for a man to have long hair (1Cor. 11:14).

Q13.    Will the priests also act as judges in disputes?

1. Yes. This was one of the functions of priests from earliest days (2Chr. 19:8-11).

Q14.    Is it acceptable for the priest to drink wine or other alcohol while ministering in the Temple?

1. The priests are not to drink wine before they minister in the Temple or when they enter the inner court. (Ezek. 44:21).

Q15.    What are some of the designs of objects in the Millennial Temple? (Clue: some of the same items were found in Solomon’s Temple.)

1. In the Millennial Temple we see palm trees (Ezek. 40:31,34; 41:19); Cherubim (Ezek. 41:18-21,19,25,26); young lions (Ezek. 41:19); and a man’s face (Ezek. 41:19).

Q16.    Will the glory of the Lord inhabit this Temple?

4. Yes, it will per Ezekiel 43:1-7; 44:4.

Q17.    Will the times of the sacrifices and the actual sacrifices remain the same in the Millennial Temple?

1. No, there are changes to the sacrificial system. There will only be morning sacrifices (Ezek. 46:13).

Q18.    What do the sacrifices in the Temple symbolize?

1. The prophecy in Ezekiel deals with the fact that the sacrifices in the Temple system pointed towards Christ and the Church. The sacrifices were fulfilled in Christ, and had other application too.

Q19.    What did the Pentecost sacrifices represent?

1. The Church as the full first-fruits of the wheat harvest at Pentecost.

Q20.    Why might there not be an afternoon or 3:00 p.m. sacrifice in the millennial Temple yet the 9:00 a.m. sacrifices in an altered form continues?

A.     The Church is the full first-fruits symbolised by the wheat harvest at Pentecost. They were represented by the Feast and New Moon sacrifices as the 144,000, and the evening sacrifices, which pointed towards the Great Multitude (see the paper The Harvests of God, The New Moon Sacrifices, and the 144,000 (No. 120)). These are part of the First Resurrection and Marriage to the Lamb. Yet, not all people will be spirit beings at the beginning of the Millennium and, therefore, the morning sacrifices are representative of people still coming into God’s family at a future point in time during the Millennium.

Q21. If Christ fulfilled the sacrifices why will we have sacrifices during the Millennium?

A.        The spilling of blood requires expiation and the controlled killing of the animals is a reminder of God’s provision for us. The provision of animals on the Sabbaths, Feasts and Holy Days is the responsibility of the administration under the Prince as found in Ezekiel 45:13-17.  In that way the pots in Israel during the Millennium will be Holy to the Lord as prophesied through Zechariah 14:16-21.

Activity Options: The Introduction to the Sacrifices and Offerings of Eloah.

Review the necessary facts about the sacrifices:

• Sacrifices to be offered to God alone (Ex. 22:20; Jdg. 13:16; 2Kigs.17:36).
• Sacrifices were always clean animals (Gen. 8:20).
• Sacrifices must be salted (Lev 2:13; Ezek. 43:24; Mk. 9:49).
• Sacrifices must be free of leaven/yeast (Ex. 23:18; 34:25) excluding the Pentecost loaves and the thank offering which must contain leaven/yeast (Lev. 7:13; Amo 4:5).
• The offerings are to be perfect (Lev. 22:21), the best of their kind (Mal 1:14).
• Brought in a clean vessel (Isa 66:20).
• Placed where God has appointed (Deut. 12:6; Ps. 27:6; Heb. 9:9), without delay (Ex. 22:29, 30) at the appointed time.
• They are to be laid before the altar (Mat 5:23, 24).
• They must be presented by the priest (Heb. 5:1).
• Offered willingly (Lev. 22:19) in righteousness (Mal. 3:3), in love and charity (Mat. 5:23, 24).
• The meal offering is most holy (Lev. 2:3).

Review the symbolism associated with the components of the sacrifices.

• Clean animals = Messiah, or the 2 Witnesses, the Seven Churches, the number of Holy Days in a year and also the number of the animals sacrificed.
• Lamb = Messiah

• • Slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8).
  • Lamb (Rev. 5:6; 7:17; 14:10; 15:3; 19:9; 21:22, 23; 22:1,3).
  • Lamb of God (Jn. 1:29, 36).
  • Lamb unblemished and spotless blood of Christ  (1Pet. 1:19).

• Bull = Bull of Ephraim/Messiah

• • The bullock or young bull is the Bull of Ephraim, the Unicorn is Messiah (Deut. 33:17; cf. Num. 23:22; Jer. 31:18); see also the paper Pentecost at Sinai (No. 115).

• Ram = Messiah

• • A ram is a fully-grown male lamb that has reached the age of maturity and carries two horns.  Is this Messiah in his second advent as King Messiah with the sounding of the two horns calling Man and Host to Jerusalem? (see the paper the The Shofar and the Silver Trumpets (No. 47)).
  • Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son yet a ram was substituted.
  • Passover must occur in the sign of Aires, which is a ram. “The formula is found in Schürer (The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ, Vol. I, ‘Calendar Appendix’, pp. 590, 593). He says simply that the Feast of the Passover, which began on 14 Nisan, must always fall after the vernal equinox when the sun stood in the sign of Aries (p. 593). Schürer points to the comments of Anatolius preserved in Eusebius that holds this to be the unanimous view of all the Jewish authorities.” (See the paper The Moon and New Year (No. 213)).
  • At times two rams symbolize the 2 Witnesses.

• Goat of the sin offering offered with wine, grain and oil = comment on why nothing offered with the sin offering and who it represents

• • Goat of Atonement (Lev. 12:1ff.)
• Oil = the Holy Spirit
• Fine Flour = Messiah as barley, the Church as wheat.

• • Fine flour is the saints of God beaten fine and perfected before we are made spirit beings (Companion Bible fn. to Lev. 2:1: fine flour not merely ground, but perfect and ready, no unevenness. So with the life of the Antitype, “the Man Christ Jesus”. Flour is to the wheat what blood is to the body; and pneuma is to the resurrection body.)

• • Incense/Frankincense on the meat/grain offering = the prayers of the saints ascending to the Father.

• • • Of prayers (Ps. 141:2); of praise (Mal. 1:11); of an acceptable sacrifice (Eph. 5:2); prayers of the saints (Rev. 5:2; 8:3, 4).

• • Wine (libations) = blood sacrifice by Messiah and the elect that were martyred.
    • The wine and drink offerings are the elect (see the paper Wave Sheaf Offering (No. 106b)).
    • Salt = salt of the covenant between us and God looked forward to the law being written on our heart when the Holy Spirit was freely given.

• • • Numbers 18:19: Covenant of salt forever before the Lord: From footnote in Companion Bible “covenant of salt” was a covenant made by sacrifice, which was first cut in two (Gen, 15:10-18; Jer. 34:18-19) and then eaten. Thus solemnising an invisible covenant.
    • Every sacrifice is salted (Deut. 29:23).
    • Each meal or flour offering must be salted (Lev. 2:13).
    • Have salt in ourselves (Mk. 5:10).
    • What good is salt that has lost its savour (Lk. 14:34).
    • Salt of the earth: New Moon Message 1/13/25/120

• • Baked/Fire = type of sufferings and trials by fire to help us achieve a state of perfection.

• • • Trials by fire (1Pet. 4:12)
    • Tested by fire (1Pet. 1:7)

• • Other combinations of animals and numbers from Wave Sheaf Offering (No. 106b) and other texts.

• • • The seven lambs represent the seven Churches of God (Rev. 1-3). The bullock is the bullock that was sacrificed as the central leader of the elect and the two rams symbolise the 2 Witnesses (Rev. 11). This is also symbolised by the lampstands in the Temple, which build up to the return of the Messiah. There are ten.

• Compare the changes from the original sacrifices to what Ezekiel tells us will occur in the near future.

• • See chart in the Addendum for quick reference.
  • Especially note that there are no longer:

• • • Evening sacrifices
    • Wine/libations offered the sacrifices
    • The consistency with Feast offerings being seven bulls throughout Passover and Pentecost.

Concentration game with the sacrificial items and their symbolic meaning

• Supplies: graphics of the animal sacrifices, matching symbolism cards.
• Directions: print cards that contain the pictures of the sacrificial elements and the matching cards reflecting the meaning of various element of the sacrifice.
• To play: place all the cards face down on the table; each individual is able to select two cards if they get a match they continue to pick up cards as long as they get matches. Should a match not be present it is the next players turn.

Relay to the sacrifice:

• Supplies: graphics of the animal sacrifices, matching symbolism cards, two pieces of tag board, both labelled the meaning of the sacrificial items, glue stick or tape and markers.
• Directions: print cards that contain the pictures of the sacrificial elements and the matching cards reflecting the meaning of various element of the sacrifice. Have the cards divided into matching sets; divide the sets into two lots and place them on the finish line.
• To play: divide the children into two teams; start the children on the start line; have them race to get the various cards. Once the team has secured all its cards they mount the matching sacrificial element with its symbolic meaning. When completed discuss the symbolism of the various parts of the sacrificial system.

Addendum:

                  Comparison Tables of sacrifices in the OT and Ezekiel

Key concepts related to measurement:

• An Omer is 1/10 of an Ephah (Ex. 16:36); SHD 0616 a dry measure 1/10 of Ephah (about 2 litres).
  • A sheaf/omer was offered as the wave sheaf (Lev. 23:11ff.).
  • The daily offering included an omer (1/10 of Ephah).
  • The manna (the bread of life) given to the Israelites was an omer and double was given on the Sabbath (Ex 16:16,18, 22).
  • The Sabbath sacrifice of the lambs was 2/10 of an Ephah or 2 omers and corresponds or matches the amount of Manna the Israelites were to gather for the Sabbath.
  • The golden omer was to be placed in the Ark of Covenant (Ex. 16:23).
• In Ezekiel the meal offerings went up to full measures for Sabbaths, New Moons and Feasts; the daily offerings also increased in quantity of grain. See the above chart for details.