These are heady days watching world events. Daily we see prophetic events or portents that declare time may be very short.
Among the most recent developments is the attempted assassination of Rabbi Yehuda Glick, chairman of the Temple Mount Heritage Foundation, and previous executive director of The Temple Institute. Glick is perhaps the foremost proponent in Israel of rebuilding the Temple and beginning anew Temple sacrifice.
For years the Temple Institute has been preparing for this eventuality, but the assassination attempt, rather than stifle or scare the discussion has forced it to the forefront of the Israeli collective mind. Make no mistake, this is becoming a defining issue at a defining moment.
Christendom has long proclaimed all sacrifice over and done with and will likely therefore condemn any altar service in Israel on the Temple Mount. Before outright rejecting any and all sacrifice, I would ask my brothers to take a deep breath and consider the wiser course of action is to SAY NOTHING! Let me explain.
First, we have discussed some major parts of the ‘sacrifice’ issue before. Further, we have discussed the fact that Scripture articulates sacrifice in the Millennial Kingdom. Both of those articles pose significant challenges to the traditional understanding in Christendom.
Secondly, we know that Ezekiel 43 & 44 specifically tells us the Prince will come and oversee the priesthood offering the burnt offerings and the blood. Ezra 3:1-6 offers a stunning picture of the coming of this Prince in the telling of Yeshua the High Priest, son of Yozadak setting up an altar on the Mount before the Temple was rebuilt. Interestingly, it happened on the first day of the seventh month (Yom Teruah/Feast of Trumpets!!).
3 Now when the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brothers arose and built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God. 3 So they set up the altar on its foundation, for [a]they were terrified because of the peoples of the lands; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening. 4 They celebrated the Feast of [b]Booths, as it is written, and offered [c]the fixed number of burnt offerings daily, according to the ordinance, as each day required; 5 and afterward there was a continual burnt offering, also for the new moons and for all the fixed festivals of the Lord that were consecrated, and from everyone who offered a freewill offering to the Lord. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, but the foundation of the temple of the Lord had not been laid.
The remez in this passage is absolutely stunning! Two groups of people back in the land, gathered as one man with a High Priest named Yeshua reinstituting sacrifice on the altar while the peoples of the land were terrifying them. Of great significance is the fact that the Temple had NOT been built. Right here is precedent for ten or twelve men to haul stones onto the Mount and reinstitute sacrifice without a Temple!! (And, the world will immediately be in an UPROAR!!)
Knowing that sacrifice is yet future, it should in no way surprise us that the altar is incredibly important, if not central. (This takes nothing from Yeshua, I recommend reading the above linked article ‘the ‘sacrifice issue.’) The altar is of MAJOR importance and the Father is not happy with anyone who speaks against His altar!!
Here is a terrific service and teaching that speaks directly to the Glick assassination attempt, prophecy and NOT blaspheming the altar. The speaker is somewhat controversial on other topics, but I think he is spot on with this one! (And, the service has some very nice liturgy.)
The bottom line is this: If you do not understand the importance of the altar and you are not sure whether it is of God or not, then SAY NOTHING. Just keep a closed mouth and let God sort it out, but do not err greatly by jumping on the ‘condemnation bandwagon.’
Read and research the provided links and see what Scripture says without the traditions of the 2nd-15th centuries. (Paul offered sacrifices in the temple some 20 years after the resurrection of Yeshua, and he did so at the behest of James the Just. See Acts 21:26)
Simply, sacrifice is part of the future Millennial Kingdom. Study it out and whatever you do, do not speak against the altar.
natsab 
Now we wait
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It just so happens that Monte Judah spoke on this very thing last Erev Shabbat. Bnai Shalom just put the teaching up on their web site.
http://www.bnaishalom.tv/eyes-on-the-altar
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I just noticed you already referenced last week’s Bnai Shalom service in your post. The link I posted is just the teaching.
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Thanks. First time I’ve seen their service. Enjoyed/appreciated hearing how they do some of the liturgy. Looking forward to reading your article.
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Thanks for the link and comments on this post! Looking forward to your deeper study and thoughts. (Time is at a premium for me right now and not able to read/study/write like I want.)
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My friend, Peter, over at Orthodox Messianic Judaism Blogspot is currently tackling, in parts, some of what we are talking about here as he delves into Tim Hegg’s ‘Ten Persistent Questions’ and specifically #3 on sacrifice. Here is a short post that encapsulates much!
http://orthodoxmessianic.blogspot.com/2014/11/what-about-animal-sacrifices-review-of.html
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“The remez in this passage is absolutely stunning! Two groups of people back in the land, gathered as one man”
Remez? What Remez? Where does it say “two groups of people?” You need to learn Hebrew and read the passage in the original language. Don’t read your agenda into Scriptures…..
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Ah, Dan. So good to see you again!
Besides the fact that the simple p’shat has two groups of people, it might be worth looking into the meaning of the names we are given and consider the picture it paints… And, don’t forget the missing name. 😉
Blessings in Yeshua!
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Do you care to speak English or you prefer to continue with the smoke and mirrors? So nice you have learn the word Peshat…Maybe now you can learn the word Am which is singular, not plural….But why should i confuse you with the facts…..
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Exactly. Am Israel was divided into two companies to cross the Jabbok… Judah and his brothers and Joseph and his…. Two sticks. Two olive trees. Two witnesses. Two loaves. It s pictured/prophesied over and over.
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I was going to leave this alone but please don’t say two houses.
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We’ve demonstrated over and over again that the exclutionist ideas of some parts of Messianic Judaism are contrary to Scripture. One God, One Lord, One faith, One baptism and One Torah.
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Do you understand what it means ויאספו העם כאיש אחד…? I guess you don’t, since you see the two houses coming together in the future, but here it shows that they are already one people..OOOPPPSSS….
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So, exactly when was Ezekiel 37 fulfilled, because I know multiple Orthodox Jews who believe it has never been fulfilled and they understand the answer to the riddle the same way I do, but arrive there from the Rabbinics?
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So now you rely on the Rabbis for your theology, how nice…. You should read this:
Click to access Two%20House%20Fatal%20Errors.pdf
And drop off your two house stupidity. You are better than that.
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Dan,
Condescension will not work.
I am not (to my knowledge) a physical descendant of Israel, and the ‘two house’ thought process is not some monolithic idea exclusively claiming some physical connection, so get over yourself.
Current theology offered by the exclusivist strains of Messianic Judaism is entirely unsatisfactory in solving some of the riddles in scripture. Further, parts of Scripture have to be entirely ignored for that position.
Personally, I see the ‘two sticks’ / ‘two houses’ as a vehicle used by Yehovah in scripture to picture and explain something amazing that he is bringing about in our day as gerim are awakening to the Torah and learning to walk. Messianic Judaism has to figure out whether they are going to stand up and lead and gather people together, or whether they will become a byword as the Ruach bypasses them directly to gather people! There are Jewish believers in Messiah who are standing up and gathering. They are teaching and loving and growing the gerim, not pushing them away or defining some different standard of righteousness….
I love you brother.
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” and the ‘two house’ thought process is not some monolithic idea exclusively claiming some physical connection, so get over yourself.”
Of course it is not monolithic, it was tried before, By Armstrong and his “British Israel” debacle, and look what happened to his Church…It disintegrated….So now, when they could not get thruogh the door, you and Batya Wooten are trying the window….OY….
I could care less about MJ, but it is telling that you have not commented on the article I linked for you…..
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I’ll get around to reading the article. Its not my obsession.
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Actually, all I was suggesting Pete is that we avoid the idea suggested by two-house theology that at least some non-Jews are actually descendants of the “lost ten tribes” and thus are “entitled” to the same covenant blessings as the Jewish people because of that. I’m quite aware of what you believe relative to “one law” and I’m not going to attempt to talk you out of it
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I don’t see two house in quite such stark/literal terms. As I see it, it is a vehicle to explain an amazing prophetic reality.
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And unfortunately, it denies prophesy because it denies that the people of the nations also come to God. Under two-house, one only comes to God as a member of the tribes, and God doesn’t care about the rest of humanity. Two-house is a fallacy.
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You will like my posts.
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