April 12, 2023

But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. Hebrews 10:12,14

The death that Jesus willingly died on our behalf is more than sufficient for every sinner who sincerely desires to follow Him. The animals sacrificed beforehand pointed toward the coming Savior, but at the very moment of the Savior’s death the hand of Yahweh tore the temple veil from top to bottom (Mark 15:38). The message was clear: the perfect sacrifice of Jesus marked the end of the system of animal sacrifices. Going forward, the daily sacrifices* were to consist of sincere and humble hearts bowed in obedience and service borne of love. But wait . . . isn’t that exactly the heart condition that Yahweh has always desired? Of course it is! He does not change! (Malachi 3:6) This heart condition—one of a soft heart yielded to Him—precipitates the heavenly direction of a soul.

Beforehand, there were no doubt countless repentant sinners who had come, bringing their sacrificial animals. They are surely written in the Book of Life. But, because of the blinding effects of worldly practices, others—indeed many others—in bringing their sacrifices were simply going through the motions of empty rituals. This is how Satan pushed his deceptive agenda: by exercising the principle of the “inside job.” It was so effective that most of God’s professed people did not recognize His Son when He came into the world. Do you think our enemy is ‘preparing people to be unprepared’ for His second coming?

The purported conversion of Constantine paved the way for empty rituals to again infiltrate the assembly of professed believers. Legalizing Christianity brought relief from persecution. But the direction of the church veered toward worldliness, and within mere decades, the ‘fashionable’ church was flooded with the unconverted. Pagan robes, symbols, hand signals, and traditions were ushered into the church; all according to the enemy’s plan. A remnant of true worshipers who did not agree with these unbiblical practices in the church began to be severely persecuted by the church with the aid of the state. This remnant was forced to flee into the wilderness (see Revelation 12:6,14).

All the while, Satan’s attack on the sanctuary of God continued. Daniel worded it thusly: And the [little horn] grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices* were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down. (Daniel 8:10-11)

If my citizenship is in heaven and I regard with faith the work of my High Priest there, I would be wise to understand that my enemy has set up an earthly counterfeit, providing opportunity for me to replace the true with the false. One of the ways to divert attention away from the all-sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice—as symbolized by the altar of burnt offerings—is through the “mass” whereby a ritual is performed by the priest to sacrifice Christ repeatedly. Statues are worshiped while transubstantiation (an occult doctrine which teaches that the bread actually becomes the body of Christ and fermented wine actually becomes the blood of Christ) is affirmed. Another practice accompanies this ritual: the sale of indulgences: payment of money to assure forgiveness of sins. These practices undermine the simplicity of free and full forgiveness provided by Christ’s one-time-for-all sacrifice. …being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Romans 3:24