Atonement for SIN in the Millennial Kingdom?

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In this slidepack, (Ezek 38-48) we covered a brief overview of Ezekiel 38-48, merely to hit the hot buttons of the passages. One of the most profound issues in this section of the Text is the prophecy of the “prince” who will make sin offerings in the temple during the millennial reign of Christ. This has brought up so many issues that a myriad of thoughts (well, maybe not a myriad) and conclusions have arisen:

1. Maybe this is not the Millennial Kingdom

2. The offering could only be memorial

3. It’s not really a sin offering

4. Etc.

The main path that one walks to understand this passage is to remember that  what appears to be the problem – that there can be no atonement after Christ has made atonement, once for all. (Hebrews 7:17; 9:12, 25-28) It is of the utmost of importance to remember that the sacrifice of animals never atoned for sin. (Heb 10:3-4) They did not before Christ – they do not after.

Only the blood of Christ atoned for all before Him and all after Him – even for those who would believe.

So, why the sacrifice?

The reality is that the wages of sin is death. (Romans 3:23) God warned Adam and Eve that the day they ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, thereby disobeying Him, they world die – in fact, they would kill everyone and everything. This is the result of sin.

The sacrifice; the blood; the river of rotting, coagulating sludge that would flow from the temple mount on the Day of Atonement from the 250,000 or so lambs that would be slain; the (I’m sure) black stained hands of the priest; the stench of decomposition – all of this is a perfect picture of death. If we do not see sin this way, then we would begin thinking that death is a natural part of life – oh wait, we already have.

Death is THE enemy – it is the final conquest, isn’t it?! (1 Cor. 15:50-58) We mourn for those who die, because we are still dying. It is part of OUR groaning fro the return of our Lord – His return to consummate these end times and bring about the end of death and the grave. (Rev. 20:14)

The Millennial sacrifices with not atone for any more than the blood of goats and bulls did before Christ. Rather, they will remind and point to the One who is among them. The One where life is. Lest the dangerous logic of grace where to put them to sleep in the light. For it is a logic of grace (our logic of our perverted view of grace) that would have sin all the more that grace might abound. Our grace is clean, sanitary – sterile. There is no blood on my hands, right? There is no stench of death in my nostrils, right. True grace forgotten is dangerous.

For, it is Christ’s blood hat is on my hands and His death that gives me breath. He died in my stead and then lives again and I in Him. I can breath because He died – I do breath because He lives.

May I never forget . . .