The beginning and end of sin

Beginning & End of Sin

The beginning and the end of sin

By THRACIA GHARST

The garden of Eden

A. God said- In the day that ye eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ye shall surely die.

B. Satan said- If ye eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ye shall not surely die, but be as Gods knowing right from wrong.

Most people teach that Adam and Eve would have lived forever had they not eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They teach that when they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that it meant from that day forward they would someday die.

Judgment

When they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they were judged that day by God.

1.The serpent is cursed above all cattle and above every beasts of the field (in that day)- Genesis 3:14

2. He

put enmity between the woman and between and Satan and between his seed and her seed and said that her seed would bruise his heel (in that day) -Genesis 3:15

3.Unto the woman he said, will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee (in that day) - Genesis 3:16

4. God said to Adam- Because he listened to the voice of his wife, and has eaten of the tree, of which he commanded him saying, thou shall not eat of it: Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow thy shall eat of it. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shall eat the heard of the field. In the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread till (until) thou return unto the ground, for out of it was thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shall thou return

(in that day) - Genesis 3:17-19.

5. Adam and Eve were judged and kicked out of the garden the very day they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (in that day) .

Why would God punish Adam. Eve and Satan in that day yet not cause them to die that very day? He said in the day that ye eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. ye shall surely die. It was Satan that said in the day ye eat of it ye shall not surely die. Who are we to believe? God or Satan? I believe God and since they were judged that day, it is obvious to me that since they did not die physically it was a spiritual death that took place that horrible day not physical death. Notice in number 4 that it is the cursing of the ground. God is letting them know how hard it is going to be to make food. Then it makes a statement starting with the word "til" (until) thou return unto the ground. What God is doing is telling them their punishment and then letting them know it would be that way until they return unto the ground for out of it was thou taken for dust thou art and unto dust thou shall return. Returning to dust was not part of their punishment. They were made physical bodies that would someday physically die.

This means that the problem facing man was spiritual death and not physical. Jesus the son of God had to have come then to do away with spiritual death and not physical death. This makes sense, because Jesus said let the dead bury the dead. Speaking of those who were spiritually dead burying those who were physically dead in Luke 9:60. In the story of the prodical son the bible says- "24For this son of mine was dead (spiritually) and is alive (spiritually) again; he was lost and is found." It also means that God did not intend to resurrect in the future man and woman’s physical bodies, but there spirits/soul through salvation that would be the first resurrection, then finally the last day resurrection of those who had physically passed by resurrecting their spirit/soul which he did in 70 A.D after the Jewish Roman war. This gave those that had died eternal life.

If the new covenant is really here and we have been born again/ given eternal life now that means that God causes us to never die. Think about it, if we have eternal life even though our flesh passes our spirit/soul continues living, so we just go from living in an earthly body to a celestial (spiritual) body when our physical body passes.

Think about what futurists believe for a second- What would be the point of God resurrecting physical bodies just to replace them 10 seconds later with the new body that would never die in a future rapture. If Gods kingdom was of this world then I could see the point of resurrecting physical bodies, but his kingdom is not of this world. If God ever intended on a physical kingdom on earth why wouldn't he have overthrown the Roman empire when he was alive on earth and established a Jewish eutopia like they wanted back then? That was the problem, Jesus was very clear. He never intended on any kind of physical kingdom on earth. This doctrine comes from their teaching on the millenium, which is just a few sentences in Revelation that mentions nothing of an earthly reign. It's not to be taken literally.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the law

More happened when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil then most people realize.

When you think about the name of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil there is only one thing in the bible that tells us what is good and evil and that is the law. First of all God gave Adam and Eve one commandment and that was to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Once they did they broke that commandment causing them to transgress (sin). This meant that an animal had to be sacrificed to push their sin onto Calvary. God sacrificed an animal to temporaroly cover their sin and clothed Adam and Eve with the skins of the animal to hide their nakedness. I believe Adam an Eve knew they were naked when they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because they lost the image of God which was their righteousness and that is when they grew a conscience that felt dirty, guilty, shame and they wanted to cover the dirty feeling they felt.

To prove that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the law read the following scriptures which is an excerpt taken from the following article-

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil =The law of commandments by Ian Hall

the Tree of the the knowledge of good and evil was declared "good" along with everything else He created in the garden of Eden (Genesis 1:31).

The Law is good (Romans 7:12).

Eating from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil brought a curse (Genesis 3:17).

The Law brings a curse (Galatians 3:10).

The Tree the knowledge of good and evil brought death (Genesis 2:17).

The Law brings death (2 Corinthians 3:17, Romans 7:5,10).

The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil enlightened the eyes of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:7).

The Law enlightens the eyes (Psalm 19:8).

The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil was forbidden by God to be eaten (Genesis 2:17).

The Law is forbidden for believers to be sought after (Galatians 5:4).

The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil makes one wise (Genesis 3:6).

The Law makes one wise (Psalm 119:98).

The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil made Adam and Eve sin-conscience (Genesis 3:7).

The Law brings consciousness of sins (Hebrews 10:1-3).

The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil caused Adam and Eve to hide them selves from God (Genesis 3:8).

The Law disconnects people from God (Galatians 5:4).

The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil brought fear to Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:10).

Slavery to the Law brings about fear (Romans 8:15, also see Galatians 4:25).

Adam eating from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil brought condemnation (Romans 5:14-18).

The Law is a ministry of condemnation (2 Corinthians 3:9).

Adam and Eve began to judge each other after eating from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:12-13)

The Law causes people to judge one another (1 Corinthians 6:6).

By Adam eating from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, many were made sinners (Romans 5:19).

The Law came in so that sin might increase (Romans 5:20).

The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil brings knowledge of good by definition (Genesis 3:5, 22).

The Law is the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth (Romans 2:20), which is good (Ephesians 5:9).

The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil brings knowledge of evil by definition (Genesis 3:5, 22).

Through the Law comes the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20).

There are only two trees; one brought life, and one brought death. The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil brought death, thus we can assume that the law brings about death. Jesus is full of GRACE and truth, and He is the way the truth and the LIFE. Therefore, Jesus is the Tree of life, which is the Covenant of Grace as opposed to the Covenant of Law.

After reading the above excerpt by Ian Hall it is easy to see that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the law.

Now it makes sense why the following people and others made sacrifices to God for sin before the law of Moses was ever in effect.

1. Cain and Abel

2. Noah

3. Abraham

4. Jacob

5. The rest of the Israleites up unto Moses

The reason Cain was not killed for killing his brother is because Gods people had not entered into covenant with him promising to keep the law yet. There was also Lots daughters who slept with their Dad and they were not punished. There was also the man who slept with what he thought was a prostitute, but it was actually his dead sons wife. He was not punished. If they had been under the old covenant of law where they had agreed to obey the law they would have been punished or killed, because sin required judgment.

This is how the Israelites and their faith were formed.

God gave a man named Abraham a promise of a nation that would come from his seed. His faith was counted to him for rightousness. He had a son named Issac who had a son named Jacob who had his name changed to Israel. After he had a life changing moment with God as he wrestled an angel.

His sons and their sons and daughters were called Israelites and they were Gods people. Jacobs son Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. He ended up by Gods grace finding favor with Pharaoh when God revealed to him a dream Pharaoh had. He let him know that there was going to be a future famine. Pharaoh put Joseph second in command only to him. Josephs brothers came to him for food and after a long period of time they made up.

Joseph had his brothers and Dad and all they possessed come to live near him in Egypt. The Egyptians grew over the years in a great multitude. After Pharaoh died the other pharaoh that came after him enslaved the Israelites for a long period of time. Moses was chosen by God out of his people to bring his people out of slavery. God gave Moses and his brother Aaron special abilities to bring plagues over Egypt and the Pharaoh until the Pharaoh let them go.

God helped Moses and the Israelites to make it to Mt Siani where God gave Moses the 10 commandments and the children of Israel married God under the old covenant of law keeping. God gave them the ceremonial sacrificial and moral laws for them to keep. He also gave them instructions on how to build the ark of the covenant where his laws were kept and the tabernacle of Moses which was where the priest conducted sacrifices.

The Brazen alter

The brazen altar, bronze altar, or altar of sacrifice was situated right inside the courtyard upon entering the gate to the tabernacle. The Hebrew root for altar means "to slay" or "slaughter." The Latin word alta means "high." An altar is a "high place for sacrifice/slaughter." The altar stood raised on a mound of earth, higher than its surrounding furniture. This is a projection of Christ, our sacrifice, lifted up on the cross, His altar, which stood on a hill called Golgotha.

The altar was made of wood from the acacia tree and overlaid with bronze (usually symbolic of judgment on sin in the Bible), measuring 7.5 feet on all four sides and 4.5 feet deep. Four horns projected from the top four corners and a bronze grating was inside to hold the animal.

The altar was the place for burning animal sacrifices. It showed the Israelites that the first step for sinful man to approach a holy God was to be cleansed by the blood of an innocent creature. For a sin offering, a person had to bring an animal — a male one without blemish or defect from the flock or herd — to the priest at the tabernacle gate.

"He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him." (Leviticus 1:4)

By laying his hand upon the head of the offering, the person was identifying with the sacrifice. His sin and guilt was being moved from himself to the animal. The priest would then slaughter the animal, sprinkle its blood in front of the veil of the Holy Place, burn the sacrifice, and pour the rest of it at the bottom of the altar. Blood is a significant agent of atonement (covering for sin.) "For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life." (Leviticus 17:11)

"The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:22)

The Significance of the Tabernacle Sacrifices

Although the blood of the sacrifices covered over the sins of the Israelites, they had to perform the sacrifices year after year, for they were not freed permanently of a guilty conscience. However, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, came as the ultimate and last sacrifice for mankind when He offered up His life. As Isaiah prophesied, the Christ would be like a lamb that is led to slaughter and pierced for our transgressions. His blood was sprinkled and poured out at the cross for us. The Bible says much about this:

"This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many." (Mark 14:24)

"For you know that … you were redeemed … with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." (1 Peter 1:18-19)

"The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" (Hebrews 9:13-14)

"We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. …By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. …And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin." (Hebrews 10:10, 14, 18)

Note:until the law was done away with the 1st century church was being made holy.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Horns were a symbol power and strength in biblical times. When the sacrifice was made, blood was dabbed on the horns of the altar, signifying the power of the blood to atone for sins. In the same way, there is mighty power in the blood of Christ. Jesus is the "horn of our salvation" (Psalm 18:2, Luke 1:69).

The animal sacrifices bore reference to the Passover lambs, which the Israelites slaughtered in like manner to save their firstborns from the last plague of God's judgment on Egypt (Exodus 12:1-13). Similarly, as the Passover lambs were eaten after they were slaughtered, some of the sacrificial lambs also were eaten. Just as the sacrificial lambs weresacrificed and eaten, so Jesus' body was sacrificed and "eaten." It was no coincidence that on the night before the Passover when Jesus was crucified, He "took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body’" (Matthew 26:26). Earlier Jesus had taught His disciples:

"I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him." (John 6:53-56)

Jesus Himself is the Lamb of God as well as the Passover Lamb for those who believe in Him.

* The word atonement carries with it the idea of the just, holy, righteousside of God's nature being satisfied. God's law required death as the penalty for sin. When God saw the death of the innocent sacrifice, he was satisfied that the demands of his law had been carried out. Sacrificing an animal on an altar did not take away the sin. Man was still sinful. The sacrifice only pictured what was necessary for sin to be forgiven—death and shedding of blood. The blood provided an atonement or covering for sin. (Source: The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus by John R. Cross, published by GoodSeed International)

The Laver

The laver, or basin, was a large bowl filled with water located halfway between the brazen altar and the Holy Place. Although God did not give specific measurements for the Laver, it was to be made entirely of bronze. The priests were to wash their hands and their feet in it before entering the Holy Place.

The laver was located in a convenient place for washing and stood as a reminder that people need cleansing before approaching God. The priests atoned for their sins through a sacrifice at the brazen altar, but they cleansed themselves at the laver before serving in the Holy Place, so that they would be pure and not die before a holy God.

The application for believers today is that we are forgiven through Christ’s work on the cross, but we are washed through His Word.

"…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." (Ephesians 5:25-27)

"Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled [with blood] to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." (Hebrews 10:22)

I put above the brazin alter and the lavor, because of the significance of those objects and sin. They came from the following website which also has the entire tabernacles meanings. With the exception of the mercy seat. Here is the full link- http://the-tabernacle-place.com/articles/what_is_the_tabernacle

The Mercy Seat (Ex 25:17-22)

The Mercy Seat was where the blood was sprinkled.

In the New Testament this Mercy Seat or atonement cover is spoken of twice.

Heb 9:2-5 "For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle, which is, called the Holiest of All, which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail."

Rom 3:23-26 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

The Greek word for Mercy Seat is 'hilasterion'. It is used here in Romans 3:25 where Paul says (literally) that God presented Christ as a propitiation or 'mercy seat'. This means that Jesus Christ is the mercy seat.

The Mercy Seat did not derive its worth from the purity of its gold but from the fact that it was the place where the blood of sacrifice was sprinkled in the presence of Yahweh.

The word for "mercy seat" is the same root for the word "atonement". It means to cover, cancel, appease, or cleanse.

The Greek equivalent is the word "propitiation".

Lk 18:13 "And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, `God, be merciful to me a sinner!'

The word "seat" speaks of a resting place so the mercy seat was the "place of mercy or propitiation".

How many of us have been taught that all have all have sinned and come short of the glory of God? I imagine you like me were not taught the rest of the scripture where God became a propitiation for Israel, so that Israel could be righteous. Jesus was Israels high priest who once died for Isreals sins and sat down on the mercy seat, because no more sacrifices for sins were needed. Not one priest under the law ever sat down, because they had to constantly sacrifice animals for sin, until Christ last sacrifice of himself.Even then they continued to sacrifice animals until 70 A.D. . God did not accept them though. Once Jesus died and the law was fulfilled he put an end to sin forever and I plan to prove it in this article. We now Jew or gentile, bond or free who get saved become the new Israel of God.

Now lets jump ahead to the book of Daniel. The children of Israel had stopped giving their land rest every 7th year according to law keeping, which they were suppose to do. 70 years of not giving their land rest and transgressing the law had passed and God judged them by sending the Babylonians to kill some of them and enslave the rest.Until the land had its 70yrs of rest. Whats interesting is Israel did the same thing in 1 A.D until 70 A.D exactly. They transgressed the law for 70 years until God did the same thing to Isreal in 70 A.D that he did to the Israelites using the Babylonians in Daniel only this time using the Romans. Daniel was a man who obeyed the law, but ended up in Babylon, because of Israels sins. He knew that in Jeremiah it was prophesied that after 70 years God was going to free them, so he began to pray and seek God and repent for-

1. The sins of Israel

2. Israels iniquity

3. Israels transgressions

Daniel 9

King James Version (KJV)

9 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;

2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

4 And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.

8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

14 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us:for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.

18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.

19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and thesin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God;

21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.

24 Seventy weeks (70 x 7= 490 yrs) are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, (Jerusalem) to finish the transgression, (to kill Jesus 1. John 19:28-30) and to make an end of sins (2. Hebrews 9:26) and to make reconciliation for iniquity, (3. Romans 5:10) and to bring in everlasting righteousness (4. Romans 3:26) and to seal up the vision and prophecy (5.Daniel 12:9) and to anoint the most Holy.(6.Acts 10:37-38)

25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment (to restore and to build Jerusalem) to rebuild Jerusalem, the Messiah

the Prince shall be seven weeks, (7x7=49 yrs) and threescore and two weeks: (62 weeks) the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

26 be cut off, (killed) but not for himself: (he was killed for his people) and the people (Gentiles Roman armies) of the prince (Jesus) that shall come shall destroy the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary; (temple) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (total destruction of Jerusalem and most of the Jewish people. Jewish Roman war 66 ½ -70 A.D) 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: (Jesus confirmed the new covenant plan of salvation for the first 3 ½ years of Daniels 70th week. The last 3 1/2 years was the 3 1/2 year tribulation 66 1/2- 70 A.D) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, ( In the middle of Daniels 70th week Jesus was killed by being cut off. He was last sacrifice God accepted 30 in A.D) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. ( They created the worst abomination by killing their own messiah and then his disciples and saints and because of this he made Jerusalem desolate)

1. John 19:28-30- After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. 29Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. 30When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

What was finished? Sin. He had died on a tree, because the initial sin was caused by Adam and Eve eating from a tree. Adam and Eve brought the curse and that is why Jesus became a curse for us.

2. Hebrews 9:26

New International Version (NIV) official

26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.

3. Romans 5:10

New International Version (NIV)

10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

4. Romans 3:26

New International Version (NIV)

26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

5.Daniel 12:9 9 He replied, "Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end

6- to annoint the most holy-

Acts 10:37-38

37That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; 38HowGod anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Matthew 3:15&16- 15 But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him.

16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He[c] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Jesus solution for sin

Remember above I put a list of things that Daniel was praying that God would forgive. At Calvary Jesus addressed each issue-

1. He was wounded for our transgressions which is sins

2. He was bruised for our iniquities

3. He got our peace back that was lost in the garden of Eden

4. He healed us of our sin problem

Isaiah 53:5

5. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for ouriniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed.

Galatians 2 10For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 11But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. 12And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. 13Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith

15Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.16Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.17And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. 18For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. 19Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; (The transgression, sin, was Adam and Eve eating from the tree of the forbidden tree) and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 20Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. 21Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. 22But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. 23But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.25But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ

12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

13To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.14Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.

15But the gift (gift of salvation) is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift (gift of salvation) that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

18Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

20The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.- Romans 5:12-20.

When Jesus became a curse for us to break the curse on mankind. No longer did man have to be spiritually dead, which lead to them going to hell (The grave.) They know could be saved and given eternal life. When their bodies would physically die they would continue living in their celestial body they were given. Being given back spiritual life caused their spirits/soul to live forever.

13Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith- Galatians 3:13-14

I want to skip ahead a bit. Once Jesus broke the curse the only thing standing in the way of the new covenant being established was the law ending by being fulfilled. Jesus prophesied in Daniel 9 that Jerusalem would be destroyed. The reason was because they had rejected and killed their messiah, Gods saints and the prophets in the old testament. They also rejected Christs new covenant plan of salvarion. They did not want to obey the law and God was going to judge them. The only way he could get them to stop practicing the law, especially animal sacrifices was to destroy them, their city and temple. Jesus had become our one time sacrifice for sin. The bible said he made an end to sin. He had told them that until heaven and earth (symbolic for Old covenant) had passed away not one jot or one tittle would pass from the law until all things be fulfilled, When Jesus came in judgment using the Romans and fulfilled Daniel 9 by destroying his old bride their city and temple, truly all things written of him were fulfilled. Otherwise we would still be under the law. Heaven and earth in bible prophecy was not the literal heaven and earth, but the law and it had to pass. Jesus had warned his people saying "10And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire."-Matthew 3:10 He was speaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (The law) and also referring to each of them as trees. They were not baring fruit as a nation. They and their old covenant of law keeping were cast down and burnt in the fires of 70 A.D, when Jerusalem burnt.

Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it. 20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!" Mark 11:20-21 & 12-14

When Adam and Eve were in the garden of Eden right after they had eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness. I believe they ate figs from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It would make sense that they would have grabbed leaves from the nearest tree to hide their nakedness. Also, When God would punish the Israelites in the old testament he often spoke of fig trees being shaken. The reason I believe he did this was because of the original judgment in Eden was being compared to the judgment that was at hand. a other example, after Noahs flood God often spoke of it flooding when he was going to judge Israel afterwards, He did this in Daniel 9, & Matt 24 but it wasn't going to be a literal flood. My point is that I believe when Jesus cursed the fig tree that the Jews knew that he was symbolically cursing them as a nation and their was going to be judgment on them for not producing spiritual fruit. It also goes back to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (the law being cursed and withering away, because it was going to be replaced by a new covenant.)

The new Jerusalem

Rev 21:2-11 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorn ed for her husbandNotice that the new Jerusalem is adorned as a bride for her husband. We know that the church is the bride of Christ. We also know that Jesus is the brides husband. The bible says "we are a city set on a hill." Once again speaking of the church. Also notice that the new Jerusalem is coming down out of heaven it is not heaven. To really prove that the new Jerusalem city is symbolic picture of the church and not heaven read 9-10 below where it says I will show thee the lambs wife and in verse 10 shows him the great city the holy Jerusalem.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

Remember when Jesus said "tear down this temple and in three days I will resurrect it." speaking of his body? Well, Jesus was going to come in judgment against his old covenant bride the Jews who had crucified him and come (well his presence that is) and tabernacle within his new covenant bride the believing Jew & Gentile church. In other words for those who were saved his presence (holy spirit) was going to be restored back to them that had been lost in the garden and they would dwell in him and he (his holy spirit) was going to dwell in them.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

God was to do away with

1. Tears/Crying/Sorrow

2. Death

3. Pain

The principle of Galatians 3:13 is established as we consider that Jesus bore each aspect of the curse upon Adam and Eve in its totality: Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.

· Sin brought pain to childbirth, and no one knew more pain than Jesus did when He, through His suffering, brought many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10)

· Sin brought conflict, and Jesus endured great conflict to bring our salvation (Hebrews 12:3)

· Thorns came with sin and the fall, and Jesus endured a crown of thorns to bring our salvation (John 19:2)

· Sin brought sweat, and Jesus sweat, as it were, great drops of blood to win our salvation (Luke 22:44)

· Sin brought sorrow, and Jesus became a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, to save us (Isaiah 53:3)

· Sin brought death, and Jesus tasted death for everyone that we might be saved (Hebrews 2:9)

People read this verse literally and it is speaking of the pain and sorrow that took place when they were separated from Gods presence the day they spiritually died.

Remember in Daniel 9 that Daniel was given a prophecy that God would take away sins and iniquity.

God was to do away with

1. Sins/Transgressions

2. Iniquity

Then in Isaiah 53 it said he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed.

At the cross Jesus caused number 1. tears, sorrow and crying to be gone by giving them their peace back. He caused them to no longer be in pain from separation by healing them which is number 4.

5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

As for sin, Jesus made it clear that when he brought the new covenant of salvation that when they died physically they continued to live just in a celestial body and in Gods kingdom instead of the world.

When Martha asked Jesus to raise Lazerus from the dead in the following scriptures.- John 11:2-26 "But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. 23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

(Martha knew that those Israleites who had died in the past would be resurrected at the last day of that generation, but she didn't understand that once saved under the new covenant they already had eternal life. It was the ones who had died before Christ came that were waiting.)

25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

(Jesus was letting her know that even though his physical body died he was alive in his celestial body in a new life.)

26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"

(Could Jesus have made it any more clear than once saved under the new covenant you never die?)

Continuing with Revelation 21:6

6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Remember the woman at the well? Jesus let her know that he had water that if she drank she would never (spiritually) thirst again. Also, in John 7:37-39 it says- "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing[g] in Him would receive; for the Holy[h] Spirit was not yet given,because Jesus was not yet glorified." It was the holy spirit that flowed from each side of the tree of life in the new Jerusalem. The waters of life they could freely drink from was the holy spirit. 9. Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 9-11 It's obviously referring to the bride being the church.

My point is that the church is the new Jerusalem and in the new Jerusalem there is no tree of the knowledge of good and evil, only the tree of life. The reason for this is because once the old covenant of law keeping (The tree of the knowledge of good and evil) was destroyed in 70 A.D. Jewish Roman war the new covenant was established and there was no longer sin, because the tree of the knowledge of good and evil had been done away with when Jesus fulfilled the law. Jesus kept his word and made an end of sins. 1 John 19:28-30.

What does the bible say sin is?

1Timothy 2:14

Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in thetransgression.

1John 3:4

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is thetransgression of the law.

Romans 4:15

where no law is, [there is] no transgression

Romans 5:13

sin is not imputed when there is no law

Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. Romans 4:15

1 John 1 Here John addresses sinners

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (speaking to people who are not saved) 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Here in 1 John 2 John does a 360. He addresses the church. We know this because he starts it with "my little children."

2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.(even though their sins are washed away he doesn't want them to go back to the old life style) But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

The new few verses 9-11 talks about the new commandment, which is loving your neighbor as yourself.

12 I am writing to you, dear children,

because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.

Line 15 gives the 2nd commandment which is not to love the world and niether the things in the world.

1 john 3:4-5 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

According to the bible transgressing the law is sin. We know that when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden that it was because they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which was the law. Once the law was done away with it also did away with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Yet people still try to say what is good and what is evil and have become very sin conscience. I believe the main reason for this is because of peoples false interpretation of bible prophecy. They don't look at sin as being passed, because they believe that physical death has got to be done away with and Christ literally return on a cloud before sin will be done away with. What do you do with all the New Testament scriptures above saying that without the old covenant law there is no sin. Ill tell you what most of them do, they say that the sacrificial law has ended, but not the moral law. The old covenant law was made up of the sacrificial ceremonial and moral law, but there was only one covenant of law keeping. Just like Jesus he is the father, son and holy spirit, but he is only one God. No where in the old covenant or now does it separate the law and talk about part of the law ending and part remaining. If we are in the new covenant then all of the old covenant law has passed away. The bible says in Matt 5:18 that until heaven and earth pass away not one jot or tittle of the law will pass until all things be fulfilled, That scripture makes it plain that the law would not pass until it all passed. For that matter if that scripture is referring to literal heaven and earth then we cannot be under the new covenant of grace. If it refers to the old covenant of law keeping then the law, all the law has passed and all things including Christ prophesied coming has transpired.

Sin scriptures

9 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Condemnation scriptures

We are taught that as Christians when we sin we need to constantly repent of our sins. A lot of people preach and teach that if you die and forgot to repent of a sin you committed that you lose your soul. This puts a great big spot light on sin awareness. Here are some scriptures I would like you to read and then tell me that once you're saved that you can

1. Lose your soul

2.Lose your soul over one missed confession

3. Or that he wants you to have a conscience and feel guilty when you do something wrong.

First of all the bible says the following "

1. The bible says "the gifts and callings of God are without repentance."-Romans 11:29 So in other words if God gives you a gift he cannot take it away. The bible says salvation is a gift of God. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."- Ephesians 2:8 According to the bible eternal life is also a gift. "The gift of God iseternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."- Romans 6:23 This means that salvation and eternal life once gotten can never be taken away.

2. "Therefore leaving the elementary principles (law keeping) of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works (law keeping), and of faith toward God."-Hebrews 6:1 Here Christ first gave law, but wanted his people under his new covenant to go on to perfection not laying again. The foundation of repentance from law keeping. This is exactly what most Christians are still doing today. They are claiming to be under the new covenant, yet claiming we are still under the moral law and if we break a moral law that we have to repent. Otherwise they say you will lose your soul. This scripture Above proves that God wanted his people to stop repenting from breaking the law once they were in the new covenant. He wanted for a time period the first century church to repent from breaking the law Once and after that acknowledge the fact that his blood washed away all of their past and future sins causing them not to need to repent for breaking the law, because they were no longer under the law.

3. 1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin,condemned sin in the flesh:

If you're born again the bible says you're in Christ and in him is no sin. Now read the top; if you're in Christ there's no condemnation.

1 John 3:4 whosoever commitith sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5 and ye know that he (Jesus) was manifested to take away our sins and in him is no sin. 6 whosoever abidith in him sinneth not; whosoever sinnith have not seen him, neither known him.

1st John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

1st John 5:18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not ; that he that is begotten of God keepeth himself in that wicked one toucheth him not.

Adam and Eve caused everyone to get a conscience when they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil made Adam and Eve sin-conscience (Genesis 3:7).

The Law brings consciousness of sins (Hebrews 10:1-3).

When you sin your conscience condemns you causing condemnation. If you're saved then you should not let your conscience condemn you. It says above that Jesus took on the likeness of sinful flesh and condemned sin in the flesh. In other words Jesus became sin for us so that we could be righteous

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" (Hebrews 9:13-14)

"Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled [with blood] to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." (Hebrews 10:22)

"If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart." 1 John 3:20

Are we still under the moral law?

The short answer for this is Matthew 5:17-18 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill."

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth (law) pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

We are now under the new covenant and that means that everything that was written of Jesus including his coming and resurrection have to be fulfilled or we are still under the law awaiting the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ to fulfill the law.

The following brochure is by Jack McKinney

The Old Covenant vs. The New Covenant

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Old Covenant – Moses as Minister (2 Corinthians 3:13-15; John 1:17; Hebrews 3:5)

New Covenant -Jesus’ Disciples as Ministers (2 Corinthians 3:6;John 16:12-15)

Old Covenant- A Covenant of the Letter (2 Corinthians 3:6)

New Covenant- A Covenant of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:6-8)

Old Covenant- A Covenant which Kills (2 Corinthians 3:6)

New Covenant- A Covenant which Gives Life (2 Corinthians 3:6– literally "makes alive")

Old Covenant- A Ministry of Death (2 Corinthians 3:7)

New Covenant- A Ministry of Life (2 Corinthians 3:6)

Old Covenant- A Ministry of Condemnation (2 Corinthians 3:9)

New Covenant- A Ministration of Righteousness (2 Corinthians 3:9)

Old Covenant- A Covenant Written with Ink (2 Corinthians 3:3)

New Covenant- A Covenant Written with the Spirit of the Living God (2 Corinthians 3:3)

Old Covenant- A Covenant Written on Stone (2 Corinthians 3:3-7)

New Covenant- A Covenant Written on the Heart of Man (2Corinthians 3:3; Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 11:19-20; 36:26)

Old Covenant- A Covenant which came with Glory (2 Corinthians 3:7; Exodus 34:29-35)

New Covenant- A Covenant which came with the Greatest Glory (2 Corinthians 3:8-11)

Old Covenant- A Covenant whose Glory was Passing/Fading (2 Corinthians 3:7)

New Covenant- A Covenant whose Glory Continues to Shine (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Old Covenant- A Veiled or Covered Glory (2 Corinthians 3:12-16)

New Covenant- An Unveiled, Ever-Increasing Glory (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Old Covenant - A Covenant Destined to be Done Away (2 Corinthians 3:11; Hebrews 7:12, 8:13, 10:9)

New Covenant - A Covenant Destined to Last Forever (2 Corinthians 3:11;Hebrews 13:20)

You can see that everything under the old covenant has been fulfilled in the new covenant.

The following is an exert by Andre van der Merwe taken from his article "The old Testament law..fulfilled" Here is a link to his website-

http://www.newcovenantgrace.com/old-testament-law-fulfilled/

People who claim that the Old Testament law still applies to believers, can be divided into several groups:

1)Those who believe that all the Old Testament laws still apply.

2) Those who believe that believers will not be judged according to the Old Testament law, but that it still serves as a moral compass that will help them to avoid falling into sin.

3) Those who believe that the law can be split up into two different sections, namely moral laws and ceremonial laws, and that the ceremonial laws have passed away, but that the moral laws still need to be obeyed.

Group 1

For those who fall into the first group, the Bible unfortunately bears disappointing news:

For whoever shall keep the whole Law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. (Jam 2:10 MKJV)

The punishment for sin is extremely severe, namely death (Romans 5:12 & 1 Corinthians15:56). The Bible also tells us that no man is ever able to obtain right standing with God through their level of obedience to the law:

God doesn’t accept people simply because they obey the Law. No, indeed! All the Law does is to point out our sin. (Rom 3:20 CEV)

But the apostle Paul then continues and shows us how to stand forgiven and justified before God:

Now we see how God does make us acceptable to him. The Law and the Prophets tell how we become acceptable, and it isn’t by obeying the Law of Moses. God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. (Rom 3:21-22 CEV, emphasis added)

The law provided a physical standard to measure a person’s level of holiness by. It was a contract which God had sealed in blood with the nation of Israel – only with them. How do we know this? Because we see in numerous instances how God acted in favor of Israel against other nations (the Moabites, Philistines, Syrians, etc).

In today’s world, when the terms of a contract between two parties have been fulfilled, the contract is finished. The contract isn’t abolished or destroyed, it is fulfilled. This is exactly what Jesus meant when he said:

Do not think that I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to destroy but to fulfill. (Matt 5:17 MKJV)

And since Christ fulfilled the law and ended that contract which God had made with Israel, the consequences for failing to observe the clauses of that contract (the laws) are now irrelevant. God does not judge people by their ability to uphold the requirements of a contract which has already been fulfilled.

Group 2

The law is not a tool to assist us with moral direction. It cannot and has never helped anybody to stop sinning because it was never intended for this purpose. The purpose of the law was to make mankind aware of their inner sin problem (their sinful nature) so that when they realize they’d never be able to obtain eternal life through their own level of holiness, it would point them to Jesus for salvation. This sinful nature would then be circumcised (cut) out of them spiritually (Colossians 2:11) and be replaced by a brand new born again spirit which is 100% perfect, righteous and holy. The law was only a signpost that pointed to Jesus – it’s pretty silly to set up camp next to a signpost, isn’t it?

All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. (Rom 5:20a MSG)

What is the use of the Law? It was given later to show that we sin. (Gal 3:19a CEV)

The practice of trying to obey the demands of that ancient Jewish rule keeping system in order to overcome fleshly habits and lusts, is powerless and useless against the onslaughts of sin. Trying to overcome sin through adhering to the law will only have the effect of showing us how far we fall short of its decrees. The only way to overcome sinful habits is to be established in the revelation of how much God loves us and that He sees us as completely righteous. His grace took care of all our sins and He promised never to remember them ever again (Hebrews 10:17). When we know how much grace God has extended towards us, it will empower us to overcome any sin:

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under Law, but under grace. (Rom 6:14 MKJV)

Group 3

Nobody in this group (those who claim that the "ceremonial laws" have fallen away) has actually gone to the effort of drawing up a list to show exactly which of the laws have remained. The truth is that God Himself also never made this kind of distinction between any of the laws when He handed them down. On the contrary, He said:

"Obey all the laws and teachings I am giving you. Don’t add any, and don’t take any away." (Deut 12:32 CEV)

Yet we find all sorts of religions that are based on Judaism jumping up nowadays, with non Jewish people trying to go back to their supposed "Jewish roots".

Israel never welcomed intimacy with God (which is really all that God wants from us), because they always sent Moses to talk to God on their behalf (Exodus 20:19). Similarly, it appears that when people can’t find any fulfillment in their relationship with God, they make up all sorts of theories to try and earn His approval through some kind of rule keeping system. The peculiar thing about this trend is that since the entire Old Testament law is far too wearisome and laborious to keep, they formulate their own version of it and decide by themselves which laws they want to keep and which ones they can discard.

From Exodus 20 up to the end of Deuteronomy there were a total of 614 laws passed down to the nation of Israel. Just as the law was very specific about what to do and what not to do, it also contained very specific instructions about how to avoid being punished when a law was transgressed. Dodging retribution was mainly achieved in the form of sacrifices and offerings. Most of the modern day variations of Judaism (including those groups who insist calling God and Jesus by their Hebrew names, but whose lives are void of the fruit and the gifts of the Spirit) have opted not to include these sacrifices as part of their man-made belief systems, yet they vigorously claim to be living according to God’s laws. Who’s fooling who here?

Nonetheless, to accommodate these people and to try and show to them that they are actually not only disregarding the sacrifices and offerings, but also breaking many of the other (moral) laws contained in the Old Testament, let’s take a look at some of the laws:

Only, you shall not eat these of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: …the swine, though he divides the hoof and is cloven-footed, yet he does not chew the cud; he is unclean to you. (Lev 11: 4, 7 MKJV)

Any form of pork, including bacon and ham, are strictly off limits according to the law. There goes that nice English breakfast or that ham and cheese sandwich out the door!

You must not eat anything that lives in the water and does not have fins and scales. (Lev 11:12 GNB)

No calamari or squid allowed, no sir!

And if any man’s semen goes from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water and be unclean until the evening. And the woman with whom a man shall lie with emission of semen shall both bathe in water and be unclean until the evening. (Lev 15:16, 18 MKJV)

Men and women ought to separate themselves from any other people for an entire day every time after they’ve had sexual intercourse. This would mean quite a lot of sick leave for most people or heaps of broken up marriages because of spouses abstaining from sex with each other.

Don’t cut the hair on the sides of your head or trim your beard. (Lev 19:27 MSG)

All men would have to walk around with beards. If anybody who claims to be living according to the law shaves their beard, they are breaking God’s commands!

Don’t even build a cooking fire at home on the Sabbath. (Exo 35:3 CEV)

There will be no BBQ after watching that sports game with our friends on a Saturday, because strictly speaking the Sabbath is supposed to be observed on a Saturday.

Don’t wear clothes woven of two kinds of material. (Lev 19:19b MSG)

This would mean throwing out piles of our clothes, since a vast portion of the clothing found in anybody’s closet today is made from a mixture of cotton and polyester.

See how ridiculous it gets? But praise be to Jesus that He fulfilled all the requirements of that antique law keeping system, setting people free to live a life that is led by the Holy Spirit and not by rules:

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (Gal 4:4-5 ESV)

This proves that we are not under any of the law, but are under the new covenant of grace.

1st Corinthians 15:51-56

"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

(In this verse it is saying that not all of them would sleep (die) and await a resurrection, but some of them would be alive during and after Christ coming and those would be changed.

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

(This is saying that after the trumps sounds those who were physically dead would be raised incorruptible and those who were still alive physically would be changed, so that their souls would never stay in the grave, but go from this body to a celestial one and go from earth to heaven when their physical bodies perished)

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Corruptible were the ones physically dead that were putting on in corruption and those mortal who were physically alive who were given immortality.

54 So when this corruptible (Those who were dead) shall have put on incorruption (Immortality) and this mortal (Those physically alive) shall have put on immortality Everlasting life) then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death (spiritual death) is swallowed up in victory 55 O (spiritual) death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of (spiritual) death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law"

It all goes back to the garden of Eden. Sin caused Adam and Eve to die spiritually.

If Adam and Eve hadn't eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they would have sometime in the future physically died, but not spiritually. They would have continued living in heaven. It isn't death when your spirit doesn't die, but goes from an earth suit to a celestial suit. When they spiritually died by eating of the forbidden tree their spirit died and that caused them to stay in the ground. Even Jesus called death "sleep." That is because he knew it wasn't permanent. He knew he would die for sin and break the curse of spiritual death causing their spirits to be resurrected into heaven with him. He didn't look at what humans called death as death, but sleep which is temporary.

Mark 5:39-43

39And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. 40And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. 41And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. 42And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.43And he charged them straightly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.

John 11:11-14

11These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. 12Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. 13Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.14Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

The reason Jesus physically resurrected himself was because he had to go to the grave and take back the keys from death, hell and the grave, so that no longer did his people have to stay in the ground. Now they could go to the other side. That is why the bible has so many scriptures about his people being resurrected into him. That was the first resurrection which was salvation. There was only one resurrection of the dead and that took place at the last day. Where everyone was resurrected. There were very few that came up from the grave when Jesus did, but it was not considered a resurrection. It was considered a wave offering. It represented a spiritual wave offering that under the old testament was when they would take a handful of wheat and wave it before the Lord as a form of worship. Praising him for the large harvest that was about to come soon.

Jesus was physically resurrected so that through salvation everyone can be resurrected into him.-