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I make this assertion because the evidence is in the Holy Bible and I am writing this because I know that the Heavenly Father is only against sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins, not for other purposes. Like polygamy in which God’s statements in Genesis 2:24 were misinterpreted by many a cleric in Nigeria for more than one hundred years, sacrifice is another issue in the Scriptures many pastors and prophets in the country and elsewhere in the world, have misconception of.
As stated last week until I disproved them in 2013 and last year in my series the sins anti – polygamy pastors commit they were claiming that the Lord was instituting monogamy. Whereas He was putting in place the seven – year service condition a man must undergo with the father of the woman he wanted to marry. This is in the story of Jacob’s marriage to Leah and Rachel, whose father Laban he served for 14 years (Genesis 29: 1 – 35).
Contrary to the claim of most clerics in Nigeria and elsewhere, what the coming of Christ ended were the sacrifices God ordered for the forgiveness of sins in Leviticus Chapters 1 – 17. Not the sacrifice or slaughtering of animals for other purposes. As can be seen in Leviticus Chapter 1 sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins were carried out by the priests at the entrance of the Tent (Temple or Church) and the altar there.
For the ceremony, the sinner brought either cattle, sheep, goats or birds placed the hand on the head of the animal asking for forgiveness. Then the person would kill it and the priests would present the blood to the Lord and then throw it against all the four sides of the altar located at the entrance of the Tent.
The evidence that this practice ended when Jesus was alive, not after his death, is the fact that nowhere in the Gospels (the Books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), was it reported that sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins took place at the entrance of any Temple. The only bad practice in the time of Jesus was that people were trading and changing money in the Temple and he drove them out one day (Matthew 21:12 – 18; Mark 11:15 – 19; Luke 19: 45 – 48 and John 2:13 – 22). After this there was no report anywhere in the Bible that people returned to trade inside the Temple.
Even if sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins had been on before Jesus drove people out of the Temple, it meant that it also ended that day. While there was no report of sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins in the New Testament, the slaughtering of animals or birds for other purposes is there.
Shortly after Jesus was born Joseph and Mary took him to the Temple in Jerusalem to perform purification ceremony as required for every first – born male. That day they offered a sacrifice of a pair of doves and two young pigeons (Luke 21: 21 – 28).
Jesus himself sent the eleven men he cured of a dreaded skin disease to go to the priests to perform the sacrifice ordered by Moses. The story of the first man healed is in Matthew 8: 1 – 4 while that of the other ten is in Luke 17:11 – 19. What was required for the purification Jesus sent the men to perform were two birds. One was slaughtered for the rituals while the other bird was let loose to fly away.
Eight days later the person cured of the skin disease would bring two male lambs and one female lamb and other materials for another sacrifice (Leviticus 14: 1 – 20).
There is also the story of some Galileans killed by Pilate for offering sacrifices to God in Luke 13: 1 – 5. Since there was no report of the sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins elsewhere in the New Testament, it was not likely they were performing redemption rituals. That means they were carrying out sacrifice for something else.
The stoppage of sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins was foretold by Prophet Micah in the Book of Micah Chapter 6:6 – 8. Since sacrifices for the purpose ended in Jesus’s time, I believe the statements in Hebrews 9:25 – 27 were telling people that since Christ had died for the sins of mankind there was no need to return to the practice. It was possible that at the time some people had such intention.
Next week: The story of a Lagos – based Christian God sent me to in 2004 and who carried out the sacrifice He ordered and escaped being murdered by Armed Robbers in Delta State. But who in 2016 declined to perform sacrifice to prevent stroke because he had become a born – again. He became totally paralyzed about three months later and died exactly a year later.
Lessons to learn from Gasali
People who send abusive text message in which they accuse someone of corruption or of being an extortionist do so because they think the person would not be bold to publish it. Alhaji Nurudeen Gasali confirmed this in the text he sent to me on February 27 in reaction to my column the previous week.
In the piece I had written that those who abuse people when reacting to an article or statement are those who were not properly brought up. And that their parents, guardians, the priests of their churches or mosques and the teachers of the institutions they attended were to blame. For not training them properly because no one from a good home or institution would behave that way.
Whenever I received such messages I normally sent a text to such people that they could make their point without abusing me. And that they should just treat issues and not resort to abuses. I had received only one reaction from the dozens of those I sent the message to in the last five years and the person apologized for his earlier text. I believe the others did not respond because they accepted my advice.
Gasali is the only one who had reacted sending me another abusive message. Thus confirming that those who behave like him to do so because they think one would not be bold to publish the message in which they accused one of corruption.
See what Gasali sent to me: “Let me thank and appreciate you for your courage in picking me up (sic) in your column today over my appropriate tutorial on your satanic verses, nonsensical ideas and fallacious arguments as contained in your February 13 piece, titled ‘2019 poll victory: The Determining Factors. I very much thank you for publishing my reaction verbatim.”
Continues next Wednesday
