Everyone knows that there exists right, wrong, good and bad. Most people's heart or gut instinct tells them that God should be completely good having the highest standards but yet also forgiving and loving at the same time (holy and just but also merciful and full of love). If God has a purpose for man, shouldn't we be able to listen to our heart to guide us to that purpose? If there is a way that is true, shouldn't it be compatible with the idea we have of God that is truly in the depths of our heart? The following text explains the condition of man according to the Bible. By contrasting man's condition against the God described above, we realize what we lack in the eyes of a Holy and Just God but what we are given instead from a likewise Merciful God of love.
The Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was the place where God dwelt among His people, the Israelites, and where the priests would perform the rituals required because of the Mosaic Law in order to remain under God's favor and His blessings. The Law was given to Moses on Mt. Sinai and was, by it's required perfection, impossible to fully obey. Because of this, God provided certain rituals for the Jewish people to follow to be temporarily forgiven from having broken the Law and to remain in God's favor. This means that in order to remain in God's favor, the rituals required both a priestly order (Kohanim) descended from the bloodline of the tribe of Levi and also the Temple itself in which to perform the priestly duties and have contact with God. God always knew that the only way any man could have eternal life with Him was through perfect obedience to the Law because He is Holy and Just and therefore cannot coexist with ANY amount of sin. No mortal man has ever been able to keep all Ten Commandments of the Law for their entire life without breaking any of them. This leaves man with no hope and doomed to eternal death or separation from God. The scriptures teach that not only is God Holy and Just, but that He is Merciful and full of Grace. He therefore provided a means of atonement for the Israelites whenever the Law was broken. This "Day of Atonement" or Yom Kippur was specifically for that purpose and provided only a temporary atonement for the sins of the people. Put in another way, it provided a fulfillment of the Law that only lasted for a temporary time. This temporary atonement included the use of sacrifices and the need for a scapegoat both foreshadowing a prophesied Messiah's complete fulfillment of the Law once and for all.
Many Jewish people believe that the Messiah's primary purpose is to bring deliverance of the Israelites out of the hands of her enemies and establish an earthly kingdom ruling in justice and in righteousness. They therefore reject any notion that Jesus of Nazareth was the prophesied Messiah since he was not the earthly king on His first coming that they had hoped for. They have lost sight of the Law that they themselves hold so dear. They have forgotten that the central theme behind their covenant with God was the Law. Therefore it was because of the required perfection of the Law no man could keep that Jesus came to save them and the rest of mankind. Without a final fulfillment of the Law by the Messiah both Jews and gentiles will always remain wanting in the eyes of the Just God, and deliverance from the hands of Israel's human enemies pale in comparison to this.
God promised that all mankind would come to know Him through His work with the nation of Israel. God's appointed feasts followed by the Jewish people and much of Jewish history do more than tell a story or commemorate certain events; they also serve to explain the "what" and the "why" for God's plans concerning mankind in the future.
For example, the Tabernacle itself was built so that the children of Israel could have contact with God, but the Tabernacle also shows how sin severely limits access to the presence of God. Only the High Priest (Kohen Gadol) could enter the Holy of Holies in the innermost part of the Temple and communicate directly with God once a year. The sole purpose of the prophesied first coming of the Messiah was to fulfill the Law once and for all so that all men may have the opportunity to have access to Him at all times and find eternal life with Him. As the Old Testament clearly demonstrates, the perfect and yet impossible Law was given to Israel and shows all of mankind that no matter how good we live no one can live in perfect obedience of all of it (Rom 2:23,24). All men are equal in this regard (Jew and gentile, religious and secular, rich and poor, educated and uneducated), and all men should therefore be doomed to eternal separation of God were it not for His grace and mercy to all of us.
Just as the atonement of the Israelite's sins required a perfect, unblemished lamb to be sacrificed and given over to death, the promised Messiah (God humbled in the form of man experiencing our pains and temptations) obeyed the Law perfectly, was sacrificed and was given over to death. This made him the unblemished Lamb that provided atonement for mankind's sin through His sacrificial death, but it didn't stop there. Just as the prophecies of the Old Testament predicted, He conquered death and rose again on the third day. It was this victory over death that finally and permanently fulfilled the Law for all of mankind then and now. The previous sacrificial lambs could not conquer death which yielded only temporary atonement and the need for more sacrifices later because the Law was always unfulfilled. Now the Law is completely fulfilled, and all people may find eternal life with God by simply accepting His sacrifice for our sin. By accepting this on a personal level, it is acknowledged that our sin is the reason that He died for us, and this acknowledgement brings about repentance to God for our transgressions that has separated us from Him.
Was Jesus the prophesied Messiah and the Fulfillment of the Law? If He was, we would expect to see proof not only in the prophecies of the Old Testament as compared to the accounts written in the New Testament, but we would expect to see an impact upon the participation of God with the Temple practices of the Jewish priests.
If Jesus' death was the the Final Sacrifice thus becoming the Fulfillment of the Law and also the Promise of the Second Covenant, then His death was the final atonement for our sins (Matthew 5:17-18; Colossians 2:13-17; Hebrews 7; Hebrews 10:1-25). As previously required by the Law, now no other shedding of blood would be needed for the remission of sins. This would mean that there were certain priestly duties that were followed during the times of the Temple in Jerusalem after Jesus' death that were no longer necessary, and that everyone, Jew and gentile, could become His people. The Day of Atonement known as Yom Kippur (Lev 16; 23:26-32; Heb 7; 9:23-10:18) is one such observance that would no longer be necessary and in fact, according to the Talmud, that day became void of God's presence altogether in the same year that Jesus had died.
Considering the fact that the Talmud (a collection of books about the history of the Jewish people) was written and compiled by Jewish men who did not recognize and accept that Jesus was the Messiah makes the evidence that will be shown here even more compelling and trustworthy.
The impact upon Temple practices can be seen in the Talmud, Yoma 39b:
"Our Rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple the lot [‘For the Lord’] did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-coloured strap become white; nor did the westernmost light shine; and the doors of the Hekal [Temple] would open by themselves, until R. Johanan b. Zakkai rebuked them, saying: Hekal, Hekal, why wilt thou be the alarmer thyself? I know about thee that thou wilt be destroyed, for Zechariah ben Ido has already prophesied concerning thee: Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
"Our Rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple..."
In what time frame would we expect to see this impact upon the Temple practices? If Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law and His death and resurrection occurred before the destruction of the Second Temple, then we would expect to see an impact on Temple practices immediately following His death and resurrection but before the Temple destruction when all practices were stopped.
The destruction of the Second Temple occured in 70 AD at the hands of the Roman Empire under General Titus. About forty years previous to this date correlates with the year of Jesus' death in approximately 30 AD. So while the Temple was still intact after Jesus' death, the Talmud plainly shows that Temple practices became futile and unaccepted by God.
The year of Jesus' death in 30 AD can be confirmed by the date of His birth, His age at the beginning of His ministry and the length of His ministry.
From the points above, if Jesus was born in 3 +/- 1 BC then His ministry began in 28 +/- 1 AD so that He was crucified on 31 +/- 1 AD. This date falls within the timeframe of the beginning of events listed in the Talmud.
Also of interest to the dating of this topic is the prophecy in Daniel 9:24-26 concerning the time when the Messiah would be "cut off" (see Daniel's Prophecy of Seventy Weeks). From the times given in Daniel, we can see that the prophecy would be expecting the Messiah to be "cut off" or killed anywhere in the time frame of 30 to 33 AD. Due to discrepencies of the exact year when the start of Daniel's prophecy was to take place and coupled with different conversions of ancient calendar systems we can know this prophecy to be accurate to within three years. This is amazing considering that the prophecy was given over 500 years earlier!
The dates computed by the events of the Talmud, the time of Jesus birth and the prophecy of Daniel's 70 weeks provide us with a clear connection of the impact of Jesus' death upon the events recorded in the Talmud.
"...the lot [‘For the Lord’] did not come up in the right hand..."
During the annual day of atonement, Yom Kippur, two identical male goats were to be used for the removal and forgiveness of sins (Lev 16:5-10). The removal of sins required a scapegoat and the forgiveness of sins required a goat for the Lord. While the sins of the people were placed upon the head of the scapegoat which was led out into the wilderness to die; forgiveness came at the same time through the blood of the sacrificed goat for the Lord.
The casting of lots was used preceeding this occasion to determine which goat would be for the Lord and which goat would be sent to the wilderness. During the second Temple times, a white stone representing the goat for the Lord and a black stone representing the scapegoat were used for this purpose. There was always a 50/50 chance that the black stone would be selected in the priest's right hand. During the last 40 years before the Temple destruction (30 to 70 AD) the Talmud states that the black stone ALWAYS came up in the right hand. This would be equivalent to flipping a coin 40 times and getting tails everytime. The probability of this happening is 240 = 1,099,511,627,776 or about 1 in 1.1 trillion!
The Jewish religious leaders rightly saw this as signifyinging God's rejection of the Yom Kippur ritual beginning in the year of Jesus' death in approximately 30 AD.
"...nor did the crimson-coloured strap become white..."
The scapegoat otherwise known as Azazel was walked to the east side of the Azaryah (Israelite courtyard). Near the Nikanor (Beautiful) Gate, the priest leaned his hands (Semikha) on the goat "for Azazel" and confessed the sins of the entire people of Israel thereby placing all sin upon it. The people prostrated themselves when he pronounced the Tetragrammaton. While he made a general confession, individuals in the crowd at the Temple would confess privately. A red ribbon was then tied to the head of the goat and sent off to the wilderness (Lev 16:20-22). In practice, to prevent its return to human habitation, the goat was led to a cliff outside Jerusalem and pushed off its edge. If the LORD had accepted the offer of atonement, the ribbon would always turn white. If He did not accept it, the ribbon would stay red (Isaiah 1:18).
According to the Talmud, in approximately 30 AD, the ribbon stopped turning white. God no longer accepted this practice for the atonement of sin according to the Law because He had already fulfilled the Law and provided a permanent atonement for those willing to accept it in the Messiah's sacrifice.
Although Judaism lack's the Mosaic Law's requirements of having a priesthood and a Temple to properly perform the atonement rituals in, Yom Kippur is still the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people to this day. Since there is no longer any temple and therefore no sacrifice for the atonement of sins, they now believe that Yom Kippur itself brings atonement. Jewish people believe it is necessary for a person to make peace with anyone wronged to effect forgiveness for transgressions committed against fellow humans. Yet according to the Law and aside from the Messiah being the final sacrifice, without having the Temple and the priests to perform the needed sacrifices, the rituals become futile.
"...nor did the westernmost light shine..."
One of the oldest symbols of the Jewish faith is the menorah, a seven-branched candelabrum used in the Temple. The kohanim lit the menorah in the Sanctuary every evening and cleaned it out every morning, replacing the wicks and putting fresh olive oil into the cups. The illustration at left is based on instructions for construction of the menorah found in Exodus 25:31-40.
Symbolically the menorah represented the creation of the universe in seven days, the center light symbolizing the Sabbath. The seven branches are the seven continents of the earth and the seven heavens, guided by the light of God. The Zohar says: "These lamps, like the planets above, receive their light from the sun" ("Beha'aloteka," beginning).
"The cleaning and refilling of the lamps, except the two most easterly, were performed by a priest every morning. If the priest found them extinguished, he relighted them. The two eastern lamps were left burning till after the morning service, and were then cleaned and refilled (Tamid iii. 9; Yoma 33a). The Ner ha-Ma'arabi (or "the Western Lamp"), also called "Ner Elohim" (I Sam. iii. 3), was left burning all day and was refilled in the evening. It served to light all the lamps. The Ner ha-Ma'arabi contained no more oil than the other lamps, a half-log measure (1 log contains the liquid of six eggs), sufficient to last during the longest winter night (Men. 89a); yet by a miracle that lamp regularly burned till the following evening (ib. 86b). This miracle, however, ceased after the death of Simeon the Righteous, who was high priest forty years before the destruction of the Temple (Yoma 39b).
The menorah depicted on Titus' arch is probably a representation of one of Solomon's menorot, but not of the Mosaic menorah, which was concealed by the priests prior to the destruction of the First Temple and of which all trace has since disappeared." - 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, Menorah, p.494
"The Rabbis interpret the perpetual lamp as the symbol of God's presence in Israel (Shab. 22b); or as representing the spiritual light which went forth from the sanctuary (Ex. R. xxxvi. 1); or as the symbol of God's Law, which Israel is to keep alive in the world (Ex. R. xxxvi. 2; Lev. R. xxxi. 4). According to Biblical conception, the light is a figure of happiness and prosperity, even of life itself (I Kings xi. 36; Ps. xviii. 29 [A. V. 28]; Prov. xx. 27, xxiv. 20; Job xviii. 6)." - 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, Lamps, Perpetual, p.599
After Jesus' death, God's presence was no longer in the Temple, the light was no longer a symbol of the spiritual light going forth from the sanctuary, and the symbolism of the Law was no longer valid since His death fulfilled the Law beginning a New Covenant with all believers.
"...and the doors of the Hekal [Temple] would open by themselves, until R. Johanan b. Zakkai rebuked them, saying: Hekal, Hekal, why wilt thou be the alarmer thyself? I know about thee that thou wilt be destroyed, for Zechariah ben Ido has already prophesied concerning thee: Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars."
The Eastern gate is identified, with the "Gate of Nicanor" (Mid.), or "Corinthian Gate" (Jos), which is undoubtedly "the Beautiful Gate" of Acts 3:1-10. This gate received its names from being the gift of a wealthy Alexandrian Jew, Nicanor, and from its being made of Corinthian brass. It was of great size-50 cubits (75 feet) high and 40 cubits (60 feet) wide-and was richly adorned, its brass glittering like gold (Mid., ii.3). According to Josephus, the strength of twenty men had difficulty shutting this gate. This enormous gate was the entrance to the court of women, so called because it was accessible to women as well as to men. Only Jewish people were allowed to pass through this gate.
The Beautiful Gate was said to have opened on its own every night for the last 40 years of the Temple's existence. The priests would constantly go and shut the gate back up again. This means that the doors started opening in the year 30 AD when Jesus of Nazareth was crucified during the time of the Passover. The opening of this gate was significant for two reasons. One reason is that after Jesus' death, all men (both Jew and gentile) who professed their faith in Jesus could come to God with no restrictions. The other reason is that this was another fulfillment of prophecy dating back to the Old Testament.
"At the same festival (Passover)... the Eastern gate of the inner court of the Temple, which was of brass, and vastly heavy, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty men, and rested upon a base armered with iron, and had bolts fastened very deep into the firm floor, which was there made of one entire stone, was seen to be opened of it's own accord about the sixth our of the night." - Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, 6.5.3
It is also interesting to note that not only was this gate affected and opened up, but the Gospel of Matthew states that the curtain of the Temple, which was the remaining barrier to the Holy of Holies, was ripped in half opening the way for all men to come to God through Jesus as the final and eternal High Priest.
50And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"
- Matthew 27:50-54
According to R. Johanan b. Zakkai in the Talmud (Yoma 39 above), the opening of the doors was a prophetic sign that the destruction of the temple was near. Zakkai's comments refer back to Zechariah's Old Testament prophecy of the Temple destruction.
Zechariah. 11:1-3
1 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
so that fire may devour your cedars!2 Wail, O pine tree, for the cedar has fallen;
the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan;
the dense forest has been cut down!3 Listen to the wail of the shepherds;
their rich pastures are destroyed!
Listen to the roar of the lions;
the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!
The Talmud goes further explaining some of the details quoted in Zechariah's prophecy above:
R. Isaac b. Tablai said (referring to the Temple): Why is its name called Lebanon? Because it makes white the sins of Israel. R. Zutra b. Tobiah said: Why is it called ‘Forest’, as it is written: The house of the forest of Lebanon (I Kings 10:21)? To tell you that just as a forest produces sprouts, so does the Temple. For R. Hosea said: When Solomon built the Sanctuary, he planted therein all sorts of precious golden trees, which brought forth fruit in their season. When the wind blew against them, their fruits would fall down, as it is said: May his fruit rustle like Lebanon. They were a source of income for the priesthood. But as soon as the idolaters entered the Hekal, they dried up, as it is said: And the flower of Lebanon languisheth (Nahum 1:4).