Can animal sacrifice in the millennium be interpreted literally?

There are Christian commentators who emphasize the Hebrew branch of the faith who believe that the third temple and animal sacrifices will be restored in the literal sense in the millennial reign. In the Old Testament, the prophets were shown and wrote down visions of a temple in the world under Yahuwah's rule, where animal sacrifices were offered (Ezekiel 45). (Ezekiel 45)

Animal sacrifices are a sign of the Messiah

However, to interpret it literally is ludicrous and contradicts the biblical portrayal of the peace of plants and animals in the millennium, and we should examine it together to be sure that it cannot be interpreted literally. Jesus' sacrifice as the Christ is, of course, once and for all. (Heb. 7:27)

As it says in the first half of Heb. 10, animal sacrifices are a reminder of sin, a shadow until Christ's perfect sacrifice is brought in, verse 11 says that animal sacrifices cannot wipe out sin, and verses 17 and 18 describe that "sacrifices for the remission of sins are no longer necessary" and are forgiven in Christ Therefore, it is also wrong to say that animal sacrifices are offered in the literal sense in the Millennial Reign, and that the Third Temple is built.

In 1 Peter 1:10-12, he states that the prophets of the past did not write down for events that would happen to them, but prophesied for precepts about the Messiah that would happen in the future. Ezekiel may not have realized the literal meaning of the Third Temple and animal sacrifices in Ezekiel 45, but he wrote them down as a reminder that he had received a prophetic revelation that foreshadowed the Messiah.

The New Testament says that the temple is not literally in Jerusalem, but that we who believe in Christ are the temple, and that the place where believers gather together is the church and the temple. As stated in John 4:21, we worship in a place in spirit and truth that is not Jerusalem, and in 1 Corinthians 6:19,20, we become the very temple of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, Luke 7:20,21 also describes the kingdom of God as existing in the heart and not in visible form.

Furthermore, although it is redundant, Heb. 10:14 affirms that "the sin offering has been abolished," which makes the literal interpretation that animal sacrifices to remind us of our sins and foreshadow the Messiah will be performed again in the millennial reign quite implausible. Regardless of the interpretation, the Messiah has already died a sacrificial death, has been raised to heaven, and is seated at the right hand of Yahuwah.

In contrast, Ezekiel 45:23 says that a "sin offering" is offered daily, but Heb. 10:18 affirms that the animal sacrifice system in the Law of Moses has been abolished, saying, "Since God does not remember sin, there is no need for a sin offering."

Those who value the Hebraic say that the Law of Moses will be restored in the Millennial Kingdom and that the bloodline of Israel will serve in the Third Temple and offer animal sacrifices. The righteous of Israel will be resurrected and reside in the New Jerusalem area, but the New Covenant, in which the Messianic sacrificial lamb will be offered and redemption will apply to all mankind, has nothing to do with lineage or animal sacrifices. The New Jerusalem will be visited by the resurrected Gentile nations from all over the world, and they will be glorified, according to the Book of Revelation, and will be required to follow the law of Christ through the Messianic sacrificial lamb rather than the animal sacrifice system that was customary in ancient Israel.

Some say that only the animal sacrifice system of the Law of Moses is newly adopted and renewed, but as Heb. 8:7 says, "the animal sacrifice system is not sufficient," so Christ was offered and God made a new covenant with spiritual Israel. Since the covenant has already been renewed through the sacrifice of Jesus, no further sacrifices are necessary.

Symbolic, not literal.

Ezekiel 47 describes a river of the water of life flowing from the temple and the fruit of the tree of life growing on either side of it as food for healing. The same description is given in Revelation 22, where the temple is described as Yahuwah and the lamb. So it is not a vision of the temple that Ezekiel saw, but God Himself and Jesus are the temple.

Ezekiel would have understood in his mind that the Messiah was coming, but would not have known the details of Jesus' atonement, so the symbolic Messianic sacrifice was presented in a vision as an animal offering that Ezekiel could recognize. John the Baptist, the last of the Old Testament, also honored Jesus as the "Lamb that taketh away sins".

In Revelation 5, the apostle John has a vision of a lamb with seven eyes and seven horns. It refers to Jesus, but he is not the Jesus we know in the literal sense of the word. As I have said many times, visions and dreams are often shown 80% symbolically.

The details of the construction of the Tabernacle in Ezekiel 48 are also explained in Heb. 9. This is merely a foreshadowing of the coming work of Christ in the so-called time of Moses. Those who follow the Hebrew tradition interpret the vision literally, saying that this too will be restored in the Millennial Kingdom.

From Zechariah 14:20, "20 In that day "HOLINESS TO THE LORD" shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the Lord of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts. " This is also a symbolic meaning of eating and drinking the sacrificial flesh and blood of the Messianic Lamb.

This is a depiction of the resurrected ungodly during the millennial reign who will be chastised by God when they rebel because they have not reached the stage of drinking the water of life, but it is a short-lived, light punishment, and they too will eventually visit the New Jerusalem and eat the flesh of the sacrificial lamb, a template for showing respect for Jesus' redemption. The story is a model for the future of the New Jerusalem.

Heb. 9:21-24 depicts an interpretation that applies to Christ the ritual of sprinkling the sacrificial blood on the instruments of the tabernacle and the people in the days of Moses to purify them. This implies not only the Messiah's removal of sin, but also the sprinkling of blood to enable our spiritual cleansing and unabashed entry into the heavenly Most Holy Place as children of Yahuwah, brothers of Jesus.

Jesus also said during the sacrament that He could not live forever unless eating and drinking His own flesh and blood, but of course this is not literal either. The sacrifices of animals in the Millennial Kingdom in any Old Testament passage, including those who will be resurrected during the Millennial Reign, symbolically signify "repentance and gratitude" for the forgiveness of sins, cleansing, and restoration to perfection of each person, despite the various life backgrounds of all people in the world. The New Testament perspective reads this as "repentance and gratitude" for the forgiveness of sins, cleansing, and restoration to wholeness.

Jesus Himself, the sacrificial lamb, and the martyred Christians of the heavenly class will rule the New Jerusalem from heaven, and all the Gentile nations of the world who have repented and been born again and are therefore permitted to eat of the fruit of the tree of life will gratefully bring with them the glory of "conquering and winning over sin". (Revelation 21:7,24) The Old Testament depictions of animal sacrifices are symbolic of the process by which the Gentile nations repented, being born again, conquering their sins and gaining God's glory.

1 Corinthians 15:40 There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.

2 Corinthians 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure(glory) in earthen vessels(the human body, the temple of the Holy Spirit), that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

Revelation 21:7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.

And to benefit from the sacrificial lamb with seven eyes and seven horns, there is no need for us to offer some animal sacrifice to be reconciled to God or to be reminded of our sins. The water of life that flows from Yahuwah and Jesus is stated to be "available without price to anyone who desires it."

Scripture in Yahuwah does not rejoice in animal sacrifices

Psalms 51:16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart-- These, O God, You will not despise.

Proverbs 21:3 To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

Isaiah 1:11 "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?" Says the Lord. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats.

Jeremiah 7:22 For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. 23 But this is what I commanded them, saying, 'Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.'

Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Hebrews 10:8 Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the law), 9 then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 17 then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

In the kingdom where Christ rules, all animals will be grazers and will not be destroyed, Isaiah 65:25 "The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and the serpent will feed on dust, and nothing will harm or destroy them in any part of my holy mountain, says the Lord". This is promised in the Word of God.

Hosea 2:18 In that day I will make a covenant for them With the beasts of the field, With the birds of the air, And with the creeping things of the ground. Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth, To make them lie down safely.