What is the sin?

Sin is a generic biblical expression of that which no longer fulfills impersonally (without feeling) the criteria of God’s Holiness and therefore is a process which leads to the programmed demise of creation afflicted with sin (which is no longer holy from God’s point of view). The attentive reader can get a much more concrete idea of the alternation between what is considered « holy », and by contrast what is no longer « holy », being a sin, from God’s point of view, by reading the book of Leviticus. It is very important to understand for the rest of the explanations, that this quality is absolutely not linked to the feelings of God, but rather to what constitutes the essence of his actions and his creation. The disappearance of sin is done by atonement, in order to satisfy the criteria of divine holiness. The Holiness of Jehovah God is directly connected to a constant need of sacrifice for atonement which erases sin, or of what is not in conformity with the divine and everlasting standards of what is holy: « You must be holy, because I am holy » (Leviticus 11:44,45).

It is very important to understand that the Holiness of God is what defines the very essence of all his actions, and that it is devoid of all feeling, it is completely impersonal (on the level of feelings). Which means that all of his creation must be holy and pure. However, if by accident, a part of creation should no longer satisfy these impersonal criteria (without feeling) of holiness, it will inevitably disappear. The accidental appearance of sin in humanity has led to the full destruction of all of humanity (at end), precisely by virtue of this impersonal law (without feeling) of the Holiness of God: « That is why, just as through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because they had all sinned » (Romans 5:12). “For the wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). The first part of this verse, shows that the necessity of holiness (impersonal law devoid of feeling), makes that sin leads to death, to make it disappear. Whereas, the fact that God is love, He makes arrangements to give us everlasting life through the ransom (Matthew 20:28).

God has made it possible to reverse a hopeless situation for all of humanity, with a view to its redemption. The expression of God’s Love is seen in the specific provisions He has made for the Redemption of humanity lost in a process of irreversible death, caused by sin (John 3:16). The humanity that will obtain everlasting life in the future will belong to God, under this redemption price by the resurrection. (The question of sin, forgiveness by atonement and redemption by resurrection, is in the page of biblical study named « THE GOOD THINGS », of this site (yomelyah.fr)).

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THE SALVATION OF THE OBEDIENT HUMANKIND

THROUGH THE SACRIFICE OF JESUS CHRIST

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life”

(John 3:16)

Christ’s sacrifice has an Atonement Value (by the blood) and the Ransom Value (By the body). It is important to know the prophetic meaning of the different sacrifices under the Mosaic Law in connection with these two values (Hebrews 10: 1). We’ll study what is the Atonement Value that removes the sin, in connection with God’s forgiveness that leads to everlasting life, and the Atonement Value that removes the sin in connection with the destruction that leads to the death of the sinner (John 3:16; Romans 5:12; 6:23).

This understanding will help to know the relationship between the Atonement Day and the Great Tribulation. There will be an atonement that will lead to the everlasting life (based on the Atonement Value of the blood of Christ) and an atonement that will lead to death (on the value of atonement of the blood of the sinner) or destruction. At the end, we’ll study the prophetic meaning of the Mosaic Law in connection to the Ransom Value (different from the Atonement Value).

The Atonement that leads to the Everlasting Life (In Heaven, On Earth, Great Crowd) and Atonement that leads to the Destruction

The Hebrew word for “atonement”, is “kâphar” (transliteration from the Hebrew letters) (Strong’s Concordance H3722), that means “to cover (specially with bitumen); figuratively, to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel (Leviticus 16:6). The Hebrew word for “forgiveness”, is “çělîychâh” (transliteration from the Hebrew letters) (Strong’s Concordance H5547), that means “Forgiveness, pardon”. The word origin of “çělîychâh” is “çâlach” (Strong’s Concordance H5545), that means “to forgive”. Therefore, if the Atonement is closely related to the Divine Forgiveness, these two concepts remain fundamentally different.

The Atonement is not the Forgiveness

The big mistake is to think that the Atonement is synonymous of Forgiveness. The Atonement is the absolute necessity of Holiness in dispelling the sin (the contrary of holiness). This process is, in fact, a destruction that leads to death and « cover » or « erase » the sin. While Divine Forgiveness, is to keep alive the human sinner (sinful condition inherited from Adam), while the absolute necessity for Atonement is respected, over the base of the sacrifice of Christ (Atonement Value (blood)).

It is for this reason that our sins are forgiven on the basis of the atoning value of the blood of Christ poured out (once forever, the Nisan 14th, 33 C.E. (and not directly on the value of the Ransom (or Exchange) of the sacrifice of Christ)).

For example, for the Jews with the Jewish religion, the day of Atonement, the TISHRI 10th, which is called in Hebrew « YOM KIPPUR » (YOM = day) + (KIPPUR = Atonement) is also called the great FORGIVENESS. It is true and it is false.

There will be a Forgiveness

It is true that there will be Forgiveness of God, for the goat for Azazel, in the Atonement Day (Leviticus 16:7-10). This goat was the carrier of the confessed sins of the House of Israel sent far from the presence of God (to illustrate the Forgiveness of God): “But the goat designated by lot for A·zaʹzel should be brought alive to stand before Jehovah in order to perform the atonement upon it, so that it may be sent away for A·zaʹzel into the wilderness (…) Aaron will lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the errors of the Israelites and all their transgressions and all their sins, and he will put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man designated to do this. The goat will carry upon itself all their errors into a desert land, and he will send the goat away into the wilderness” (Leviticus 16:10,21,22).

Returning to the Great Tribulation, it is true that in TISRI 10th, there will be a Forgiveness of God for a part of humanity that is living now and will survive through this dramatic moment. However, this great FORGIVENESS of God will be on the basis of an Atonement (made on the Nisan 14th, 33 C.E. (once for all time)): the Atonement Value of the blood of Christ: “After this I saw, and look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in their hands. 10 And they keep shouting with a loud voice, saying:

“Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb.” (…) In response one of the elders said to me: “These who are dressed in the white robes, who are they and where did they come from?” 14 So right away I said to him: “My lord, you are the one who knows.” And he said to me: “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”” (Revelation 7:9,10,13,14).

There will not be Forgiveness

It is false for the Goat used as an Atonement Sacrifice for the sake of the Goat for Azazel, as it is written in Hebrews: “Yes, according to the Law nearly all things are cleansed with blood, and unless blood is poured out no forgiveness takes place” (Hebrew 9:22). It is interesting to note that the inspired declarations of Paul are made in the framework of the explanation of the Atonement Day. During the Great Tribulation, there won’t be a “Great Forgiveness” for the victims of this great worldwide Atonement (Revelation 14:18-20; 19:11-21). If it is necessary the Atonement for the Forgiveness of God, the contrary is not true. The necessity of Atonement is linked to the Most Holiness of God that is an absolute requirement of God, it doesn’t need the Forgiveness of God. The Atonement Process is an Absolute necessity of Holiness, Forgiveness depends on the feelings of God (He is not obliged to forgive: the necessity of forgiveness is not absolute (Matthew 6:14)): “The one who exercises faith in the Son has everlasting life; the one who disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him” (John 3:36).

The Atonement without God’s forgiveness is neither more nor less than a destruction of the person (as a sinner), which blood remains on his head: “David said to him: “Your blood is on your own head, because your own mouth testified against you by saying, ‘I myself put the anointed of Jehovah to death.’” (2 Samuel 1:16; Joshua 2:19; 1 Kings 2: 32,33,37; Ezekiel 33:4; Acts 18:6). The biblical expression of “bloodguilt” means that the own blood of the sinner remains on his head, his own blood will be used (in his death) for his own atonement without forgiveness of God.

* “Whenever it is that they are saying, “Peace and security!” then sudden destruction is to be instantly on them, just like birth pains on a pregnant woman, and they will by no means escape”” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). In Tishri 10th, some people will claim “Peace and Security”, thinking in the Forgiveness of God, without exercising their faith the Atonement Value of the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, with the result of the destruction in the Great Tribulation.

The Ransom of Christ will allow the Healings, the Rejuvenation and the Resurrection

There is the same confusion between the biblical expressions of Atonement, Forgiveness and Ransom according the Sacrifice of Christ. Why? Because they have the same result: The Everlasting Life (Ephesians 1:7). Also, the Atonement based of the Forgiveness of God, results, on end, to a Ransom (an exchange of the Body). Atonement is a process of disappearance of sin for the Absolute Necessity of Holiness required by God (Matthew 26:28). And the Ransom is a process of exchange of body (by Healings, Rejuvenation and Resurrection) (Matthew 20:28):

“With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them. 4 And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3,4; Isaiah 35: 5,6; John 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15).

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You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free

(John 8:32)

What truth is this, and how does it set us free?

Among Bible readers, and especially some teachers of God’s Word, this statement is understood in terms of a knowledge of biblical truth that would set free from religious lies commonly taught in many Christian congregations. For example, knowing that the Bible does not teach the existence of purgatory, limbo, or a fiery hell where the wicked would be eternally tortured has a liberating effect on people. Indeed, it is comforting to know that these religious lies, such as fiery hell, purgatory, the Trinity, the immortality of the soul, and other superstitions linked to the occultism, are not taught in the Bible. In a way, the comfort of biblical truth has a liberating effect on people who have been enslaved by these superstitions and false religious teachings. However, should Christ’s statement (above) be applied in the context of an accurate knowledge of the Bible that would set free from religious lies? Given the context of John’s Gospel, such an explanation does not respect the immediate context of Christ’s statement, nor even the whole context of the Gospel of John.

Let us read Christ’s statement, this time in its immediate context: « Then Jesus went on to say to the Jews who had believed him: “If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They replied to him: “We are Abraham’s offspring and never have been slaves to anyone. How is it you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them: “Most truly I say to you, every doer of sin is a slave of sin. Moreover, the slave does not remain in the household forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be truly free. I know that you are Abraham’s offspring. But you are seeking to kill me, because my word makes no progress among you. I speak the things I have seen while with my Father, but you do the things you have heard from your father.” In answer they said to him: “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said to them: “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. But now you are seeking to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You are doing the works of your father.” They said to him: “We were not born from immorality; we have one Father, God” » (John 8:31-41).

What kind of truth is it? What is this truth Jesus Christ is speaking of? Is it the whole body of knowledge contained in the Word of God, or something else?

Jesus Christ explains that abiding in his word will allow one to know this truth that will set them free. The Jewish interlocutors are offended by what Christ says because it implies that they are slaves, even though they are descendants of a free man, Abraham. There is a misunderstanding between what Christ says and what the Jews understood, and therefore Jesus Christ clarifies his thinking. He tells them that it is the slavery of sin, meaning the sinful condition that all humanity inherited from Adam. This slavery leads to death (Romans 5:12). Then, delicately, he makes them understand that he is the truth, who has the means to set them free. Jesus Christ presents himself as the embodiment of the truth that sets free: « So if the Son sets you free, you will be truly free » (John 8:36). This understanding is reinforced by another statement he made some time later: « Jesus said to him: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me » » (John 14:6). Therefore, it is obvious that using this text of John 8:32 to explain that biblical truth sets free from religious lies is simply inaccurate and does not respect the context of this statement of Christ.

While Jesus Christ refers to himself as the truth that sets free, he explains more specifically in the rest of his statement: « Most truly I say to you, if anyone observes my word, he will never see death at all » (John 8:51). Jewish religious fundamentalists take his statement literally, while Jesus Christ refers to never seeing death without the possibility of resurrection. For example, on another occasion, speaking to Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection, in referring to this hope, Jesus Christ referred to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as being « alive » in the perspective of this hope: « Regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, who said: ‘I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob’? He is the God, not of the dead, but of the living » (Matthew 22:31, 32).

Thus, this truth that set us free from the slavery of sin that leads to death, is faith in the truth that is Jesus Christ, which leads to everlasting life: « For the wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord » (Romans 6:23).

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He is more than the symbol of evil

Jesus Christ described the devil very concisely: “That one was a murderer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of the lie » (John 8:44). Satan the devil is not the abstraction of evil, but a real spiritual person (Matthew 4:1-11). Likewise, the demons are also angels who have become rebels who have followed the example of the devil (Genesis 6:1-3, to compare with the letter of Jude verse 6: « And the angels who did not keep their original position but forsook their own proper dwelling place, he has reserved with eternal bonds in dense darkness for the judgment of the great day »).

When it is written, « he did not stand fast in the truth », it shows that God created this angel without sin and without any trace of wickedness in his heart. This angel, at the beginning of his life had a « beautiful name » (Ecclesiastes 7:1a). However, « he did not stand fast » in his integrity, he cultivated pride in his heart, and over time he became « devil », which means slanderer, and Satan, opponent; his old beautiful name, his good reputation, has been replaced by one of the everlasting disgraces. In the prophecy of Ezekiel (chapter 28), against the proud king of Tyre, it is clearly alluded to the pride of the angel who became « devil » and « Satan »: « This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “You were the model of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eʹden, the garden of God. You were adorned with every precious stone —Ruby, topaz, and jasper; chrysʹo·lite, onyx, and jade; sapphire, turquoise, and emerald; And their settings and mountings were made of gold. They were prepared on the day you were created. I assigned you as the anointed covering cherub. You were on the holy mountain of God, and you walked about among fiery stones. You were faultless in your ways from the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you » (Ezekiel 28:12-15). Through his act of unrighteousness in Eden, he became a « liar » who caused the death of all of Adam’s offspring (Genesis 3; Romans 5:12). Currently, it is Satan the devil who rules the world: « Now there is a judging of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out » (John 12:31; Ephesians 2:2; 1 John 5:19).

Satan the devil will be permanently destroyed: « For his part, the God who gives peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly » (Genesis 3:15; Romans 16:20).

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