i can understand your concerns because of the seemingly conflicting scientific interpretations of our world around us, however, i would like to highlight something very important about apologetics and biblie doctrine that is of vital importance…it goes to the very credibility of the bible itself.
Lets look at the Sanctuary Service in Exodus and Leviticus.
Why were the Israelites given this service as a people after the exodus? Contrary to the beliefs of some, it was not a new thing. The sacrificial system had been in place for thousands of years…long before the Exodus. How do we know this?
- Abraham sacrificed to the God in Heaven and he lived hundreds of years before the exodus
- Noah sacrificed to the God in Heaven and he lived more than 1000 years before the Exodus
- Cain and Abel sacrificed to the God in Heaven and according to the literal reading of Genesis (which ovviously some do not agree with), Cain and Abel (adams first two boys) lived more than 1000 years before the flood and well over 2000 years prior to the exodus
Ok, back to the Sanctuary Service…Why did the Sanctuary Service exist?
The Sanctuary Service is a reminder of the means by which the wages of Sin would be resolved. Satan caused this by claiming God was selfish and unfair in heaven. This left no option but for God to prove his own innocence and he Did this by dying for the sins of His own creation. If God could achieve this, then immediately the responsiblity would fall back on Satan himself…he would ultimately be proven wrong and thus he would become responsible for all of the pain and suffering that he caused throughout the ages. That is the entire point of the whole Bible.
Because Adam and Eve sinned, and every individual after them sinned as well, all humanity was condemned to die. No man can be saved from the wages of sin of his own accord. Mankind could never be redemed back to God unless someone without sin paid the ultimate price for sin (a sinner cannot make atonement for sin…remember as part of the service, the lamb brought to the sacrifice had to be perfect…without blemish is the proper term)
Also, the wages of sin is not absolved by the blood of sheep and goats (some may not realise this however read Hebrews 10:4).
The ONLY way that humanity is saved from the wages of sin is through the death of Christ (The Lamb of God) on the cross.
This is the entire reason why we were given the sanctuary service in the Old Testament. For thousands of years prior to the time of Christ, all who believed in God and followed His commands, participated literally in the sanctuary service and in addition to this, on one day each year, they celebrated the day of Atonement…the day in which the earthly sanctuary was cleansed and sin transferred from the Tabernacle to the Scapegoat (Azazeel). This goat was then cast out into the wilderness. This represents the final tranferral of the responsibility for all the sin of humanity to Satan himself. It is also why the millenium cannot be before the second coming of Christ. The transfer of sin from the Tabernacle to the scapegoat only happened when the priest left the sanctuary and went out to the entrace of the outer courtyard and laid his hands on the scapegoat. Christ, our heavenly high priest after the order of Melchizzadek does not leave the heavenly sanctuary until just prior to his second coming. (because he is in the sanctuary in heaven now…that is where he went to after his ascention to heaven).
Anyway, back to the point…
The earthly sanctuary service was a ritual that was real, it was performed daily by the israelite high priests…it cannot be an allegory because the founder of the service on earth came at the hands of Moses Himself and was performed by Aaron (Moses brother) and Aarons sons. It is impossible to ignore the apologetics of the Sanctuary Service and claim it is not relevant to Christianity…it absolutely is exactly why its a very important area of study.
This is also another reason why the evidence supports the ressurection of Christ…its because apologetically, it is very difficult to accept everything that came before Christs ressurection, everything that the apostles saw and wrote after his ascention (Paul is a very good illustration), and ignore the ressurection is also true. The consistency of doctrine throughout the bible is to accurate for the claims parts are true and parts are simply mythical stories or allegories. One has to take a theologically wholistic approach to scripture…and apologetically it is impossible to pretend parts of it that are written in a manner that are meant to be literal accounts of history (such as the ressurrection of Christ) are mythical or not real. To do so is to essentially discredit the entire writings and make it worthless…particularly if one truly understands the Sanctuary Service.
I would encourage those who have doubts to read the entire account of the
Sanctuary in Exodus and Leviticus, and also read the book of Hebrews. Study them deeply, they are vital in understanding the Gospel. If you do not understand why Christ came and died, the rest is useless/pointless.
The entire plan of salvation is explained in the Sanctuary Service. Please also do not forget, the earthly sanctuary is a copy of the heavenly sanctuary…and that is very important (and also why we must study the book of Hebrews)