The Fiery Wrath of God

                                 Leviticus 1:1-17 (KJB)

If an Israelite desired to make an animal sacrifice for the forgiveness of his sins, he could bring a clean animal to the priests for that purpose. He could choose to bring a sin offering or a burnt offering for that purpose. If he brought a burnt offering, he had to lay his hand on the animal to symbolize that his sins and evil had been transferred to the animal. The sacrifice of the animal with a burnt offering symbolized that his sins and evil would be burnt with the animal while he would be saved alive. The word "atonement" was used by the writer to symbolize that person's forgiveness and reconciliation with God. The word "atonement" has been criticized as an error in translation because the sacrifice of an animal could not make a person "one with God" which is what "atonement" means. Hebrews 10:4 (KJB). While it is true that an animal sacrifice could not immediately make a person right with God, God's temporary forgiveness of those sins and evil would connect that person to a future day when the Holy Spirit would make the actual burnt offering sacrifice that would forever remove that person's sins, evil, and death from him so that God could forever forgive that person and reconcile him to Himself. In that sense, the word "atonement" happened to be a prophecy that God would one day make a burnt offering sacrifice of Himself to save lost sinners from eternal death, and therefore, the word "atonement" was not an error in translation. Leviticus 1:1-4 (KJB).

The New Testament mainly concerns God's salvation of sinners by His grace, and His establishment of His Church which comprises sinners saved by grace. The Old Testament sin offering symbolized Christ's shed blood on the cross to save forever lost sinners while still alive in the flesh as soon as they put their faith in Christ's sacrifice for them. John 5:24; I John 1:7; Revelation 1:5 (KJB). But some verses in the New Testament refer to the salvation of lost sinners by the burnt offering sacrifice made by God. I Corinthians 3:11-15 refers to the salvation of "every man" and not just those saved by grace. Their sins and evil will be burned, but their lives will be saved by God's fiery wrath against evil. Humans saved by grace are not saved by fire but by being washed in the shed blood of Christ. The phrase "he shall suffer loss" means that his earthly life will perish just as Jesus said in John 3:16. John 12:25 (KJB). God will use His fiery wrath to separate their dead and evil natures, which was a part of their personalities which they enjoyed while on the earth, from their good and living natures which God created and which He can never lose, so that God can recreate them in body, soul, and spirit with righteous lives forever on His recreated earth. Ecclesiastes 3:14; Matthew 13:36-43; Luke 3:16-17; II Peter 3:9-13; Revelation 5:11-14; Revelation 20:5; Revelation 21:1-5; John 5:28-29; John 11:25 (KJB). If, as II Peter 3:9 relates that God "is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance," then God will make a way to save every good and living nature of every human that He ever creates. I Timothy 4:10 (KJB).

Aaron's sons, the priests, had to sprinkle the blood of the burnt offering around the altar at the door of the tabernacle because the sin offering must always be made before the burnt offering can be made. Leviticus 1:5; Hebrews 9:22 (KJB).

The priests could then proceed with the burnt offering which would be "a sweet savour unto the Lord" because He would be satisfied that a proper burnt offering had been made for the forgiveness of the believer. The priests would wash all of the parts of the burnt offering in water. In the Bible, the word "water" often symbolizes the Holy Spirit. When Jesus died on the cross, He dismissed His Spirit to the care of His Father. Luke 23:46 (KJB). The Holy Spirit needed the care of the Father because He would descend into Hell to make the burnt offering sacrifice that God needed to save all of His living humans who would fail to become saved by His grace. Ephesians 4:8-10; Psalm 16:9-10; Acts 2:25-31 (KJB). The Holy Spirit left behind in a burning Hell all of the sins and evil of all humans not already saved by His grace. I John 2:2 (KJB). But being pure and holy, Hell could not hold Him, and so He rose from the dead to reanimate the perfect body of Jesus who rose from the grave victorious over all sins, evil, spiritual death, and the Devil. Jesus did not win just a partial victory over Satan by losing most of His living humans to an everlasting lake of fire. Jesus won an absolute and complete victory over Satan by saving from eternal death every human that He ever created and loves. I John 3:8; II Timothy 1:10; Revelation 1:17-18 (KJB). I John 3:8 can only mean that Jesus destroys all the works of the Devil, not just some of them. Jesus saved all the sinners He would save by His grace when He shed His blood on the cross, but that salvation cannot be activated for the believer until the Holy Spirit washes them in the spiritual blood of Jesus the moment that they come to faith in Christ's sacrifice for them. I Corinthians 6:11; John 6:63 (KJB). In the same way, although the Holy Spirit saved the rest of humanity when He left their sins, evil, and spiritual deaths behind in a burning Hell, their salvation cannot be activated until Christ appears to all of His living humans "on the earth, and under the earth," in a great worship service in the end of the world, and He causes them all to repent and return to the faith that He put into them when He created them. Revelation 5:11-14; Philippians 2:9-11; Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 1:31 (KJB). Christ will then resurrect them all from the regions of death, and He will recreate them all with new bodies to live forever on His recreated earth. Revelation 20:5; Revelation 21:1-5 (KJB). Christ promised, "Behold, I make all things new." Christ will cast only their dead and evil natures into the eternal lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15 (KJB). All humans saved by grace go directly to Heaven when they die. II Corinthians 5:5-9 (KJB).