EAST TO THE
By Hillel ben David (Greg
Killian)
EAST TO THE
By Hillel ben David (Greg
Killian)
This
study represents the first connection that I have been able to find between Yom HaKippurim, the red heifer, and all of the sin sacrifices offered on behalf of the whole congregation of Israel with the death of Yeshua. The connection is the “place”. I intend to show
that the goat for HaShem and the Kohen
Gadole’s (High Priest’s) bull were both burned, along with ALL of the other
sin sacrifices, offered on behalf of all
First,
I would like to mention a few of the things that happened “in the east” in
order to highlight the fact that “east” is an important direction. Those who
go east are going away from HaShem.
To The East – Away
from HaShem
Man expelled eastward out of the Garden
Bereshit (Genesis) 3:24.
Cain lived east in Nod ("to
move"). Bereshit (Genesis). 4:16
Lot traveled east towards Sodom.
Bereshit (Genesis).13:11.
Cherubim. Bereshit (Genesis) 3:24.
The ten
tribes were taken eastward as captives
II Melachim (Kings) 17:6.
The two tribes
were taken eastward into captivity II Melachim (Kings) 25:21.
The Shechinah Glory of HaShem
withdrew eastward.
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 10:18-19
& 11:22- 23.
The penalty for sin was east of the Temple altar. Vayikra (Leviticus) 4:1- 12, 1:16, Yechezkel (Ezekiel)43:21, Bereans (Hebrews) 13:11-12
East of the
To The West – Towards HaShem
Yom
HaKippurim blood sprinkled eastward on mercy seat. Vayikra (Leviticus) 16:14
Tribes
on the East go first. Bamidbar (Numbers) 10:5
Moses and Aaron camped here.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 3:38
Mt. of
2 Shmuel (Samuel) 15:30-32
The Mount of Olives
– As close as we can get to HaShem
Mt. of
Mashiach
ascended into heaven from the
Red heifer burned on the
Look
carefully at these examples. Notice that whenever we go to the east we are
moving away from HaShem! When Adam was expelled from
the garden,[1] where he walked with HaShem, he is cast out of
the presence of HaShem and moved further east, further from ‘The Light’.
The Cherubim[2] were placed at the eastern gate because when
man moves towards HaShem (travelling west) he will encounter the eastern gate.
Cain
killed Abel and is sent even further to the east as his crime distances him
from HaShem.
When
Lot separated from Avraham,[3] whom HaShem loved,
he moved himself to the east. He moved himself away from The One to whom HaShem
spoke. He moved himself away from ‘The Light’.
When
our sins forced the Shechinah to leave the Temple, the Shechinah also went east to go into exile
with us.
In
every case, going east means to move away from HaShem and to move away from
‘The Light’.
Going
to the east is not a good thing.
Coming
from the east, by going west, we move closer to HaShem. Going from the east,
towards the west, is to move closer to HaShem.
Now,
let’s examine Yeshua’s death and the reasons behind
it. Since the location is important, I will be making note of those events
which indicate location. Keep in mind that my goal it to connect the sin
sacrifices, for all
A blasphemer was to die "outside the
camp":
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 24:10-16 Now the son of an Israelite
mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke
out in the camp between him and an Israelite. The son
of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse; so they brought him to
Moses. (His mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite.) They
put him in custody until the will of HaShem should be made clear to them. Then
HaShem said to Moses: "Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All
those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly
is to stone him. Say to the Israelites: 'If anyone
curses his God, he will be held responsible; Anyone who blasphemes the name of HaShem must be put to
death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien
or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.
Yeshua was condemned for blasphemy:
Matityahu
(Matthew) 26:63-66 But Yeshua
remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I
charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Mashiach, the Son of God." "Yes, it is as
you say," Yeshua replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you
will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming
on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken
blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.
What do you think?" "He is worthy of death," they answered.
Yeshua died outside the city gate and outside the
camp, which was the penalty for blasphemers. He died in a place removed from
HaShem and His Presence:
Bereans
(Hebrews) 13:9-14 Do not be carried away by all
kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts
to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods,
which are of no value to those who eat them. We
have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle
have no right to eat. The high priest carries the blood of animals into the
So,
where is this altar? On the
Where is
"outside the camp"?
Well,
lets look at an event which took place "outside the camp". Notice
that the bull is burned "outside the camp" while the blood is
sprinkled towards the front of the Tent of Moed:
Bamidbar
(Numbers) 19:1-9 HaShem
said to Moses and Aaron: "This is a requirement of the law
that HaShem has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never
been under a yoke. Give it to Eleazar the priest; it
is to be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. Then
Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting. While
he watches, the heifer is to be burned--its hide, flesh, blood and offal. The
priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and throw them onto
the burning heifer. After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe
himself with water. He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially
unclean till evening. The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe
with water, and he too will be unclean till evening. "A man who is clean
shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean
place outside the camp. They shall be kept by the Israelite community for
use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin.
The Mishna says something
very interesting about this event:
Middoth
2:4 All the walls that were there on the Temple Mount were high, with the exception of the
eastern wall, so that the Priest who burned the red heifer stood on top of the Mount
of Olives and was able to see directly into the entrance of the Sanctuary when the blood was tossed.
Middoth
1:3 The surrounding wall of the whole quadrangle of the
Temple area of the Temple mount had five gates, namely
the two Chuldah Gates (named after the prophetess) on
the south that served for entrance and exit to the Temple
Mount, the Kiphonos Gate on the west that served for entrance and exit, the
Tadi Gate on the north which served no purpose, the Eastern Gate whereon the
Castle of Shushan was sculptured through which the High
Priest who burned the red heifer and all the priests
that assisted therewith went forth to the Mount of Olives (the Mount of
Installation).
From
this we see that outside the camp, in this case, meant on the top of the
When Yeshua died, notice
what people SAW:
Luqas
(Luke) 23:44-48 It was now about the sixth hour,
and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, For the sun stopped
shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
Yeshua called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my
spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion,
seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a
righteous man." When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight
saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.
Matityahu
(Matthew) 27:50-54 And when Yeshua had cried out
again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of
the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the
rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of
many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs,
and after Yeshua' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion
and those with him who were guarding Yeshua saw the earthquake and all that
had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the
Son of God!"
Marqos
(Mark) 15:37-39 With a loud cry, Yeshua breathed
his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And
when the centurion, who stood there in front of Yeshua,
heard his cry and saw that he so cried out, he said, "Surely this
man was the Son of God!"
I
believe that the only way that they could say that the curtain was torn at the
same “moment” that Yeshua died, was to see
it. What made the centurion say that
this was "the Son of God"? If the centurion knew how thick the
curtain was and how important the curtain was, he might very well understand
the significance. He surely did not think that the fact that Yeshua died and
cried out would make him the Son of God! So, the only place "outside the
camp" where the curtain could be see was on the
II
Luqas (Acts) 6:7-15 So the word of God spread. The
number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and
a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. Now Stephen, a man full
of God's grace and power, did great wonders and
miraculous signs among the people. Opposition arose,
however, from members of the Synagogue of the
Freedmen (as it was called)--Jews of
II
Luqas (Acts) 7:51-59 "You stiff-necked people,
with uncircumcised hearts
and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always
resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not
persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous
One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him-- You who have received the law
that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it." When they
heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth
at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven
and saw the glory of God, and Yeshua standing at the right hand of God. "Look,"
he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man
standing at the right hand of God." At this they covered their ears and,
yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, Dragged him out
of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their
clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him,
Stephen prayed, "The Lord Yeshua, receive my spirit."
Notice where the Yom
HaKippurim bull and goat were burned:
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 16:26-27 "The man who releases the
goat as a scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water;
afterward he may come into the camp. The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most
Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside
the camp; their hides, flesh and offal are to be burned up.
Notice what else went "outside the camp".
The ordination offering:
Shemot
(Exodus) 29:10-14 "Bring the bull to the
front of the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron and his
sons shall lay their hands on its head. Slaughter it in HaShem's
presence at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Take
some of the bull's blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger,
and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar. Then take all the fat
around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, and both kidneys
with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar. But burn the bull's flesh and
its hide and its offal outside the camp. It is a sin
offering.
The Tent of Moed
(Meeting):
Shemot
(Exodus) 33:7-11 Now Moses used to take a tent
and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the
"tent of meeting." Anyone inquiring of HaShem would go to the tent of
meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the
people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he
entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come
down and stay at the entrance, while HaShem spoke with Moses. Whenever the
people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood
and worshipped, each at the entrance to his tent. HaShem would speak to
Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to
the camp, but his young aide Yehoshua (Joshua) son of Nun did not leave the
tent.
This place where they worshipped is interesting
because of:
II
Shmuel (Samuel) 15:29-32 So Zadok and Abiathar took the
ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there. But
David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping
as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him
covered their heads too and were weeping as they went
up. Now David had been told, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with
Absalom." So David prayed, "HaShem, turn
Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness." When David arrived at the
summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to
meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head.
From
the above pasukim we can see that when we want to move closer to HaShem, we
move towards the west. When we arrive at the Mount of Olives, we have moved
as close to HaShem as we can, given the sin in our lives.
Unintentional sin by the priest:
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 4:3-12 "'If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt
on the people, he must bring to HaShem a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. He is to
present the bull at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting
before HaShem. He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it before
HaShem. Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull's blood and carry
it into the Tent of Meeting. He is to dip his
finger into the blood and sprinkle some of it seven
times before HaShem, in front of the curtain of the sanctuary.
The priest shall then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of
fragrant incense that is before HaShem in the Tent
of Meeting. The rest of the bull's blood he shall pour out at the base of the
altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent
of Meeting. He shall remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering--the
fat that covers the inner parts or is connected to them, Both kidneys with the
fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver,
which he will remove with the kidneys-- Just as the fat
is removed from the ox sacrificed as a fellowship offering. Then the priest
shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering. But the hide of the bull and
all its flesh, as well as the head and legs, the inner parts and offal-- That
is, all the rest of the bull--he must take outside the camp to a place
ceremonially clean, where the ashes are thrown, and burn it in a wood fire on the ash heap.
Unintentional sin by the WHOLE community of Israel:
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 4:13-21 "'If the whole Israelite
community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of HaShem’s commands, even though the community is unaware
of the matter, they are guilty. When they become aware of the sin
they committed, the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin
offering and present it before the Tent of Meeting.
The elders of the community are to lay their hands on the bull's head before
HaShem, and the bull shall be slaughtered before HaShem. Then the anointed priest is to take some of the bull's blood into the
Tent of Meeting. He shall dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it before
HaShem seven times in front of the curtain. He is to
put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before HaShem in the
Tent of Meeting. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the
altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. He shall remove
all the fat from it and burn it on the altar, And do with this bull just as he
did with the bull for the sin offering. In this way the priest will make
atonement for them, and they will be forgiven. Then he shall take the bull outside
the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull. This is the sin offering for the community.
The ashes of all burnt
offerings:
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 6:8-11 HaShem said to Moses: "Give
Aaron and his sons this command: 'These are the regulations for the burnt
offering: The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout
the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept
burning on the altar. The priest shall then put on his linen clothes, with
linen undergarments next to his body, and shall remove
the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar and
place them beside the altar. Then he is to take off these clothes and put on
others, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is
ceremonially clean.
The ordination sin offering:
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 8:13-17 Then he brought Aaron's sons
forward, put tunics on them, tied sashes around them and put headbands on them,
as HaShem commanded Moses. He then presented the bull
for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid
their hands on its head. Moses slaughtered the bull and took some of the blood,
and with his finger he put it on all the horns of the altar to purify the
altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. So he
consecrated it to make atonement for it. Moses also
took all the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, and both kidneys and their fat, and burned it on the altar. But the
bull with its hide and its flesh and its offal he burned up outside the camp,
as HaShem commanded Moses.
The sin offering for the people:
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 9:7-11 Moses said to Aaron, "Come
to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt
offering and make atonement for yourself and the people; sacrifice the
offering that is for the people and make atonement for them, as HaShem has
commanded." So Aaron came to the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin
offering for himself. His sons brought the blood to him, and he dipped his
finger into the blood and put it on the horns of the altar; the rest of the
blood he poured out at the base of the altar. On the altar he burned the fat,
the kidneys and the covering of the liver from the sin offering, as HaShem
commanded Moses; The flesh and the hide he burned up outside the camp.
Think of the "camp" as the Garden of Eden, the place where HaShem puts His Presence.
Think of the camp as the Tabernacle or the Temple. Notice who is "outside the camp" now:
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 13:40-46 "When a man has lost his hair and is bald, he is clean. If he has lost his hair
from the front of his scalp and has a bald forehead, he is clean. But if he has
a reddish-white sore on his bald head or forehead, it is an infectious disease
breaking out on his head or forehead. The priest is to examine him, and if the swollen sore on
his head or forehead is reddish-white like an infectious skin disease, The man
is diseased and is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him unclean because of
the sore on his head. "The person with such an infectious disease must
wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face
and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!' As long as he has the infection he remains
unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.
Bamidbar
(Numbers) 5:1-4 HaShem
said to Moses, "Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone
who has an infectious skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is
ceremonially unclean because of a dead body. Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp
so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell
among them." The Israelites did this; they sent
them outside the camp. They did just as HaShem had instructed Moses.
Notice that the sacrifices that went "outside
the camp" were the sacrifices which dealt with the sin of the House of
Israel. These are
the same sins that Mashiach came to deal with! This
connects Mashiach to Yom HaKippurim. The people who
were "outside the camp" were the people who were an illustration of sin and the effects of sin. The Mishna
also notes that the EAST side of the Beit HaMikdash
(The House of the Holy One - The Temple) was dealt with as a holy place:
Berachoth
9: 5 A man must not behave with
levity opposite the East Gate because it faces towards the Holy of Holies.
It
is also noteworthy that the
Bereshit
(Genesis) 3:24 After he drove the man out, he
placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming
sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree
of life.
Why
didn't HaShem have cherubim on all four
sides? Were the walls too high? was there only the gate where the water came
out? Consider that when the
So
why does HaShem put Cherubim at the eastern gate? To preserve Gan Eden until we are ready, until we have repented of our
sins.
This
"clean place" was spoken of in some of the scriptures we have already
looked at:
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 4:11-12 But the hide of the bull and all
its flesh, as well as the head and legs, the inner parts and offal-- That is,
all the rest of the bull--he must take outside the camp to a place
ceremonially clean, where the ashes are thrown, and burn it in a wood fire on the ash heap.
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 6:11 Then he is to take off these
clothes and put on others, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place
that is ceremonially clean.
Bamidbar
(Numbers) 19:9 "A man who is clean shall
gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place
outside the camp. They shall be kept by the Israelite community for use in the
water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin.
This
study was designed to show a relationship between ALL of the sin sacrifices offered on behalf of ALL
Conversely,
coming towards HaShem is depicted as Westward:
Abram was called from
The tribes
returned from captivity going west
II Melachim (Kings) 17:6 &
25:21.
The Holy of Holies was in the
west end of the Tabernacle, as well as the First and
Second Temples, as it will be in future Third temple.
Therefore, coming to the presence of God with the Ark of the Covenant was only possible by going west from the east
Bamidbar (Numbers) 3:38,
Vayikra (Leviticus) 16:14, and
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 43:1-5.
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) saw the Glory
of HaShem returning westward Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 43:1-5.
The wise men went west to find
the baby Yeshua Matityahu (Matthew) 2:1-2.
The Mashiach
will come from the east going west to enter the
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 44:1-3 and
Rev. 19:11-16.
The blood (of the bullocks used
as sacrifices) was used westward in the Temple, while the flesh was burned to
the east on the Mount of Olives. Vayikra (Leviticus) 4:7, 11-12, Vayikra
(Leviticus) 1:16,
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 43:21, and
Heb.13:10-12.
The Red Heifer was offered on the
The Children of Israel entered
the Promised Land over the
The
westerly direction in Scriptures indicates moving towards HaShem, a redemptive process. Going to the east indicates
movement away from HaShem.
* * *
The
altar in the
Among
the greatest codifiers of Jewish Law is the Rambam
(Rabbi Moshe Maimonides). He writes[4]:
"The Altar is
in a very precise location, which may never be changed." He
then goes on to tell that the Altars that Avraham, Noach, Kayin, Hevel, and Adam sacrificed on were all on this exact location. Offering
a sacrifice on any other location is considered to be a grave sin
and a desecration.
* * *
Yeshua also used the Mount of Olives for praying:
Yochanan (John) 22:39 And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the
mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. 40 And when he was at the place, he said unto
them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. 41 And he was withdrawn from them about a
stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42
Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me:
nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
* * *
This study was written by Hillel ben David
(Greg Killian).
Comments may be submitted to:
Greg Killian
7104 Inlay St SE
Lacey, WA 98513
Internet address: gkilli@aol.com
Web page: http://www.betemunah.org/
(360) 584-9352
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