Why Bible Believers Don't Sacrifice Animals Today

Animal sacrifice often comes up in Christian circles when discussing the Hebrew faith or Torah observant believers. If you don't sacrifice animals you're not keeping the whole law, right? And if you're guilty of breaking part of the law, what's the point in trying to keep the rest? Or if you're keeping the Sabbath and dietary regulations, doesn't that mean you want to sacrifice animals? The arguments go something like that.

Let's be clear here: we don't sacrifice animals. We don't need to sacrifice animals. We don't want to. And we shouldn't.

Hebrews teaches that the old Temple system of the Levitical priesthood is no longer needed thanks to the Messiah's sacrifice. Though the Levitical system was tremendously valuable, it is inferior to the priesthood of the Messiah. That seems fair, right? What could ever top the Messiah himself?

Yahusha the Messiah is our high priest and he operates under the order of Melchizedek. He is not a Levitical priest and doesn't act like one. Scripture tells us that the blood of bulls and goats can't take away our sins. But the Messiah's unchangeable priesthood remains forever and saves completely! (Hebrews 7:24-25)

I like the phrasing there, "saves completely!" Not "mostly saves." Not, "Hey I'm doing all this - can I get a little extra help from a goat?" He saves completely, so no one else needs to do this. If someone has completely cleaned my kitchen, do I need to go wash everything again? Or would that maybe be insulting to the cleaner? Wouldn't I be saying, "I appreciate you doing this an all, but I don't quite trust that you did it right, so I'm going to rewash the dishes"? Unlike how my kitchen will need cleaned again later, Yahusha does not need to sacrifice himself repeatedly.

"He entered into the Most Set-apart place once and for all, not with the blood of goats and bulls, but with His own blood, obtaining everlasting redemption." -Hebrews 9:12

His sacrifice was once and for all. His blood obtained redemption for us that is good for yesterday, today, and forever. It would be an insult to treat his sacrifice the same as the continual animal sacrifices.

-Does this mean that the Levitical priesthood was bad? Not at all. It was created by YHWH for a specific purpose for a specific time (Hebrews 9:10). It was not meant to be a substitute for the true, Heavenly plan for redemption, but was rather a copy and shadow of the Messiah's blood poured out for us (Hebrews 8:5).

-Doesn't Scripture say forever? How does this idea fit with verses like Exodus 40:15, "They shall be an everlasting priesthood"? It's important to note that the word translated as everlasting or forever (olam in Hebrew) does not always mean literally forever. It is necessary to discern if olam is used to mean for all time or for a set time. This is similar to how forever gets used in English. If you have a long shift at work, you might remark to a friend that you'll "be there forever," and of course that doesn't mean you'll be on the job for all eternity. Or if a teacher tells students that they want homework turned in a certain way, "forever," or "for the entire time," they don't mean they want students to do that for the rest of their lives, but the rest of the time they are in their class. Olam is often used to mean for all time (YHWH is the same forever), but in this case olam means a set time. Considering that the Levitical priesthood hasn't operated in close to 2,000 years it is not an everlasting priesthood.

-Aren't we just waiting for a Temple to restart sacrifices? Animal sacrifice and the Levitical system was instated long before the Temple was ever built, so no a Temple is not a prerequisite to animal sacrifices. While it's true that Judaism (a religion that does not love or accept the Messiah) is making plans to rebuild the Temple, we need to strongly consider if we should align ourselves with another religion on this matter.

-What about Ezekiel? Many people believe that Temple sacrifices and Levitical priesthood will continue into the Millennial reign because of Ezekiel 43. It is imperative that we understand that the book of Ezekiel is actually a collection of thirteen scrolls and that the book does not place these in chronological order. According to the dates found in the book, chapter 43 and the vision for Temple service actually predates chapters 1-7 by five years! If we read the book chronologically, we see that this chapter was a conditional offer for Israel at that time, and that it is not regarding the Millennial reign, or any time after the Messiah came. Which is why John didn't see any kind of Temple in his vision of the new heaven and earth (Revelation 21:22).

-What about Daniel? Contrary to popular belief, Daniel doesn't prophecy of Temple sacrifice getting taken away in the end times. It's actually about sacrifice being reinstated! The literal translation of Daniel 8:11 would be, "He was magnified before the prince of host and the daily sacrifice was exalted, the exalted cornerstone of the Holy Place (the Messiah) was cast down." Daniel's abomination of desolation is the exaltation of the daily animal sacrifices instead of Yahusha's. Let's take note that animal sacrifice isn't just unnecessary thanks to the Messiah's sacrifice, but it's actually an abomination according to Scripture!

-Does this change in priesthood mean a change in the rest of Scripture as well? Not at all. The regulations for the Levitical system are not the same thing as the commandments given by YHWH to the people as to how to live. Nowhere does Scripture say instructions on eating, Sabbath observance, keeping the feasts, the ten commandments, etc. are done away with or changed, or that those commandments were intended only for the members of the Levitical priesthood. A change in priesthood doesn't mean everything else is changed too. If it seems like your Scripture says this, chances are you have a poor translation mixed with man made beliefs. Hebrews tells us that Sabbath keeping remains and that YHWH promises to write the Torah on our hearts.

Yahusha's death firmly entrenched him as our Melchizedek priest forever. Melchizedek is a different system than the Levitical priesthood, and thus operates differently. And the Messiah is much, much greater than any earthly high priest. His sacrifice was once and for all. If we believe his blood covers our sins, why would we need extra help from an animal? While his words remain forever, we need to make sure we know what priesthood our high priest operates under.

Related posts:
Comparing the Melchizedek and Levitical Priesthoods
Understanding Hebrews
A Hebraic Perspective on Galatians

Why Daniel Refused to Eat the King's Meat

"Give us only vegetables to eat." -Daniel 1:12

Scripture regards Daniel very highly. He is described by Yahusha as, "a man greatly beloved," and YHWH specifically mentions the righteousness of Daniel along with Noah and Job (Ezekiel 14:14). He was able to interpret prophecy, pray for the return of Judah from exile, had incredible visions, prayed three times a day, and was supernaturally protected from an execution attempt. Nothing bad about Daniel is spoken of in Scripture.

And this highly regarded man spent at least part of his life as a vegetarian. Do you know why?

Maybe you have heard of the Daniel Fast. It is inspired by the events in the first chapter of the book of Daniel.

"But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's food, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested to the chief of the officers permission to abstain that he might not defile himself." -Daniel 1:8

As we see a few verses later the initially hesitant officer decided to let Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah go on a vegetarian diet for ten days. Verse 15 says that after the ten days were up the officer was so impressed with the beauty and health of their faces that he put the rest of the captives on a vegetarian diet as well.

The premise of the Daniel Fast is a simple vegan diet with no dairy, meat, eggs, sugar, or alcohol for a determined amount of time in attempt to grow closer to the Messiah (and for some, lose weight or get their health back on track). I know many people who have been greatly impacted by doing the Daniel Fast, and personally many of my meals fit into these guidelines; so I'm not saying anything against participating in it.

But I do have a question: did Daniel think he was fasting?

We just read that Daniel purposed not to defile himself. The reason he requested vegetables and water wasn't so that he could 'focus on prayer' or 'grow closer to God' like many do when they start a fast. He said he didn't want to defile himself. Daniel wanted to keep Scripture's instructions about what to eat.

In ancient Babylon many animals that YHWH says not to eat were regularly consumed. Pigs, shellfish, and turtle, along with other animals (clean and unclean) were regularly eaten. While Scripture doesn't record exactly what was being served to Daniel and his friends, we can clearly see it was unclean, otherwise Daniel wouldn't have thought it would defile himself. Even if it was a clean animal that YHWH permits us to eat, like beef, there is no reason the pagan Babylonians would have been careful to drain the blood as YHWH tells us to. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah did not eat the king's meat since they didn't want to break a commandment of YHWH.

It would have been easy for them to make excuses. They were prisoners in captivity after all! But Daniel resolved not to defile himself. And YHWH and Yahusha both spoke so highly of him for it.

It can be argued that if Daniel hadn't been faithful to the dietary commandments in chapter 1 the rest of the book wouldn't have taken place. He wouldn't have been given the interpretation to Nebuchadnezzar's dream, seen visions, or been protected in the lions' den. Would Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah have worshiped the image the king set up? While I don't believe that diet alone is what made Daniel righteous, we do know that the action of keeping YHWH's commands is righteous. Daniel wouldn't have gotten credit for knowing he shouldn't eat unclean meat, it is the doing that YHWH esteems (Romans 2:13).

I do not say this to imply that vegetarianism or veganism is superior to all other diets, or the only dietary options that honor YHWH. He permits the consumption of clean meat and dairy throughout Scripture, and even specifically instructs lamb to be eaten at Passover. Daniel's option was unclean meat that Scripture says not to eat, or a vegetarian meal. The answer was easy for him, he wanted to honor YHWH and be obedient to his commands. Whether your next meal is vegetarian or not, make sure that it's one that follows Scripture's instructions.

More on Biblical eating:
Did the Messiah Declare All Foods Clean?
Understanding Peter's Vision

What is Biblically Clean Eating?