I think it should be pretty clear by now that the Cities of Refuge are a physical demonstration of the New Testament gospel message.
They show that if a person dies in an unrighteousness state, he is already judged and goes to the Place of Torments.
But on the other hand, if a person dies in righteousness, he is ushered into the safety of Abraham’s bosom.
God has given permission to the devil to possess those who deliberately sin.
However, Satan cannot touch those who confess their sins and seek atonement for their souls in the Lord.
As the pattern in the Torah demonstrates, the passing away of the High Priest was necessary to allow straight passage to heaven upon death instead of having to go to some intermediary place first.
And I’d also like to add that Messiah Yeshua’s blood atones not just for Israel but for the whole human race.
What’s interesting to note however is that there did exist a certain kind righteousness in the “Old” Testament before the advent of Yeshua.
Yet we can see that this “Old” Testament righteousness was still not sufficient to gain entrance into heaven itself.
That would take another kind of righteousness not attainable by mortal man and was something only Yeshua could accomplish for us.
Abraham, Jacob, Isaac and the other saints of old had to go through 2 steps to get heaven.
First, they had to trust Hashem and obey Torah (in faith).
If they did that, upon passing away, they were immediately sent to a safe place we now call Abraham’s bosom where they were safe from the devil’s clutches.
But again, Abraham’s bosom was NOT heaven.
The “Old” Testament saints were held captive there until the death of their spiritual High Priest which we know today is Yeshua.
Yeshua releasing them from their captivity so they could enter heaven was the second step.
Today, under the New Covenant, there are no more intermediary steps.
Abraham’s bosom is now completely empty and it will never be occupied by another soul again.
Why?
Because it’s no longer needed.
The Place of Torments or hell is another matter altogether however.
As demonstrated in the story of Lazarus and the rich man, once someone lands there, there is no escape or release.
Today, the only acceptable righteousness is the righteousness we get from our faith in Messiah.
It’s not our righteousness.
It is Yeshua’s righteousness.
We just wear it like a garment.
And let’s not forget the final warning given to the rich man who was burning in hell.
‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Did you catch that?
We must listen to Moses and the Prophets.
Woe to those who hold to a theology that says the Torah has been done away with.
Remember Yeshua came to bring the Torah to its ultimate expression and fulfillment, NOT to do away with it.
Understand the difference lest you put your soul in danger.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“But do not think I will
accuse you before the Father.
Your accuser is Moses,
on whom your hopes are set.
If you believed Moses,
you would believe me,
for he wrote about me.
But since you do not
believe what he wrote,
how are you going to
believe what I say?”
-John 5:45-47
“For God so loved the world that
he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life.”
-John 3:16
“Yeshua said to him,
‘I am the way, the truth,
and the life.
No one comes to the Father,
except through me.'”
-John 14:6
Leave a Reply