Amos Ministries

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Since the destruction of the Temple of God, the Jewish people have lost their connection with the Heavenly Father. Jewish people have grasped at certain stories in the Bible like the story of Jonah, to support a very key belief which contradicts God’s word. The Jewish people believe that God grants forgiveness without the need for a blood sacrifice which can only be performed in the Temple. A belief that God will grant forgiveness through repentance only.

For the Christian, this statement is true because we have accepted the final sacrifice and shedding of blood which is the teachings of Jesus Christ. By accepting Jesus’ teachings without adding exceptions or compromise, we are forgiven of our iniquity. When we pray and admit our sins according to his teachings, our transgressions are forgiven as well. Jesus is our Temple which is greater than every Temple that came before.

Matthew 12:6 – I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.

However, for the Jewish people who ascribe to the earthly Temple system, there must be a Temple in order to perform the following:

• Pray for forgiveness of their transgressions.
• Offer daily and yearly animal sacrifices (burnt offerings) as atonement for their iniquity (sins they do not know).

The Temple has been destroyed and in its place, the Dome of The Rock mosque has been built. Because of this, the important ceremonies which have been mandated by God in the scriptures, cannot be performed. 

The Jewish people can either accept Jesus as their Messiah and Temple or they must go on having their sins unforgiven because the physical Temple of God has been destroyed.

Jonah was a Jewish prophet who was sent by God to the non-Jewish (or Gentile) people of Nineveh. The people of Nineveh were Assyrians. Jonah was instructed by God to make the Ninevites aware of their sins and give them the opportunity to repent or be punished. 

The Temple of God was still standing at this time. The people of Nineveh prayed towards the Temple. They prayed according to its name and ways, which embodies God and received forgiveness. If there was no Temple to pray according to, the people would not have been able to pray and receive forgiveness. 

By accepting Jonah’s preaching, the people of Nineveh were accepting the Temple’s name – the place where God had chosen to stand for His name.

When the people of Nineveh earnestly repented of their sins, God did not punish them and He forgave their sin. This allowance was made for these non-Jewish people because they were not obligated to offer sacrifices at the Temple of God for forgiveness of sins, unlike the Jewish people.

In the Temple of God, Gentiles were not even allowed past the Gentile court let alone make sacrifices.

Ezekiel 44:7-9 – In addition to all your other detestable practices, you brought foreigners uncircumcised in heart and flesh into my sanctuary, desecrating my temple while you offered me food, fat and blood, and you broke my covenant. 8 Instead of carrying out your duty in regard to my holy things, you put others in charge of my sanctuary. 9 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh is to enter my sanctuary, not even the foreigners who live among the Israelites

Acts 21:28-29 – shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.” 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple). 

At the dedication of the Temple, King Solomon said a prayer which included forgiveness for Gentiles if they pray towards the Temple and God has honored this prayer. 

1 Kings 8:41-43 – Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake 42 (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, 43 hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.

This is why God relented from his punishment of the people of Nineveh when they repented of their known sins. But if there was no Temple, God would not have forgiven the people of Nineveh because forgiveness of sins is always connected to the Temple. 

For Christians, Jesus is our eternal Temple.

Secondly, the Jewish people were unrepentant when confronted by Jeremiah the prophet regarding their sins. As a result, God punished them by exiling them to Babylon, a place where they were separated from God. He no longer turned His face towards them or heard their prayers or answered them.

Isaiah 59:2 – but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

In the same way the Jewish people ignored Jeremiah, we will also experience this kind of spiritual exile if we ignore the voice of Jesus. We must heed the voice of Jesus and fully repent the way the people of Nineveh did to the words of Jonah.

Matthew 12:41 – The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.

Luke 11:32 – The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here.

In the case of Nineveh, however, the Ninevites repented at Jonah’s words and God forgave them.

For the Jewish people, the Temple sacrifice is required in order to receive forgiveness of unknown sins.

For the Jewish people, the Temple of God is required in order to make sacrifices, receive forgiveness of unknown sins and to pray towards for known sins.

Leviticus 17:11 – For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.

Hebrews 9:22 – In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

The daily sacrifices are a permanent statute which is to be observed throughout the generations. The scriptures do not give or elude to any alternative option for sacrifices until the Messiah comes (whom the Jewish people believe has not come yet).

That said, the story of Jonah does not justify the Jewish people’s argument that they can receive forgiveness of unknown sins without offering a blood sacrifice that can only be made in the Temple, which no longer exists. 

Forgiveness for known sins can also only be received if you are praying towards the Temple, but this also no longer stands.

As a prophet, Jonah was able to make the Gentiles aware of their unintentional sin (iniquity).

Lamentations 2:14 – Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; They have not uncovered your iniquity, to bring back your captives, but have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions.

However, there was no one who could point out Jonah’s unintentional sins. This is why a blood sacrifice was required. It covers his misunderstanding, as no one is perfect in God’s eyes. 

1 Kings 8:46 – When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin-

2 Chronicles 6:36 – When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—

This type of sin, known as iniquity, requires a blood sacrifice to receive forgiveness.

When Jonah prays on his own behalf, he also mentions the Temple. Jonah’s prayer was heard because the Temple stood at this time. This is why Jonah makes reference to the Temple within his prayer.

Jonah 2:4 & 7 – Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.

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