Christ and Jewish animal sacrifices

[Marie5890]

We, as Christians, know that Christ came as the Last Great Sacrifice. But when did animal sacrifices finally die off for the Jews?

How long were these observance continued? Anyone know?

Thanks

 

[DOShea]

Since they had to be offered at the Temple in Jerusalem, and that was destroyed in 70 AD, it would have been then. The attack on the Jews in Palestine also disrupted the lines and records of the Levitical priesthood, which were also necessary for sacrifices to be offered.

 

[juliamajor]

No Temple - No sacrifices- that’s the crux of the matter.

 

[Marie5890]

Thank you both…

The moment I read your replies I had one of those personal “duh” moments of “oh yea, of course!”

 

[Yerusalyim]

Since they had to be offered at the Temple in Jerusalem, and that was destroyed in 70 AD, it would have been then. The attack on the Jews in Palestine also disrupted the lines and records of the Levitical priesthood, which were also necessary for sacrifices to be offered.

Not entirely true…there are still Jewish men identified as Priests and in Israel they’ve remade most of the implements for temple sacrafice and have priests trained to do it, however, the temple must first be re-established.

 

[Splinker]

Not entirely true…there are still Jewish men identified as Priests and in Israel they’ve remade most of the implements for temple sacrafice and have priests trained to do it, however, the temple must first be re-established.

So then, it is actually, entirely true. The Temple has not been rebuilt and animal sacrifices stopped with the destruction of the Temple. There is also room for the belief that when the Temple is rebuilt, animal sacrifices may not be resumed.

 

[bpbasilphx]

\The attack on the Jews in Palestine also disrupted the lines and records of the Levitical priesthood,\

**Jews to this day know who is a Cohen (priestly descendant of Aaron) and who is not.

Leonard Nimoy is a non-practicing Cohen. The “Live long and prosper” gesture is derived from how the Cohenim hold their hands to give the Aaronic blessing.

General Wesley Clark is, as far as I know, a practicing Cohen.**

 

[DOShea]

Disruption does not equal elimination. Knowing a line to Aaron is not the same as knowing all who are in the line of Levi. And yes, there has been a reestablishment, a “settling” over the question of lines, which is different than having the documents in hand proving it beyond question.

The point I was trying to make was that not only was the Temple building destroyed, but the priesthood at that time was thrown into such disarray that no one who managed to survive the Roman attack in 70AD was sure who was legitimately a priest or not. This is to point out that it wasn’t just as simple a matter as building another Temple there or elsewhere. Now, having centuries to recover, there is some certainty about who is who, but it’s not 100%. I didn’t mean that to imply that today, were the Jews to rebuild a temple, they would have no one to staff it. I only meant that had they rebuilt it in 71AD, they wouldn’t have. I would assume had they done so, they would have held some sort of Rabbinical Council or something to settle the matter.