Altar​—Iumi Mas Iusim Long Worship?

WASWE, altar hem wanfala important part long worship bilong iu? For planti pipol wea attendim olketa service bilong Christendom, altar hem main samting. Waswe, iu enitaem ting raonem samting wea Bible talem abaotem wei for iusim olketa altar long worship?

First altar wea Bible storyim hem datwan wea Noah wakem for offerim olketa animal sakrifaes taem hem kamaot from ark bihaen long Flood.a—Genesis 8:20.

Bihaen Jehovah konfiusim olketa languis long Babel, olketa man muv go aot evriwea long earth. (Genesis 11:1-9) From feeling for worship wea olketa man born kam witim, olketa luk aotem wei for kam klosap long God. And, from olketa no savve long hem, olketa ‘luk aotem’ hem olsem blind man luk aotem samting. (Acts 17:27; Romans 2:14, 15) Start kam from taem bilong Noah, planti difren pipol buildim olketa altar for god bilong olketa. Pipol from planti difren religion and kastom iusim olketa altar long giaman worship. From pipol stap farawe from tru God, olketa iusim olketa altar for olketa barava nogud ceremony wea spoelem pipol, and olketa pikinini tu. Taem olketa king bilong Israel lusim Jehovah, samfala buildim olketa altar for olketa heathen god, olsem Baal. (1 Kings 16:29-32) Bat waswe, olketa altar kamap insaed tru worship?

Olketa Altar and Tru Worship Long Israel

Bihaen long Noah, samfala nara faithful man buildim olketa altar for iusim saed long worship bilong tru God, Jehovah. Abraham buildim olketa altar long Shechem, long wanfala ples klosap long Bethel, long Hebron, and long Maunt Moriah, wea hem sakrifaesim wanfala man sheep wea God givim for changem Isaac. Bihaen, feeling bilong Isaac, Jacob, and Moses muvim olketa for buildim olketa altar for iusim for worshipim God.—Genesis 12:6-8; 13:3, 18; 22:9-13; 26:23-25; 33:18-20; 35:1, 3, 7; Exodus 17:15, 16; 24:4-8.

Taem God givim Law bilong hem long pipol bilong Israel, hem komandim olketa for buildim tabernacle, wanfala tent wea olketa savve karem, wea olketa kolem tu “tent bilong meeting.” Diswan nao hem main samting insaed arrangement for worshipim hem. (Exodus 39:32, 40) Datfala tabernacle, or tent, garem tufala altar. Altar for olketa bone offering, wea olketa wakem from acacia wood and kavarem witim copper, hem stap front long door and olketa iusim for offerim olketa animal sakrifaes. (Exodus 27:1-8; 39:39; 40:6, 29) Datfala incense altar, wea olketa wakem tu from acacia wood bat kavarem witim gold, hem stap insaed long tabernacle, front long curtain bilong Most Holy. (Exodus 30:1-6; 39:38; 40:5, 26, 27) Olketa bonem spesol incense long hem tufala taem evriday, long morning and long evening. (Exodus 30:7-9) Datfala temple wea King Solomon buildim hem garem sem design olsem tabernacle, witim tufala altar.

“Trufala Tent” and Tokpiksa Altar

Taem Jehovah givim Law long Israel, hem givim moa samting winim olketa rul for directim living bilong pipol and wei wea olketa kam long hem witim olketa sakrifaes and thru long prea. Planti arrangement insaed datfala Law hem samting wea aposol Paul kolem “example,” or “shadow bilong olketa samting long heven.” (Hebrews 8:3-5; 9:9; 10:1; Colossians 2:17) Diswan minim, Law no just givim direction for olketa Israelite go kasem taem Christ hem kam, bat planti samting insaed long Law point go long olketa purpose bilong God wea bae fulfill thru long Jesus Christ. (Galatians 3:24) Tru nao, samfala part long Law garem profesi mining. Olsem example, datfala Passover pikinini sheep, wea blood bilong hem kamap saen bilong salvation for olketa Israelite, hem piksarem Jesus Christ. Hem nao datfala “Lamb bilong God wea tekem awe sin bilong world,” wea pourimaot blood bilong hem for mekem iumi free from sin.—John 1:29; Ephesians 1:7.

Planti samting saed long tabernacle and temple service piksarem olketa really spiritual samting long heven. (Hebrews 8:5; 9:23) Tru nao, Paul hem raet abaotem datfala “trufala tent, wea Jehovah wakem, and no man.” Hem go ahed for sei: “Christ olsem wanfala hae priest bilong olketa gudfala samting wea kamap, hem kam thru long tent wea moa big and moa perfect wea hand no wakem, hem nao, no bilong disfala creation.” (Hebrews 8:2; 9:11) Datfala “tent wea moa big and moa perfect” hem datfala bigfala spiritual temple arrangement bilong Jehovah. Toktok wea Bible iusim showimaot hao datfala bigfala spiritual temple hem datfala arrangement for olketa man kam long Jehovah long faondeson bilong sakrifaes bilong Jesus Christ wea kavarem sin.—Hebrews 9:2-10, 23-28.

For lane from Word bilong God hao samfala samting insaed Law piksarem olketa really spiritual samting wea moa big and garem deepfala mining, hem barava strongim faith bilong iumi hao Bible hem kam from God. Hem mekem iumi tinghae go moa tu long wisdom bilong God wea barava showaot long Bible.—Romans 11:33; 2 Timothy 3:16.

Altar bilong bone offering tu garem profesi mining. Luk olsem hem piksarem “will” bilong God, or wei wea hem willing for acceptim perfect human sakrifaes bilong Jesus.—Hebrews 10:1-10.

Long nara part long buk bilong Hebrews, Paul talem disfala interesting koment: “Iumi garem wanfala altar wea olketa wea duim holy service long tent no fit for kaikai from.” (Hebrews 13:10) Wanem nao disfala altar wea hem story abaotem?

Planti Catholic pipol sei disfala altar long Hebrews 13:10 hem datwan wea olketa iusim for Eucharist, datfala “ceremony” wea olketa sei olketa mekem sakrifaes bilong Christ niu insaed Mass. Bat iu savve lukim from olketa verse wea stap raonem hao datfala altar wea Paul storyim hem tokpiksa wan. Samfala savveman talem hao long disfala verse datfala word “altar” garem tokpiksa mining. For Giuseppe Bonsirven, wanfala Jesuit, “diswan hem agree evribit witim wei wea disfala buk [bilong Hebrews] garem planti tokpiksa samting.” Hem sei: “Long toktok wea olketa Christian iusim, datfala word ‘altar’ hem garem spiritual mining firstaem. Only bihaen Irenaeus, and especially Tertullian and St. Cyprian, pipol iusim ‘altar’ for minim datfala eucharist and tebol wea olketa iusim for datwan.”

Olsem wanfala Catholic magasin talem, planti pipol iusim altar long big wei moa long “taem bilong Constantine” taem olketa “buildim olketa basilica.” Rivista di Archeologia Cristiana (Christian Archaeology Review) talem: “Long first and mek-tu century, no eni pruv stap for sei olketa Christian garem church building bat olketa hipap for service long olketa rum insaed olketa private haos . . . , wea long end bilong worship bilong olketa, stretawe olketa iusim olketa rum hia olsem part long haos moa.”

Wei wea Christendom Iusim Altar

Catholic magasin La Civiltà Cattolica, hem sei, “Altar hem no just main part bilong church building nomoa bat hem main part bilong living Church.” Bat, Jesus Christ no startim eni lotu ceremony long wanfala altar; and hem no komandim olketa disaepol bilong hem for duim eni ceremony wea iusim altar. Taem Jesus storyim altar long Matthew 5:23, 24 and samfala narataem, hem storyim wei bilong religion bilong olketa Jew, bat hem no sei olketa follower bilong hem mas iusim altar for worshipim God.

Man bilong America for raetem history, George Foot Moore (1851-1931), hem raet: “Main samting bilong Christian worship hem semsem olowe, bat gogo, olketa simpol ceremony wea Justin story abaotem long midol long mek-tu century change for kamap olketa bigfala samting.” From wei bilong worship bilong olketa Catholic and olketa pablik ceremony bilong olketa kamap staka and staka samting insaed long olketa, hem kamap wanfala subject for studyim—liturgy—long olketa Catholic college. Moore hem go ahed for sei: “Old Testament nao mekem disfala wei for mekem olketa simpol ceremony kamap bigfala samting moa taem pipol start for ting long olketa Christian bigman olsem olketa wea changem olketa priest wea serve long temple bifor. Spesol kaleko bilong hae priest, kaleko wea olketa nara priest werem for olketa ceremony, spesol march wea olketa duim, sekson bilong olketa Levite for singim olketa psalm, cloud wea kam from incense wea olketa karem—evri samting hia hem luk olsem example from God long wei for worship. Church iusim diswan olsem excuse for trae winim olketa ceremony bilong olketa heathen.”

Maet iu sapraes for savve hao planti ceremony, kaleko, and olketa nara samting wea samfala church iusim long worship, hem no kam from Christian teaching insaed olketa Gospel, bat hem kam from olketa kastom and ceremony bilong olketa Jew and heathen. Enciclopedia Cattolica talem hao Catholic religion “tekem disfala wei for iusim altar from Jew Religion and from olketa heathen.” Minucius Felix, bilong mek-thri century C.E., hem raet hao olketa Christian no garem ‘olketa temple or olketa altar.’ Wanfala encyclopedia dictionary Religioni e Miti (Religions and Myths) talem semkaen samting: “Olketa first Christian rejectim wei for iusim altar for showimaot klia hao olketa difren from worship bilong olketa Jew and heathen.”

From faondeson bilong Christian Wei hem long olketa principle for pipol long evri kantri for followim long living evriday, no eni need stap moa for wanfala holy taon long earth, or for really temple wea garem olketa altar, or for olketa priest wea garem spesol position and spesol kaleko. Jesus hem sei, “Taem bae kam wea iufala pipol bae no worshipim Father long disfala maunten or long Jerusalem. . . . Olketa trufala worshiper bae worshipim Father witim spirit and truth.” (John 4:21, 23) Wei wea planti church garem olketa spesol ceremony and iusim olketa altar showimaot olketa ting nating long toktok bilong Jesus abaotem wei for worshipim tru God.

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