• when this earthly "Sacrificial System" began
• when the earthly portion of the "Sacrificial System" ended
• that every part of this system was a vivid representation of the various aspects of Jesus' ministry on behalf of fallen man, both what He did on earth and what He is doing in heaven now
• that God does not change the "rules in the middle of the game"
• that God's Moral Law has always existed, even before humans were created
• that God's Moral Law will be our Law even in heaven
• that God's Ceremonial Law was "done away with" at the Cross

Revelation 13:8 calls Jesus the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world".  You may have heard that Jesus was the Lamb of God, but what you may not know is that every lamb offered to God as a sacrifice, before Jesus died on the cross, pointed directly to Jesus' own death.  Each sacrifice of an innocent animal represented the sacrifice of our innocent Redeemer.  The Bible says, "For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  Jesus died as our sacrifice; He became the curse for us, took our sins upon Himself and paid our debt.  He became man's substitute. 

II Corinthians 5:21 "For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

Every law in the Bible either dealt with the Sacrificial System (the Ceremonial Law) or with our duties to God and to man (the Moral Law).  It is important to know the difference between these two sets of laws.  Both sets were housed in the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle, but there was a big difference as to where they were placed in relationship to the Ark of the Covenent.

It is also important for us to realize that God's Moral Law has always existed.  The Bible says in 1 John 3:4 "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."  This verse tells us that because Adam and Eve sinned there would have to have been a law already, and in fact because Satan sinned it becomes obvious that the Law existed in heaven before man was even created.  The Bible even tells us that if there is no law there is no sin.  (Romans 5:13 "...sin is not imputed when there is no law")

The Bible says that God does not change.  God will not "change the rules in the middle of the game".  Malachi 3:6 "For I [am] the LORD, I change not".  Matthew 5:18 "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."  What does God's Law include?  The two great Laws of God are to (1) love God supremely and (2) to love others as we love ourselves.  The Bible puts it this way in Luke 10:27 "...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself."   Is it even thinkable that this same Law would not have already been in existence? 

What about the "10 Commandments", weren't they just for the Jews?  Not at all, the two great Laws of God, as stated above include these ten commandments which were given to Moses in written form but which were always there. Jesus said, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:40).  Two examples of these laws existing before they were given to Moses are, (1) giving God the specific time to worship Him, per His command (See the 4th Commandment and the record of the very first "Day of Rest") and (2) the commandment about not murdering someone (which Cain obviously knew about).  Because of the above information, it becomes obvious that the 10 Commandments are for everyone, not just for the Jews.

What we have then, are two sets of laws.  We have the "10 Commandments" which is also known as the "Moral Law", and we have the Sacrificial System laws, known as the "Ceremonial Law".  The Ceremonial Law is the set of laws that pointed toward the death of Jesus on the cross.

"O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, (Why?) that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!"  Deuteronomy 5:29

• God's Moral Law, the Ten Commandments

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