The Sanhedrin, the highest ruling authority in Rabbinic Judaism, have chosen Rabbi Baruch Kahane to be the next high priest in preparation for the soon rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. Kahane has played a prominent role in all of the various reenactments of Temple offerings to date, the latest of which was the wave offering (Omer) of the barley loaves. Other recent reenactments include the Passover offering and the water libation ceremony.

Quote: “Rabbi Hillel Weiss, spokesman for the nascent Sanhedrin, explained to Breaking Israel News the necessity for choosing a High Priest, even in the absence of a Temple. “We do not need a miraculous occurrence like the sudden appearance of a Temple descending from heaven onto the Temple Mount to make this decision relevant,” explained Rabbi Weiss. “The only obstacle preventing the Temple service today is the political issue. If that should suddenly change, as it very well could, we would be required to begin the Temple service immediately. It is therefore necessary that we have a candidate prepared to fill the role of the High Priest, especially now that we have kohanim prepared to serve in the Temple.”

The selection was made in anticipation of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which is the holiest day of the year on the Hebrew calendar. On this day, the nation was required to bring the offering of the scapegoat. Two goats were to be brought before the high priest. One goat was offered as a sin offering unto the Lord, and its blood was used to cleanse the holy place. The high priest would place his hands on the head of the other goat and confess over it the sins of the people. This goat was then led by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness, and it would bear their sin unto a land not inhabited. Even though one goat died and the other lived, both goats are spoken of as one offering in the Hebrew Bible. It takes the two goats to more fully represent what the Messiah would do for us on the cross of Calvary. Of course there was the sacrifice for our sins which has brought us forgiveness, but the Lord has also put away our sin, signifying the permanency of Christ’s work on the cross. John spoke of the Lord Jesus Christ as the “Lamb of God which beareth away the sin of the world”, John 1:29. The writer to the Hebrews says that He “put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself”, Hebrews 9:26. And in the Old Testament, in Jeremiah 31, the prophet foretold of a day when our sins would be “remembered no more”, something that is not possible under the Old Covenant system. So as you can see, there is the necessity for a high priest to be chosen to take part in this offering if the sacrificial system is indeed to recommence.

The high priest had to fulfil certain criteria according to the Biblical commandment. Those criteria represent a perfect picture of our Lord Jesus Christ and the work He would accomplish at Calvary. The earthly high priest represented his own people before the Lord. He bore the names of the twelve tribes of Israel on his heart and on his shoulders (Exodus 28:12). Our Great High Priest became flesh to be able to fully represent us, and confesses our names before His Father in heaven (Matthew 10:32). The high priest was never permitted to rend his garments (Leviticus 21:10). Caiaphas tore his garments before the Lord at His trial (Matthew 25:65), signifying his unfitness to be high priest. But we read of Christ’s high priestly garments that they were without seam and woven throughout (John 19:23). They couldn’t be torn. There was no provision for the high priest to sit in the Temple, showing that his work could never be finished. When Eli did sit down, he died (1^st Samuel 4:18). In contrast to that, Christ declared His work to be finished (John 19:30), and is forever sat down at the right hand of God (Hebrews 10:12). The high priest was never to come near a dead body (Leviticus 21:12). No person ever died in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ when He was here on earth, and any who were dead were raised to life again. The high priest was to marry a bride that was a virgin (Leviticus 21:13). All those who have trusted in Christ for salvation are the bride of Christ (Revelation 19:8). And then there is the death of the high priest, mentioned in Numbers 35:28, after which the man found guilty of manslaughter and seeking refuge from the avenger of blood was permitted to go free. Following the death of our Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, those found guilty of sin can be set at liberty. He came to set the captives free (Isaiah 60).

As you can see, these things were written to point us to the one who is our Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14). Sad to say that many Jewish people are putting their trust in a system that was never intended to take away sin, only to point us to the one who would take away our sin, the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course the Bible prophesied that prior to the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Jewish sacrificial system would recommence for a short time (Daniel 9:27). With today’s news, that the Sanhedrin have selected a high priest for the express purpose of participating in that sacrificial system, you can see how close we must be to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ for His saints. The question is, are you ready to meet Him?

God loves you so much, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for you. He gave His life on the cross of Calvary. He bore the punishment for your sins so that you could be forgiven. And He has prepared a place for us in heaven, and has promised to return again, to take us to be with Himself (John 14:3). What do you have to do to have your sins forgiven and to go with Christ to heaven? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Acts 16:31). Simply believe that what Christ did for you upon the cross was sufficient to God for your sins to be forgiven, and receive Him into your life as your Lord and Saviour.

John 1:12
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Source Breaking Israel News