Events listed on the above timeline:

The above timeline is actually two timelines in one with the  BLACK  events on the timeline for the Sacrificial System Timeline, and the  RED  events for the Law of God Timeline.   God's Laws and the Sacrificial System go "hand in hand". 

This timeline is attempting to show:

• 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" (His laws of love have not, and will not change)
• that God's Moral Law has always existed, even before humans were created
• that God's Moral Law will still be existent 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, 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.  

Let's compare those laws:

"Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God . . . And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God . . . ."    Deuteronomy 11:26-28 

"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

 

Summary (of the 1st part): 

God's Laws are about one thing.  Love!  He really cares!  He wants the best for us and for our children.  He wants us to be free from the results of sin. His Laws, rather than being a restriction, bring real freedom.  And rather than being negative, God's two great laws are very positive.  (1) Love God.  (2) Love people.  The "10 Commandments" are what is needed when we ask God if He can be "a little more specific". The first four commandments deal with our attitude toward God, and the last six commandments deal with our attitude toward people.  God is Love!


 

For further study: 

• God's Moral Law, the Ten Commandments
• Satan's Enmity Against the Law

The Law of God Timeline

First Evidence of God's Law on Earth

The very fact that Adam and Eve sinned shows that the Law was already in existence.  The Bible says that where there is no law, there is no sin (1 John 3:4 "sin is the transgression of the law" and  Romans 5:13 "...sin is not imputed when there is no law").
 

There is another piece of Biblical evidence.  God's Ten Commandments, as given on Mt. Sinai, includes a command to "Remember the Sabbath Day".  The "Sabbath Day" is a memorial of God's creation of Earth and was the beginning of what we know today as the "Sabbath".  The account of how this special day came to be is found in Genesis 2:1-3,  "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.  And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." 
 

As you can see, the Sabbath was not given to the Jews only, but to all humans clear back at Earth's creation.  God tells us why He created a special day, "because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made."  This special day was actually a "Birthday" or "Memorial".  (For further study, read The Literal Week)
 

The Bible also shows that God's Law existed even before the EARTH was created.  The fact that Satan sinned shows that the Law already existed in Heaven.  Remember, the Bible says that "sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4) and when Satan sinned he broke God's Law.
 

God's Law was summed up by Jesus when He said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."  (Matthew 22:37-40)  God does not change, neither does His Law change.

God's Mercy has Limits (Demonstrated at the Flood)

"Mercy had ceased its pleadings for the guilty race. The beasts of the field and the birds of the air had entered the place of refuge. Noah and his household were within the ark, 'and the Lord shut him in.' . . . The massive door, which it was impossible for those within to close, was slowly swung to its place by unseen hands. Noah was shut in, and the rejecters of God's mercy were shut out. The seal of Heaven was on that door; God had shut it, and God alone could open it. So when Christ shall cease His intercession for guilty men, before His coming in the clouds of heaven, the door of mercy will be shut."  Conflict and Courage, pg. 39
 

Jesus is interceding before the Mercy Seat in heaven for each of us even as you read this.  He is doing everything that He can to save you, but you must choose to accept His Mercy.  Whether you live or die is up to you, it will be your choice.  The price was paid on the Cross by Jesus, you cannot earn it, but this gift of life is offered to you free of charge.  You must either take it or refuse it.  If you "choose not to choose", you will forfeit the gift of God's Mercy and eternal life by default because we are all sinners.  Only Jesus can take our sins away and we can only be saved if we are free of all sin.

The Cities of Sodom and Gomorrha are Examples for Us

From the book of Jude:

1:5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
 

Other quotes:

"The flames that consumed the cities of the plain shed their warning light down even to our time. We are taught the fearful and solemn lesson that while God's mercy bears long with the transgressor, there is a limit beyond which men may not go on in sin. When that limit is reached, then the offers of mercy are withdrawn, and the ministration of judgment begins."  Patriarchs and Prophets, pg 162
 

"In every age there is given to men their day of light and privilege, a probationary time in which they may become reconciled to God. But there is a limit to this grace. Mercy may plead for years and be slighted and rejected; but there comes a time when mercy makes her last plea. The heart becomes so hardened that it ceases to respond to the Spirit of God. Then the sweet, winning voice entreats the sinner no longer, and reproofs and warnings cease."  Desire of Ages, pg. 587

The NEW COVENANT

The Sanctuary that Moses built was the Sanctuary of the "Old Covenant" (see Hebrews 9:1-14).  The true Sanctuary in heaven, of which Paul speaks of in Hebrews 8:1, 2, is the Sanctuary of the "New Covenant".
 

All the animal sacrifices during the Old Covenant Sacrificial System represented the True Sacrifice, Jesus.  The Old Covenant used figures to portray what the New Covenant would do because of the blood of Jesus, the Real Sacrifice.  His blood, alone atones for our sins, it was never the blood of an animal but the blood of Jesus that takes away our sins.
 

Another way of saying this is that in the Sacrificial Services of the Old Covenant, an innocent animal representing Jesus, took the place of the sinner and died.  In the Sacrificial Service of the New Covenant, our innocent God, Jesus, took our place and died as a sinner so that we may live without sin.
 

For further study, read:

• The Law and the Covenants
• What is the Sanctuary?
• In the Holy of Holies

The Sacrificial System Timeline

The First Death

Genesis

 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
 

Because Adam and Eve were clothed with "skins", it follows that an animal was killed.   The understanding is that each person that sinned, both Adam and Eve, had to kill an animal as a "sin offering".  The Lord then used the skins of these animals to make clothing for each person.
 

Some have asked, "Why did God use both killing and blood as part of the Sacrificial System?"  The answer is that God hates sin because of what it does to His creation and He wants the sinner to come to hate sin as much as He does.  How could there be a better way for the sinner to realize that sin is the cause of death than to see both the cause and effect?  (See Romans 6:23)

In the Bible the sacrificial system was established in order to illustrate how God was going to solve the problem of sin. At the center of the service was the blood of the sacrificial animal. The life of the animal was poured out so that the life of the repentant sinner could be saved. The animal was a symbol of Jesus, who would give His life in place of ours.  
 

When repentant sinners brought their sacrifices to the Lord, they were acknowledging that they were sinners who deserved death. But they also were manifesting faith, trusting that the Lord would grant them forgiveness by accepting the life of the sacrificial victim in their stead. Assuming responsibility for our sin is indispensable (this is known as repentance and confession). Only those who, in the light of the Cross, see themselves as sinners in need of forgiveness and humbly find in Christ the Lamb of God that takes away their sin will experience cleansing.  
 

A lot of symbolism is found in the biblical sacrificial system. First, because the death of an animal stood for the death of the individual, the sacrificial act was an act of salvation, a manifestation of God’s grace and love. He was willing to accept the death of another creature in order to preserve the life of humans and to continue fellowshipping with them. Second, according to the Bible, the life of an animal could not really atone for the life of a sinner; consequently, the death of sacrificial victims had a symbolic function only. It pointed beyond itself to the death of the Seed of the woman, Jesus, who would give His life as a ransom in place of many (Mark 10:45). Third, the killing of the sacrificial animal also illustrated the seriousness of sin and the costliness of forgiveness. Taking the life of an animal must have been very painful to Adam and Eve; probably to most Israelites, as well. The process helped them understand that sin is inseparable from death and that forgiveness is not the same as overlooking sin. The price God will pay for our redemption will be the “precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Pet. 1:19, NIV).  
 

At the moment sin entered into the world, God instituted a sacrificial system that had these symbolic and teaching functions. The first sacrifice that Adam and Eve offered was a wonderful explosion of hope in the coming Redeemer, a hope offered in the midst of the pain of guilt and death.
 

"The atonement is the biblical doctrine around which all [other doctrines] revolve."  The Doctrine of Atonement

Cain and Abel Both Sacrifice to the Lord

Genesis

4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
 

It is seen in these texts that bringing an offering was something that was expected and that the Lord had given instructions to what was acceptable as an offering.  The Lord did not accept Cain's offering because Cain did not follow instructions.
 

 Jesus said in Matthew 15:9 "in vain they do worship me...".  Both Cain and Abel were attempting to worship God when they brought their offerings before Him, but only one gift was acceptable to God because it was what He had asked for.  Cain, on the other hand, did things his own way and his worship was "in vain".  This raises the question for us, "Is our worship "in vain" because we are doing things our own way, or are we worshiping God the way He wants?"
 

For further study, read: 

• Cain and Abel Tested

Noah Offers a Sacrifice to the Lord

Genesis

8:20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart [is] evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
8:22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
 

Noah built an alter and "offered burnt offerings" about 900 years before there was a Jew, so this could not be looked at as being a Jewish custom or law.  Because he sacrificed more than one animal, some of these could have been "sin offerings" and some were surly "thank offerings" for the Lords protection during the flood. 

For further study, read: 

• After the Flood

Abraham Offers Isaac to the Lord

Genesis

22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only [son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
22:3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
22:5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
22:6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid [it] upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
22:7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here [am] I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where [is] the lamb for a burnt offering?
22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
22:9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
22:10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
22:11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here [am] I.
22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son] from me.
22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind [him] a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
 

In addition to Abraham being willing to offer up Isaac to the Lord, it is also seen in Genesis 22:7 above, that Isaac had been with his father during other sacrifices to the Lord and knew that a "lamb" was missing.

Moses Builds the First "Tabernacle" or Sanctuary

After the people of Israel came out of Egypt (otherwise known as "The Exodus") Moses was told by God to build a Tabernacle for Him (God) to "dwell" in.  The people knew (2 Chron. 6:18, 21), as we know, that the great God could not possibly "dwell" in any building made by man, yet it was important to God that His people had a visible center for the worship of the one true God.  This was also a protection against idolatry.  The surrounding nations were very much into worshiping idols and God wanted to make sure that His people remembered that there was only one true God.
 

The sanctuary, or tabernacle, that Moses built was a representation of, or a model of, what is in heaven (Hebrews 8:1-5).  This first Sanctuary was only to be a tent that could easily be dismantled and moved from one place to another because the Israelites were, at that time, a people wandering in the desert. 

Solomon Builds a Tabernacle for God

Once the Israelites ended their wanderings, King David planned to build a Tabernacle for God, but because of what King David had done with Bathsheba God would not allow him to do the actual building.  King David was allowed to collect all of the material for the new Sanctuary, but he could not begin to build.
 

King David's son, Solomon, did the actual building.  Solomon was now King Solomon, the one whom the Bible says was the wisest man who ever lived.  God gave him great wisdom, including wisdom in construction, and he built a very elaborate Sanctuary for God. 

You can read its description in 1 Kings 6:1-38, and in 2 Chronicles 3:1-17 (NLT suggested). 

This Sanctuary was not built to honor Solomon, but to honor only God.
 

King Solomon's Prayer of Dedication for the New Temple

II Chronicles 6:12-42

6:12 And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands:
6:13 For Solomon had made a brazen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven,
6:14 And said, O LORD God of Israel, [there is] no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and [showest] mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:
6:15 Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled [it] with thine hand, as [it is] this day.
6:16 Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.
6:17 Now then, O LORD God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David.
6:18 But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!
6:19 Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:
6:20 That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place.
6:21 Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, [even] from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.
6:22 If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;
6:23 Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.
6:24 And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house;
6:25 Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.
6:26 When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; [yet] if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;
6:27 Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance.
6:28 If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillars; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness [there be]:
6:29 [Then] what prayer [or] what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house:
6:30 Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:)
6:31 That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
6:32 Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house;
6:33 Then hear thou from the heavens, [even] from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as [doth] thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.
6:34 If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name;
6:35 Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
6:36 If they sin against thee, (for [there is] no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before [their] enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;
6:37 Yet [if] they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;
6:38 If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and [toward] the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:
6:39 Then hear thou from the heavens, [even] from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.
6:40 Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and [let] thine ears [be] attent unto the prayer [that is made] in this place.
6:41 Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.
6:42 O LORD God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.

Solomon's Temple Destroyed

II Kings 25:1-17

25:1 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth [day] of the month, [that] Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it: and they built forts against it round about.
25:2 And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
25:3 And on the ninth [day] of the [fourth] month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
25:4 And the city was broken up, and all the men of war [fled] by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which [is] by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees [were] against the city round about:) and [the king] went the way toward the plain.
25:5 And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.
25:6 So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.
25:7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
25:8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh [day] of the month, which [is] the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:
25:9 And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great [man's] house burnt he with fire.
25:10 And all the army of the Chaldees, that [were with] the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.
25:11 Now the rest of the people [that were] left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away.
25:12 But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land [to be] vinedressers and husbandmen.
25:13 And the pillars of brass that [were] in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brazen sea that [was] in the house of the LORD, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.
25:14 And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
25:15 And the firepans, and the bowls, [and] such things as [were] of gold, [in] gold, and of silver, [in] silver, the captain of the guard took away.
25:16 The two pillars, one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD; the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
25:17 The height of the one pillar [was] eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it [was] brass: and the height of the chapiter three cubits; and the wreathen work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about, all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with wreathen work.

Solomon's Temple Rebuilt

Ezra 1:1-11

1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and [put it] also in writing, saying,
1:2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which [is] in Judah.
1:3 Who [is there] among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which [is] in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he [is] the God,) which [is] in Jerusalem.
1:4 And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that [is] in Jerusalem.
1:5 Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all [them] whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which [is] in Jerusalem.
1:6 And all they that [were] about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, beside all [that] was willingly offered.
1:7 Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods;
1:8 Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
1:9 And this [is] the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine and twenty knives,
1:10 Thirty basins of gold, silver basins of a second [sort] four hundred and ten, [and] other vessels a thousand.
1:11 All the vessels of gold and of silver [were] five thousand and four hundred. All [these] did Sheshbazzar bring up with [them of] the captivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem.

Jesus Became the Real Sacrifice

Jesus is "...the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."  Revelation 3:8
 

Jesus is what the whole sacrificial system was all about.  What He did for us on the cross and what He is doing for us now is all in this system.  That's what makes understanding this system so important, so study this system carefully.
 

"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin."         1 John 1:7

"Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."         Matthew 11:28

"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness [Numbers 21:5-9], even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."         John 3:14, 15

"Jesus died as a sacrifice for man because the fallen race can do nothing to recommend themselves to God. The merits of a crucified and risen Savior are the foundation of the Christian's faith."         The Great Controversy, page 73

The End of the Sacrificial System

Daniel 9:27

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease [oblation=The act of offering something to a deity.], and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
 

Matthew 23:37, 38

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not!
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
 

"When in His expiring moments on the cross, Christ exclaimed, "It is finished," the veil of the Temple was rent from top to bottom. The need for the Jewish system of sacrifices and offerings had ended. Type had met antitype in the death of the One to whom the sacrifices pointed. A new and living way had been opened--a way by which Jew and Gentile, free and bond, could come to God and find pardon and peace."  The Upward Look
 

"In A.D. 31, three and a half years after His baptism, our Lord was crucified. With the great sacrifice offered upon Calvary, ended that system of offerings which for four thousand years had pointed forward to the Lamb of God. Type had met antitype, and all the sacrifices and oblations of the ceremonial system were there to cease."  The Great Controversy

The Temple Destroyed Again

Jesus foretold the destruction of the Temple:

Matthew

24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to [him] for to show him the buildings of the temple.
24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
 

Mark

13:1 And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings [are here]!
13:2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
 

Luke

19:43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
19:44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

21:5 And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said,
21:6 [As for] these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
 

Forty years after Jesus died on the cross the Romans destroyed not only the Temple but also Jerusalem.  Today, all that is believed to be left of the Temple is what is known as the "wailing wall", but even that would be from what was left of another rebuilding effort, because Jesus had said, "there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down."
 

For further study, read:

Thy King Cometh
The Destruction of Jerusalem
God's Purpose for His Church
The Training of the Twelve
The Great Commission

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