Can an animal sacrifice in the present atone for the sins of someone who died in the past?

[Andrew]

Since the Maccabees believed in the resurrection they believed in the one to come, anyway I do know that Jews pray for the dead at funerals TODAY but its origins are unknown to me and they don't offer sacrifices since the temple was destroyed

 

[NathanH83]

I did answer your question. The promise of the Savior was given in Genesis right after the fall. Those who had faith in that promise had salvation. Those who rejected the promise of the Savior damned themselves.

So to AGAIN answer your question, sacrificing an animal would not gain them salvation since we are ALL saved by grace through faith.

So, when the Old Testament says that animal sacrifices atone for sin, you don’t believe that. You basically don’t believe the Old Testament.

 

[Lamb]

So, when the Old Testament says that animal sacrifices atone for sin, you don’t believe that. You basically don’t believe the Old Testament.

You have to look at the animal sacrifices while keeping in mind the promise of the Savior in Genesis. The sacrifices were not above the faith that God's Children had in the Savior and there is that connection that should not be overlooked.

 

[atpollard]

So, when the Old Testament says that animal sacrifices atone for sin, you don’t believe that. You basically don’t believe the Old Testament.

Remember the Passover!

Before there was a Law from Moses to be written down, God had offered a living example so they would understand the principle. The lamb was slain in obedience to the command of God and its blood applied to the lintel and door posts. The result was the Angel of Death sent to exact the punishment of God passed over those protected by the blood of the sacrifice.

However, the blood of THAT lamb did not protect them forever. That sacrifice did not keep death away forever. That entire generation sinned against God and died over the next 40 years in the wilderness. As Hebrews points out, the animal sacrifices needed to be repeated over and over because they only purchased a temporary delay in the execution of God’s justice.

The sacrifices of the OT were to teach men just how terrible our sins were (something had to DIE, because we did not obey) and to illustrate the Perfect Sacrifice promised to redeem mankind from the curse back in Genesis 3. The animals were ALWAYS a place holder for the death of a man ... just a way of buying time until God fixed it.