You may subscribe yourself at the Ascension site here and receive notifications in your email, or just follow along on my blog. Bible in One Year Readings Index
The laws in Exodus and Leviticus together gave the people of Israel a form of government unique in the world. They would be a holy people, governed not by kings but by God himself. Even this manual of holiness, however, was not enough to keep the people faithful. As they would soon prove, their hearts were too heard for the laws God had given them.
The book of Exodus ends with the building of the Tabernacle, the portable temple that would be God's dwelling-place in the midst of his people When the work was finally finished, all the people watched as God took up residence.
Exodus 39:32-43: The Finished Word is presented to Moses
Exodus 39:32: So all the work for the Dwelling, for the Tent of Meeting, was completed. They had done everything exactly as Yahweh had ordered Moses.
Question: The designation "the Dwelling for the Tent of Meeting" expresses what dual function of the Tabernacle?
Answer: It is the physical symbol of the indwelling of the Divine Presence of Yahweh in the camp of Israel that everyone can see, and it is the site of communication between God and Moses.
Exodus 40:1-15: Yahweh's Last Instructions to Moses
The instructions for the ordination of Aaron and his sons are a repeat of part of the consecration and investiture instructions in Exodus chapter 29. After the Sanctuary is erected and consecrated, and Yahweh has taken possession of His Tabernacle (Ex 40:34-35), Aaron and his sons will be ordained to serve Yahweh in the ministerial priesthood. The ordination ceremony is recorded in Leviticus 8:1-36, and Aaron and his sons begin their ministerial duties in chapter 9.
Question: What did the anointing confer upon Aaron and his descendants?
Answer: The covenant of a perpetual priesthood.
Question: How is this promised everlasting ministerial priesthood being fulfilled today?
Answer: In the ministerial priesthood of the men who serve Jesus Christ and His Church "they have become the spiritual heirs of Aaron in the more perfect priesthood of Jesus Christ, the High Priest of the heavenly Sanctuary.
40:16-33: The Final Commands are Fulfilled
The phrase: as Yahweh had ordered Moses is repeated seven times. This is the figurative "seventh day" of the creation event of the Tabernacle.
Question: When was the Sanctuary erected? How much time had passed since Israel left Egypt?
Answer: The Sanctuary was erected on the 1st day of Abib in the second year after leaving Egypt. The Israelites left Egypt the morning after the sacred meal of the Passover victim on the 15th of Abib in the previous year.
Question: How was the Sanctuary divided and yet how was the Sanctuary one sacred space?
Answer: It was divided into three spaces: the space of the Outer Court where the sacrificial altar and the bronze holy water basin stood and the two spaces inside the Tabernacle, which was divided into the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. However, the two sacred rooms within the Tabernacle were unified in one building and the entire Sanctuary was enclosed as one sacred space.
Question: What does the three-part division in one sacred space of the Sanctuary, and the two part division of the Tabernacle, which will also be reflected in the construction of the Jerusalem Temple, point to theologically?
Answer: The three-in-one arrangement points to the Godhead: the Three Persons of the Godhead unified in One Holy and Supreme God. The two part division in one sacred space of the Tabernacle "the "meeting place" between God and man points to the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ, the meeting place between God and man.
Moses received the command to set up the Sanctuary and to put each piece of furniture in its designated place as he saw the design in the heavenly Sanctuary. The order of furniture placement is from the most holy to the least holy, almost exactly as in the initial instructions given to Moses on the mountain (with the exception of the incense altar). As soon as the Tabernacle was erected Moses began by putting the stone tablets of the Decalogue inside the Ark (40:20) and then placed the rest of the sacred furniture:
- The Ark == in the Holy of Holies behind the embroidered curtain (26:33; 40:21)
- The Mercy-seat == in the Holy of Holies on top of the Ark (26:34; 40:20)
- The Table of the Bread of the Presence == in the Holy Place on the north side of the space (26:35; 40:22)
- The Lamp-stand == in the Holy Place on the south side of the space directly opposite the table (26:35; 40:24)
- The Altar of Incense == in the Holy Place in front of the curtain that divides the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies and directly in front of the Ark (30:6; 40:26)
- The Altar of Burnt Offerings == in the courtyard between the entrance to the Tabernacle and the entrance to the Sanctuary (30:18), (40:29)
- The Bronze Basin == in the outer court between the Altar and the entrance to the Tabernacle (30:18; 40:7, 30)
When the furnishings were in place, Moses set up the enclosure around the Outer court (40:33).
Question: How does the arrangement of the courtyard in the placement of the bronze Altar of sacrifice and the bronze basin of the water of purification point to the way man must approach God? Is our spiritual approach to God any different in the New Covenant? What purpose did the Sanctuary and the Tabernacle fill in terms of the people's sins?
Answer: Worship then and now must begin with confession of sin, atonement for sin, and sanctification before man is ready to approach God. The Sanctuary and its Tabernacle was the means by which God provided for the forgiveness of man's sins and restoration of fellowship with God in the Old Testament economy of salvation.
Question: How is it that New Covenant believers have access to God through forgiveness of sins and restoration of fellowship? See Heb 9:24-28; CCC 571; 601-04; 662.
Answer: The atoning blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the means by which New Covenant believers are cleansed of sin, are sanctified, are made approachable to God and judged worthy to eat and drink the sacred meal in His presence "the very Body and Blood of His Son and our Savior in Communion Rite of the Mass.
Exodus 40:34-38: Yahweh Takes Possession of the Tabernacle
In Exodus 40:34-35 the glory of Yahweh came down and filled the Tabernacle, as God took His place upon His earthly throne of the Mercy-seat (Kapporeth) in the Holy of Holies (see Num 7:89). In Hebrew the word translated "filled" or "overshadowed" in verses 34 and 35 is the verb male or mala, pronounced maw-lay' or maw-law. It is a prime root meaning "to fill or be full of," "to consecrate," "fulfill" [Brown-Driver-Briggs, 570 # 4390].
In the Greek translation of Exodus 40:34-35 the verb is episkiazo meaning "overshadowed," "filled" (Thayer's Greek Lexicon, page 242, # 1982). It is a word that is also found in the Greek translation of the Old Testament in Numbers 9:18, 22; Isaiah 6:1; and 1 Kings 8:10-11. It is the Greek verb used in the New Testament in the Transfiguration event when the Glory Cloud "overshadowed" Jesus and those with Him when God spoke from the cloud (Mt 17:5; Mk 9:7; Lk 9:34), and when the healing power of the Holy Spirit flowed from St. Peter and "overshadowed the sick (Acts 5:15). It is the verb that is also used when the spirit of Yahweh "overshadowed" the Virgin Mary (Lk 1:35), whose womb was the Ark of the New Covenant as the tabernacle/dwelling-place of God the Son.
Like the angelic cherubim who surround the throne of Yahweh in the heavenly Tabernacle (Rev chapters 4-5), of which the earthly Tabernacle is only a copy (Ex 25:8-9; 27:8; Num 8:4; Heb 9:23), figures of cherubim, by Yahweh's command, were woven into the inner curtain that hung in front of the entrance to the Holy of Holies, and Yahweh's presence was enthroned between the outstretched wings of the cherubim on the Mercy-seat. The outstretched wings suggesting action and mobility, as the God of Creation, who is the God of Israel, was present and ready to offer mercy and forgiveness to His covenant people in sacred time and sacred space.
Question: In addition to the Mercy-seat being the earthly throne of God the great King, how was the Mercy-seat a conduit of God's mercy and forgiveness? See Lev 16:1-2, 16-22, 29-31.
Answer: It was the condition of the sin and the sanctity of Israel that the Mercy-seat/Kapporet was meant to address. United with Yahweh in the covenantal union, Israel collectively and individually had come to Yahweh as the sinless Bride, and therefore she needed to have recourse to atonement for sins as Yahweh sat enthroned upon the Mercy-seat "the "Seat of Atonement", the highest means of atonement in the Old Covenant.
Question: If the Mercy-seat provided atonement for sins why did Israel need a Redeemer-Messiah? How does the Mercy-seat prefigure the redemptive work of Jesus Christ? See CCC 433; Num 15:22-31; Heb 9:24-28; 10:1-4.
Answer: The atonement for the restoration of the entire covenant people was imperfect because it could only be offered once a year and only for unintentional sin "the blood of an animal was not perfect enough to offer expiation for mortal or deadly sins (Num 15:22-31; Heb 10:1-4). It was in that function as the means of the atonement for the sins of the people that the Mercy-seat foreshadowed the complete act of expiation offered in the fullness of time by Christ Jesus, the Bridegroom of His New Covenant Bride, the Universal Church. Jesus offered atonement on the "mercy seat" of the Cross when His pure and holy sacrifice cleansed the sins of all mankind for all time and for all the ages of man (Heb 9:24-28).
The Book of Exodus closes with the establishment of the Old Covenant Church and the creation of the Israelites as a liturgical people. In the Old Covenant there was one central authority to rule over the one covenant community (Church) which was also the kingdom of God on earth (the nation of Israel). The hierarchy of the Old Covenant Church was a central authority answerable to God through Moses who together with Aaron the High Priest and the other chief priests was the governing authority of the covenant community/ nation of Israel. There was also an ordained priesthood bound by the covenant to wear certain liturgical vestments and to teach the people the Law and to lead the people in right worship (see CCC 1539-41).
Question: In New Covenant worship is there one central governmental authority which rules over the one Church of Jesus Christ ( Rom 12:4-5) "the King of the eternal kingdom of heaven and earth ( Dan 1:44-45; 7:28; Mt 4:17; I Tim 1:17; 6:15; Jm 2:5; 2 Pet 1:11) "with a validly ordained priesthood ( Jn 20:22-23), and do they wear prescribed liturgical vestments and lead the covenant people in right worship? Also see CCC 763-65, 771, 874-87, 911, 914, 1120, 1544-45, 1551, 1564, 2663.
Answer: Only the Catholic Church has one central authority that has governed Christ's covenant people for 2,000 years. The Catholic Church has validly ordained priests. Their vestments are very similar to the vestments of the Old Covenant priesthood. Christ is both the Church's High Priest and King. The New Covenant Church, like Old Covenant Israel, is therefore also a kingdom. The Bishop of Rome, as the direct successor to Christ's vicar (a vicar is he who rules by authority of the King), St. Peter, along with the bishops who are the successors of the Apostles form the Magisterium of the Universal Church and are the central governing authority of the Universal (catholic means "universal") Church "the One Body of Christ "founded by Jesus Christ through His Apostles (see Jn 20:22-23; 21:15-17).
A SUMMARY OF THE SINAI COVENANT
The Sinai Covenant was unique for its time in salvation history in that it was a corporate covenant that bound the descendants of Israel to Yahweh through Law and Liturgy: the Law taught Israel to identify sin and to live in holiness as Yahweh is holy (Ex 19:6; Lev 11:44), and Liturgy was the public act of worship through which God dispensed grace and mercy to His covenant people. The Ten Commandments and the additional body of the Law in the Book of Covenant cannot be separated from the command to be a liturgical people who maintain the covenant through the Sabbath obligation and communion with God in the earthly Sanctuary that is a copy of the heavenly reality. The Sabbath obligation and worship in the Sanctuary taught the people the meaning of sacrifice, how to reject sin, how to make expiation for sin through prescribed animal sacrifice, how to live in holiness as reflected in ritual purity, and how to obtain mercy and forgiveness in order to reestablish fellowship with God and to be recipients of God's divine grace. The Sabbath obligation and the Tabernacle were the sacred signs of the Sinai Covenant in time and in space. The Tabernacle was the visible sign and the Sabbath obligation was the invisible sign of the covenant. The Sabbath could be experienced and it could be lived but it could not be seen, just as the invisible God could not be seen and His interaction with Israel had to be experienced through faith.(7)
In addition, the Law and the liturgy of worship in the Sanctuary and its Tabernacle prepared the covenant people for the coming of the Redeemer-Messiah (CCC 633-34). Jesus the man-god was the visible sign of the New Covenant and His New Covenant Law freed the Old Covenant people from their bondage to the Old Law that convicted them of their sins but could not open the gates of heaven (CCC 1026; 1963). Jesus' sacrifice on the altar of the Cross and the New Covenant law brought what the Old Law could not give by offering the gift of grace in the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit and the promise of eternal salvation to all mankind "giving not just the descendants of Israel but the entire the family of man the promised redemption and the return to the state of grace man enjoyed before the Fall in the garden Sanctuary.
The Purpose of the visible sign of the Desert Sanctuary and its Tabernacle:
The Tabernacle had three functions:
- It was the visible sign of God's presence and glory, providing a way for God to dwell in the midst of His people (Ex 25:8; 40:34-35).
- It provided a means for God to dispense His gift of grace to a repentant people (Lev 16:29-34).
- It foreshadowed the redemptive work of Jesus Christ (Heb 9).
The purpose of the desert Sanctuary and its Tabernacle was not to separate God from His people. Instead, it was built to make a way for Yahweh to dwell among the Israelites and to provide the safe means for His people to approach Him by atoning for their sins through blood sacrifice, followed by restored fellowship in the communion sacrifice and the sacred meal eaten by the offerer, his family and friends and the officiating priest in the presence of God (Lev 7:11/7:1-17/7:7; 19:5-6; Dt 12:17-18).
With the exception of the Letter to the Hebrews, New Testament references to the Tabernacle, whether the earthly Tabernacle or the heavenly "tent" are infrequent (see Acts 7:44-45; Rev 13:6; 15:5; 21:3). Much of the Letter to the Hebrews focuses on the Levitical priesthood and their duties in the earthly Tabernacle/Temple which have been made null and void by Jesus Christ, the New Covenant High Priest who serves in the heavenly Tabernacle. One of the boldest statements made in the Letter to the Hebrews concerning the earthly Tabernacle/Jerusalem Temple was its temporary status as a symbol of what was to come. Referring to the priestly service in the earthly Tabernacle the inspired writer of the homily to Jewish Christians wrote: Under these provisions, priests go regularly into the outer tent to carry out their acts of worship [the Holy Place], but the second tent [Holy of Holies] is entered only once a year, and then only by the high priest who takes in the blood to make an offering for his own and the people's faults of inadvertence. By this, the Holy Spirit means us to see that as long as the old tent stands [meaning the Jerusalem Temple], the way into the holy place is not opened up; it is a symbol for this present time. None of the gifts and sacrifices offered under these regulations can possibly bring any worshipper to perfection in his conscience; they are rules about outward life, connected with food and drink and washing at various times, which are in force only until the time comes to set things right. But now Christ has come, as the high priest of all the blessings which were to come. He has passed through the greater, the more perfect tent, not made by human hands, that is, not of this created order; and he has entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with him not the blood of goats and bull calves, but his own blood, having won an eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on those who have incurred defilement, may restore their bodily purity. How much more will the blood of Christ, who offered himself blameless as he was, to God through the eternal Spirit, purify our consciences from dead actions so that we can worship the living God (Heb 9:6-14).
The Soulful Tabernacle of the New Covenant Believer
In the Old Covenant the Tabernacle/Temple provided the means for atonement and restored communion with God, but in his letter to the Christians at Rome and at Corinth St. Paul taught the old order was no longer valid "it had served its purpose in teaching holiness, in condemning sin, and pointing the way to the Messiah (CCC 1963). Jesus Christ had come to perfect the Old Covenant and through His work of redemption every New Covenant believer has become the temple of the Holy Spirit: Do you not realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you and whom you receive from God? You are not your own property, then; you have been bought at a price. So use your body for the glory of God (1 Cor 6:19-20). The Tabernacle and the Jerusalem Temple prefigured the mission of Jesus Christ the Redeemer-Messiah "the God-man who came to dwell among His people "God dwelling in the soulful tabernacle of the New Covenant believer.
Some scholars suggest that Chapter 27 was originally not part of the Book of Leviticus and describe it as a postscript or appendix written at a later period. They point out that the instruction in Chapter 27 is fundamentally different from the subject matter in the preceding chapters and probably belongs to the period of the Jerusalem Temple. However, other scholars point out that it makes complete sense that the book should conclude with a list of ten laws addressing what was necessary to keep the Sanctuary functioning as the center of life for the covenant people. God’s concerns are practical and reasonable as well as spiritual. It can also be argued that there is something of a balance between Chapter 27 and Leviticus Chapters 1-7. Chapters 1-7 include divine instruction for an individual’s voluntary offerings and for an individual’s compulsory offerings:
- Chapter 1: animals for voluntary whole burnt sacrifices of individuals
- Chapter 2: voluntary grain offerings of individuals
- Chapter 3: animals for voluntary communion sacrifices of individuals
- Chapters 4-5: animals for compulsory sin sacrifices for individuals and the community
- Chapter 6: priestly grain offerings and sin sacrifices
- Chapter 7: individual’s sacrifices of reparation and the three kinds of individual voluntary communion sacrifices
It is a fitting that this body of legislation should conclude with a section that addresses the people’s voluntary gifts and compulsory tithes that supported both the Sanctuary and the priesthood. Then too, throughout the Exodus experience Yahweh has vowed His faithfulness to Israel. It is fitting that the people should be expected to be careful in vowing gifts to Yahweh that are appropriate, that the person in good faith intends to fulfill and to not vow what already belongs to God.
Leviticus 27:1-8: Persons Dedicated to God
Question: What is the subject of this section?
Answer: The dedication of persons to God.
Leviticus 27:9-13: Animals Dedicated to God
A person could vow a gift animals for sacrifice or animals to the service of the Sanctuary (not for sacrifice).
The next section deals with consecrations after the Israelites take possession of the Promised Land. The Hebrew verb used to describe each of these forms of dedication is hikdish, which means “to consecrate” (JPS Commentary: Leviticus, page 195). The same Hebrew verb is used to describe devotion of sacrificial offerings (Lev chapter 22) and for the consecration of the first-born according to God’s command (Num 3:13; Dt 15:19). This section is concerned with three specific types of consecrations:
- Town houses
- Ancestral land
- Purchased agricultural land
Leviticus 27:14-15: Houses Consecrated to God
Question: What was the Jubilee year law in Leviticus 25:29-31 concerning houses sold within towns?
Answer: According to the Jubilee year laws, the houses that were sold within walled towns were not subject to the Jubilee redemption, and if the house was not redeemed within a year after it is sold, it became the permanent property of the purchaser.
Question: How were the rules different for town houses that were consecrated to God?
Answer: If an owner consecrated his town house to God, there was no time limit within a year set for redemption. He could redeem it at any time so long as he paid the redemption fee.
Leviticus 27:16-21: Ancestral Land Consecrated to God
Question: What happened to ancestral lands (‘ahuzzah) in the Jubilee year? What is different in the case of consecrated ancestral lands? See Leviticus 25:10, 13.
Answer: In a Jubilee year all ancestral ‘ahuzzah land reverted back to the original owners. The land could not be sold, but it could be leased until the next Jubilee at which time the lease expired. In the case of consecrated lands, a lease was computed in crop years. At the Jubilee, the Sanctuary lost its right to the land, which reverted to the owners.
Leviticus 27:22-25: Purchased Land Consecrated to God
This law reflects the provisions in Leviticus 25:25-28. If an Israelite fell on hard times and was compelled to sell any part of his ancestral ‘ahuzzah land and no kinsman redeemed it for him, it reverted to him at the next Jubilee even if he didn’t have the means to redeem the land for himself in the interim.
Leviticus 27:26-27: Prohibition of Dedicating Firstborn Animals
Question: Why couldn’t first-born sons and first-born livestock be consecrated to Yahweh? See Exodus 13:3ff; 22:28-29; 34:19-20; Num 33:4; Dt 15:19-23.
Answer: The firstlings already belonged to God.
Leviticus 27:28-29: Procedure for Herem (unconditional devotion)
The verb h-r-m (herem) means “to set apart, donate, restrict” and in Biblical Hebrew the word seems to have a negative or prohibitive connotation (JPS Commentary: Leviticus, page 198). The word herem is used to describe something that is to be totally destroyed or something that is forbidden profane use because it is consecrated to God.
Leviticus 27:30-34: Tithes from Harvests and Livestock
Question: How are the rules different for the tithe on the land as opposed to the tithe on the livestock?
Answer: The tithe on the land could be redeemed, but the tithe of the livestock could not be redeemed.
Tithing was a form of consecration—the tithe rightfully belonged to God. But God is always merciful in the application of His laws and a farmer might need some of his produce back to feed his animals or for planting the next crop, and so he could redeem it with the additional twenty percent added.
This last chapter of Leviticus, dealing with the faithfulness of the covenant people in what was promised to God and in what belonged to God, brings us back to the theme of holiness and right worship that is the connecting thread of the various commands and prohibitions in Leviticus. We are also reminded of Yahweh’s statement to the people: For it is I, Yahweh, who am your God. You have been sanctified and have become holy because I am holy: do not defile yourselves with all these creatures that swarm on the ground. Yes, it is I, Yahweh, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God: you must therefore be holy because I am holy (Lev 11:44-45). It was an expectation of holiness for the covenant people repeated in Leviticus 19:2; 20:7, 26 and 21:6-8.
Question: What kinds of vows do New Covenant believers make? For example see Matthew 5:33-37; 15:5-9; Mark 7:11-13; 28:19-20; Acts 18:18; 21:23.; CCC 2101-03, 2042-43.
Answer: Christians make Baptismal vows, Confirmation vows and marriage vows. Christians are also expected to vow to preach the Gospel of salvation to the ends of the earth as Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:19-20; it is a vow Catholics accept in the Sacrament of Confirmation. Some of us are called to take religious vows of lifetime service to the Lord. Jesus’ urged His disciples not to make rash vows or oaths but instead to do whatever you say you will do so that your words are reliable and true (Mt 5:33-37). Jesus also made it clear to it was wrong to use a vow as an excuse to avoid another responsibility (Mt 15:5-9; Mk 7:11-13). And finally, as Catholics we accept the responsibility to fulfill the five precepts of the Church which are the minimum requirement for faithful Roman Catholic New Covenant believers.
With the exception of the Ten Commandments, the old Law of the Sinai Covenant ceased to be the binding, legal document of God’s covenant people after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As the prophet Jeremiah prophesied centuries earlier (Jer 31:31-34) a New Covenant community came into existence composed of both the descendants of the children of Israel and the Gentile communities of the Roman world who lived under the New Law of love. However, many of the theological images of the old Law persisted, transformed by the mission of God the Son: there was still a holy day of worship but it was now on the significant “eighth day” which was also the first day of the week commemorating the Resurrection of the Messiah-Redeemer and designated “the Lord’s Day” (Sunday). There was also a ministerial priesthood, an altar, a sacrifice and a sacred meal. But the Sanctuary/Temple, the old Sabbath, multiple blood sacrifices, purifications, and old covenant holy days that were part of the old Levitical system were fulfilled in Christ and transformed into living the New Law of love as Jesus taught in the Beatitudes and in new feast days that memorialized the mission of the Messiah and the promise of His return. Under the old Law the acceptable sacrifice made the offerer acceptable to God. In the New Law believers were purified by Christ’s one perfect sacrifice. The people of God were liberated from the old purity laws concerning clean and unclean foods (Acts 10:9-48), and the covenant faithful were no longer prevented from worshiping in their local assemblies because of pregnancy or mildew in their houses, nor were they required to led the side locks of the hair grow long—laws that separated them from their Gentile neighbors.
Such regulations were no longer necessary since nothing unclean can ever enter the heavenly Sanctuary where Jesus, as the eternal High Priest, presides over both heavenly and earthly worship. The people of God lived under purity rites as a sign of their holy nation status among the other world nations before Christ sanctified His people by His blood shed on their behalf, making New Covenant believers a holy nation (1 Pet 1:2; 2:9-10). New Covenant people’s status is confirmed by the reality of their oath to live as a holy people (Col 1:22; 1 Pet 1:15), as St. Peter taught when he quoted from Leviticus in urging Christians to be holy because the Lord is holy (1 Pt 1:16; Lev 11:44; 17:1; 19:2) because freedom from the regiment of living under the old Law is not permission to be free from obeying what the old Law revealed concerning holiness. Sins that led to moral imperfections and impurities under the old Law and rendered a covenant member unclean and therefore separated from God are still sinful and render a covenant member unclean and separated from God under the New Covenant. Sin still requires repentance, confession, and atonement in order for forgiveness and restoration of fellowship, but the greatest difference is that under the old system judgments were not eternal nor were blessings. Under the New Covenant blessings are eternal, but so are judgments.
CHALLENGE: "I don’t see how a loving God could : someone to hell. Why would he want to punish one of his creatures for all eternity?”
DEFENSE: God doesn’t want people to go to hell. He “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4), but we can reject his offer of salvation.
Although Scripture and the Church use the language of punishment in connection with hell, this has to be properly understood. “It is not a punishment imposed externally by God but a development of premises already set by people in this life . . . ‘Eternal damnation,’ therefore, is not attributed to God’s initiative because in his merciful love he can only desire the salvation of the beings he created. In reality, it is the creature who closes himself to his love. Damnation consists precisely in definitive separation from God, freely chosen by the human person and confirmed with death that seals his choice for ever. God’s judgment ratifies this state” (John Paul II, General Audience, July 28, 1999).
Consequently, “God predestines no one to go to hell; for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end” (CCC 1037). It is not that God chooses to send a person to hell.
The person chooses to remain separate from God, to reject his offer of love and forgiveness, and God respects the person’s choice. He will not force a person into union with him if that person chooses to be separate. At the end of life, our choice becomes definitive. We will not change our mind after death, which is why both heaven and hell last forever (cf. CCC 1035).
But as long as we are still alive, we can still choose to turn to God, no matter what we have done, no matter how bad our sins have been. “There is no offense, however serious, that the Church cannot forgive. There is no one, however wicked and guilty, who may not confidently hope for forgiveness, provided his repentance is honest. Christ who died for all men desires that in his Church the gates of forgiveness should always be open to anyone who turns away from sin” (CCC 982).
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
