Are you saying that we can still be sinning and not know it?

Yes. Leviticus is full of sins done ignorantly. In fact, the vast majority of sins that can be atoned for are ignorant sins. Intentional sinners are usually stoned.

But there are people who define sin as intentional transgression of a known command. For such people, there can be no such thing as ignorant sins.

But won't it be only those who have confessed their sins that will be forgiven of those sins?

That's absolutely true when there is no longer a Mediator. But while the morning and evening sacrifices continue, it's truth is not absolute (I believe).

In any case, known sins always condemn.

Can the concept of "no longer a Mediator" be made by the Bible alone?

That's a good thing to nail down. What I can think of immediately is the sanctuary system of disposing of sin. There was a gap between the time the high priest exited the tabernacle and the scapegoat's death. You might even include the time the fit man needs to clean up after taking the goat out.

Hmm, the text does not say that the goat was ever killed. If they just took the goat out of the camp into the wilderness and there let the goat go free, then it is possible that it died a decade or more after out of old age.

However, for this comparision, I would have guessed that the relevant time period wasnt the time between the high priest leaving the tabernacle and the death of the goat, but between the time of the high preast leaving the tabernacle and the high preast laying the sins on the goat. That he is supposed to do right after being inside the tabernacle clensing it. Wouldnt the goat in the wilderness otherwise be responcible for the saved during that time if their sins where depending on how long it lived?

Maybe the important time would be between the priest leaving the tabernacle and putting the sins on the goat. That would be a short time.

But if we're talking about living without a Mediator, that would start from the high priest leaving the tabernacle, and extends to eternity. Mediation ends when the high priest's job is done.

Now I'm thinking about the morning and evening sacrifices. Weren't they burning during this whole time? I need to stop trying to remember and just look in the book.

It seems this only deals with moving around of sins. Where does it say that Israel was without a Mediator for this period of time during this festival? There is still way to go before this can be said to be a bible made case. And there ought to be something about this in a secoundary source in the bible besides in this description, considering how crucial the topic is (if it is true). Important things, God says at least twise.

Thomas

The idea of living without a Mediator is primarily concerned with the moving around of sins. We defile ourselves by sin, and the Mediator removes the sin from us and puts it elsewhere (i.e., lamb, veil, etc.). Without a Mediator, we keep our sin and its consequences. That's why the moving around of sins is central to this topic.

But if we're talking about a Mediator to provide power to overcome sin, I don't think there's any debate that it continues.



If the high priest has stopped his work, then there's no mediator, since he is the mediator. But the continuous burning of the daily sacrifice might have something to teach us here.