Christians who believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God also believe that the death of Jesus served to atone for the sins of mankind. This was a unique event in human history and Jesus' death served as the final sacrifice to atone for the sins of human beings. That it was understood to be the final sacrifice is evident from some passages in the New Testament letter to the Hebrews. For instance, in Hebrews 7: 26-27 (New American Standard Bible) we read:
26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever
26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever
In this passage, we can clearly see that Jesus doesn't need to continually offer sacrifices like the high priests from the Levite tribe, first for his sins and then for the sins of the Hebrew people, because when he offered himself up on the cross, his sacrifice was once and for all. Likewise, in Hebrews 10: 1-4 (New International Version) we read:
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2 Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. 4 It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins
According to this passage, the law is only an imperfect shadow of the good things to come and can never perfect those who draw near. If the law was capable of making believers perfect, then sacrifices would've stopped some time ago and once the sacrifice was made, worshipers would've been cleansed once and for all time. Moreover, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins; only the blood of Jesus, shed on the cross, could atone for the sins of humanity, once and for all. Therefore, his sacrifice was the ultimate and final sacrifice and the only one that truly could atone for the sins of humanity.
However, when we turn to the pages of the Hebrew Bible, what we find is that this is impossible. According to the book of Jeremiah, the priesthood is permanent. In Jeremiah 33: 17-26 (New International Version), we read:
17 For this is what the Lord says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, 18 nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.’”
19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20 “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, 21 then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. 22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’”The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2 Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. 4 It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins
According to this passage, the law is only an imperfect shadow of the good things to come and can never perfect those who draw near. If the law was capable of making believers perfect, then sacrifices would've stopped some time ago and once the sacrifice was made, worshipers would've been cleansed once and for all time. Moreover, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins; only the blood of Jesus, shed on the cross, could atone for the sins of humanity, once and for all. Therefore, his sacrifice was the ultimate and final sacrifice and the only one that truly could atone for the sins of humanity.
However, when we turn to the pages of the Hebrew Bible, what we find is that this is impossible. According to the book of Jeremiah, the priesthood is permanent. In Jeremiah 33: 17-26 (New International Version), we read:
17 For this is what the Lord says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, 18 nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.’”
23 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 24 “Have you not noticed that these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two kingdoms he chose’? So they despise my people and no longer regard them as a nation. 25 This is what the Lord says: ‘If I have not made my covenant with day and night and established the laws of heaven and earth, 26 then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.’”
Notice that in verse 17, Yahweh says that David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, and, most importantly for this article, the Levitical priests will never fail to have a man to stand before him to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings, and sacrifices. Notice that these two are covenants and they're parallel to each other. Yahweh made a covenant with David and with the Levites. That the Levitical priests will never fail to have a man to stand before Yahweh continually means that the office of the Levites is permanent. There will never be a final sacrifice to atone for the sins of humanity; the sacrificial system is permanent and will go on forever. Furthermore, Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, not Levi. So what authority would anyone from the tribe of Judah have to perform any kind of sacrifice or offering?
But if the sacrificial system is permanent and sacrifices (in addition to burnt and grain offerings) will go on forever, then how is it possible that the death of Jesus is meant to be the final sacrifice? It can't be!
Either Jeremiah is giving a false prophecy or the whoever wrote Hebrews is seriously mistaken despite being inspired by the Holy Spirit. Either way, the inerrancy doctrine suffers irreparable damage.
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