Scriptural Perspectives On The Altar

The altar was a significant part of Old Testament worship, serving as a place for ritual sacrifices and symbolizing the presence of God. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ fulfilled and superseded Old Testament sacrifices by his sacrifice on the cross. The English word altar, which is derived from the Latin altare and probably related to altus ("high"), is defined in Webster's dictionary as "a raised structure or place on which sacrifices are offered or incense is burned in worship. " It is possibly rooted in the Latin verb adolere ("to worship," "to burn or cause to go up in smoke"), so that the word came to signify "a place of sacrifice. " In the classical world and the ancient Near East, the altar was a place where gifts were offered to the gods; it was a symbol of the hidden presence of the divine. The gods were invited to consume the gifts which were often transformed or transferred, through burning, from the material to the spiritual realm. The most primitive altars consisted …