The Divine Liturgy of the Church is absolutely identical to the liturgy celebrated by the Old Testament Jews. Considering that the Old Testament was a prefiguration of the Church, it shouldn’t be surprising to see many corresponding elements.
For example, when comparing the Divine Liturgy to the Liturgy of the ancient Hebrews, it is evident by its nature that both liturgies have a Priest to celebrate a sacrifice for the remission of sins. In Leviticus 5, the Bible says:
“And he shall give them to the priest: who shall offer the first for sin, and twist back the head of it to the little pinions, so that it stick to the neck, and be not altogether broken off. And of its blood he shall sprinkle the side of the altar, and whatsoever is left, he shall let it drop at the bottom thereof, because it is for sin. And the other he shall burn for a holocaust, as is wont to be done: and the priest shall pray for him, and for his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.”
As stated above, the Old Testament was a prefiguration of the New Testament since Christ the Messiah has not yet come. This is why St Augustine, in his holy wisdom, explained it best when he stated: “The New Testament is hidden in the old, and the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New.”
Given that Jesus Christ has come to fulfill the law, (Matt 5:17) the sacrifice of animals are no longer necessary. Instead, we celebrate the sacrifice that Jesus has done for us on the Cross for the remission of our sins (Hebrews 9:12), in addition to also celebrating His Resurrection. This explains why we have an altar in our churches. The sacrifice is done when the priest says the words of consecration to change bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus; also known as the Holy Eucharist. (John 6:52 , Luke 22:19-20). This was celebrated every Sunday in the early Christian Church. (Acts 20:7).
Not only do we see the continuation of a sacrifice in the New Testament Church, but we also see the continuation of the use of Incense. The use of incense symbolizes both the presence of the Holy Spirit and the rising of our prayers to heaven. (Rev 5:8, Rev 8:1-5, Psalms 141:2). This can be seen within ancient Jewish worship as well.
Leviticus 2: 1-13 mentions how one must properly make a grain offering when it says: “Now if a soul should offer a gift for a grain offering to the Lord, his gift shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense of it. He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests, one of whom shall take it from his handful of fine flour and oil with all the frankincense. Then the priest shall put it on the altar as a memorial (emphasis added), a sacrifice of sweet aroma to the Lord … and when it is presented to the priest, he shall bring it to the altar …”
Other examples of this can be seen in Num 17:3-15, Tobit 8:2-4 , Songs of Solomon 4:6, WSir 39:14, Mal 1:11, & Isiah 6:1-6. Being that Jesus Christ, our Lord, is also a priest (Hebrews 4:14-16), this explains why the Magi have offered Jesus Incense as a symbol of His Divine Priesthood. (Matt 2:11).
In conclusion, we can see that the New Testament Church is the continuation of the ancient Jewish religion since Christ the Messiah has come! May Christ our Lord be Glorified unto ages of ages, amen!
Holy Synergy 