In Part One we were discussing how the wine at the Lord’s Supper was symbolic of His blood. In Leviticus 17:11 God taught us that the life of the flesh was in the blood.
I believe that the physical blood itself was also a representation of the future spiritual offering of “the life” that is now distributed to us daily in the form of the renewing of the Holy Spirit within us. Titus 3:5 “… but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost”
The blood of Jesus -> Eternal Life -> the Holy Spirit in us
Eternal life is distributed to us by God’s Holy Spirit which scripture poetically and symbolically describes as being “shed” and “sprinkled” on us. Those terms were used under the Old Testament when referring to the shedding and sprinkling of physical blood according to the law.
Those laws were described by Paul as being “the ministration of death” because under the Old Covenant God commanded animal sacrifices as symbolic placeholders that pointed toward the perfect sacrificial death of their coming Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Our heavenly Father required the death of animals and the offering of their blood to continually remind the repentant sinner of the severity of sin – the dominion of sin – which is the death penalty. This is why it’s called “the ministration of death” because the operation of those sanctuary and priesthood laws administered death, the death of the animals.
But now under “the New and living way” instead of “the ministration of death” we have “the ministration of the Spirit”.
There has been a change in the priesthood from the tribe of Levi to Melchisedec. There has also been a change in the sanctuary from the earthly sanctuary to the one in heaven. The earthly sanctuary was only a copy made by Moses of the original true heavenly sanctuary that God showed to Moses on top of mount Sinai. The original is now in operation with Jesus as our High Priest, being the only Mediator between God and man (1Timothy 2:5) and Minister of the New Covenant administering the life giving free gift of the Holy Spirit which we are given by the promise of the Everlasting Covenant.
Galatians 3:14
“That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the PROMISE of the Spirit through faith.”
Ephesians 1:13
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of PROMISE”
Hebrews 8:2
“A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.”
Hebrews 7:12
“For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.”
Hebrews 8:5
“Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.”
The earthly sanctuary (tabernacle) was only a copy that operated using offerings that were shadows of the heavenly things. Meaning that those offerings were only symbolic of the real authentic heavenly offerings that would come with the coming of their Messiah.
Hebrews 8:6-7
“But now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.”
The New Covenant is a better covenant. The Old Covenant was imperfect for several reasons. If we read the next verse without considering the other supporting scriptures, it will be as though we walked into the middle of someone else’s conversation and missed a few key points. Let’s take a look.
Hebrews 8:8-9
“For finding fault with them, He saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in My covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.”
To understand this completely, we have to have the background knowledge that when God first brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, He was not going to add anything to the already existing covenant of salvation that was given to Adam. It was because of the children of Israel’s continuing to seriously backslide into sin (the golden calf) that God added some EXTRA burdensome laws for them to keep until the reformation.
This is ONLY speaking about those particular laws that God added because of their sinning, not the ones that existed already:
Galatians 3:19
“Wherefore then serveth the law? It was ADDED because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.”
This is what Galatians 3:19 is referring to:
Jeremiah 7:22-24
“For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be My people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.”
And here we have Paul telling us that those added laws were imposed on them until the time of reformation:
Hebrews 9:9-10
“Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, IMPOSED on them UNTIL the time of reformation.”
That time of reformation was the establishment of the New Covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ and the heavenly sanctuary operating and administering the Holy Spirit, that life represented by physical blood.
Here are some of the other reasons the first covenant (the Old Covenant) was imperfect and faulty:
1. The blood of animals could never erase their sins thereby not making them “perfect, as pertaining to the conscience”. Perfect just means sinless, without any sin on their record in heaven or in their heart / conscience. Under that sanctuary and priesthood system they were required to remember their sins every year on the day of Atonement. Keeping in mind that it was because the blood of those animals was imperfect in that it could never erase sin or ever be a true one time atonement like the one time offering of the blood of Jesus.
Hebrews 10:3-4
“But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”
2. The sacrifices and offerings were only types and shadows symbolic representations of the true heavenly sacrifices and offerings.
Hebrews 10:1
“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and NOT the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.”
3. a. With the Levitical priesthood, the priests themselves were corruptible meaning they died. b. They also “sinned and fell short of the glory of God” and had to first offer up sacrifices for their own sins and after that they could offer up sacrifices and offerings for the people.
Hebrews 7:23-25
“And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: But this Man, because He continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
Hebrews 9:7
“But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered FOR himself, AND FOR the errors of the people”
4. The death of a sacrifice was required to be done daily, again it was the administration of death that Paul called “the ministration of death”. Under the New Covenant Jesus only had to die one time, not daily.
Hebrews 10:11-12
“And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God”
2Corinthians 3:6-9
“Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.”
We are cleansed, washed and renewed by God’s Holy Spirit which is also called pure water and living water. Under the operation of Old Covenant this was done symbolically by blood, water, washings and other “carnal ordinances” spoken of in Hebrews 9:10.
Hebrews 10:22
“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”
1Corinthians 6:11
“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified IN the name of the Lord Jesus, and BY the Spirit of our God.”
{Jesus said to the woman at the well, If thou knewest THE GIFT of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee LIVING WATER.”}
Life Giving Water -> The Holy Spirit
We are taught by God in Leviticus 17:11 that physical blood represents life, “for the life of the flesh is in the blood”. It is so interesting that both death and life are manifested by blood.
We see the sacrificial blood offering as an example of a pure, clean, unblemished (representing a sinless) life given up through death to impart life to the repentant sinners.
John 12:23-24
“And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”
The only thing that could ever truly make the payment for our sins was and is the blood of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. His blood is the only blood offering that could ever erase sin, even for the Old Testament saints who lived and were saved “by faith” (Hebrews chapter 11).
On the one hand we have the sanctuary law that says “the wages of sin is death” and on the other we have a sanctuary law that calls for the payment of death to be made by blood and offered to God upon an altar.
Yet another sanctuary law states that when this is accomplished that an atonement for that sin has been made and restitution/payment is received and restoration will occur (a promise of the covenant). Another sanctuary law is that these offerings had to be made “by faith” in the Messiah, by confession and true repentance (by faith unfeigned- not fake).
In the next article I will share how the Old Testament believers were save by the grace and mercy of God the Father “by faith” in their coming Messiah.
In Hebrews chapter 11 the apostle Paul is speaking about the faith of those saints and references this Old Testament scripture which still applies to us today.
Hebrews 10:38
“Now the just shall live by faith…”
Habakkuk 2:4
“Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.”
Hebrews 11:6
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”