Theology II

Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY II SERIES, TOKENS OF THE BLOOD FOREWORD From my early days of church and ministry, I have many memories about the subject of the blood. It seemed the majority of the songs and even the preaching of that day was about the blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Although we didn’t have much revelation on the subject, we knew that there was power associated with it. As the years have moved forward, it seems that the importance of the blood has been misplaced, and this generation looks on without understanding. No other subject has been more underestimated, undervalued and more misunderstood that the subject of the blood. The depth of its reach and purpose is inexhaustible. At first glance we see it as payment in full for the transgressions of the Old Covenant, the seal and gateway of the new Covenant; but that is just the surface. As we look deeper, we see a fresh new glimpse into the multifaceted diamond of what His blood truly is and what it accomplishes. Now comes this much needed and timely series, The Tokens of the Blood. It is written by a woman who has opened the subject in a refreshing new way. Patricia Smith writes clearly and convincingly about six of the traits exhibited through the Blood. Taken from Exodus 12 and the account of the first Passover, this book will broaden and strengthen your understanding of what brought us to God in such a compelling way, and what the eternal blood of Christ continues to do in and through our lives. If you will open your heart to the message of this series, you will find new revelation in “the knowledge of Him” who has called us to redemption, deliverance, health and prosperity in this life, and, in the world to come, life eternal. Pastor Jerry Edmon Family Worship Center Elgin, Texas Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY II SERIES STUDENT WORKBOOK INDEX Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 1, Why Blood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Test Review Lesson 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 2, Banner in the Blood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Test Review Lesson 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 3, Light in the Blood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Test Review Lesson 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 4, Memory in the Blood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Test Review Lesson 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 5, Mark in the Blood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Test Review Lesson 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 6, Miracle in the Blood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Test Review Lesson 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 7, The Feasts of Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Test Review Lesson 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Consecrated Life Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 8, The Whole Burnt Offering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Test Review Lesson 8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 9, The Meal Offering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Test Review Lesson 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 10, The Peace Offering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Test Review Lesson 10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 11 Page 13 Page 16 Page 18 Page 23 Page 24 Page 27 Page 28 Page 31 Page 32 Page 36 Page 37 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 51 Page 52 Page 55 Page 56 Page 60 Material herein may not be copied or duplicated in any way without permission from Covenant Treasure Ministries, P O Box 667, Elgin, Texas 78621 Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY II SERIES TOKENS OF THE BLOOD OF JESUS, LESSON 1, WHY BLOOD? By Patricia Smith The bible is a book that is different from any other book on the face of the earth, because it is “alive” “powerful” (Heb. 4: 12). The Amplified Bible says: “the Word of God is alive and full of power making it active, operative, energizing and effective!” It has the power to change human life. If you know in your heart that you: have been “born again” your life has been changed by Jesus Christ have experienced His forgiveness His deliverance His healing It has come to you through the words of the Bible. The reason that the bible is “alive” is because it is a book of blood. God declares the sanctity of blood, saying: “you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” (Gen.9:4) “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.” (Lev.17:11) Lev. 17:14: “For as the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life, therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is in the blood…” Deuteronomy 12:23: “Only be sure not to eat the blood, for the life is in the blood and you shall not eat the life with the flesh...” It is therefore, quite clear, that LIFE IS IN THE BLOOD. The word “blood” is in the bible 459 times, not including those places that speak of sacrifices that imply the shedding of blood… In order to gain even a very limited understanding of the blood of Christ and what it means to us, it is necessary that we investigate the blood that is in us. We begin by saying every human has an average of 5 liters of blood in his or her body. That 5 liters is composed of 25 trillion red blood cells. Every drop of your blood has in it, 7 to 25 thousand white cells. These two cell types are carried through a liquid called plasma that makes up 55% of the blood, which is the agent that makes it fluid and thus mobile. The red cells, when viewed through a microscope, are round with an indentation in the middle. They are thus streamlined in order to facilitate their travel throughout the body, so that nothing deters their speed of process. These cells travel to every single cell in the body through a network of some 60,000 miles of blood veins. Red blood cells: pick up oxygen from your lungs carry it to every single cell in your body. (No cell in your body is any farther than a hair’s breadth from a blood capillary.) pick up nourishment from your digestive system and carry nutrients to every cell where it is needed! pick up hormones from the endocrine or glandular system and speed them where they are needed! There is NOURISHMENT AND GROWTH in the blood .because of the red blood cells. At the center of this network is a muscle approximately the size of your fist, your heart, which pumps approximately 2 gallons of blood through these 60,000 miles of blood veins every day. Is it any wonder that we can quote the psalmist David who said, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made!” Now these 25 trillion cells speed through your body picking up oxygen from your lungs and carrying it to every living cell in your body. The 7 to 25,000 white cells: transport disease fighters to any invading foreign virus, germ, bacteria, can be divided into 5 different types of cells, each one trained to recognize and respond to different types of organisms entering your body. They travel throughout those 60,000 miles of sanguine highways and hone in on the invaders at the site of the invasion. They begin to do battle and are prepared to give their lives for the cause of your health. If you have ever had an infection site in your body that has developed areas of “pus”, it is interesting to note that those white pustules are in essence, “dead soldiers”, cells that have lost their very lives in the battle for your life that is in the blood! There is HEALTH in the blood! Some white cells have memories in them. Once an invader has been attacked and repelled, they remember it. They remember what it looked like how it was vanquished if it dares to show itself again, they meet it at the point of entry and repel it! That is called immunity. There is IMMUNITY in the blood!! PROTECTION is in the blood! Truly we are fearfully and wonderfully made! Plasma makes up 55% of the blood supply, it is comprised of: 92% of water, 7% proteins and enzymes 1% vitamins. Plasma contains platelets that have a clotting factor which enables the blood to “clump” together. This affords protection against fatal loss of life-containing blood at the site of an injury. There is PRESERVATION AND KEEPING POWER in the blood! Where does the blood come from? It is manufactured in the bones. Heb. 9:22 tells us that without the shedding of blood there is no “remission” of sins. The Greek word there for “remission” means there is “no freedom from it” “no pardon from it” “no liberty apart from it”. GOD IS GOOD. Sometimes we think that God is good because He does good things. Then we pattern ourselves after this, thinking that somehow if we continually do good things, then that will mean we are good people. God is not good because He does good things and certainly we are not good or righteous because of good things that we do. Rather, God is inherently Good. Therefore because He IS good, He does good things. He cannot do otherwise, because that is who He IS, yes, all the time! A completely evil, unregenerate person can do good things. To be kind and to honor your parents is a “good thing”. To visit the sick is a “good thing”. To give to the poor is a “good thing”. Yet someone who is not born-again can do all these things and it does not make them “good” because we are not inherently good on the inside. Now God IS good! He is perfect goodness, perfect judgment, perfect justice, perfect mercy, perfect creative ability, perfect power, perfect wisdom, perfect knowledge, perfect brilliance, perfect glory, perfect light, perfect life, perfect morality….totally, totally, totally GOOD. God does not conduct an ongoing war against evil. We are the ones who war against our own flesh. our carnal minds every day that we strive to walk in the spirit. “principalities and powers, the rulers of darkness, spiritual wickedness in high places”. God has no need to war against sin or evil. The very presence of God simply eradicates evil! For this reason, the best thing God can do for a sinful man who has not approached him by blood, is to withdraw Himself from that man. When He came down on Mt. Sinai he told Moses to warn the people to “sanctify” themselves. The mountain caught fire and was ablaze, smoking with light and heat. The voice of the Lord grew so loud that it sounded to the people below as a trumpet that they finally could not stand to hear and ran away. The Hebrew historian Josephus says they backed up some ten miles! Yet the Lord Himself remained heavily cloaked in the blackness of this cloud. He gave Moses the injunction to warn the people not to attempt to peer through the cloud, “lest I break forth upon them and they die”. He further admonished them not even to touch the mountain. No man can see the full glory of the Lord and yet live. For example let’s talk about the future of Anti-Christ in the end time as outlined by the Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:8. Anti-Christ will, in his short reign of power, have at his disposal the very best of human technology, finest scientific minds of the time, combined power and mobility of all the armies on earth, cooperation of all the kings of the earth, sum of all supernatural lying signs and wonders as authored by Satan himself. Yet, when he attempts to mobilize all this against Israel, against the Lord and His people, it is said very simply, that he will be “consumed” and destroyed by the “brightness of His (the Lord’s) coming”!! The Lord Jesus will simply “appear”. He’s just going to “show up” and that will be sufficient to destroy Anti-Christ and all his co-horts. His (the Lord’s) very brightness will consume him. Looking up the word “brightness” takes us to Hebrews 1:3 that says of Christ, He is the “express image of the invisible God” the “brightness of His glory”! In the Greek, that word “brightness” literally means “off-flash”. The terrible and awesome appearance of Christ at His second coming that absolutely destroys His enemies is just an “off-flash” of the glory of God. Think of it! We have all had the experience of having our picture taken with a “flash” camera. Just that little flash of brilliance blinds us for a few seconds and for a few more seconds we see spots in front of our eyes. Now Christ is coming, not with His full glory, but just a portion, a flash, as it were, in a second of time, sufficient to bring destruction to all the enemies of God on earth! Refer to the account in 2 Samuel 6, of Uzzah, the man in the company of King David, who was walking alongside the Ark of the Covenant, The Ark of the Covenant was a gold-covered wooden box approximately 4x8 ft. was originally made and placed within the “Holiest of Holies” in the tabernacle had on the lid of this “box” were the likeness of two angels facing one another and the space in between was known as the “mercy seat”. Had upon this space, a minute portion of the very essence, the Spirit of God, cloaked in a cloud, rested from time to time. Even this miniscule presence of God had to be hidden from the people, so it resided behind a thick veil in the “Holiest of Holies” only to be approached by a High Priest bearing blood once a year. Philistines had confiscated the Ark. Everywhere they tried to take it, people died, so that the people of Ashdod where it was first taken said: “send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that is may not kill us and our people……and the men who did not die were smitten with tumors and the cry of the city went up to heaven.” (1 Sam. 5:12) God, in His mercy, of course was not dwelling on this mercy seat, as His Presence there would have annihilated anyone who got near it! When the Philistines could deal with its presence no longer, they put it on a cart and returned it to Israel, to the Levitical city of Bethshemesh, where out of curiosity, the men of the city dared to look into it. When they did, it is said that 50,070 men died. Finally the ark was taken to the house of one Abinadab and a priest, Eleazar was consecrated (by the process of blood) to “keep the ark of the Lord” (2 Sam. 7:1) It remained there for 20 years. King David is going to return it to Jerusalem. He disobeys God by ignoring the instructions on how to carry it, and attempts to bring it as the Philistines had done, on an ox cart. Uzzah, walking alongside, sees it hit a rut and out of instinct, reaches up to steady it. Because of the Lord’s anger (against sin), Uzzah was struck down dead in the road. God Himself was nowhere near that ark. The cloud, the glory, the Spirit was not resting on that mercy seat. He was not sitting there, exposing all of Israel to His glory or they all would have been dead in the road. He was not there when the Philistines possessed it at Ashdod or when it rested at Abinadab’s house. In this day of super technology, we have learned that in the blood (and the life is in the blood), there is a tiny blueprint of our entire genetic makeup we have named DNA. DNA can be detected from anywhere we have been, from anything we have touched, from clothes we have worn. It is as though we have left a very minute, invisible blueprint of our very existence on inanimate objects by just our touch. God was not sitting on the mercy seat that day. Just the fact that HE HAD BEEN THERE, left enough divine DNA that when Uzzah touched it he died immediately! When Adam sinned, God immediately covered Adam and Eve with the bloody hides of an innocent animal He undoubtedly slaughtered, thus teaching them to approach Him now only by blood. Then, sadly enough, God withdrew from Adam. He had to do this, in order to preserve Adam, so that he could continue to exist in his body of flesh for what proved to be over 900 years. God longed after Adam and Eve and their children after them. So HE made a way, whereby He would clean us up, change us to sinless, guileless creatures that could live in His Presence… This “way” was the “way of blood”. You must now remember that “life” is “in the blood”. Adam’s “life” was “in his blood”. If his blood had been poured out, his life would have been poured out with it. While the death of the sinner precludes any further sin, the sinner is now dead and can have no relationship with God or anyone else. Furthermore, Adam was made in God’s image. God is a Spirit. Adam was a spirit, who had a soul, who lived in a body. The blood of his flesh could only atone for the life of his flesh, but what about the real Adam? What about his soul and spirit? What could atone for that? The provision of animal sacrifice was a temporary mercy given as a shadow of that which was to come. In the interim, God mercifully instituted the substitutionary sacrifice of an animal’s blood, immediately following man’s fall in the Garden repeated throughout the old testament. specifically outlined through the priesthood Once a year, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies behind the veil, into the Presence with the blood of animals. First, he would make atonement for his own sins and the sins of his household, then for the entire nation. But the process, of necessity, had to be repeated the following year. Now in the meantime, individual sins required individual sacrifices of animal blood. God received this blood as evidence that the life of the sinner had been shed in payment for this sin. This “freed up” the sinner so to speak, so that he could once again approach God without fear or guilt. But this system was flawed, because it made no provision for the spirit and the soul. It could not change the inner man. modify our continual bent toward evil. renew the mind or transform the life. It simply provided a relative freedom to appear before God without the immediate consequence of death to the body. The inner man was still dead in sins and trespasses! The flaw in the system presented itself because of the death of the blood. Human and animal blood will only live outside of the body it is contained in for a very short time. 7 to 10 days for red cells (if refrigerated), 24 hours for white cells. So the atoning blood only lasted temporarily. Yet this provision was still a glorious picture of what was to come in due time. God gave us the picture illustration of the First Passover. On this occasion, we find “children” of Israel (Jacob) (430 years after the cutting of the covenant with their forefather Abraham), living in cruel bondage in Egypt. God has determined to bring them out through the hand of a deliverer (Moses) and through him and His delegated power, has executed 9 plagues upon Egypt. Now, at the Pharaoh’s refusal to release them, God states that He is coming to execute judgment and in every household the firstborn will die. At His presence, Israel would also come under judgment. But in His mercy, God made a way for His people. It is the way of blood. We find in Exodus chapter 12, vs. 3, the prescription for judgment and deliverance from Egypt. Each household was to take “a lamb”. Not a lamb per person, but a “lamb for a house”. The lamb was to be slain its blood applied to the two doorposts and the lintel (overhead beam of the door) they were to eat the lamb That night when God said, “I will go through the land….and strike down all the first-born….” (Ex. 12:12), He also said, (vs. 13), “and the blood shall be to you for a token, upon the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.” The NIV then says, “and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” True to His Word, the Egyptians suffered harsh judgment that night, but in every house where the blood was applied, mercy was magnified and all were spared. Notice the word “token”….and the blood shall be to you for a “token”. The Hebrew word there is “owth” (pronounced “ooth”) and according to the Strong’s Concordance has 8 meanings. These are: A signal or sign A flag (or banner) A beacon (or bright light) A monument (or memorial) An omen (or portent) A prodigy (a person or thing causing wonder) An evidence (or mark) A miracle The first one is obvious. A signal or sign gives direction. A sign advertises a fact. It will say there is: LIFE in this house, HEALTH in this house, PROTECTION in this house, KEEPING POWER in this house! The blood of Passover had to be repeated every year, because the blood died. The life, the health, the deliverance, the protection, the keeping power only lasted as long as the blood lived. Now on this Passover, God told the men of Israel: YOU choose a lamb, YOU examine the lamb, YOU slay the lamb, YOU apply the blood to your house but there was coming a day when: GOD would choose the lamb, GOD would keep Him and examine Him, GOD would slay the lamb, GOD would apply the blood to the houses of “whosoever will” There would be one major difference between the blood of Passover lambs and the blood of God’s lamb. The blood of God’s Lamb would be Eternal Blood! It would be sinless and possess the Divine Life which is Eternal, and according to the book of Hebrews, “and having obtained eternal redemption for us through His blood…..He (Jesus) has sanctified forever those made perfect by His blood”. And the blood of Jesus shall be upon us for a SIGN that says to the destroyer, “you cannot enter here”. The blood of Jesus: can save to the uttermost makes you a fit receptacle for the very spirit and life of God makes atonement for the sins of your body, the sins of your soul and your spirit brings new life to you, so that it may be said of you, you are a “new creation!” pumps through the great heart of God to every single cell, every single member of the body of Christ, bringing life-giving oxygen (the Holy Spirit) courses through us, bringing health, protection, immunity against sin, spiritual nourishment and spiritual growth keeps us! Now unto Him who is able to keep us from falling, and to cause us to stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy, to the only wise God, our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power now and forever, Amen! TEST REVIEW Theology II Series, Tokens of the Blood, Lesson 1, Why Blood? The bible is said to be “alive” because it is a book of ____________________________ According to all the declarations concerning the sanctity of blood in the bible, the reason for this is that _____________________________ In the composition of humans, each average adult has approximately ______________of blood in his or her body. In the content of the blood in an average adult person, there are __________________red blood cells. Each drop of human blood contains from ______ to ___________thousand white cells. Both red and white cells are made mobile by being carried through a liquid called _____________________ Plasma also contains _____________________which are a clotting factor. Blood travels through a network of ____________________miles of blood veins in the human body. Red blood cells pick up ________________________from the lungs and carry it to every ____________________in the human body. Red blood cells also pick up _______________________from the digestive system and carry them to where they are needed in the body. White blood cells transport ________________________to any area of the body invaded by a foreign virus, germ or bacteria. True or false: Some of the white cells have a memory disorder. _________ Blood is manufactured in the _________________ Hebrews 9:22 tells us that “without the shedding of blood” there is no _______________ ___________________________________________ In your own words, explain why the shedding of blood remits sin: ______________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ On the occasion of the first Passover in Egypt, the Israelites were to offer 1 ___________ per _____________________and apply its blood to the doors of their houses. To the Israelites on that first Passover, God said that the blood on their houses would be a “token” to them and the houses where they were. This word has 8 principal Hebrew meanings. Name them. 1) __________________________________ 2) __________________________________ 3) __________________________________ 4) __________________________________ 5) __________________________________ 6) __________________________________ 7) __________________________________ 8) __________________________________ Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY II SERIES TOKENS OF THE BLOOD, LESSON 2, BANNER IN THE BLOOD By Patricia Smith Review: In the blood there is: Life Growth Health Immunity Protection Keeping Power Without the shedding of blood there is no remission (freedom from, pardon for) sin. Blood is required because LIFE IS IN THE BLOOD and the loss of blood represents the loss of the “life” of the sinner or the completing of justice. THE BANNER (Exodus 12) The first Passover involved one lamb taken for each house and its blood placed on the doorposts of the houses of the Israelites who were captive in Egypt. This was the occasion of their deliverance at the 10th plague upon Pharaoh and Egypt, or the killing of the firstborn. The word “token” used (“and the blood shall be a TOKEN to you upon the houses where you are) has, in the Hebrew, 8 meanings, the second of which is “banner” or flag. A flag is a representation of a group of people united for one common purpose or occupying one particular territory. There are flags representing people and groups all over the world…nations, organizations, clubs, schools, etc. A flag will identify you. Should you buy a pin that is a replica of the American flag, then go to another country wearing it, that identifies you as someone who is not subject to the laws of the nation where you are. It says to them that you are under the authority and protection of the U.S.A. A flag lays claim on territory. In the early days of exploration, when a country sailed to unknown territories and were the first to land, they planted their flag on that soil, denoting their ownership and claim to that land. A flag gives you a sense of “family” or pride. An illustration is the flag of the state of Texas. It is well known that Texans have a particular mind-set that is peculiar only to the state of Texas, a certain attitude or pride. Texans are the only ones allowed to fly their state flag, side by side, as high as the flag of the U.S. Why is that? Because it is the only state that was ever a separate nation of its’ own, and BLOOD WAS SHED on the soil of Texas for ownership of that land. So then a sense of pride or family can be represented by a flag. Men in war will rise to great feats of courage in order to keep their flag upright. Now let’s go back to the Israelites. Exodus 17 gives the account of God giving water from a rock in the desert. What a revival that must have been! A miracle! The next verse says: “then came Amalek to war against them.” How typical. First the miracle and then the enemy. Now Moses was no stranger to doing battle, and knew that God was a warrior who would protect and defend them. He ordered Joshua to gather the men and go to battle with Amalek. He went to the mountain and lifted his rod. As long as his rod was aloft, the battle went for Israel, but when he wearied and the rod began to fall, the battle went to Amalek. When Moses wearied, there were two men standing on either side of him; his brother Aaron was on one side, and a man named Hur on the other. Now the name “Hur” in Hebrew means, “white linen” which always typifies righteousness. So Aaron who represented the blood of the priesthood and Hur who pictured God’s righteousness, each lifted one of his arms, and the battle was victorious for Israel. Now after this was over, Moses had learned something of God, and God declared Himself to be “Jehovah-Nissi” your banner, your flag, the one who goes before you into battle, getting victory for you! Now back to the first Passover….what did God say? The blood shall be a “flag” upon the houses where you are! He knew that He was Israel’s “Nissi” or “banner”. So when He passed over their blood marked houses, He saw the blood as a writing of His own Name on that house, denoting ownership and the covering of His own Name on the house and all those underneath it’s protection! Now, according to the book of Hebrews, we have a “better covenant with better promises.” Ps. 138:2 says “he magnified HIS WORD above all His Name.” Now who was the Word? John 1 says the Word was made flesh and died for us. His Name was Jesus. He lived and died for us and shed His own blood (the blood of God) to purchase us! Now God has “highly exalted Him and given Him a NAME that is above every NAME!” That means every previously revealed name of God as well as everything named on this earth! The Lord chose to magnify (make big) His WORD over ALL HIS NAME! What’s His Name? El, the eternal Strong One, El Shaddai, El Elyon, Jehovah-Rapha, Jehovah-Shalom, Jehovah-Jireh, Jehovah-Shammah, Jehovah-Tsidkenu, Jehovah-Raah…..but He has magnified HIS WORD above all HIS OWN NAME and given Him a name that is above every name that at the name of JESUS, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess….that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father! It is HIS ETERNAL BLOOD that is upon the doorposts of your house and when He sees the blood it identifies, protects and gives you a sense of worth and pride in Jesus! It means that the Holy Ghost, the messenger of Heaven has left heaven and hunted you down in your bondage and sin…He hunted you down, marched into your life and planted the blood-stained banner of the Word of God in your heart and said, “I claim this territory for God Almighty and Kingdom of His Son, and when I see the blood it shall be a FLAG upon you! And the voice of that blood shouts in heaven and earth and under the earth that YOU BELONG TO HIM! Because the blood shall be applied, and you have been translated out of the kingdom of darkness where the flag of the skull and crossbones ruled, into the Kingdom of His son! In times past when they sailed the high seas on wooden ships carrying goods, pirates roamed the seas. They flew a flag of skull and crossbones….symbol of death and poison. But the ships of the European countries flew their country’s flag or “colors. Sometimes when a ship’s captain saw a pirate ship in the distance, he would lower his colors so as not to be recognized. But we who are sailing under the flag of the Blood of Jesus, need never lower our colors. We need to raise our banner of blood as high as it will go, nail it to the mast and through the attack of the rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places, sail in confidence that He is our “Nissi”, the battle-fighting victory- getter! He has never lost a battle and never will and we are safe under the “true colors” of the flag of His eternal Blood! We can go to war under this flag. Demons tremble when Christians get out of bed in the morning. Why? Because they have seen the flag of His blood over you and they recognize it! Do you have a problem with sin? Plead the blood! Pleading doesn’t mean begging, it means as a lawyer in a courtroom pleads your case, so does the blood stand in the courtroom of God’s justice pleading for you! Are you discouraged, sick or depressed? Plead the blood. What are you fighting? Plead the blood. When you do, Jehovah-Nissi will come and fight your battle for you! Plead the blood over your children, your family, because the blood is not just upon you but upon THE HOUSES WHERE YOU ARE! Your children walk around with the blood-stained banner of Jesus and He is going before them making their crooked paths straight, bringing them to a place of victory! TEST REVIEW Theology II Series, Tokens of the Blood, Lesson 2, Banner in the Blood A flag is a ______________________________of a group of people united for one ________________________or occupying one particular ___________________ A flag will _________________________________you. A flag lays ______________________on territory. A flag gives you a sense of ________________________________ In the account of Israel’s war with Amalek, the battle went for _________________as long as Moses held his rod aloft. When Moses wearied of holding the rod up, two men helped him. One was ________________________________ and the other was named ______________ Aaron represented the ________________________and the man Hur, whose name meant _________________________represented ____________________________________ After the victory over Amalek, Moses learned and announced another name of God. What was that name? ________________________ Jehovah-Nissi means _________________________________________ When God passed over their blood-marked houses, He saw the blood as a writing of ______________________which denoted _________________________on the house and all those underneath it’s protection. According to Psalm 138:2, God has magnified His ______________above all His ____________ What is the “name” of the “Word”? ________________ True or false. According to the book of Hebrews, we have a better covenant and better promises. ______________ True or false. As the eternal “Word of God” Jesus lived and died for us, and shed His blood to purchase us. So the blood applied to our lives is eternal blood. ______________ This eternal blood is not only upon you as an individual, but upon the ________________________________________________This means that the benefits apply also to our ____________________ Using the answers to questions 1-4 (above), write a paragraph in your own words explaining what the application of the blood as a flag means to you and your family. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY II SERIES TOKENS OF THE BLOOD, LESSON 3, LIGHT IN THE BLOOD By Patricia Smith Review: The blood as a flag or banner applied to you and your house denotes God’s own name (Jehovah-Nissi) upon you, indicating His ownership of you and all yours. This means protection, and speaks of the fact that God Himself has laid claim to you. The blood of God (Acts 20:28) with which He purchased you, is not blood that loses it’s “life” or efficacy. It is eternal blood, with eternal promise. As previously discussed, in the Exodus 12 description of the first Passover, the word “token” has eight separate meanings; the first a sign, the second a flag or banner, and the third one is “a beacon or bright light.” To ascertain what this means to us, as the blood being a “light” upon us and our houses, we need to go into the natural and learn some things about light. There are only two sources of light, Luminous (that which has the light in itself), as in the sun or a light bulb. The other is an illuminated light (that which reflects the light of a luminous light) as in the moon which has no light of its’ own, but reflects the sunlight. Visible light is only a very small part of the entire spectrum of light which physics call an “electromagnetic radiation field.” However, if we are deprived of all visible light, our equilibrium is affected and we cannot even stand or walk straight. The Lord knew we needed this visible light which affects our optic nerve so that we could “see” where we were going. In the spiritual meaning of visible light, Jesus stated to Nicodemus in John 3, that in order to “SEE” the Kingdom of God, something had to happen to us! We must be born again! When you are born again in the spirit, through His blood, you have spiritual vision caused by visible spiritual light, which has affected the spiritual “optic nerve” allowing you to suddenly see the King and His Kingdom clearly and begin to walk in that! As for the rest of the electromagnetic radiation field, the following are the types of light included in this field; from the greatest concentration to the least: Cosmic light (considered the source of all light) Gamma rays (prolific in outer space) X-rays UV (ultra-violet) rays Infrared Rays Electric charges Visible light rays GAMMA RAYS: Possibly the cause of “black holes” and “super-novas” periodic “gamma bursts” explode, which is radiation in the universe. Some of these have become visible to us, such as the Milky Way. Gamma rays are the most powerful concentrations of light in the universe, yet science cannot tell where these “bursts” come from, except to say that they find their eventual source somewhere in cosmic light. As for COSMIC LIGHT, this is a quotation from the Columbia Encyclopedia 2003, “much pertinent information has been collected that has been of use in studying the chemical composition of the universe, but the origin of cosmic rays remains a mystery.” Let us, with visible spiritual light, enlighten these scientists. Genesis 1:1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep. The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters and God said, ‘let there be light’ and there was light….God divided the light from the darkness…..and the evening and morning were the FIRST day.” So the first thing God ever spoke to us concerning creation was the projection of LIGHT into the darkness that was upon His creation. This came about through the speaking or utterance of His Word. THIS WAS ON DAY ONE of creation. Verse 14 of this same chapter says this: “God said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day and night……and let them be for lights in the heavens to give light upon the earth. And God made two great lights, the greater to rule the day and the lesser to rule the night….” Then it says: “and the evening and the morning were the FOURTH day.” The sun, moon and stars were not made until DAY FOUR, yet on DAY ONE God had said, “Let there be light” and “there was light”. God is the Source of all light. HE IS COSMIC LIGHT. Notice it does not say that he “made” light on Day One, it simply says that He SAID and it appeared, as emanating from His very being. On Day four it states that He “made” the sun, moon and stars, Day One He just said “let it…be” (made visible) God did not create light, as it was already “in Him”. John chapter 1 says: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word WAS God….the same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was LIFE and the LIFE was THE LIGHT of men.” Where does the bible say LIFE resides? LIFE IS IN THE BLOOD! Now in Jesus was the ETERNAL LIFE of God, which is found in the ETERNAL BLOOD of God. And the LIFE was the LIGHT of men. “And the light shineth into the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not”. That word in the KJV “comprehended” literally means “overcame” so that it reads, “and the darkness overcame it (the light) not!” That sets a natural and a spiritual precedent, a law of physics. DARKNESS CANNOT (it does not have the power) OVERCOME LIGHT! John 1 goes on to say that John the Baptist was sent to bear witness of the Light, which was the “true LIGHT which lights every man”. Then it says, “and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us…” In several instances Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” In John 9 it records the story of Him giving sight to a man born blind. As He stopped in front of this man, He said, “I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.” Then He did a strange thing. He kneeled down and gathered some dirt in his hands and spit in it, rolling it into some sort of “mud pie.” Then He applied it to this man’s eyes and told Him to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. He did, and came back seeing. When He said, “I am the light of the world,” the Greek word for “world” there is “cosmos”. What He literally said is “I AM THE LIGHT OF THE COSMOS” i.e.,” I AM COSMIC LIGHT!” He explained right then and there the source of cosmic rays. He did not mean He was merely “A” light but “THE” light! HE IS: COSMIC LIGHT GAMMA RAYS X-RAYS UV RAYS INFRARED LIGHT ELECTRIC CHARGES VISIBLE LIGHT Meditate on this for a while. Your saliva carries the same DNA as your blood. Now we know why He “spit” in that dirt. There was creative light in the DNA of God that Jesus carried! Now we know how Jesus could give blind people their sight! Is it any wonder? HE IS THE LIGHT OF THE COSMOS! Let us continue with the fact that He is X-RAYS! X-rays are high concentrations of invisible radiation that pierce through solid matter. If placed against a photographic back-drop, it will take a picture of that which is within. Most people have had the experience at one time or another in their lives of having a physician prescribed X-ray to determine a disorder that is not visible from the outside. This allows the physician, who then takes the dark photograph and places it against visible light, to diagnose the source or cause of your pain or illness and then he can go about to effect a cure. Jesus had X-ray vision! With it, He looked through the darkness of Mary Magdalene (out of whom went seven devils!) and diagnosed her problem. Then He effected the cure! His Word drove out the demons that had driven her to a life of profligate sin. He looked past the outward appearance into the darkness that was residual in Zaccheus and diagnosed his problem. Then He effected the cure! He looked past your outward appearance and your subsequent sinful actions and pierced the very blackness of your heart with His X-rays. He diagnosed your problem and then effected the cure! He shed His blood and covered you. He spoke forgiveness, deliverance, rescue and healing to you! HE IS X-RAYS! UV RAYS or Ultra-Violet rays are the rays that warm the earth as produced by the sun. These rays, if too concentrated over a period of time will damage your skin and predispose to skin cancer which will kill you. If the earth were any closer to the sun, we would all burn completely up! These rays can be very destructive and burning, yet at its lowest levels it becomes a part of the visible light spectrum. During the 60’s we learned how to capture these low level UV rays and called them “black lights.” These were very popular and if you have never seen them, they cast an eerie, iridescent purple glow on solid objects. The lighter in color the object is, the more brightly it shines with a purple glow, becoming fluorescent in nature or in simple words, “glow-in-the-dark.” Something white will become dazzlingly radiant under these UV lights. Now Jesus was called the “SUN of Righteousness” (Malachi 3) that would arise with “healing in His wings.” While it is true that these UV rays are powerful enough to literally consume “anti-Christ” at the second coming of Christ, simply by the “brightness of His coming,” we also observe some low-level UV rays in His life on earth. The gospel writers give us the account of Jesus taking Peter, James and John to the top of the mountain where they prayed. As He (Jesus) was praying, He was literally “transfigured” or “transformed” before them. It is said that His garments became whiter than any “laundry” on earth could make them, and that His very countenance changed and shone “like the sun” before them! Yes, HE IS UV Light. What does this mean to us? Simply that this transfiguring power is residual in His BLOOD. His BLOOD has been applied to us! It has the power to transform us, from strength to strength, from faith to faith and from GLORY TO GLORY!” It has the power to renew our old carnal minds and change our way of thinking! It has the power to make all the old things pass away and all things made new to us! It has the power to cause us to “walk in the light as HE is in the light!” Transforming, transfiguring light! The time will come when this power will transfigure us from someone earthy to someone who will bear the “image of the heavenly,” with a new body that will be changed “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” to become “immortal, incorruptible,” and glorified! For when we “see Him we shall be like Him!” INFRARED RAYS are those rays that we observe as we travel down a very flat highway in the heat of summer. Can you recall seeing what appears to be puddles of liquid exuding waves of upward movement in the distance, only to get closer and find out there is no liquid there? Those were “infrared heat rays.” Of particular interest to us is the fact that these same infrared heat rays are found in our BLOOD. This is what makes us “warm-blooded” mammals. The medical community has now found a way to measure the heat in our bodies with what is called “thermography.” A person with a low-level infection that cannot be located by their doctor will often be scheduled for a thermograph. This equipment will take a picture of the infrared heat rays in your blood, making different areas of your body appear on a screen in various colors, from green to red, with the highest concentration of heat rays appearing the deepest red. Thereby they can locate the source or part of your body that has the infection. This is because of the infection fighting white blood cells that rush to the site of an infection to literally do battle against the invading organisms. What thermography displays is the “heat of the battle” thus identifying the source of the problem. In the spiritual definition, there are corresponding infrared rays in the Blood of Jesus. How many times have you heard the testimony or perhaps given testimony of a healing in your body that was preceded by a “warmth” coming over or into the affected or painful area? How often have you heard of ministry testifying that their hands became “hot” when they laid them on an individual for healing? Thus the infrared heat rays contained in the blood of Jesus bring us healing. “and with His stripes we were healed!” (2 Pet. 2:24 ELECTRIC CHARGES are what we see when lightning appears in the sky. We have learned to harness these potentially dangerous charges and now the entire world is powered by electricity. Entire cities are lighted and fueled with electric. The combination of the power of water and electricity called hydroelectric plants produce enough power to give light and power to the modern world. No wonder Jesus said “and ye shall receive POWER after the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” (Acts1) That word there in the Greek is “dunamis,” the same word whereby we derive the modern word “dynamite.” There is POWER in the blood of Jesus that causes you to be born again, and dynamic power when His Spirit comes upon you, so that you are like a spiritual lightening bolt waiting to happen! Also contained in this electro-magnetic field are SOUND WAVES, SHORT WAVES, LONG WAVES, FM, AM, RADIO and VIDEO WAVES. The blood bought and blood bathed child of God has within themselves a media to hear the sound of the voice of God! When we pray, we can hear His voice. When we read His Word, we can hear His voice. When we worship, we can hear His voice. This will be especially of value when according to the scripture, “the last trump will sound” “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a SHOUT and the VOICE of the archangel.” When this happens, WE WILL BE THE ONLY ONES HEARING IT! This is because we have been washed in His blood and His blood contains the sound waves and the mechanism to translate those sound waves into audible sound to our spirits. Even though we may have been a long time dead and in the grave, still the eternal blood abides. When the body disintegrates, the blood of Christ remains. So when He shouts…we will hear. According to His Word, “the dead in Christ shall rise first, then, we who are alive and remain will be caught up to meet Him in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord! TEST REVIEW Theology II Series, Tokens of the Blood, Lesson 3, Light in the Blood As used in Exodus 12, the Hebrew word translated as “token” has eight meanings. The third meaning is ____________________________ True or false: Visible light is all there is to the spectrum of light. ________ The entire spectrum of light is called an _________________________________________________________ The source of all light is called _______________light. If the sun, moon and stars were all created on Creation Day Four, what light appeared on Creation Day One? ________________________ Who is the source of cosmic light?___________ People are considered “warm-blooded” because we have ____________________________________________in our blood. True or False: As Christians, we have built in spiritual media receivers which enables us to hear the voice of God._________________ Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY II SERIES TOKENS OF THE BLOOD, LESSON 4, THE MEMORY IN THE BLOOD By Patricia Smith Exodus 12, outlining the first Passover, states that the blood that would be applied to their houses as a “token”. We have previously learned 3 meanings of that Hebrew word and now go to the 4th meaning of “token” as “a memorial” or memory. Memory is the ability to record, encode, store, and later retrieve information. The Basil Institute of Technology in Switzerland was doing a study on memory in the blood and chose to use sheep because “the memory cells in sheep are the most similar to that of man.” In this study, we learn that 33% of all white blood cells are lymphocytes, 75% of which are T cells and 25% B cells. They are manufactured in stem cells in the bone marrow. T cells, although manufactured in the bone marrow, then travel through the blood plasma, where they are stored and come to maturity in the thymus gland, located between the heart and the breastbone.  From that location they circulate, encode and record information, store it and can live in the blood for decades. When the call comes from mature T cells already ranging through the blood, which have seen a foreign invader it recognizes, the newly matured T cells “clone” other T cells and leave the thymus gland to join the battle. On the scene, the white cells have several methods of dealing with invaders. One is to completely surround and attack, another is to simply devour them. A group of these, the T cells will not engage in the battle. They will circle it, encoding and recording the information, memorizing what the enemy looked like, how he attacked, how he was counter-attacked, and how the battle was won. These T cells then join the other memory cells ranging throughout the bloodstream, on their search and destroy mission. Should this same enemy ever encounter the blood again, he is recognized, and the data is transmitted from the memory cells that recorded him to the white cells. They have the ability to “get excited, (there is emotion in the blood!) to recruit and mobilize white cells to battle.” The fighter cells are then given the information on how to defeat this enemy, and before he can ever get a place in the body, he is destroyed. THIS IS CALLED IMMUNITY. THERE IS IMMUNITY IN THE BLOOD!!! By way of review, T cells account for ¼ of the white cells. In one drop of your blood on the average there are between 7 & 25,000 white cells, a quarter of which are T cells. Recall the maturing of these memory cells in the thymus gland, located under the breastbone. Now let us look at Exodus 28, where God is giving Moses information on the covenant of law and the priesthood. He is advising Moses concerning the apparel of the High Priest. Verse 14 says: and thou shalt make the breastplate….of gold, blue, scarlet, fine-twined linen….Vs. 17, thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones” He then goes on to say that each stone stands for one of the 12 tribes of Israel, much like a birthstone or mother’s ring. Now the breastplate fit directly over the heart of the High Priest, and so it was to bear each tribe “and Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart when he goeth into the Holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.”…”and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart when he goeth in before the Lord…and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.” Chapter 29 speaks of getting these priests ready to approach God. Speaking of Aaron and His sons and the way they were to dress, etc. It also calls for the slaying of a bullock and taking of the blood, which vs. 14 calls a “sin offering.” Then a ram was to be taken and its blood sprinkled upon the altar as a “burnt offering.” Then another ram was to be taken and the blood was to be put upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron and his sons, the thumb of their right hand and upon the great toe of the right foot. This is a type of the blood sanctifying the hearing, the blood sanctifying the works of the hand and the blood sanctifying the walk. Then the blood was to be sprinkled upon Aaron and his sons and their garments and UPON THE BREASTPLATE. Now remember, there is memory in the blood, and this blood was being sprinkled upon that breastplate that was over Aaron’s heart. God was encoding, recording and storing the information concerning His covenant with Jacob (Israel) and each one of his sons, and their sons and untold generations. As each drop of blood struck the stone of Reuben, it memorized Reuben and all his descendants, as it struck Judah, Issachar, Dan, Napthali, Levi, Benjamin, Gad, etc. etc. Then that blood was offered to God, with His covenant people forever recorded by the memory in the blood! God will forever remember them! Now what does this mean to us? We have a more glorious covenant. We have a great High Priest, who has passed in to the heavens, one who bore my weaknesses and sins and sicknesses. Heb. 9:11: “but Christ, being come an High Priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands….neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place having obtained eternal redemption for us!”…..”how much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God!” Heb. 9:24: “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us.” He adorned himself with the apparel of the High Priest, He donned the breastplate that bears each of our names over His heart…”now to appear in the presence of God for us.” It goes on to say, that now “once, in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, as it is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many and unto them that look for Him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Chapter 10: “by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all and every priest stands daily ministering and oftentimes the same sacrifice which can never take away sins, but this man, after He had suffered, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God, henceforth expecting till His enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us. For he had said before, ‘this is the covenant I will make with them after those days saith the Lord, I will put my law into their hearts and in their minds will I write them and their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more.’” Now God does not have amnesia. God has recorded your life from beginning to end. He has encoded it. Everything we have ever done, said or thought has been recorded. Every idle work you speak has been recorded and stored in a book called the “book of works.” The only difference between you and the sinner on the street is that God has said, “I’ve recorded it, I’ve stored it, but I have promised never to retrieve it!” There is nothing that can blot out the memory of God except the memory of covenant in the blood! Now where remission of your sin is, there is “no more offering for sin.” Forget about the blood of bulls, goats, calves, pigeons and doves. The blood of Jesus was offered for you once, for eternity, and His is the only sacrifice for sin forever. No other offering will do. My high priest has donned a breastplate and entered into the presence of God. He has carried me. Between his breastplate and His heart, there is a place where I have gone to mature, to wait for the battle cry, a place where I am hidden. When the call comes forth, I can travel through the blood to the heat of the battle. Isaiah 49:14: “but Zion said, the Lord hath forsaken me and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.” Now to engrave something you etch into a piece of metal. One day the Lord took a tool of iron, an iron spike and in it was etched every name of every saint who would ever believe in the name of Jesus. They were driven through the open palms of his Son and out from under that breastplate, between the breastbone and the heart, the memory cells in His blood began to circulate and shed through those holes in His hands. Because of the blood, the sealing agent, your name and mine was indelibly imprinted on the palms of the Lord Jesus. The Amplified Bible says: “a picture of you was tattooed in the palms of his hands.” Is it any wonder when he appeared after his resurrection, he came through locked doors to show himself to His disciples, and said “Peace be unto you.” And after saying that, the next thing that happened is that “he showed them his hands.” You are graven on the palms, indelibly tattooed on the palms of His hands. He cannot and will not, throughout eternity, forget you! And the blood shall be to you for a memorial. TEST REVIEW Theology II Series, Tokens of the Blood Series, Lesson 4, Memory in the Blood White blood cells are manufactured in ________cells in the _________________________ White blood cells contain T cells which come to maturity in the ______________________ gland which is located beneath the _____________________ When a foreign invader enters the bloodstream, newly matured T cells ____________other T Cells and rush to the site of the battle. Some T cells are not fighter cells but ______________________________ Memory cells circle the battle surrounding the foreign invader, ___________________and ____________________information about the enemy for future use. The next time a once-defeated invader tries to enter the blood stream, the white cells react to destroy it before it ever gets a chance to infect or disease the body. This is called _______________________________ True or false: In ancient Israel, the high priest wore a garment that included a breastplate with a precious stone representative of each tribe of Israel over his heart, 12 in all. __________________ The high priest of the old testament was a type or shadow of ________________________ ___________________________________ Bearing the 12 stones that represented each tribe of Israel over the heart of the high priest, is a type or shadow of the fact that Jesus, our great High Priest, entered into the holy place in heaven carrying ______________over his heart. The amplified bible says in Isa. 49:14, that a picture of us is indelibly ________________________in the _____________________________ Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY II SERIES TOKENS OF THE BLOOD SERIES, LESSON 5, THE MARK IN THE BLOOD By Patricia Smith The first mention of the word “mark” in the Bible is in Genesis chapter 4, when it speaks of God setting a “mark” upon Cain. The Hebrew word here translated “mark” is also the same one we have been studying from Exodus 12, where it is translated “token.” Upon the refusal of Cain’s self-earned offering, and the acceptance of his brother Abel’s offering of blood, Cain rose up in envy and killed Abel. Soon afterward, the Lord spoke with Cain and said: “the voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the earth.” This tells us that blood has a voice that God hears! When Cain heard the verdict that God pronounced upon him, that he would be a wanderer or a vagabond in the earth, he appealed for mercy, saying that because justice was due him, he would be sought out and killed by others as he wandered. God replied that in His mercy, He would place a “mark” on Cain to keep him from being murdered as he had murdered his brother. Much speculation has been given as to what this “mark” actually was. In reality, it does not matter what the mark was. The important thing to know about this is that it served as an engraving of God’s grace and mercy on Him, protecting him from the judgment he so richly deserved! In Ezekiel, chapter 9, the account is given of a vision given to the prophet Ezekiel concerning his judgment to come on his idolatrous people in Jerusalem. He shows Ezekiel an angelic army, each with a sword in their hand ready to strike the city. However, one of these was clothed with linen “with a writer’s inkhorn by his side.” And he called to the man with the inkhorn and said: “go through the midst of the city…and set a mark on the foreheads of the men that sigh and cry for the abominations that are done…” To the rest he commanded them to go forth into the city and strike every man, woman and child that DID NOT HAVE THE MARK. The judgment came, but not without the man with the writer’s inkhorn going first, marking those whose hearts are toward God. Now this man was clothed in white linen. This is always a type of righteousness. He had an inkhorn by his side with which he made a mark, the signature of God. It provided protection for those who bore it, so that when judgment came, they bore the mark of God and were passed over in mercy. So in the Old Testament, the setting of God’s mark was one that could be seen in the spirit world that meant protection from judgment. In Revelation we find people receiving a “mark.” It is the mark of antichrist in their right hand or forehead. The world here for “mark” simply means an etching. However, when we read of the 144,000 during the end-time tribulation being “marked” by God, the word here for “mark” actually means a sealing as with a signature ring, being marked for security and preservation. In ancient time, people who owned land had signet rings. They would dip that signet ring in hot wax and seal property deeds so that all knew who this property belonged to. Now Exodus says that the blood shall be to you for a “mark”…representing the stamp, the seal, the signature of Almighty God, so that when the destroying angel passed over, he would see the signature of God on that household and pass them over. It was the sealing in blood of the covenant that he had made with Abraham over 400 years prior. When God saw that blood he recognized the mark of ownership. Now, imagine yourself an Israelite, obeying God, killing a lamb and putting its blood on your house, believing that in so doing, you and your house will be preserved from judgment. Then imagine that you had a neighbor who had never really “gotten along” with you, and you saw him eyeing you suspiciously as you applied the blood. What if he saw this as the perfect opportunity to watch you go into your blood marked house, and then come stealthily and wash the blood off of your door? Or worse yet, what if there came a storm and rain beat against your house, washing off the freshly applied blood before it could even dry? What if Pharaoh and his police came down and washed everyone’s house down with fire hoses? The website of Crime Scene Investigation: Forensic Science says: “when blood is shed at a crime scene, criminals often try to remove blood stains, however, even if all visible traces of blood have been removed, the blood still stains the surface on which it lay. These traces can be revealed with a variety of tests or methods including the use of a powerful light Luminol or a hemastick. At the Michigan State Police Conference in Danvers, Mass., Lt. Robert Bratton said: “blood contains both iron and peroxide which when combined with Luminol react to produce luminescence that is visible in low light. One of our lab scientists received a pink nightgown with no visible stains. The nightgown was possibly material in a homicide investigation and allegedly had been washed by the suspect. The nightgown was sprayed with Hemaglow and several luminescent areas resulted and were photographed.” The l7th International Symposium on Forensic Science, Mr. Nicholas Vandenburg: “blood stains on a variety of surfaces including wood, plasterboard, brick and metal, where the stain had been painted over with up to 3 coats of acrylic paint, or white, yellow or green based water paint were also examined and found to be readily detectable under polylight.” There is a mark in the blood! We have been discussing the blood of animals and the blood of people. It is such a precious substance that it has a stain or mark that will not go away…blood with a voice that cries to God. But now Heb.13: 20 speaks of the “blood of the everlasting covenant.” 2 Tim. 2:19 says: “this foundation standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His.” We are standing on a firm foundation when we stand on the blood of Jesus having been applied to our lives. It has a seal, a mark. The Lord knows those that belong to Him….having this “seal.” What is this seal? The everlasting life’s blood of God, 2 Cor. 1:21, 22, “now He which stablishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who has also SEALED us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. That word “earnest” means a pledge or a part of the purchase money or property given in advance as security for the rest. When you go to buy property, the realtor will ask for “earnest money” so that it will not be removed from the market if you prove to be incapable of purchasing it. You must give them part of the value of this property to show your good faith, and the fact that you are in “earnest” or are serious about the purchase. ….”who has also sealed us and given the earnest of the spirit in our hearts.” Eph 1:12: “that we should be to the praise of His glory who first trusted in Christ in whom you also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, after that you believed, you were SEALED (stamped with a signet or private mark for security and preservation). You have been stamped with the Holy Spirit of promise, “which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession…” A seal in ancient time meant a finished transaction. In Jesus day, under Roman conquest, when someone had been tried and found guilty, they were in a prison cell. On the door of the cell was a piece of parchment listing their name at the top, their crimes below, and under that their punishment. When the penalty was paid, whether it be a number of years or with their execution, when it was done, the parchment was removed from the cell door and written across with the word “tetelestai” (Greek - .It is finished). We were all in a cell at one time, condemned to death for our sins. The old song says, “there was a time on earth when in the book of heaven, an old account was standing for sins yet unforgiving, my name was at the top and many things below, I went unto the keeper and settled long ago.” The last verse says, “when at the judgment bar I stand before the King, and he the book will open and cannot find one thing, then will my heart be glad and tears of joy will flow, because I had it settled, settled long ago.” It is only the blood the lamb Jesus who took my sins, my sorrow, my sins, my transgressions, my weakness, my infirmities with whose stripes, we were healed. We were healed in our spirits when He suffered in His Spirit, in our souls when He suffered in His soul in the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing that He would be separated from His Father and standing before God as a guilty sinner, and finally in our bodies, we were healed when He took the unthinkably cruel stripes of the Roman whips upon His own guiltless body. There is an indelible mark of divine blood on you. There may be those who might want to remove your mark, including the devil, but THIS SEAL STANDETH SURE! It cannot be removed, washed away, painted over or disguised from the eye of God. You have been sealed, and one of the last sayings of Jesus on the cross was this: “tetelestai”….IT IS FINISHED. This seal denotes ownership. We are not our own. We have been purchased by His eternal blood. He owns us. We are His and He is conforming us to the image of His Son. During this process, when the enemy or the world seeks to accuse you, He rides on the wings of the wind to bring deliverance to you because you are His! His Mark is on you, and it is a permanent, indelible mark. If you should go by the way of the grave before the coming of the Lord, go with no fear, because the mark goes with us! The time will come when the dead in Christ shall rise, and God will not forget you because His name is written on you…the flesh may have dissolved into dust, yet the mark of His blood remains, and you will come forth, immortal, and incorruptible with a body like unto His glorious resurrection body! TEST REVIEW Theology II Series, Tokens of the Blood Series, Lesson 5, The Mark in the Blood The first mention of a “mark” in the bible is found in the Genesis account of __________________________________________________________ The “mark” God set on Cain proved to be a mark of _________________from __________________________ In Ezekiel’s vision of judgment upon Jerusalem, the judgment did not come until the man with the ___________________________________had marked those that were righteous in God’s eyes. True or False: God never brings judgment without first marking those that belong to him with a mark of preservation and safety. ________________ The “mark” of God on someone can evidently be seen in the _____________________________________________________ In old testament times, the marking of a document with a signet ring denoted ________________________________ The New Testament says that “this seal standeth sure, the Lord knoweth them that are His.” This speaks to us that God has set his mark or seal upon us, denoting the fact that He ________________________________________ What is the seal that God has sealed us with? _______________________________________________________________ True or false: The seal of God, the mark of His blood upon us is easily erased.________________________ Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY II SERIES TOKENS OF THE BLOOD SERIES, LESSON 6, THE MIRACLE IN THE BLOOD By Patricia Smith A miracle is rightly defined as “an occurrence that transcends natural law.” When Jesus turned water into wine, he transcended natural law. When Jesus walked on water, he transcended natural law. Jesus was a miracle man because He bore in His body miracle blood. The Miracle of the Origin of the Blood The first miracle of the blood of Jesus is the origin of His blood. The female of the species provides the egg, the male the spark of life. If you have ever cracked open a farm egg that has been fertilized, you may have seen a small streak of blood in the egg, which meant that new life had begun. The fertilization had occurred when the male sperm penetrated the egg and sparked the growth of an embryo. In humans, the blood of an infant and its mother never mix. The unborn baby receives nourishment through the umbilical cord which ties it to the mother’s placenta in her womb, but the blood of the two never combine. The male sperm contains the “life” that sparks the production of its own blood (life) in the infant. Without a father, there is no new life. This is why DNA testing can prove or disprove the paternity of a child. It is the infant’s father’s seed that has sparked the production of the infant’s blood or life. Therefore, it is elementary that we understand that Jesus’ life was sparked by His divine Father. John writes in 1 John 3: 9: “No one born (begotten) of God (deliberately, knowingly, and habitually) practices sin, for God’s nature abides in him (His principle of life, the DIVINE SPERM, remains permanently within him) and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten of God). (Amplified) Jesus, at his birth on earth, was God’s “only-begotten” Son, conceived by the DIVINE SPERM! So it was, that when God the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, He implanted in a human egg, the divine sperm, sparking the production of Jesus own life’s blood with a divine origin, yet resident in a human body! What a miracle! It is the Miracle of the Blood of Jesus! Note that when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and informed her of God’s purpose to plant His seed in her, according to the gospel of Luke, he said, “and this holy ‘thing’ which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God.”(Luke 1:35) Why did Gabriel use the word “thing”? In the Greek text, the original word there is “logos”. “Logos” means “all the collective thought of God” as recorded in John 1:1. What a miracle! As John said, “and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” So the blood of Jesus was, and still is, actually the “life” of God’s Word! This transcends natural law. The Miracle of Magnetic Power in the Blood But the blood of Jesus, while miraculous in origin, is still full of continuous miracles for us today. Now Eph. 2:12 says that at one time we were foreigners or strangers, with no covenant, with no hope and absolutely without God in this world! We are “brought near” by the blood of Jesus! There is a magnetic power in the blood that calls us from afar and draws us near to God. The preaching of the blood contains an irresistible force that draws us to Him! What a miracle! The Miracle of Redemption in the Blood Eph. 1:7 says that “in Him we have redemption, through His blood.” The word “redemption” or “redeem” in the New Testament, is translated from 3 different Greek words. All three words generally mean “to deliver or purchase by paying a price.” The first has the meaning to “buy in the marketplace”. The miracle here is that Jesus went shopping in the marketplace of this world. He found us, one by one and decided to buy us. What did He pay for us? The blood of God. The second word is “to buy out of the market and remove from further sale.” In the shameful days of slavery, people were bought out of the market not to be removed from further sale, but to accomplish the work of the buyer, with the thought in mind that if they became sick or unable to work, or even if financial straits dictated it, they could always be returned to the market and re-sold. One of the miracles of Jesus purchase of us with His blood, is that the purchase was eternal, and He had no intention of buying us for re-sale if we didn’t work out! He removed us from further sale! If you get crippled, He’ll heal you. If you get sick in body or sick soul, He’ll heal you. If you stray and get lost, He’ll leave the 99 and go after you and He won’t quit till He brings you home. The mark of His blood is on you and He will not take you back to the market. The last meaning of redemption is to “loose”. No one ever bought a slave to set them free! But the miracle of the purchase by His blood is that it was exactly that….a purchase with the intent of making us free! “the Spirit of Life (and where is “life”?....in the blood!) in Jesus Christ has made us free from the law of sin and death.” Hallelujah! You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free! The Miracle of Justification in the Blood Romans tells us we have been “justified” by His blood. This means “to render just or innocent, to declare righteous.” It’s one thing to know you are forgiven, but another to know that in the highest court of heaven you have been declared righteous. They have read the verdict to the charge of lust, “not guilty” to the charge of greed, “not guilty”, to the charge of (put any name to it) “not guilty” by reason of the blood! How can the blood do this? The Miracle of the Cleansing Blood An apparent mystery concerning the blood is that Rev. 1:5 speaks of us as having had our garments washed and made clean by the Blood of the Lamb. Cleansing by blood is not a familiar concept to us. How could we take a garment, spotted and unclean and wash it in a basin of blood only to have it come out white? This mystery can be cleared up by understanding the properties of cleansing within the blood of our own bodies. The following illustration will enlighten us. If we were to take a tourniquet and apply it very tightly to our upper arm it would cut off all blood circulation to the lower arm. Then, were we to do a repetitive action with a finger, such as tapping it on a table, it would at first be an easy thing to do. After a few moments, you will feel a weakness in your arm and hand. After a few more moments, without warning, a sharp shooting pain will occur in your muscles. If you continue to try to perform the motion, the pain will increase until finally, no matter your tolerance to pain, it will become so great that you will cease from even trying to do it. Now release the tourniquet, allow the blood to flow into your arm and a great relief from pain will flood in with the blood, and your arm and hand will return to normal. What has occurred here? Any action of a muscle requires fuel. That fuel is oxygen that is circulated to every cell in our bodies by the blood. When an action is performed, the muscles “burn” oxygen, and toxins are released as a by-product. Fresh oxygen is carried to the site and with the return of the circulating blood, the toxins and waste products are carried away and deposited into the body’s waste system, the kidneys and bowels which process them and release them from the body. Now we understand the cleansing of the blood. When there is no preaching or teaching of the blood of Jesus into people’s lives, there is no remedy for the toxins of sin. We cannot put a tourniquet on people by refusing to preach the blood. There is a modern thought that the “blood” should be removed from our sermons, our songs, our teachings, the reason being that it seems to be gory and archaic, old-fashioned and inappropriate for today’s modern church. Here is the problem with that: Remove the blood and you remove the life. No sermons including the blood, mean sermons with no life. No songs about the blood, no life in the songs. No teaching on the blood, no life in the teaching. Very simply put, NO LIFE IN THE CHURCH, and NO LIFE FLOWING THROUGH US! It all becomes a dead religious exercise. But the miracle of the blood is that if it is allowed to flow throughout our bodies, it will continually bring life and cleansing, so that we will be able to say, “He has redeemed us and washed us in His own blood!” What a miracle! The Miracle of a Clean Conscience in the Blood Heb. 9:14 says “the blood of Christ purges your conscience.” We are all familiar with the power of our minds to condemn us as we think about our past. This tells us that the blood has the power to eradicate the things past in our conscience. The Apostle Paul had a “thorn” in his flesh. Much speculation has been given as to the identity of that thorn. This writer also has a theory, which we will present. The scripture says that this “thorn” was a “messenger of Satan.” Now a “messenger” brings a “message.” Therefore this thorn, must, of necessity, have been a message that kept coming to him from Satan. What would that be? Do you recall John’s vision of heaven as recorded in Revelation? He saw martyrs under the altar in heaven, crying out for vengeance, saying, “how long O Lord before you avenge us…” Now the Apostle Paul, prior to his conversion, was a Christian-killer and even gladly held Stephen, (the first martyr’s) coat while they stoned him to death. Is it not a credible concept that everywhere Paul went, in every congregation, there was someone there whose mother, father, child or other person held dear to them, had been slain as a direct result of Paul’s, (then Saul) order? Would that not send a message of condemnation to him? And, as if that were not enough, he was “caught up” into the third heaven. Did he see there the same martyrs that John saw? Were there some among them who were there as a result of Paul’s former life? Would that send a message? I believe the enemy tried his best to keep Paul in a constant state of condemnation and guilt, in an attempt to make him feel unworthy and unfit to preach to others. But, when Paul beseeched the Lord concerning this, what did God tell him? “My grace is sufficient” Paul! After this revelation to Paul, he never again mentioned his “thorn.” The blood of Jesus, applied to his conscience, was sufficient to purge his conscience from dead works so that he was able to then say, “this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, I press on….” If you will allow it, and cry out to the Lord for His mercy, the blood will purge your conscience from all your yesterdays, and cause you to face each day knowing that “His mercies are new every morning” and that all the “old things are passed away, and behold, all things are become new!” THAT IS THE MIRACLE OF THE BLOOD! TEST REVIEW Theology II Series, Tokens of the Blood Series, Lesson 6, the Miracle in the Blood The first miracle concerning the blood of Jesus is its ______________ Since the production of the blood in a human embryo is sparked by its father, where did Jesus blood or “life” originate? ___________________________ True or False: The blood of Jesus is actually the “life” of God’s Word. ______________ The preaching of the blood contains an irresistible force that _______________________________________ There are 3 Greek words translated “redeem” or “redemption” in the bible. All three carry the meaning of _________________________________________ We have been justified by His blood according to the new testament. What does “justified” mean? _____________________________________________ When muscles are exercised, they burn oxygen as a fuel, and also release ____________________as a by-product. Circulating blood serves to bring the _________________to the muscle and also remove or carry off the __________________ The process described in question 7 is a description of the miracle of _______________________________in the blood. True or false: The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. ___________ The last miracle of the blood listed in this study is the miracle of a ____________________________________________________conscience. Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY II SERIES Lesson 7, The Feasts of Israel By Patricia Smith Judaism or the children of Abraham celebrate nine holy days (if we include the Sabbath). Annually they celebrate eight feasts. God, Himself, is responsible for ordaining five of these. Of these five it was commanded that the men of Israel present themselves before the Lord by coming to Jerusalem (the place He had set Him name) three times a year, during three of these feasts. These were: ● Passover and unleavened bread ● Feast of weeks (Pentecost, Firstfruits, Harvest) ● Tabernacles (Ingathering) The other holy days are: ● Rosh Hashanah (New Year or Trumpets) ● Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) ● Simchath Torah (Rejoicing over the Law) ● Hanukkah (Dedication) ● Purim (Feast of Esther) Harvest ● Sabbath Passover and Unleavened Bread The cross of Christ and what transpired at Calvary outside the city of Jerusalem at Passover, 33 A.D., is the focal point of all Christians regardless of doctrinal differences. Catholic and Protestant alike, we look to the cross as the basis of our redemption, our faith, and our eternity. In like manner, the Jews look to the first Passover as the basis of their faith and hope in the redeemer who they believe is yet to come. It marks the point of their deliverance from Egypt and the entering into the covenant made with their forefather Abraham. As Christians, Calvary marks our deliverance from Satan and the world (spiritually Pharaoh & Egypt) and entering into to our covenant with our everlasting Father! Much more will be said on the subject of the first Passover when we study our Christian ordinance of communion. At present, we will briefly discuss the ceremony of the Passover and what it represents to Christians. On the first day of the Passover, each family was to “put away” all leaven out of their houses (Exodus 12:15). Only after all leaven and every trace of it was gone from the home can the unleavened bread he brought in. Leaven is a type of sin and this represents the fact that we must put away all sin in our lives before inviting Jesus, the bread of Life that came down from heaven into our hearts. Since every Christian knows this is impossible, it symbolizes true repentance and the fact that when we repent and trust in His Name, our houses are cleansed from the leaven of sin and made ready for the infilling of His presence by the Spirit. On every Jewish Passover table a place of honor is set for Elijah who they believe will come to announce the arrival of Messiah. It is every Jew’s hope that one Passover night Elijah will choose to come to their home to herald the Messiah, thus the place set for him. Do you recall when Jesus kept the Passover with His disciples? How that after dinner He took “THE” cup. Normally, the writers would have said he took “A” cup and said “this is my blood.” However, He did not take just “a cup.” He took “THE” cup. What does this mean? I believe it means He took the cup that had been set for Elijah, who He had told His disciples had already come in the person of John the Baptist, heralding His coming. Now “THE” cup was Messiah’s cup! He was plainly showing them that He was truly the Christ. On the Passover table there is a glass of salt water representing the Red Sea through which they miraculously crossed when God parted the waters. It also represents to them the tears they shed as slaves in Egypt. Next there’s the three-piece of “Matzoth” bread (unleavened) placed under a white napkin. This represents to the Jew the Trinity of Judaism; the Father; The Word (Torah) and The Nation of Israel. Early in the meal the father takes the middle matzoth, representing the Word or “Torah”, and breaks it in half and distributes it to all at the table; hiding the second half to be brought out at the end of the meal. What a type of the Christian! We know that the trinity is comprised of the Father, The Word (not the Torah, but JESUS) and the Holy Spirit. When Jesus took the middle matzoth and broke it saying, “take, eat, this my body which is broken for you,” hiding the second half to reappear later on in the meal; it was a perfect picture of Christ, broken to bring us healing and then reappearing after the crucifixion and the breaking, resurrected and whole again! A shankbone of a lamb is placed on the table in modern times, replacing the actual sacrificed lamb. Since the crucifixion of Christ, the Jews have not sacrificed and eaten a lamb on the Passover. They cannot tell you why, but we as Christians understand that the nation of Israel offered up the ultimate Lamb, God’s Lamb in A.D. 33 and nothing can be added to that! Four cups of red wine grace the Passover table, representative to the Christian of the blood of Christ. A hard-boiled egg is also placed on the table representing to the Jew the sacrifice for the second day of Passover. Bitter herbs (usually horseradish) are also on the table, bringing tears to remind them of the sorrow they endured as Pharaoh’s slaves. “Charoseth” a clay – like substance made of apples and nuts, is on the table which typifies the clay with which they were forced to make brick to build Pharaoh’s pyramids. The evening begins at 6:00 p.m. (a Sabbath) and the father washes his hands and pronounces a benediction over the wine and all drink. He then recites: “we were slaves in Egypt… a two hour recitation follows where all the symbols on the table are explained; the poor and hungry are invited to partake with them (as the Egyptians were invited to leave Egypt with them). He dips his finger in the cup of wine and drops one drop on his plate as he pronounces the plagues of Egypt; blood (one drop falls), frogs (one drop falls), vermin, etc., until the ten plagues are completed. This is reminiscent of Jesus’ blood in the cup, a drop for each of our transgressions until none were left uncovered! At the end of the supper a song is sung called the “hallel” and ending with Psalm 118. Note Matthew 26:30 where is says that when supper has ended, they sang a hymn and went out… on their way to the garden of Gethsemane. This then is the hymn they sang, Psalm 118. Let us read it in that light. Feast of Weeks (Firstfruits, Pentecost) The feast represents the firstfruits of the ingathering of the wheat harvest and also according to the ancient Rabbis it is the celebration of the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai; which is touted as the “birthday” of Judaism. It occurred 50 days after Passover. So it was called the Day of Pentecost. “Pentecost” being a Greek word meaning fifty (50). Lev. 23:11 – tells us that the day after the Sabbath of Passover the priest brought a sheaf of wheat as a “wave-offering” into the temple to signify the beginning of the harvest of the beginning of firstfruits. Now to the Christian this represents the fact that Jesus rose the very day after the Passover Sabbath and became the firstfruit of the resurrection! (1 Cor. 15:20) On the fiftieth day, two “wave loaves” were brought to the temple; made of flour ground from the new wheat and baked WITH leaven. Why two? Why with leaven? As previously stated, leaven is a symbol of sin, so the Passover bread representing the body of Jesus has no sin, no leaven. But the wave loaves were symbolic of Israel (or in our case, the church) in whom there is definitely sin. The fact that there were two loaves, in itself, shows is that the harvest is made up of Jews and Gentiles. As evidence of this the Jews themselves read the story of Ruth during the Feast of Weeks. Ruth was a Gentile (Moabitess) who was purchased (redeemed) by a Jew (Boaz) and became the ancestress of Jesus! As for the 50 days between Passover and Pentecost… it is during these 50 days that the harvest is worked and then the harvest wheat is ground to fine flour so that on Pentecost it appeared as a fully ripened, mature, sifted, ground and baked bread. Now do you wonder why Jesus said to Peter, “Satan hath desired to have you to sift you as wheat” (Luke 22:31). Peter was a sheaf of the first wheat that during the 50 days that followed was harvested, separated from the chaff, sifted and ground into fine meal, put in the oven of tribulation and baked until the day of Pentecost when He stood up out of the crowd; the completed wave load to bear testimony for the Lord. Feast of Tabernacles This feast was the final one that God commanded the men of Israel to attend in Jerusalem. It occurs in the end of out month of September or early October. The attendees were to appear in Jerusalem and bring sacrifices and offerings to the temple. THEY COULD NOT APPEAR “EMPTY!” (Duet. 16:16). So much for the familiar Christian prayer, “Lord, bless those who give and those who cannot give…” We can always give something. We are deluding ourselves when we appear before the Lord “empty” saying we don’t have anything to give. Granted, there are times when you have no income to tithe on, but you can still give “something.” I have known people to put pieces of jewelry in the offering. At first I did not want to receive such an offering, but the Lord instructed me to receive it in His name. He is honored when someone gives to Him. It is not necessarily what they give, but the spirit in which they give it. Sometimes an offering of this nature represents more of a sacrifice than the giving of money. It is important that we do not appear “empty” before the Lord. The Feast of Tabernacles is called this because Israel was instructed on their trip to Jerusalem to construct “booths” or temporary dwelling places made of thatched or woven palm and olive branches. This was to remind them that they were once sojourners in the desert for 40 years before entering the land of their promise and how that during that time they were led, they were protected and fed by the Lord. It is also called the Feast of Ingathering or Thanksgiving. The rabbis say, “He who has not seen Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles does not know what rejoicing means!” The empty treasury is opened and all of Israel comes from distant lands to bring tithes and offerings to fill God’s house so that the Levites, the poor and the needy can be blessed and satisfied. They dwell in their handmade booths and make “lulavs” (branches of palms, myrtle and willows, fastened with a golden thread). They take these into the temple and wave it during parts of the service. Also, each one carried to the temple a citrus fruit (symbol of fruit of the Promised Land). During the course of the feast bulls, goats and rams are offered as sin offerings. On day one 13 bulls are offered, on day two 12 bulls, day three 11 bulls, and etc., until 7 bulls are sacrificed on the 7th day for a total of 70. The rabbis say that this means a sacrifice for the 70 nations of the world; looking towards the day when all the world will be converted to the God of Israel and gather under the Shekinah glory. Every day of this feast, a priest was sent to the Pool of Siloam with a golden pitcher to bring water back to the high priest who then poured the water into a basin at the foot of the alter. While one priest poured the water, another poured wine into the same basin and it mingled together, they flowed through a specially made pipe back to the brook Kidron (the place where sins were cleansed). To the Jew the pouring of the water was a prayer for rain and also a prayer for the outpouring of God’s spirit upon Israel and all the nations of the earth under the Messiah. The ritual of the water pouring lasted six days. The 7th day was the actual feast of the Tabernacles and is also called the “Day of the Great Hosanna” (Hosanna means ‘save now’). On this day everyone carried a torch into the temple and all the lights of the golden candlesticks were lit all over the temple, so that the temple lit up the entire old city. Trumpets blasted as shofars were sounded all over the temple by the Levites. The choir of Levites and people waved their palm branches and chanted Psalm 118, while the water and the wine were poured at the foot of the sacrificed bull on the alter. If you can picture this in your mind then see Jesus in the midst of the praising crowd, the shofars, the choir, the lights, the waving of palms and watch Him stride purposely toward the center of the temple. Hear Him as the scripture in John 7:37-38 records, “on the last great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, if any man thirst let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water!” Now the next day, when all the lights were extinguished, see him proclaim, “I am the light of the world!” John the Apostle saw in Revelation 7:9-10, “a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” What he was seeing was the final fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles! Rosh Hashanah (New Years, Trumpets) To the Jew, there are actually two celebrations of New Year. The first is on the first day of the month Nissan in the spring, approximately April to us. This is in accordance with the scripture in Exodus 12:12, which says, “and this (Nissan) shall be to you the beginning of months…” The other “new year” or Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year” and it first day of the 7th month (Tishri) (our October). It is from the scripture in Leviticus 23:24 which says, “the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.” Rabbis say that the Lord created the world on the First day of the month Tishri, i.e., the 1st day of the 7th month constituted the beginning of creation and since Tishri is the 7th month it is considered a Sabbath month. The first day is a Sabbath to consecrate the whole month. This is another example of the firstfruits sanctifying or consecrating the rest of the whole. In the afternoon of the Sabbath, Jews gather at bodies of water to symbolize the casing away of their sins (Micah 7:19). Trumpets (shofars) are blown in the temple and all over Israel. In the Old Testament times trumpets were blown to: Call to repentance To remind God of His covenant relationship and the promises made to Abraham To confound or confuse Satan (the enemy) who, the rabbis say, accuses Israel on this day Rosh Hashanah is a time of repentance and preparation for the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) ten days later. At this time, they believe God opens three books. In one book the righteous are written, in another – those who are neither totally righteous nor totally wicked and in the last – the wicked are written. On this New Year’s Day the righteous receive rewards, including life, welfare, health, prosperity, protection and peace. However, most do not consider themselves as “righteous” but more than likely somewhere in between. So the “second-bookers” are given 10 days of repentance (they call these the “awesome days”), during which they are to repent. Depending on their sincerity the Lord will judge them on the Day of Atonement; they will be given either life or death, health or sickness, riches or poverty. The third group, or the “wicked” can expect condemnation and death. As you expect during this 10 day time of repentance everyone who realizes their imperfections seeks out their enemies to mend their differences, give to the poor and other good deeds, and make long confessions and prayers in synagogues all over the world. Yom Kipper (Day of Atonement) Yom Kipper begins at 6:00 sundown on the 9th day of Tishri (7th month). It is the “Sabbath of Sabbaths” (Lev. 16). For 24 hours from sundown to sundown they assemble all over the word to seek atonement and forgiveness. It is the “day of judgment” and reckoning. For the prior 10 days they have repented and done good deeds, now comes the judgment. The “high holy days” (October) begin with Rosh Hashanah (New Years), then 10 days later, Yom Kippur, then 5 days later the Feast of Tabernacles which last 8 days and then Simchath Torah on the 23rd (Rejoicing over the Law). The Jews have no temple, no priest, and no sacrifice so the Rabbis have to substitute. Repentance, fasting, prayer and charity serve as substitutes. In Hebrew the word we translate “charity” is the same as “righteousness.” Also the more orthodox Jews sacrifice roosters and hens to fulfill the shedding of blood. To suffer is considered a substitute for a suffering Messiah. To put this thought into effect the orthodox Jews of Eastern Europe used to inflict upon themselves 39 stripes as a substitute for sacrifice. Another substitute is your own death; also to study the law is considered a substitute for atonement. For a month before the actual Day of Atonement prayers are said at midnight for forgiveness. It is regrettable for the Christian to look at these efforts to obtain forgiveness and righteousness. We know that we know that nothing we can do, nothing we can “substitute” will buy our pardon or declare us righteous. Only the mercy of God, through the sacrifice of Christ, has done that and it is no “substitute.” He is the “real thing!” After the Sabbath, before the actual day of Yom Kippur, a festive meal is eaten to prepare for a solemn fast during the entire Day of Atonement. No one even drinks water during this day and this fast applies to every Jew age 13 and up; with special dispensations given only to those who are desperately ill. Prayer in the synagogue is made at sundown to absolve them from their prior year. All vows, bonds and promises are blotted out, thus acknowledging the inability to keep them. “Kippur” means “to cover”, i.e., God covers (Kippurs) His people with the blood of sacrifice. It also means a ransom or price given to release from bondage. The Talmud says in Yoma 5a, “there is no atonement except with blood.” This is no doubt where the writer of Hebrews took his view when he said, “and without shedding of blood no remission (of sin).” (Heb. 9:22) On the ancient Day of Atonement two goats were brought out, one being Azazel or the scapegoat which was led away bearing sin into the wilderness and the second being slain by the High Priest and the blood sprinkled for all of Israel. Also lambs and bulls were slain, including the “red heifer” whose blood was sprinkled for cleansing from all defilement of sin. After killing the bull and the second goat the priest sprinkled the Most Holy Place, the veil, the altar of incense and the altar of burnt offering. He sprinkled all the surroundings with blood then appeared in the presence of God imploring Him by His sacred covenant name, Yahweh. Common Jews never breathed the NAME because of commandment, “thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” (Ex. 20:7) Even today orthodox Jews don’t use it. Ancient Rabbis said that Jesus somehow got the proper pronunciation from the High Priest and because of that was able to work his miracles. I do not doubt that Jesus could pronounce it, since He was God’s son and owned the name Himself. He said, “I have declared my Father’s name and WILL declare it.” (John 17:26) Before New Years (Rosh Hashanah) Jews pray to be written in the book. After Rosh Hashanah and before Yom Kippur during the 10 days of repentance they send cards to one another saying, “may you be SEALED in the book.” Thank God we, as Christians, are SEALED by His Spirit and our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life! Judaism has no assurance, Christ gives us all assurance! You Kippur ends with the blowing of the shofar to herald the coming Messiah. The feast of Tabernacles which we have previously discussed comes next and then: Simchath Torah (Rejoicing Over the Law) This day is the day when the reading of Deuteronomy in the synagogues is finished and Genesis is started yet again. Everyone assembled is called on to say a blessing over the reading of the Law, even young boys. Little ones carry colorful paper flags extolling the law, the Word of God. At the end of the flag rod there are lit candles. (Does this remind you that Jesus is the Word of God, and that He said, I am the light of the World? John 8:12) In the synagogue scrolls wrapped in scarlet, blue, purple, and white, embroidered with gold inscriptions, are taken out of the Ark of the Law and placed in the arms of the men and boys. These scrolls are the most precious possession of Israel. They march around the synagogue seven times singing psalms and “be glad and rejoice with the joy of the Law.” As they go around the synagogue they kiss the garments of the scrolls or touch them and then kiss their fingers. (Does this remind you of the woman who said to herself, “if I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole” (Matt. 9:21)? Obviously she recognized Him as the living Word, the Law incarnate and realized that by touching even His garment she could be healed.) Simchath Torah ends the “High Holy Days” of October. Hanukkah (Dedication) This feast began in 164 B.C. when the temple was cleansed and the old altar demolished after the Maccabees victory over Antiochus Epiphanes IV. Epiphanes had profaned this temple, persecuted the Jews and stolen the vessels out of the temple, replacing them with images of Jupiter and Zeus, even going so far as to sacrifice pigs (totally unclean to the Jew) on the sacrificial altar. The family of the Maccabees, under Judas Maccabeus, gathered an army and blest of the God of Israel had gotten victory over the enemy and subsequently re-dedicated it. It is said that a cruse of oil was found for the perpetual light of the temple. In it was only enough oil for one day but miraculously it lasted 8 days! So it was decreed that in Jewish homes for 8 days, 8 candles would be lit; one on the first day, two on the second, until the 8th day. They were to be lit with first candle which is called the “servant” candle. (Does this remind you of Jesus who appeared to John in the midst of the 7 golden candlesticks, representing the 7 churches, each one having been lit by the greatest servant of all, Jesus Himself?) This feast of Hanukkah is celebrated on December 25th and many scholars believe that for this reason the early church choose this day to celebrate the birth of Christ; this, our Christmas. Purim (Feast of Esther) Some Rabbis say that when Messiah comes that all feasts will cease except Purim. This commemorates the story of Esther; a story set during the time of an exiled people without a temple or a prophet or a priest. God is invisible in this story, as evidence by the fact that this is the only book in the bible that the name of God is not even mentioned. This feast is celebrated on the 12, 13, 14 of Adar or our March. In every synagogue the story of Esther is read. Mordecai is cheered, Haman is booed and gifts are exchanged. The story is set at the time when Cyrus had already allowed the captive Jew in Babylon to return to Israel, but some had preferred to stay in the comfort of their homes in Babylon; including Mordecai and his niece Esther. Haman, the villain of the story who seeks to kill all Jews, is a descendant of Amalek. Interestingly, it was the Amalekites that God commanded Saul the King to kill and not to spare even the women or children or their animals. Saul disobeyed and spared some including the King of Amalek. Had he been obedient, even though the command seemed harsh, the nation of Israel would have been spared much, including the plot of Haman. It was he who persuaded the king to pass a law that would have eradicated the Jews and it was Esther who had been placed in the kingdom as queen (for such a time as this), who obtained mercy and favor for the Jews through the behind-the-scenes influence of her uncle Mordecai (For homework, read the book of Esther). This is a particularly festive and “fun” celebration for the Jews, especially the children. Sabbath the Queen The keeping of the Sabbath, which the Jews usher in each Sabbath by appealing to the coming of the “Sabbath the Queen”, is along with circumcision, one of the two distinctive tokens of the Jew. Taken from God’s original commandment to do no work on the 7th day, the Rabbis have added 1521 laws to the law of Sabbath itself. The theory is: to keep people from breaking it they keep making it more and more difficult. So if the people respond to their teachings they will not find it even remotely possible to dishonor the Sabbath. In keeping with this view the Rabbis have added 39 categories of activities not allowed on the Sabbath. Each of these has 39 definitive activities, or a total of 1521 Sabbath laws in the Talmud. These have all been compiled and added to Judaism between the 2nd and 5th century A.D. Rabbis make a continual study of and debate over the Sabbath. Such questions as, “can you eat an egg on the Sabbath or not; because a chicken had to work to lay it?” Or how about, “is a handkerchief a burden that would require you to bear on the Sabbath?” The answer was finally birth as this, “Yes,” if it is in your pocket. Then you are carrying a burden and thus working on the Sabbath day. But “No,” if you wear it as a scarf, for then it is just an item of clothing. How about, “can you wipe mud from your shoes on the Sabbath or throw out dishwater?” That brings up the interesting question; can you run a dishwasher? It is an endless discussion of ridiculous proportions. Are we Christians much better? Do we spend time debating foolish issues? Paul warns us not to become involved in silly debates or genealogies or such things that do not edify. The Sabbath, Jesus said, was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. In other words, in the makeup of our bodies, we are designed to work 6 days and rest one. In actuality it matters little whether the day is counted from sundown to sundown or from sunup to sunup, whether it comes in Saturday or Sunday or Monday, etc. It is simply a time that God out of love says our bodies need to rest and to come aside and worship. Whatever day we do this I am sure is immaterial to Him, albeit the early church was said to come together on the Lord’s Day, which was Sunday, commemorating the day He came out of the tomb. For this reason we observe our Sabbath, our Christian church services, on Sunday. The Jew celebrates by rote of law from sundown Friday night to sundown on Saturday night and strictly observes no work injunction. The underlying truth of the Sabbath is spiritual. The writer of Hebrews understood this when he said, “here remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” (Heb. 4:9). A rest from our own labors of trying to be righteous, a rest from spinning our wheels trying to do good deeds to make points with God. It represents the fact that Jesus obtained a “rest” for us by becoming our representative and we simply enter into Him and this into rest from our own labors. Any attempt to make ourselves a ‘good Christian’ by works is breaking the true Sabbath. God worked for 6 days to create the earth, then rested on the 7th. He began working again when He sent Jesus and Jesus, God in the flesh, worked the works of His Father. Finally on the 6th day He did the final work of redemption on the cross and then cried “It is finished!” He then arose to rest… at the right hand of God, waiting for His enemies to be made his footstool, and we are entered into His rest because we are IN HIM! Hallelujah for the Cross! Test Review Theology II Series, Lesson 7, The Feasts of Israel Including the Sabbath, how many holy days do Jews celebrate? _______________________ How many feast? _____________________ The men of Israel were commanded to attend at least _________ per year in Jerusalem. What were the three most commonly attended? ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ The most basic tenet of Christianity, regardless of denomination is ____________________ To the Jew, what is the basis of his faith? ________________________________________ The feast of Passover is the type and shadow of our Christian ________________________ What does the putting away of leaven symbolize to the Jew and now to the Christian? __________________________________________________________________________ On the Passover table there is a glass of salt water. What does this symbolize to the Jew? __________________________________________________________________________ What is the Jewish “trinity” as represented by the 3 pieces of unleavened, “Matzoth” bread under the napkin on the Passover table? __________________________________________ What does the bread of communion mean to the Christian? __________________________ What does the wine of communion mean to the Christian? ___________________________ The feast of Weeks is all called ________________________________________________ It occurs 50 days after Passover, thus deriving it’s name as the Day of __________________ The Feast of Tabernacles is called this to remind Israel that they dwelt in _______________ for forty years. The Feast if Tabernacles is also called ___________________________________________ It is during this time of tabernacles that Israel brings its _____________________________ Explain what Jesus meant when John says, “on the last great day of the feast” Jesus stood and cried, “He that believeth on me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” What significance did this have with the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles? ________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rosh Hashanah is also called the Feast of ____________________ Trumpets or shofars in O.T. times were blown for 3 reasons. What are they? _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ Rosh Hashanah is a time of _______________ and a preparation for ___________________ Yom Kippur is the ______________________________ Explain the Day of Atonement and it’s fulfillment in Christ. _________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ At Rosh Hashanah, Jews pray to be ____________________. After Rosh Hashanah and before Yom Kippur, during the 10 days of repentance, they pray to be __________________ Explain the day of Simchath Torah _____________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Hanukkah that Jews celebrate around our Christmas time is a celebration of what event in Jewish History? _____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ When does the Jewish weekly Sabbath begin and End? _____________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Sabbath represents what to the Christians? _______________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY II SERIES THE CONSECRATED LIFE Foreword Knowledge of the customs and lifestyles prevalent in the time periods during which the bible was written is of invaluable benefit to the serious bible scholar. This study is a vast reservoir of wisdom in discerning and rightly dividing the word of God. In our time allotted, we can merely scratch the surface, as it were, in this elemental study. We do, however, believe that simply by learning some of the basic facts concerning the everyday life and social culture of the day, you will be greatly enlightened and spiritually enriched in your understanding of certain scriptures. It is our prayer that this study, however brief, will serve to whet your spiritual appetite, so that you, as a student, will continue to delve into this area of study long after you have graduated. This is a lifelong process that will make the study of the bible alive and exciting. Consequently it will splash your ministry with color and definition, as you speak from a sense of having been there in your spiritual vision and imagination. In His love, Patricia T. Smith, President Covenant Treasure Institute Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY II SERIES THE CONSECRATED LIFE, LESSON 8, THE WHOLE BURNT-OFFERING By Patricia Smith The book of Exodus presents a striking picture of God’s plan of redemption as it culminates in the New Testament gospels and the life of Christ. It reasonably follows that a study of the book of Leviticus is a picture of the New Testament Epistles which gives the details of our Christian walk after redemption. Not by accident, the first several chapters of Leviticus deal with the various sacrifices that Israel was commanded to make through their priesthood. Each of these found their ultimate fulfillment in Christ who embodied them all in one supreme sacrifice at Calvary, once for all time. Hebrews 9:12 says: “…neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Hebrews 10: 11-14 says: “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 forever, sat down on the right hand of God from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” However, in studying the various aspects of the multiple sacrifices of Israel, we find, like the multi-facets of a diamond, some amazing things about Christ’s life and love towards us, and subsequently how we should conduct our life in Him and His life in us. We are instructed by the Apostle Paul as recorded in Romans 12: 1,2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a ‘living sacrifice’ (emphasis mine) holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” To understand what Paul meant and parallel this with our lives, we begin with the first of these sacrifices; the “whole burnt offering.” This offering as outlined in the first chapter of Leviticus, represented the “whole” sinner in the sacrificing and consuming of the “whole” animal. There are distinctions made in the dividing and offering of this animal, which tells us that the same distinctions and divisions and their subsequent handling show us a pattern of Christ’s giving His “whole” or entire life for us. It also gives us a plain picture of what is required of us when we “present our bodies as a living sacrifice.” Giving oneself wholly in a sacrificial way to God is another way of saying we are living a consecrated (set apart, sanctified, made holy) life. In order for us to do this, we must first be cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Israel’s priests offered sin offerings and trespass offerings continually, first for themselves and their families and then for the people. Now that Christ has come in the flesh and become our sin offering and our trespass offering once for all time, we find no further need to bring these offerings. Should we sin after coming to the knowledge of Christ, we simply go to Him (our High Priest who is always making intercession for us) confess our sins and claim the benefit of His sin and trespass offering. Christ had no need, as did the priests of Israel, to offer a sin offering for Himself, for He was without any sin of His own. So He had no need for redemption in His life, but He did, however, have need of “consecration.” Thus the time came when He was of a full age and fully prepared by His Father to enter His earthly ministry. Once He had full knowledge of Who He actually was, and what He had been sent to do, He had to make a choice. He had to choose to accept His assignment. This meant a total surrender or a fulfillment of the “whole burnt offering” to His Father. This involved giving up His own human life, even while He was alive in the flesh. It meant He would not choose a wife, have a family, pursue a career, enjoy fame, amass fortune; it even meant that every hour of every day, He would be subject to doing the items on His Father’s agenda instead of His own. So it was that He made a three-day trip from His home in Nazareth to the place where His cousin John was baptizing in the Jordan. Three days to travel, three days to think of the consequences to His life, three days to examine His faith, three days to examine His love. It is reminiscent of Abraham’s three-day journey to Mount Moriah, there to offer his son Isaac as a “whole burnt offering.” Each had three days to accept or reject; three days to back out or believe God; three days to trust or doubt. This becomes all the more interesting when we realize that this is the point to which we, as believers, must come. We must approach the altar with the injunction to “present our bodies as a living sacrifice.” We all have our own personal “three-day journey” during which we must wrestle with living a half-hearted, powerless, fruitless Christian existence, or making the choice to give all…every moment of every hour of every day that we live on this earth to the cause of Christ, to the will of God. The decision we make IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A LIFE OF POWER OR A LIFE OF DEFEAT. Jesus came to Jordan and submitted to being submerged in its waters by John. This made the statement that He had said “yes” to His Father, and was plummeting His own life on earth into the depths of Jordan, to be covered up and washed away forever. Shouldn’t our baptism into Him say the same? THE SECRET TO A LIFE OF POWER LIES IN CONSECRATION, THE SECRET OF CONSECRATION LIES IN FAITH, THE SECRET OF FAITH LIES IN LOVE. “This is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John15:12, 13 and again: “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (1John 3:16) Herein lies the picture of the “whole burnt offering.” In this light, let us examine Leviticus, Chapter 1. Israel had a choice of five animals to bring to represent them in this offering. Five is the number of grace. In these five animals we see Christ: The bullock or ox (Christ as servant) The lamb (Christ as self-surrendering, unresistant to the will of God) The goat (Christ as typical of sinners, the substitute of our stubborn sinful lives) The turtledove (Christ in His innocence) The pigeon (Christ associated with poverty, becoming poor for our sakes) 1 John 2:6 says: “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” And again: 1 John 4:17: “Herein is our love made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world.” So then, we should manifest these attributes. We should present to God as: a servant (ox), fully surrendered to His will (lamb), willing to give up our very lives so sinners may find life in Christ through us (goat), living sinless lives (turtledove) willing to materially give all for the sake of the gospel (pigeon) The process of the “whole burnt offering” went like this: The offerer brought the animal and by the laying on of his hands, presented it as a substitute for himself He Himself killed the lamb (not the priest) He divided it (rightly) Head (indicative of all our control, rule and thoughts Fat (indicative of every good fleshly attribute, superfluous good works Inward parts (our hearts and souls) Legs (our walk in this world) (The inward parts and the legs were “washed by water” thus symbolizing the importance of our being “washed by the water of the Word.”) 4. The entire animal (in parts) was placed “in order” on the wood (symbolic of the Cross and being dead to ourselves) 5. The entire animal was burned with fire The “fire” with which the animal was consumed was not just a fire started by the priest. The sacrificial altar fire had been started by God Himself when the altar was first dedicated. (Lev. 9:1-24) The “fire” of God all through the bible is typical of three things: Judgment (Sodom & Gomorrah, Elijah’s destruction of Ahab’s captains, etc.) Approval of the sacrifice (Gideon, Samuel’s parents, Elijah’s altar) Purification (ritual cleansing, “fiery trials” of faith, resultant in pure gold) Recall the burning bush, containing the Presence of God out of which He spoke to Moses. The miracle of the bush was not that it burned, but the fact that it was not consumed. Thus, a perfect picture of God’s Presence abiding in us and resting upon us, speaking to us, commissioning us to ministry, yet we are not consumed! The Holy Ghost and Fire that comes to accept the whole burnt offering of ourselves and yet we live! A living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God! TEST REVIEW Theology II Series, The Consecrated Life, Lesson 8, The Whole Burnt Offering The book of Exodus presents a striking picture of God’s plan of _______________. The various sacrifices found in Leviticus, found their ultimate fulfillment in _________________ who embodied them all in one supreme sacrifice at _________________. Giving oneself wholly in a sacrificial way to God is another way of saying we are living a _______________________________. Our baptism into Him should say: _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Israel had a choice of five animals to bring as an offering. List how Christ is represented in each of these: the bullock __________________________________________ the lamb____________________________________________ the goat ____________________________________________ the turtledove _______________________________________ the pigeon __________________________________________ The “fire” God all through the bible is typical of three things. Name them: _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY II SERIES THE CONSECRATED LIFE, LESSON 9, THE MEAL OFFERING By Patricia Smith The meal offering as outlined in Leviticus 2:1-11, was a bloodless offering, thus indicating that the sin problem had been settled in the prior whole burnt offering and there was no need of repetition. As we have learned, the burnt offering represented the offering of the entire life of the giver. If, after this offering, the person sinned during the course of the year and prior to the annual Day of Atonement, there were sin and trespass offerings required. This is the perfect picture of the New Testament saint. Jesus has become our whole burnt offering and the Last Great Day of Atonement took place when He ascended into heaven and presented His blood, as our High Priest, once for all. If, (or we should say, “when”) we fall short and sin after this great event has taken place in our lives, we must know that we do have a High Priest who continually covers us. According to 1 John, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous…” He goes on to say, “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The inference in the original text of 1 John chapter 1 is that of a continual cleansing, as if in a shower, provided we are walking in the light he has shown us. What, then, does this bloodless meal offering typify? The absence of blood in the offering presupposes that the sin issue has been dealt with satisfactorily. It was offered on a free-will basis, when the offerer brought a thank offering to the Lord in remembrance of the great mercy that had been shown him or her. It also represented the covenant Yahweh had with His people. It can easily be identified with the bread of the communion that we take. It is a living offering, an offering of one’s self for service to the Lord, having been cleansed by the blood. The meal offering was to be made of “fine” flour. (vs. 1) This speaks of grain that has come to full age and been harvested on a threshing floor. Before we are ever of use to the Lord, we must go through the threshing floor and the chaff must be removed. Consider John the Baptist’s words in Matthew 3:12, when he told of Christ’s imminent coming and said of Him, “whose fan is in his hand, and he shall thoroughly purge his floor and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Usually, we read this in passing and conclude that “chaff” is something bad or some sin in our lives, since it appears it has to be “burned” up. But if you think of the purpose chaff serves for literal wheat, you can see this is not the case. Chaff is a hard protective kernel that surrounds the grain of wheat. Without it, the wheat could never withstand the elements in order to grow to maturity. So also, in our lives, God allows certain things to surround us when we are just “sprouts” so to speak in our Christian walk. As we mature, sometimes it is necessary for these things to be removed. When the wheat finally reaches maturity, then, and only then, is it ready to be of value to its’ owner. In order for it to serve its’ intended purpose, the chaff must be removed. The threshing floor wherein this process is accomplished it not necessarily a pleasant place. After it has been separated from its’ chaff, some of it is then reserved for seed, while other of it is carted off to the mill for another grueling transition. There it is ground into meal, or as the bible states it, “fine” flour. Jesus likened Himself to a “corn (or grain) of wheat” saying that in order for it to be productive, it had to fall into the ground and die. He spoke of the kingdom as a man who sowed good seed or grain in a field. We are the product of Christ Himself, grain, as it were, growing from His seed that fell into the ground and died. Now in order for us to be used by God for the purpose we were each intended, we must come to full maturity in His field. At first, we are just a green shoot, then, with enough light (Word of God) and water (Spirit), we grow (hopefully) to maturity. Only then are we ready to fulfill our calling. We would like to tell you that will be a full-grown, mature Christian in just a matter of weeks after you get saved, fully prepared to begin your ministry. However, this is just not the case. It is often a long road wherein we learn to “die daily” as Paul said! Unfortunately, some live and die and never reach maturity because they are not willing to submit to the growth process. On the other hand, some are apt students and mature very quickly. However, it should be said, that some things can only be learned by living through them, so there is something to be said for the one who has continued to walk and grow over a period of many years. Such is the case with some older ministers that I have known. You can believe that such a one has been through some uncomfortable places and has seen some fiery trials of their faith. They have been willing to walk in some wilderness places, they have stretched themselves out of their comfort zones and trusted God when He appeared to be nowhere in sight! They have been willing to forgive trespasses and sins against themselves. They have not lived a lifestyle of murmuring and complaining regardless of their circumstance. They have struggled through some things they did not then, nor even now, understand. They have learned to be content in whatever set of circumstances they find themselves, yet they have also learned to war a good warfare of faith. They have put others ahead of themselves and prayed and worked for the success of others before themselves or their ministries. They are not wishy-washy, these intrepid soldiers of the cross. They do not “tickle” the ears of their hearers, for they minister to them as those who will give an account for their souls. They do not follow every “fad” or popular doctrine that pervades the church and the bookstores, but they stay very close to the cross of Christ, determined to, as Paul said, “know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Contrary to popular “bless-me” doctrines, some have actually given houses and lands, children or parents for the sake of the gospel. Some have laid down their lives and all their comforts to go and live on foreign soil. Some have even died there for the sake of the gospel. But here is the good news. Oil is to be poured on this refined flour. Oil in the bible is a type of the Holy Spirit. When one is willing to present his or her body as a living sacrifice, a meal offering, God begins to pour. He pours the Holy Spirit upon you in a way that others who never make this commitment will never experience. This is called your anointing for service. The “frankincense” then mixed in you is the fragrance of Christ that will appear to all, wherever you go, and ascend up to God as a sweet savor! Not only does God see you, and hear you, and touch you, but in this offering, he can smell you like one who takes a deep breath and breathes in the fragrance of a spring flower garden after a rain. You smell good to Him! When you are finally baked, you become a feast to Him, as He draws you into Himself! You are, according to Lev. 2:3, “a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.” Please notice vs. 11 that says: “no meal offering which ye shall bring unto the Lord shall be made with leaven; for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the Lord made by fire.” Leaven represents sin, which is, of course, self-explanatory. One cannot offer oneself wholly to God, no matter how well-meaning, if we have known and unconfessed sin in our lives. If we persist in holding on to a particular sin, that thing will not burn when placed on the fire of God, so we are just wasting our time invoking God to use “all” of us. Under our new covenant, thank God, our sins are removed by the blood of Jesus, but we must periodically check our hearts and ask Holy Spirit to shine His light into the darkest places, in order to assure that we are not willfully clinging to some area of sin. If we find any such thing in us, we have only to confess and He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But notice also, we are not to offer this meal offering with “honey.” What? Honey is sweet and tastes good! Why not? Honey represents something we have added to make ourselves pleasing to God. We should know there is NOTHING we can add to make ourselves acceptable to God. That is an insult to the price that God paid for us, as though His blood was not enough! We somehow want to add something “sweet”…our good works, or our religious behaviors and rituals. Away with all condiments! We are acceptable wholly to God totally on the merit of Christ’s sacrifice and it needs no honey added to it! TEST REVIEW Theology II Series, The Consecrated Life, Lesson 9, The Meal Offering 1. What was the meal offering made of? ______________________________________________ ___________________ is a hard protective kernel that surrounds the gain of wheat. In order for us to be used by God for the purpose we were each intended, we must ____________________________________________________________________________ We are just a green shoot, then with enough ________________________ and _____________ _________________ we _____________________ to maturity. ___________________ represents something we have added to make ourselves ___________________ to God. Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY II SERIES THE CONSECRATED LIFE, LESSON 10, THE PEACE OFFERING By Patricia Smith We have studied the whole burnt (sin) offering, depicting the total work of Christ who became our offering for sin, and the meal offering, which, in turn, depicts a totally surrendered and sold-out life to God through Christ. Now we come to the third type and shadow of a consecrated life, the peace offering. Unlike the meal offering, the peace offering is an offering of blood, but not in the same sense as the whole burnt offering which speaks of redemption. The sin has been eradicated through the sin offering. This blood offering speaks of covenant, reminding the partakers of their right to enter into relationship with a holy God. Its purpose is primarily to provide for a meal of fellowship. While the burnt offering calls for a male sacrifice, the peace offering calls for either male or female sacrifice, thus speaking of the fact that a male, Christ, has been our sin offering, so now, either male or female, we can enter into fellowship with God. Could this be the basis of Paul’s statement, that now there is “no male or female”(Gal. 3:28) in Christ? The type or picture of the peace offering relates solely to our fellowship with God, dependent on the blood of Jesus and finds its perfect counterpart in the communion meal. The procedure for the peace offering called for the fat (considered the best part of the offering) to be offered to God along with the kidney and liver. Interestingly, Israel’s ancient neighbors and inhabitants of their land of promise used the kidneys and livers of their sacrifices offered to false gods to divine or tell the future. God made sure Israel would not be guilty of doing the same by calling for the sacrifice of those organs along with the fat. Divining, the ancient magical art of telling the future was thus removed from the people and put into the hands of God. There is an old hymn that says, “Many things about tomorrow, that I cannot understand, but I know Who holds tomorrow, and I know Who holds my hand.” This should be the theme song of the Christian. In a present evil world where “divining” has once again become popular, when our unregenerate neighbors and the heathen around us are seeking after witchcraft, wizards, mediums, astrologers and palm readers, we must make sure we do not fall into the same sin. As we come to the communion table, eating a fellowship meal with God, we bring every vestige of forecasting to the sacrifice and look only to Him for our futures. This speaks of our total trust in Him, as a child trusts a parent. The peace offering was placed on top of the whole burnt offering, thus telling us that there is a place beyond redemption only. Jesus paid the price for our “peace.” Remember His words, “my peace I leave you….not the peace the world gives.” (John 14:27) This peace affords us fellowship with God. In the Hebrew peace offering, two words are used in the original text, “zebarh” meaning “killing of the sacrificial animal” “shelomim” the root of which means “to be complete, sound, whole or healthy.” It indicates prosperity, health and well-being. After placing the animal of the peace offering on top of the sin offering and burning the fat and the organs unto the God, the participants of this fellowship were to eat the remainder “continually with rejoicing.” (Deut. 12:7) What a wonderful picture of a life redeemed from the penalty of sin and in fellowship with God. One of continual rejoicing! This is only the shadow or picture of something that was far better to come. We now live in the reality of that shadow. Ours should be a life of continual rejoicing which comes only from our fellowship with God, made possible by the eternal sacrifice of Christ. Now for the biblical meaning of New Testament fellowship; let us look at 1 John Chapter one. John begins his letter concerning our fellowship with God by speaking of “that” which was from the beginning. What is “that”? The end of verse one tells us, “that” is the “Word (note the capital W) of life. Then he tells us that this “life” was manifested (displayed visibly as in an exhibition). In other words, the very eternal life of God, that which was from eternity past in the very heart of Him, was made visible to us in a form we could understand….a human form, the God-man Jesus. John says the most amazing thing when he talks about this life of God. He says “we” (he and the other apostles and saints of the early church) “have heard” it (God’s life), “we have seen with our eyes, …we have looked upon” and (amazingly enough) “our hands have handled” it. (vs.1) Now, he says, since we have “seen it and bear witness” of it, we “show unto YOU that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us.”(vs.2) “That’s great” you say, “too bad we didn’t live during Jesus’ stay on earth.” How can we be expected to have the same kind of fellowship? The kind that you can see and hear and touch? John tells us something extraordinary in verses 3 and 4. He says that this “life” “which we have seen and heard, DECLARE WE UNTO YOU.” Then he expands this thought by telling us that this fellowship is not only with Christ, but with the Father Himself, and that somehow, our receiving this declaration qualifies us to be (as the old testament peace offerers) continually filled with joy. How is this transfer of fellowship and joy made? Very simply, through the word of God, The scriptures written by those who saw and heard and handled, powered by the very “life” that John wrote about (Holy Spirit) are our fellowship with Him. As we read and hear from the lips of those eyewitnesses, we have our spiritual “eyes” opened, our spiritual ears “tuned to hear” and our “spiritual hands” enabled to touch Him in such a way that we are not one whit behind the apostles. According to John, through this word, as he declares it, we “may have fellowship with us,” and through this fellowship in the word, “fellowship with the Father and with the Son.” Now in verse 5, John puts the whole message to us in a nutshell. “This then is the message… God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” In other words, if we can just relate to the truth of this message, we will have the same fellowship the apostles and the early church had. This is what he tells us about God’s life, and apparently, if we meditate on it, have fellowship with it, it is enough to transform our lives forever! John goes on to explain to us, that if we say we have fellowship with Him (who is Light) and continually walk in darkness, we are just flat out lying. This tells us that if we truly have fellowship with Him through His word, it will change us. So, John tells us, that when we truly live in the Word, constantly see, hear, taste, touch and feel His Presence in our spirits, the more we will become aware of His life! And as we become aware of this, “we walk” (or conduct ourselves in this body) “in the light, as He is in the light.” In so doing, we become more and more like Him extend this same fellowship to one another, i.e., if I am becoming more and more like Him, and I associate constantly with you, that same likeness will be formed in you and in the process, the blood of Jesus is continually cleansing us. Since there is no darkness at all in God, He can have no fellowship with it. Now, John tells us, we all sin simply by virtue of the fact that we are still in this dead body of sin (refer to Paul’s lament in Romans 8….”who shall deliver me from this body of death? I thank God through Jesus Christ!”) So for us to think that we can, of our own volition, live a totally sin-free life from the moment we accept Christ until we reach planet heaven is a ridiculous assumption. The only way we can be sin-free, is to trust continually in the blood of Jesus, who is our whole burnt sin offering. As a matter of fact, John says that if we think we don’t have and are not vulnerable to sin in this flesh, we are just deceiving ourselves. However, he then presents the good news! All that is required of us to have unbroken fellowship, to be able to sacrifice and eat this peace offering, to come to the communion table is this: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” John has a way of cutting right through to the heart of the matter. Sometimes, we want to complicate everything and turn religious ritual into tablets of stone and laws in concrete. The gospel is simplicity. It is good news. There is power in it. This is it! Confess your sins and believe they are forgiven. Then claim his cleansing that comes through His word and know that you are righteous! Now then, as a righteous person before Him, you can continually (not just when you are “goody-two-shoes”) rejoice and have fellowship with Him! Chapter 2:1,2 says: “little children….sin not.” (and we do our best not to). However, in the event of failure, “if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And HE is the propitiation (The Greek here literally means “mercy seat”) For our sins.” Now hear this…..”and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” With this awesome life and fellowship with Him comes a responsibility. Jesus said, “where more is given, more is required.” More, then, is required of us than of the Old Testament saints. What is this “more”? It is the commission that Christ gave us all when He said, “go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Why? So that those who hear may also enter into this fellowship, just as we have heard from John and entered into it, so also it is our obligation to pass it on, to declare it unto others. Thus the balance of John’s letter is devoted to our relationship to others. John seems to feel that it is a given that we will have this fellowship with God, and that when we do, we will extend it to our brothers and sisters and the world in general. Failure to do so simply says to him that we just haven’t truly entered into this fellowship ourselves. “Beloved, if God so loved us (notice how John always talks about God “SO” loving us i.e., He didn’t just “love us” He loved us SO!), we ought also to love one another….If we love one another, God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected IN US.”(1 John 4:11,12) This is the acid test. Paul tells us to examine ourselves to see whether or not we are “in the faith.” (2 Cor.13:5) (1 Cor. 11:28)He asks us to do this before offering and partaking of our “peace offering” the bread and wine of communion. Many have stumbled over theses scriptures and stay away from communion out of the fear of judgment and death, because they feel they are not perfect Christians, they have sinned. But this is certainly not what God has in mind for us. He desires fellowship with us more than we do with Him. He proved that by sacrificing His own Son to purchase us in all of our sins! So, how do we do this determine if we are in the faith; how do we go about “examining” ourselves? Simply by asking yourself…do you love the brethren? Do you stumble and falter and sometimes fail miserably? Do you sometimes feel that you are the least worthy person in the world to be called a Christian? Ask yourself at these times, BUT Do I love people? Do I still love my family? Do I still love my Christian friends? Do I still love my pastor? Do I still want other people to be saved? If you can say “yes” to that, you KNOW you are “in Him” and a simple confession and trusting the Blood of Jesus will assure your heart and give you “confidence towards God.”(1 John 3:19-22) Remember…As the blood of Jesus continually cleanses you, and you make Him your peace offering beyond the sin problem, you have fellowship with Him and with everyone else. Your fellowship extends Upward and Outward, unbroken and unhindered and as you “taste, touch, see, hear, handle and even smell the fragrance of His life”, John says, “as He is, so are we in this world.” TEST REVIEW Theology II Series, The Consecrated Life, Lesson 10, The Peace Offering While the burnt offering calls for a _________________________, the peace offering calls for either _______________ or __________________ sacrifice. The procedure for the peace offering called for the __________ to be offered to God along with the _____________ and ________________. Divining has once again became popular, give five examples in our current society: 1. ________________________________________ 2._________________________________________ 3. ________________________________________ 4. ________________________________________ 5. ________________________________________ ___________________ means killing of the sacrificial animal. ___________________ means to be complete, sound, whole or healthy. How is this transfer of fellowship and joy made? _____________________________________ The only way we can be sin-free is to ______________________________________________ 1