The Blood Factor

Note to Editor: Dear Brooks, I was amazed as I read one of the statutes regarding the killing and eating of meat. It directs us to pour the blood from the slain animal to the dust of the earth. I then realized that the killing of the Pascal Lamb was followed by the pouring of His precious blood onto the dust! This was simply one more proof that Jesus fulfilled the law in every jot and tittle!  Even after death. Our beloved Saviour has set the bar so high that we could not reach it with a Jet aircraft! But, no fear. He has imputed to us righteousness, since we believe in His redeeming sacrifice. We have His grace; we have hope in Christ; Christ had an unshakeable faith, such that He would lay down Hs life, for His friends, and take it up again! For Jesus’ faith, praise be to God! Hallelujah! Don

Recently, in Toronto, I heard excellent preaching on the first three chapters of Genesis. Of course, the series of broadcasts started me thinking and I have two personal speculations that I would like you, the reader, to consider. Of course, the preacher dealt with the scientific conflict with the creation story but some time ago, I found my own solution to this dilema. Genesis, verse one states, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” Done. Perfect. But then verse two states, “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” So what made the earth void? My answer is found in Psalms 46: 6, “The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted.” This apparently, was the culmination of billions of years of pre-history which allows for the scientific view or the age of the earth (including the dinosaurs) and casts the creation story as a reconstruction of the earth, which is described as happening in six days. Psalm 90:4 explains, For a thousand years in Thy sight are as but yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.” Or, 2nd Peter, 3: 8, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” So, considering this, I find that the creation that took place each day was quite plausable, and so, I find the recreation story quite reasonable.

In the sixth day, God created Adam and the Bible story relates the history of the Adamic race. So, again working in “days” we know that our human history has covered a span of six thousand years, and we are heading into the millennium, the seventh day of rest. This has energized the “watchmen” who look for the early return of Christ and fills us with hope and longing for His righteous reign.

The preacher, to whom I listened, reviewed the deception of Satan, appearing as a snake, and because of God’s declaration that you shall surely die the day you eat of the tree of knowledge, expressed the opinion that they died spiritually on that very day. Incidentally, none of the patriarchs who lived for hundreds of years, including Methuselah the longest living man, lived to a thousand years, the Lord’s “day.” So, here I began my speculation. What did dying spiritually mean? Let us review first the making of Adam. We know from Scripture that he was made from the dust of the earth and the Lord breathed the Spirit into the clay vessel He had made and gave Adam life. So the Spirit of God was the life of Adam: he was made in God’s image and was perfect, having a personal relationship with God and eternal life! Psalm 139:14, “I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are Thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well.” So, when he sinned, and died Spiritually, what corruption was seeded into his flesh to give him life, a substitute for the Spirit? I suggest that it was blood. When Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, He had a perfect Spiritual body. How did Jesus describe it? Luke 24: 39, “Behold My hands and feet, that it is I Myself; Handle Me and see; for a Spirit hath nor flesh and bones as ye see Me have.” Flesh and bones, but no blood because it was shed on Calvary.

Let’s look some more at this blood issue. Hebrews 9: 22, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission of sins.” Adam could not shed his own blood for remission of sins, since he would have died physically and spiritually. So Abel made the first sacrifice of blood in the Genesis narrative. There are many references to the sacrificing of blood and I offer some to establish that blood is the life of all flesh. Gen 9: 4, “But flesh with the LIFE thereof, which is the BLOOD thereof, shall ye not eat.” Lev 17:14. “For it is the LIFE of all flesh; the Blood of it is the Life thereof. therefore I said unto the Children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh; for the LIFE of all flesh is the BLOOD thereof; whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.” Finally, Lev 3:17, “It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings that ye eat neither fat nor blood.”

As we know, God provided a solution for this problem by offering His only Son. But Jesus, with a perfect Spiritual body, which existed from BEFORE the creation, had to be fitted with blood, so God provided Him with a body containing blood. Heb 10: 5, “Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, sacrifice and offering Thou wouldst not, but a BODY Thou hast PREPARED Me.” And we know that this was done when the Holy Spirit overshadowed the virgin Mary and the Spirit conceived human flesh. The body was prepared and the Holy Spirit of Jesus, the Word, took up residence in the body at His baptism. Mark 1: 10, “And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon Him. And there came a voice from heaven saying, Thou art my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” So, Mary made Him human, and the Spirit made Him divine. John states it so beautifully, John 1: 14, “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth.”

So, our Lord was prepared for His redeeming sacrifice for the children of Israel and ANY person confessing Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Heb 9: 2, “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, He entered in once to the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” When Jesus died on the cross, he said, “Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit.” His Spirit could not die, but His flesh could. That same Spirit was introduced into the body that was now made of flesh and bone (lacking blood, poured into the dust at Calvary) by the Father in the act of resurrection. 1st Peter 3: 18, “For Christ also hath once suffered for our sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but QUICKENED BY THE SPIRIT. Psalm 16:10, “For Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell; neither wilt Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption. Psalm 34: 20, “He keepeth all His bones: not one of them is broken.”

And this prayer, found in Psalms 41:10; “But Thou 0 Lord, be merciful unto Me, and raise Me up that I might requite (repay or recompense) them.” This follows verse 5, “Mine enemies speak evil of Me, When shall He die and His name perish?”

I know my readers are aware of the story in Ezekiel, of the dry bones, how they were covered with flesh and the Spirit entered into them making them into a great army. It is another explanation that the resurrected body will be without blood, like Jesus’ perfect body. Phil 3: 21. “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.” O, joyous resurrection day!

So, to summarize my speculations; first, science and religion can be reconciled on the creation story if we interpret verse two of Genesis as, the earth was MADE void; second, Adam was infused with blood after the sin and to recover a perfect spiritual body we need to shed our blood. This is accomplished in death, dust to dust, so that we might receive the new Spiritual body through Christ who said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Again John provides our summary, John 1: 12 & 13, “But as many as receive Him, to them He gave power to become the Sons of God, even to them that believe on His name; which were born, NOT OF BLOOD, nor of the will of man but of God.”