The Blood Then and Now – The Blood and the Body (Part 4)

November 25, 2017

Jesus of Nazareth shed the blood that was in His body for the sins of the world nearly two thousand years ago. If you had a sample of it as it was before the resurrection and placed it under a microscope, I doubt you would be able to find anything extremely remarkable about it. Floating in the plasma, you would see the red and white blood cells and platelets that are common to us all. As such, that spilled blood congealed and hardened. And yet, that it atones, reconciles, speaks, reveals, and heals today tells us that it is presently alive, active, and effective.

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The Body of Christ – The Blood and the Body (Part 3)

November 18, 2017

Not only are we spirit beings who live in material bodies; we are also members of a larger spiritual body—the body of Christ. Are you used to thinking of this as merely a figure of speech? I know that I used to look at it in this way. But this is not just an analogy; it is a spiritual reality. We really are the body of Christ.

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There Is a Spiritual Body – The Blood and the Body (Part 2)

November 11, 2017

1 Corinthians 15 contains a wealth of information and is probably the most frank discussion in all of Scripture regarding the nature of resurrection. We are told that as we have a natural body, we shall also have a spiritual body. A day is coming when we will have much more in common with angels than we presently share. Be that as it may, we are still spirits that live in physical bodies. This does not make our spirits unsubstantial. Our spirits have shape and form and can impact the physical realm.

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The Blood and the Body – Part 1

November 4, 2017

Having covered a wide scope of how to apply the blood and what the blood has done for us, we are now ready to delve into a deeper discussion of what the blood is. To do so, we have to venture into that part of the river of life that man cannot pass over but must swim in.[1] I freely concede that this can be a daunting task.

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The Holy Oracle – Entrance by the Blood (Part 9)

October 28, 2017

The holy of holies was also called the “holy oracle.”[1] It was of this place that God said “There I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat.”[2] The communications of God proceed from the holy oracle, from the holy of holies. Communion without communication is impossible. We need to enter into the holy oracle to hear our Father’s words, for it is the place from which He speaks. The basis for receiving any revelation from God is the blood of Jesus Christ because it is only by His blood that we are able to enter in.

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Resting in Him – Entrance by the Blood (Part 8)

October 21, 2017

The Day of Atonement was a Sabbath of Sabbaths. As our Jubilee trumpeter, the Lord bids us to rest in Him. When God’s work was done at the close of the sixth day, He rested from all His work. When Christ’s work of redemption was done, He sat at the right hand of God. He rested in His accomplished work.

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The Blood and the Veil – Entrance by the Blood (Part 7)

October 14, 2017

On the Day of Atonement, blood went on the veil and beyond. The blood of the sin sacrifice was sprinkled on it with a motion that imitated whipping a man.[1] When Jesus gave up the ghost, the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom.[2] Can you imagine the reaction of the priests? There they are in the holy place going about their daily functions when suddenly—“RIIIIP!!”—this very tall, double-thick veil tears down the middle from top to bottom. And as if that weren’t bad enough, then comes an earthquake to knock them off their feet! There’s not much in life that teaches humility quite like getting knocked down. The veil tore from the top. Grace comes from God to man; only the humble receive it.

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A Sabbath of Sabbaths – Entrance by the Blood (Part 6)

October 7, 2017

Another important facet of the Day of Atonement was that it was called a Sabbath of Sabbaths.

Leviticus 16:31
It shall be a sabbath of rest [Hebrew—a Sabbath of sabbatism, a rest of rests] unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.

This emphatic description for a day of rest is only used of the weekly Sabbath, the Sabbath year, and the Day of Atonement. Other holy days were Sabbaths, days of rest; but these were special. They were the Sabbath of Sabbaths.

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The Goat for Azazel – Entrance by the Blood (Part 5)

September 30, 2017

One wonders how many have used the term “scapegoat” without knowing its true significance. Most have a sense of what it means—a person blamed for the wrongs of another or one chosen for punishment to satisfy a need for public justice even though they haven’t done the wrong. We equate the scapegoat with the “fall guy” or the “whipping boy.” Though these connections resonate with some of the purpose of the scapegoat, they miss much of the richness of what the goat truly represented. Before we look closely at what the term “scapegoat” actually means, let us examine what was placed upon it.

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