BLOOD***
Since we are always very conscious of blood in our natural lives, we default to thinking of blood in the Bible in the same natural terms. But, being quite sure that blood has some spiritual significance, religious people try to assign spiritual value to blood. Assigning spiritual value to natural blood, however, is not the same thing as understanding the symbolic meaning of blood.
STUDY TIP: In order to understand the symbolic meaning of blood, it is first necessary to understand the significance of God’s spoken voice. See the definition of sin and God’s Written Word and God’s Spoken Voice Part 1.
Before understanding the symbolic meaning of blood , it is first important to acknowledge the symbolism of blood in the context of swords, arrows and stones. In human warfare, the purpose of swords and arrows is to cut/injure enemies so that they will lose blood and die. This principle also applies in spiritual warfare. God’s purpose in using spiritual swords, arrows and stones is to use his spoken word as a weapon of truth that demolishes religious strongholds of wrong thinking. And the objective is to cure people from the curse of religion.
STUDY TIP: See Death, Resurrection, New Life, Salvation, Heaven.
To understand the symbolic meaning of blood, we begin with scriptures that tell us that life is in the blood. Because we know this to be true in the natural sense where excessive loss of blood results in loss of life, these scriptures tell us nothing that we do not already know in the natural sense. But when we consider that all scripture is able to train us in righteousness and lead us to salvation, we are prompted to investigate what it is about blood that we do not know. And what we do not know is the symbolic meaning of blood.
We find our first clue that blood has symbolic meaning in the story of Cain and Abel:
Genesis 4:9-10: Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.
COMMENTARY: This story prompts us to ask how can blood have a voice? The answer is this: Blood symbolizes voice or speech. Thus we interpret that Abel’s experience of giving an acceptable offering and then dying at the hands of his brother is a parable that will train us in righteousness.
But, just like there are two kinds of food (i.e. good spiritual food and evil, soulish food), there are two kinds of blood: Good, healthy blood and unhealthy, evil blood.
GOOD, HEALTHY BLOOD: Good healthy blood is God’s spoken word spoken by God directly or through his anointed true prophets, angels, messiahs, high priests, witnesses and warriors. Regular infusions of God’s spoken words are necessary for a healthy spiritual life. It is the kind of blood found in clean, pure hearts.
God’s word is symbolized as blood that is sprinkled on altars of sacrifice (i.e. hearts.) God’s word purges, consecrates, sanctifies and purifies people from sin. This blood represents God’s word (i.e. truth) spoken (i.e sprinkled) by his agents (i.e. true prophets, angels, messiahs, high priests, witnesses and warriors).
The spoken word of God (i.e. blood) has the power to overcome strongholds of religious thinking. It is good, spiritual food that gives spiritual life to those on whom it is sprinkled (i.e. they hear God’s spoken word). It is blood that heals the disease of religion, and enables a healthy, rewarding spiritual life.
UNHEALTHY, EVIL BLOOD: People who are spiritually dead have unhealthy, evil blood flowing through their evil, impure hearts. Unhealthy, evil blood is symbolically infused into the hearts of religious people when they listen to religious leaders (i.e. False Prophets, pharaohs, Kings, Queens and Princes, Pharisees and Scribes, Serpents, Devils, Satan, Adversaries, Demons, Evil Spirits, and Anti-Christs.)
Religious leaders infuse unhealthy blood into the hearts of religious people in words of human wisdom, and human knowledge wrapped in smooth talk and religious rituals and tradition. This blood causes spiritual sickness, spiritual disease, and spiritual death.
Old Testament stories of Israel’s enemies shedding blood with their swords are symbolic representations of religious leaders using words to bring spiritual death to God’s people.
Biblical warfare, therefore, symbolically represents true prophets doing battle with false prophets with words (i.e. a war of words.) Each side uses written and spoken words (e.g. symbolically represented as swords and arrows), to overcome their enemies and advance their kingdoms. False prophets deceive through religion. God advances his kingdom with the sword of the spirit which is the word of God spoken through his messengers (e.g. true prophets, angels, messiahs, high priests, warriors). Religious leaders advance and protect their personal kingdoms with words that lead to spiritual death. And God uses his words to advance his kingdom with words that lead to eternal life.
The messiahs God sends to speak his words are lights to the world of religious darkness. The light they shed is the words of their mouths: God’s word (i.e. blood). Their enemies are religious enemies of God, who use their swords (i.e. mouths) to speak evil which comes out of the imaginations of their hearts.
God’s messengers speak his words. Those who hear these words receive spiritual life. Symbolically speaking, God’s spoken word (i.e. his blood) is sprinkled on them. Conversely, God’s enemies speak evil words that result in spiritual death.
Mouths (i.e. swords) are used to shed blood. In biblical stories of warfare, God’s words spoken through Israel result in death to religion that leads to life in God. In scriptures about Jesus and all other prophets and apostles, they also use their mouths (i.e. swords) to shed blood. The blood these true prophets shed is God’s spoken word that leads to eternal life.
Words spoken through false prophets lead to spiritual death for religious people who choose to not listen to God’s voice and instead choose to listen to false prophets. It is all about who you listen to.
Who to listen to is the life and death choice presented to Adam and Eve:
Do you listen to trees of life (i.e. true prophets, angels, messiahs, high priests, warriors) who speak for God?
Or,
Do you listen to trees of knowledge of good and evil (e.g. False Prophets, Judas, Balaam, Kings, Queens and Princes, Pharisees and Scribes, Serpent, Devil, Satan, Adversary, Demons, Evil Spirits, Anti-Christs, foolish, worthless, stupid shepherds)?
Abel was a righteous prophet (i.e. New Covenant disciple). We know this because God accepted his sacrifice. Because he is true prophet, his voice and faith speak to us in these modern times even though the Bible does not record him saying anything. What we learn from Abel is that he offered to God a spiritual sacrifice of the heart that was better than Cain’s sacrifice physical sacrifice of the flesh.
The story in Genesis is not clear about the nature of the offerings of either Cain or Abel. They both seem to conform to the offerings made later in Leviticus, so it is difficult to discern from the Genesis story why God had a problem with Cain’s fleshly offering but accepted Abel’s spiritual offering.
STUDY TIP: See Sacrifices, Tithes and Offerings for more about the kind of offerings that God accepts.
We learn in Sacrifices, Tithes and Offerings that God requires spiritual — not material — sacrifices and offerings. Abel’s offering, therefore, was righteous because it originated in Abel’s heart. Cain’s offering, on the other hand, was a material offering which could be observed with eyes and ears. Abel’s offering was a matter of faith, but Cain’s offering was religious.
STUDY TIP: See THE HEART IS THE PLACE for understanding of why God accepted Abel’s sacrifice.
The relevance of this story to blood is difficult to grasp. It hinges on the symbolism of blood as words. Thus we read that “the voice of Abel’s blood cries out from the ground.” This means that, because Abel’s offering was a matter of faith, he is a type of New Covenant disciple who speaks to religious people of all generations. As such, he is a true prophet who speaks to us through his spiritual offering to God. From this we learn that the words and lives of New Covenant disciples speak God’s words to others. Their words and their lives show that the kind of offerings God wants and accepts are spiritual offerings of the heart.
We conclude that Abel is a type of messiah (i.e. true prophet) who lived in conflict with Cain who symbolizes all people who are identified (i.e. marked) by their religion.
STUDY TIP: See Making a Name for Yourself for what it means to be marked by religion.
Through his spiritual offering, Abel spoke the truth about religion to Cain. Cain, instead of listening to Able, killed him. Cain was his brother, but he was also his enemy just as religion is the enemy of God and all true prophets. Just as Jesus was murdered by his enemies (i.e. the religious people — Pharisees of his day), Abel was murdered by the religious people of his day (i.e. Cain).
STUDY TIP: See Sibling Conflict and Religion is the Enemy.
Later, obscure references to blood provide convincing evidence that blood has symbolic — not literal — value. And when we look at the many scriptures involving blood in offerings, and hundreds of Old Testament scriptures about the use or misuse of blood, or exposure to blood, and then more scriptures about blood in the New Testament, we must conclude that blood symbolizes something spiritual and is not meant to be taken literally.
STUDY TIP: See God’s Written Word and God’s Spoken Voice Part 1, Literal or Symbolic Interpretation Part 1, Literal or Symbolic Interpretation Part 2, and Literal or Symbolic Interpretation Part 3 for more about literal interpretation of the Bible.
Coming to an understanding of the symbolic meaning of blood is not easy, but it is possible. Here are a few scriptures that are especially revealing:
Leviticus 17:11 ‘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.’
COMMENTARY: Here we see that life is in the blood and that blood makes atonement for sin. But how does blood atone for sin? We can find clues by looking at the natural body.
When the natural body loses too much natural blood, there has been a violent offense against the body. The way to preserve life after blood is lost is to give a blood transfusion. This principle also applies with respect to the issue of sin.
STUDY TIP: See the definition of sin.
Sin is a condition that leads to death. It is an offense against the spiritual body that leads to loss of spiritual life. The words of false prophets are an offense against our spiritual bodies. The blood that contains our spiritual life (i.e. God’s spoken word) bleeds from us when we eat the food of false prophets whose swords (i.e. words) kill us.
Just a transfusions of natural blood restore us to natural life, transfusions of spiritual blood (i.e. God’s spoken word) restore us to spiritual life. God’s spoken word (symbolically called blood) is the transfusion that overcomes the deadly effects of sin (i.e. eating evil, soulish food). But this still does not tell us what spiritual blood is or how it atones for spiritual sin. The answer hinges on knowledge of the nature of sin:
Just like famine in the natural body leads to death, famine from hearing God’s voice leads to spiritual death. This principle is based on the truth that man lives on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. In other words, if we do not keep on being filled with the word (i.e. spirit) of God, we will die spiritually.
Just as a natural body will eventually die if it only consumes food with no nutritional value, a spiritual body will die if it consumes only evil, soulish food. Similarly, just as a natural body that consumes healthy food will live, a spiritual body that consumes good, spiritual food will live.
Religious people consume a steady diet of evil, soulish food. They symbolically eat this food when they listen to the words of false prophets. See these links for various Biblical characters that qualify as False Prophets:
Religious people think that they are spiritually alive but they are really spiritually dead. They eat this food because they do not know how to discern good from evil.
STUDY TIP: See DISCERNING BETWEEN CLEAN AND UNCLEAN, HOLY AND PROFANE, SOUL AND SPIRIT, and GOOD AND EVIL.
Because they continually eat from trees of knowledge of good and evil, they have died spiritually as God warned would happen. The cure for this condition is to eat from trees of life.
In other words, there is a cure for spiritual famine and death: Eat good, spiritual food from trees of life. In Bible language, this food is also known as blood.
Returning to the topic of blood and atonement for sin, we must keep in mind that sin is the term that God uses to describe man’s condition when man listens to the voices of false prophets instead of listening to God’s voice.
We conclude, therefore, that God’s spoken word is the good, spiritual food that gives life to religious people who are spiritually dead. Or, to return to the medical analogy, God’s spoken word is the blood transfusion that restores dead, religious people to spiritual life. This is how (i.e. blood) atones for (i.e. covers) sin.
Putting this as simply as possible we can say that God’s voice, when heard with the heart, turns people from sin (i.e. listening to false prophets) to listening to his spoken voice. When God’s spoken voice is heard, the words of false prophets no longer satisfy. In fact, after learning how to hear God’s spoken voice, the words of false prophets are bitter.
The Bible uses the terms “salvation” and “resurrection from the dead” to describe the process by which people are restored to spiritual life. These and other related issues are discussed in detail in Death, Resurrection, New Life, Salvation, Forgiveness, Heaven and Hell.
We see the power of God’s spoken word most graphically in the example of Jesus whose blood (i.e. words) has the power to cause religious people to change their minds about religion. When this happens, it is a miracle in which an Old/First Covenant religionist (i.e. son of man) is born again as a son of God.
Jesus had this miraculous ability, of course, because he was anointed by God to speak on God’s behalf to people who sin by listening to false prophets. When people hear and understand Jesus’ words with spiritual eyes and ears, they symbolically “drink Jesus’ blood.
When Jesus says “whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life,” he means “whoever consumes (i.e. eats/drinks) the word of God spoken by me will have a new, spiritual life (i.e. will be born again by the spirit of God).
Whoever eats God’s spoken words eats the fruit of the Tree of Life. God is a tree of life. Jesus, who speaks for God, therefore, is a tree of life. God’s words spoken through Jesus’ mouth are good, spiritual food.
The same can be said for all True Prophets, angels, messiahs, warriors and high priests. All of these characters symbolically represent New Covenant disciples whom God has raised from death (i.e. religion) and sent into the world of religion as messenger/warriors to set others free from slavery to religion. They have the authority and power to function as messiahs because they have God’s laws written on their hearts. That means that when they speak, God’s word is spoken through them.
When they speak, the act of speaking God’s word is symbolically represented as “sprinkling blood.” This symbolism is introduced in scriptures that discuss sprinkling blood on the altar. Understanding of these scriptures is not possible, however, without first understanding these two symbols:
Blood, like all Biblical symbols, is a mystery. Understanding comes, if it comes at all, only after combining and integrating several scriptures that are easier to understand. And it only comes to people who hear God’s spoken voice. The following scriptures, when interpreted correctly, contribute to the understanding of the power of blood (i.e. God’s spoken voice):
| Revelation 12:10-11 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.
“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. |
COMMENTARY: See this link for understanding of salvation. See this link for understanding of the kingdom of God.
The accuser of the brethren is not a unique, singular person. This is talking about all accusers (i.e. all false prophets) who keep religious people in bondage by telling them that they are not religious enough; that they will go to hell if they do not do the right religious things; that they need to keep working for their salvation; that they need to give more money to the accuser’s religious organization. Basically, they use fear, intimidation and deception to keep religious people enslaved to religion.
The authority to which this refers is the authority of all messiahs — not a unique, singular messiah/christ. All messiahs are true prophets who have been sent by God to speak God’s word to religious people.
What is overcome is the world of religion which is under the control of false prophets who use their words to maintain control of their little kingdoms. God overcomes these kingdoms with his own words which are symbolically called blood. The “words of their testimony” are God’s words spoken through true prophets (i.e.angels, messiahs, high priests, warriors). Thus, God overcomes the kingdoms of false prophets through true prophets who speak his words.
STUDY TIP: See The Lord’s Prayer for more about God’s kingdom.
Revelation 19:11-15 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are aflame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the winepress lighty.
COMMENTARY: See Kingdom of Heaven.
This is a vision of all messiahs who are anointed to speak for God. They come as warriors to overcome God’s enemies. Their weapons are God’s words which are sharp swords. The nations that they strike down are religious kingdoms controlled by false prophets.
See Third Commandment for understanding of the name. Only people who are born again and God know whose hearts reflect God’s character.
The name of the warrior on the horse is “word of God”. Thus the way a warrior (i.e. true prophet)
The robe is the spirit which is God’s spoken word.
The armies in heaven are warriors who are engaged in spiritual warfare with God’s enemies.
Warriors in God’s army speak with swords that shed blood (i.e. God’s spoken word).
Numbers 19:1-4 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: 2 “This is a requirement of the law that the LORD has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke. 3 Give it to Eleazar the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. 4 Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting.
COMMENTARY: High priest sprinkles blood (i.e. God’s spoken word) that heals and restores the spiritual body. The tent of meeting is the heart.
Matthew 26:26-28 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said,“Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
COMMENTARY: As a messiah, Jesus has been sent by God as a prophet who speaks for God. He has gathered his disciples together to serve them good, spiritual food (i.e. God’s voice).This vignette is a parable of a messiah teaching New Covenant disciples how to hear God’s voice.
In this story, Jesus is a high priest who sprinkles God’s blood (i.e. his word) on people who have spiritual ears to hear God’s voice. Sprinkling is symbolized as serving God’s voice in the form of bread and wine. Jesus symbolically calls God’s voice his body and his blood. When he says “take and eat” and “drink”, he is effectively encouraging his disciples to listen to God’s voice.
The statement “this is the blood of the covenant” symbolically refers to God writing his laws on the hearts of New Covenant disciples. It is God’s spirit (i.e. his voice) that does the writing. So it is God’s spirit that sprinkles God’s word on the ears of people who have spiritual ears to hear it.
The blood of the new covenant is God’s voice spoken through true true prophets, angels, messiahs, high priests, warriors. The blood of the covenant is not natural blood or wine as taught by Christians.
Jesus symbolically poured out his blood when took on the responsibilities of a messiah. He poured out his blood (i.e. his teaching) whenever he spoke for God. He spoke God’s word because he knew that people who would believe his words would have salvation and be forgiven for practicing the sin of religion.
When messiahs (e.g. true prophets, angels, high priests, warriors) speak, God’s words (i.e. his spiritual laws) are written on the hearts of people who have spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear. People who are spiritually blind and deaf, do not understand, or appreciate what messiahs have to say. In fact, their attitude about messiahs is that they threaten their religion. That is why messiahs are rejected and despised.
Romans 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
COMMENTARY: The need for justification exists because of sin (i.e. failure to listen to God’s spoken voice). Justification for sinners who do not listen to God’s voice, is accomplished when they do choose to listen to his voice. God’s voice (i.e. blood), therefore, justifies (i.e. places them in a right relationship with God) when people listen to it.
STUDY TIP: See RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE.
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All mediators (i.e. messiahs, true prophets, high priests, warriors) shed blood when they speak for God.
Unless mediators shed blood (i.e. speak for God), religious people will not hear God’s voice at all because they otherwise listen only to false prophets.
If religious people do not listen to God’s voice spoken through prophets, they have no incentive or motivation to stop listening to false prophets.
If religious people do not listen to God’s voice, they will not be forgiven for the sin of listening to false prophets.
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Romans 3:21-25: But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
COMMENTARY: See interpretation of Romans 7 for understanding of the law. The righteousness of God exists in his word/laws written in the heart — not in religious laws. God’s righteousness/words are only made known in the hearts of New Covenant disciples because God writes his laws on the hearts with his words. The law which testifies of these truths is God’s spiritual laws. The message that the righteousness of God is written on the heart — not by obedience to religious laws — is the message (i.e. testimony) of all true prophets. This message contrasts with the teachings of false prophets who teach that righteousness is achieved by obedience to religious laws.
22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,
COMMENTARY: Faith does not exist in things that can be seen. The object of faith that God values is his word. His word cannot be seen, but it must be believed. Faith in Jesus, therefore, is not in a person, but in what he says. Jesus and other true prophets are sent by God to speak God’s words. People of faith believe that God spoke through Jesus and that he speaks through other true prophets. The statement that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile introduces verse 22 which says that all have fallen short of the Glory of God.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
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24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
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25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—
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Not all blood is the same. There is blood that is God’s spoken word and there is blood that is spoken by false prophets (princes).
Judgment:Isa 34:5-6 ; Ex 7:14-21; Ps 78:44; Ps 105:29; Ac 2:19-20; Joel 2:30-31
End times: Ac 2:19-20 See also Joel 2:30-31; Rev 6:12-15; Rev 8:7-9; Rev 16:3-6
Shedding innocent blood: Ge 4:8-11 See also 2Sa 1:14-16; 2Sa 4:5-12; Eze 35:5-9; Hab 2:12; Mt 27:3-8,24; Ac 5:28