Haima William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 1

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1 Haima A. Classical 1. In classical literature, from the time of Homer onwards (8 th century to the 6 th century), the noun haíma (aima) denoted the physical blood of an animal or human being. 2. In certain contexts, it could indicate a relationship such as a blood relative. 3. It was also associated with murder or the shedding of blood. 4. Primarily from Homer onward haíma was used physiologically as the bearer of life and the life of force. 5. It is prerequisite for the maintenance of life of both man and beast, for it is physically and organically necessary to them. 6. Homer used the word metaphorically for one s lineage. 7. It was used as a synonym for murder since blood was the seat of life. 8. In secular Greek, haíma was used for the blood of both men and animals. 9. It gained special importance in the cults since it was an important element in human sacrifice and then for animal sacrifices. 10. The Greeks and Romans had blood sacrifices for the dead. 11. Originally, the blood was poured over the dead and then later onto the funeral pyre. 12. Finally, it was poured into the grave and on the grave mound. 13. Bloodguilt had to be atoned for by blood. 14. Human blood was replaced by animal blood. 15. For instance, Orestes according to Aeschylus was purified by the blood of a pig (Eumenides 28 ff.). 16. Sacrificial blood was considered as having cleansing power. 17. Various blood rituals involving drinking or sprinkling blood often including human blood, were employed especially in magical rites to bring rain, welfare, love or harm. 18. The drinking of the blood of an enemy was thought to bring strength and gave the gift of prophecy. 19. In a blood covenant human blood was collected in drops in a cup and drunk in wine by all participants. 20. Liddel and Scott (Greek-English Lexicon Revised, page 38): a. Blood, streams of blood b. Of anything like blood c. Dye, alkanet d. With collateral meaning of spirit, courage e. Bloodshed, murder f. Blood relationship, kin g. Blood or origin h. Incestuous kinship i. Akin to her by blood j. Concrete, of a person B. LXX 1. The noun haíma in the LXX was used almost exclusively for the Hebrew dam (sd*). 2. In the Old Testament, blood had both a literal and figurative usage in the LXX. 3. Prior to the cross and the completion of the canon of Scripture, God ordained specific rituals as expressions of worship and as training aids for communicating Bible doctrine to people who were by and large illiterate. 4. Among these observances, certain animal sacrifices were used to teach doctrines of salvation and the acknowledgement of sin. 5. Beginning with the very first presentation of the Gospel, immediately after the fall of man (Gen. 3:21), continuing through the family offerings (Gen. 4:4; 8:20; 22:1-14) and finally taking the form of the Levitical offerings (Lev. 1:-5) and special holy day offerings in Israel (Lev. 23), the shedding of animal blood illustrated the future salvation work of the coming Savior. 6. These sacrifices depicted the principle of salvation and spoke of the fact that someone who was sinless and thus acceptable to God would have to die in place of sinful man. 7. The innocent animal s blood was an apt representation of a life given on behalf of others because the animal s blood is its life. 8. When the Scriptures states that the life of the flesh is in the blood (Lev. 17:10-14), it refers to animal flesh only William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 1

2 9. The Hebrew word nephesh sometimes means life and sometimes soul, but when used of animals it obviously refers to animal life-not to human life. 10. The seat of man s physical life is his soul resident in his body, but the animal does not have a soul. 11. Therefore, such passages as Leviticus 17:10-14 teach us that the life of animal flesh is in the animal s blood. 12. The sacrifice of the animal and its death portrayed the future substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross, which was invisible to man because it took place in the soul of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union. 13. The blood of the animal was a perfect training aid to teach this essential invisible spiritual reality. 14. These animal sacrifices depicted a yet future event, the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross. 15. This is extremely important to understand in order to understand the meaning of the phrases the blood of Christ, and the blood of Jesus in the New Testament. 16. As we noted, blood was used in relation to the Levitical offerings. 17. The Levitical offerings are found in the Mosaic Law. 18. They were given to the nation of Israel and not to the church. 19. These offerings were designed by God to teach Israel about the Person and Work of Jesus Christ Who would come to die for the sins of the whole world. 20. The Levitical offerings were officiated by the Levitical priests. 21. The Levitical priests in Numbers 16:5 were: a. Commissioned by God b. Separated unto God c. Allowed to come near 22. The Lord gave them a perpetual priesthood (Num. 18:1, 8). 23. The priesthood began with Aaron (the brother of Moses) and was to be carried on by his natural sons (Ex. 28:1). 24. The Mosaic Law was given at Mount Sinai in the Arabian Desert (Ex. 19:20). 25. But the Levitical Offerings were made known from the door of the Tabernacle. 26. The Levitical Offerings represented the principle of grace while the dealt with the principle of works (Rom. 3:20a). 27. The Levitical Offerings had to be given under the conditions of grace because they represent the principle of grace. 28. The place of grace was the door of the Tabernacle (Lev. 1:1). 29. The Tabernacle was God s dwelling place in Israel (Ex. 40:33-38). 30. The Shekinah Glory was the visible sign of the divine Presence and was the only light in the Holy of Holies. 31. The Tabernacle had no windows and one curtained door. 32. Everything in it spoke of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. 33. The brazen altar standing at the entrance of the Tabernacle pictured the Cross. 34. The golden candlestick represented Christ as the Light of the world. 35. The preincarnate Christ revealed important information about Himself at the Tabernacle door. 36. The information given by the Lord at the door of the Tabernacle emphasized: a. Salvation and the principle of grace in the first 3 offerings. b. The saved Jews life in time in the last 2 offerings. 37. The whole purpose the Levitical Offerings was to orient the Jew to God s Plan for salvation and his life as a believer in time. 38. The Levitical Offerings revealed God s Ritual Plan for the Jews. 39. In the OT, God revealed His plan through rituals. 40. Ritual foreshadows reality and ritual is meaningless without reality. 41. The Levitical Offerings simply anticipated the Cross. 42. They had a two-fold purpose: a. Evangelize the Jew b. Teach believers the grace of God. 43. The word for offering is Hebrew noun qorban (ibrq) and is the basis for approaching God. 44. The Corban foreshadowed the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf. 45. The first 6 chapters of Leviticus contain the 5 offerings. 46. Three emphasize salvation and two emphasize the acknowledgement of sin William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 2

3 47. Burnt or Salvation offerings (voluntary): Phase 1 of God s Plan concerning Salvation. 48. Burnt offering (Lev. 1): a. Voluntary b. To be wholly burnt with the exception of the hide which was given to the officiating priest (Lev. 7:8). c. Pictures the doctrine of propitiation with emphasis on the Work of Christ. 49. Meat or Food or Gift offering (Lev. 2) a. Voluntary b. Bloodless offering c. Reveals propitiation but with emphasis on the Person of Christ. 50. Peace offering (Lev. 3) a. Voluntary b. A part of which was burned upon the altar and the remainder divided between the priests and the offerer (Lev. 7:29-34; cf. 7:15). c. Whatever was not eaten from this offering during the specific amount of time was to be burned on the 3rd day, but not on the altar (Lev. 7:17). d. Represents reconciliation 51. Redemption is another major doctrine connected with salvation and the offerings, which foreshadow it. 52. It is revealed in the Levitical Feasts (Lev. 23). 53. Rebound offerings (mandatory): Phase 2 of God s Plan concerning believer s life on earth. 54. Sin offering (Lev. 4): a. Mandatory b. Concerns unknown sins in the believer s life. 55. Trespass offering (Lev. 5): a. Mandatory b. Pertains to all known sins in the believer s life. 56. Burnt Offering (Lev. 1:2-17): Propitiation with emphasis on the Work of Christ. 57. There were 3 categories of burnt offerings: a. Herd b. Flocks c. Fowls 58. The blood of these animals that were sacrificed depicted the substitutionary spiritual death of our Lord on the Cross. 59. Hebrews 9:22, without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. 60. Ephesians 1:7, In Him (the Lord Jesus Christ) we have redemption through His blood (metaphor for our Lord s spiritual death), the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace Peter 1:18-19, Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. 62. The animal blood was the means of teaching the doctrine of redemption in the Old Testament (Ex. 12:7; 12-13; Heb. 9:22). 63. The animal sacrifice is a representative analogy in which the physical death of the animal on the altar represents the spiritual death of Christ on the cross. 64. The blood of the animal sacrifices was merely a shadow pointing to the reality of the cross (Heb. 9:12-24). 65. The blood of the animal is the seat of animal life (Lev. 17:10-14). 66. The blood of the animal was used to represent redemption to OT believers (Heb. 9:18-22). 67. Animal blood was used to represent the figurative blood of Christ. 68. This was done from Genesis 3:21 to the Levitical offerings of Leviticus The animal was real and literal but it did not represent the literal blood of Christ shed on the cross. 70. The animal blood represents the spiritual death of Christ on the cross (Col. 1:20; Heb. 10:19; 13:20; 1 Pet. 1:2). 71. Our Lord was still alive on the Cross when He finished making the payment for our sins (John 19:30). 72. Our Lord did not bleed to death like the animals in the Mosaic sacrifices. 73. He didn t pass out on the Cross from loss of blood, but in fact was in total command and was totally alert when He said, It is finished. 74. He didn t die like ordinary men who die involuntarily, but instead, He did voluntarily (John 10:17-18) William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 3

4 75. A real analogy would be a literal death compared to a literal death. 76. A real analogy is where the physical death of the animal would be compared to the physical death of Christ. 77. A representative analogy is where the physical death of the animal on the altar represents the spiritual death of Christ on the cross. 78. The blood of Christ is analogous to: a. Redemption b. Reconciliation c. Propitiation. 79. The Burnt offerings viewed propitiation from the aspect of the Perfect Work of Christ on the Cross. 80. The Herd Corbon (Lev. 1:3-9): a. The bullock from the herd pictured Jesus Christ as the Servant. b. The offering from the herd specified a male without defect (1 Pet. 1:18-19). c. Impeccability of Christ. d. It pictured the Work of Christ on the Cross. e. It represented propitiation, which is the humanity of Christ satisfying the justice of God with His substitutionary spiritual death. f. It also represented redemption which is Jesus Christ purchasing the entire human race out from the slave market of sin with His spiritual death. g. The Jewish believer s sins were identified with the animal that was to be killed at the brazen altar, which represented the Cross. h. He (the Lord Jesus Christ) Who never knew sin experientially (impeccability), on our behalf was made the representative of sin, in order that we might become (non-meritorious decision to believe in Christ) the very righteousness (imputed righteousness) of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). i. God s gracious reception of the burnt offering resulted in an atonement for sins. 81. The procedure for killing the animal: a. The bullock of the herd was tied to the altar and identified with the offerer s sins. b. The one who slaughtered the animal gripped his muzzle, held it tight, and by sticking a knife into the animal s throat severed the carotid, which causes to bleed profusely. c. The life of the animal is in the blood (Lev. 17:11). d. Every time the animal s heart beats the blood pours out all over the altar, all over the priests, all over the offerer. e. The animal s life is literally being pumped out of it with every beat of its heart. f. The killing of the innocent animal was a shocking sight and was used to teach the Jewish believers about the future saving work of Christ on the Cross for them. g. After the animal died, the bull was skinned, cut apart and placed atop the altar and burnt (Lev. 1:7-9). h. The altar representing the Cross contained a grate where the priests placed the wood for burnt offerings. i. The wood symbolized the sins of the Israelite and the burning depicted the judgment of their sins. j. Each part of the animal represented some aspect of Christ: k. The head referred to the mental sinlessness of Jesus Christ a member of the human race. l. The burning of the head signified the reason Jesus Christ could become the Savior was His sinless mental life. m. The fat represented our Lord s outer sinlessness or overt righteousness. n. The head and the suet (fat) together represented our Lord s total qualifications to become our Redeemer, thus teaching the doctrine of redemption. o. Also, the animal s entrails were washed with water representing the Filling of the Spirit and the washing of the legs speaks of our walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16), which is by faith (2 Cor. 5:7); and a walk in virtue love (Eph. 5:2). p. The soothing aroma is literally a sweet smell and indicates God s satisfaction with the work of His Son (propitiation). 82. The Flocks Corban (Lev. 1:10-13): a. The sheep or goat represented Christ as the Lamb of God. b. The flocks offering taught that there is only 1 way for sinful man to enter into a personal and eternal relationship with God (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). c. God s satisfaction demands a perfect sacrifice. d. This offering also demanded a male without defect William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 4

5 e. The sheep represented our Lord s perfect sinless humanity. f. The same procedure for killing the bullock from the herd was followed in this offering of the sheep. g. The offerer put his hand on the head of the innocent animal and figuratively transferred his own sins to the sheep or goat. h. The animal was tied to the horns of the altar in this sacrifice (Psa. 118:27b). i. The sacrifice took place northward before the Lord, which is the side of judgment. j. The death of the sheep spoke of the necessity of our Lord s death. k. John 1:29, The next day he (John the Baptist) saw Jesus coming to him, and said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. l. The animal s blood was sprinkled around on the altar and the remainder was poured out at the altar s base. m. The Corban of the flocks was to be skinned and cut up into pieces. n. In this offering, rebound is depicted as the washing away of filth. o. The entrails were the guts of the animal and when washed communicated the confession of our sins. p. Our sins are nauseating to God just as the animal s guts were nauseating to the offerer. q. The soothing aroma to the Lord spoke of the fact that God accepted the sacrifice. (Propitiation). 83. The Fowls Corban (Lev. 1:14-17): a. The fowl or birds pictured Christ as the Resurrected One. b. This offering was for the poor who couldn t afford to offer a bull or sheep. c. The turtledove represented the deity and the fact that He is the unique Person of the universe as the God-Man, our Savior. d. The poor brought which represented the greatest, our Lord and Savior. e. The offering of the dove became the symbol of God s grace in salvation (2 Cor. 8:9). f. The gentleness of the dove and cleanliness of the dove made it a type of Christ. g. Its use in the burnt offering anticipated Christ s resurrection. h. After the bird was dead, the priest would take away its crop with its feathers. i. East of the altar the ashes were kept signifying that the judicial sentence of sin had been carried out to God s satisfaction. j. The ashes indicated that the person has passed the point of propitiation and would never be sentenced again. k. The bird was torn by its wings but not completely severed. l. This showed Christ s concentration upon and execution of the Father s will. m. This ritual also demonstrated the fact that even in death, Christ remained as the God-Man, the hypostatic union. n. His deity despised our sins, which were imputed to His humanity, but yet His deity identified with His humanity even while on the Cross because He was still the God-Man. 84. Gift Offering (Lev. 2:1-16) dealt with propitiation with emphasis on the Person of Christ. 85. The grain offering is really a gift offering 86. The word grain is mistranslated in the NASB. 87. The word in the Hebrew is minchah, which looks like this in the hjnm. 88. The root word for minchah is manach (jnm), to give. 89. Manach is used in secular contexts of gifts to superior persons particularly kings. 90. It conveyed the attitude of homage and submission to the king. 91. The spiritual use of the term derives its meaning from the secular. 92. Thus, minchah is a gift of grain. 93. The gift offering was a bloodless offering. 94. The peace offering illustrates the doctrine of reconciliation, which is the manward side of the Cross (Lev. 3:1-17). 95. Jesus Christ, the God-Man reconciled man to God. 96. The spiritual death of Christ on the Cross removed this Barrier (Eph. 2:14-18). 97. Reconciliation is God s Peace Treaty with mankind (2 Cor. 5:18-21). 98. Jesus Christ, the God-Man is the Mediator of this Peace Treaty (1 Tim. 2:5). 99. Man can now have peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ Peace offerings (shelamim) (symlv) is the plural of shalom, peace Two kinds of peace: a. Peace through the blood of His Cross (Col. 1:20) William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 5

6 b. Peace with God (Rom. 5:1) The peace offering differed from the burnt offering in that either a male or female animal could be used in the sacrifice The soothing aroma speaks of the fact that God was propitiated and man was reconciled (Lev. 3:5) Without defect refers to the impeccability of Christ and that He was qualified to go to the Cross (Lev. 3:6) Before the Lord speaks of the fact that the offering took place at the door of the Tabernacle (Lev. 3:7) The procedure for the peace offering (Lev. 3:8): a. Identification or the symbolic transfer of our sins to the animal. b. The slaughtering of the animal and the sprinkling of the blood. c. The dividing of the dead animal. d. This repeated the procedure for the previous burnt offering Peace in Leviticus 3:9 is again in the plural and speaks of the removal of the Barrier and reconciliation The peace offering in Leviticus 3 is summarized in Ephesians 2: Sin Offering (Lev. 4:1-35) dealt with rebound (i.e. acknowledgement of sin) with emphasis on the unknown sins of the believer Trespass Offering (Lev. 5-6:7) taught rebound with emphasis on the known sins of the believer Leviticus chapter 5 deals with the trespass offerings, which deal with the believer s known sins The trespass offering does mention confession of sin because these are sins that the believer is aware of or cognizant of (Lev. 5:5) Leviticus 5:2-3 deals with the principle of defilement by association Several different types of offerings were permitted in the trespass offering according to the economic status of the believer (Lev. 5:7-13) God never intended for the Levitical offerings to be perpetuated The entire system in the Levitical offerings was set aside once the reality came in The Levitical offerings found their fulfillment in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ 118. They were simply a shadow of the reality of our Lord and His saving work (Heb. 10:1-2) The lamb was the center of the Levitical offerings The Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ was the real deal (Heb. 9:11-15) All the Levitical sacrifices were to cease after our Lord s work on the Cross He was the literal fulfillment of the Levitical offerings He was the literal Lamb of God that took away sins (John 1:29) Animal s blood cannot take away sin (Heb. 10:4), but our Lord s substitutionary spiritual death did The Levitical Priesthood had to step aside for the royal priesthood of church age believers following our Lord s death and resurrection, ascension and session The Levitical Priesthood will be reactivated following the 2nd Advent and for the duration of the Millennium (Ezek ) The Mosaic Law and the Levitical sacrifices do not apply to us here in the church age They can teach us about the Person and Work of Christ although they were not written specifically to us here in the church age So in summary, the Levitical offerings were designed to teach the Jews in Israel about the Person and Work of Jesus Christ These offerings looked forward to the future when the Lamb of God would come to die for the sins of the whole world Blood was used in relation to the Passover, which portrayed Christ s death on the Cross Exodus 12:3-4 states that each household was commanded by God to have a lamb Each person in Israel had to take part in the Passover in order to avoid the coming judgment of God The first-born in every household of Egypt was to be slain if there was not blood from the sacrificed lamb on the doorposts The blood spoke of Christ's spiritual death on the cross, which would be the payment for sins Putting blood on the doorposts was to have faith in Christ and His future work on the cross In Exodus 12:5, the lamb was to be perfect as our Lord would be in His humanity (Ex. 12:5a) The unblemished lamb represented our Lord Jesus Christ's perfect sinless humanity (Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:18-19) In Exodus 12:6, the lamb was to be sacrificed on the 14th day of the month of Nisan at twilight (Ex. 12:6) The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled this completely when He died on the fourteenth of Nisan, 30 A. D William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 6

7 141. In Exodus 12:7, some of the blood was to be put on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the house The blood on the doorposts and lintel protected the household from God killing the first-born in the family It represents Christ's redemptive work protecting the believer from the judgment of God, which will come upon all those who will not believe in Christ In Exodus 12:8, the flesh they were to eat that night, roasted with fire, and it was to be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs The bitter herbs represented the bitterness of slavery in Egypt The believer in Christ is no longer a slave in the world but has been set free by Christ to serve Him The unleavened bread represents the impeccability of the humanity of Christ who gave Himself for us Exodus 12:9: It was not to be eaten raw or boiled at all in water. It was not to be eaten raw because it spoke of the judgment of sin in human lives, and this requires sacrifice and the fire of judgment It could not be boiled in water because this means that we must trust Christ alone In Exodus 12:10, none of the animal was to be left over until morning Whatever was left over was to be burned with fire Everything was about the sacrifice was to be roasted with fire because fire spoke of judgment In Exodus 12:12-13, Egypt represents the world, which God will judge during the Tribulational period The church age believer avoids this judgment when he believes in Christ, our Passover here in the Church age (1 Cor. 5:7) In Exodus 12:14, the Lord commanded Israel to observe the Passover forever In Exodus 12:15, leaven was not to be found in the house Leaven is a substance such as yeast that is used to produce fermentation in dough It produces a gas that lightens dough or batter Leaven in the word of God speaks of evil (1 Cor. 5:6b-8; Gal. 5:9) Evil is anything that denies the grace of God such as legalism The person with leaven in their house represented someone who adds works to salvation, and therefore, tramples on the Work of Christ and refuses the grace of God Grace is God's unmerited favor towards man It is extended to us based upon His justice being satisfied at the cross by Christ's spiritual death Exodus 12:16: The assembling of the people on the first and seventh day of the month was significant in that it spoke of our Lord's resurrection from the dead on the first day of the week Exodus 12:17-21: The Lord commanded Israel to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Ex. 12:17-21) The Lord s Supper was instituted during the Feast of Unleavened Bread when the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed (Mark 14:12; Luke 22:7) The house where the Passover was to be kept had to be prepared (Luke 22:8) The preparation of the house meant making sure that there was no leaven in the house and that it was clean and sterilized Leaven in the Bible represents evil (Matt. 16:6; Gal. 5:9; 1 Cor. 5:7-8) Leaven is yeast used to make bread rise and is found in bread, cakes and cookies All leaven was to be burned in the fire, which spoke of God's judgment of all evil Passover was to be a joyful time for Israel because it brought to remembrance the Lord's delivering her out of the bondage of Egypt In the same way, the Church Age believer should be joyful in observing the Lord's Supper since it brought to remembrance His eternal sacrifice on the cross of Calvary two thousand years ago Exodus 12:22-23 states that there would be death for the household without the blood on the doorposts and the lintel If there was no blood on the doorposts, the first-born child of the family would be slain by the destroyer sent by the Lord The blood on the doorposts signified faith in the future sacrifice of Christ on the cross when He would die spiritually for the sins of the whole world This event was to be observed in Israel forever as commanded by the Lord The story of the Passover was to be told by the parents in Israel to their children The Passover was to be observed when they arrived in the Land of Canaan, which God had promised them It was to bring into remembrance all that the Lord had done for the children of Israel when He brought them out of the slavery of Egypt and to Pharaoh. C. NT 2003 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 7

8 1. Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, haima, (hence Eng., prefix haem--), besides its natural meaning, stands, (a) in conjunction with sarx, "flesh," "flesh and blood," Matt 16:17; 1 Cor 15:50; Gal 1:16; the original has the opposite order, blood and flesh, in Eph 6:12 and Heb 2:14; this phrase signifies, by synecdoche, "man, human beings." It stresses the limitations of humanity; the two are essential elements in man's physical being; "the life of the flesh is in the blood," Lev 17:11; (b) for human generation, John 1:13; (c) for "blood" shed by violence, e. g., Matt 23:35; Rev 17:6; (d) for the "blood" of sacrificial victims, e. g., Heb 9:7; of the "blood" of Christ, which betokens His death by the shedding of His "blood" in expiatory sacrifice; to drink His "blood" is to appropriate the saving effects of His expiatory death, John 6:53. As "the life of the flesh is in the blood," Lev 17:11, and was forfeited by sin, life eternal can be imparted only by the expiation made, in the giving up of the life by the sinless Savior. 2. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (pages 22-23): a. Literal (1) Human blood (2) Blood of animals b. Figurative (1) Seat of life (2) Blood and life as an expiatory sacrifice especially of the blood of Jesus (3) Of the apocalyptic red color, whose appearance in heaven indicates disaster 3. The Analytical Greek Lexicon Revised, blood; of the color of blood; bloodshed; blood-guiltiness; natural descent (page 9). 4. The New Thayer s Greek-English Lexicon (page 15): a. Blood, whether of men or of animals (1) Simply and generally (2) As it was anciently believed that the blood is the seat of life (3) Since the first germs of animal life are thought to be in the blood, the word denotes generation and origin (4) It is used of things which their redness resemble blood b. Blood shed or to be shed by violence (1) Luke 13:1, blood of those sacrificing animals mingled with the blood of their victims; bloody death; the guilt and punishment of bloodshed (2) It is used especially of the blood of sacrificial victims having a purifying or expiatory power (3) Of the blood of Christ 5. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains (volume 2): a. The hemorrhaging of menstruation (page 102). b. Figurative, the death of a person, generally as the result of violence or execution death, violent death (page 265). c. Figurative, to deprive a person of life by violent means to kill, killing, to commit murder (page 238). 6. The blood of Jesus depicts the saving work of Christ on the cross. 7. It refers to His substitutionary spiritual death on the cross, which was the payment for our sins. 8. The blood of Christ does not refer to the literal blood of Christ but is part of a representative analogy between the physical death of the animal sacrifice in the Mosaic Law and the spiritual death of Christ. 9. The animal blood was the means of teaching the doctrine of redemption in the Old Testament (Ex. 12:7; 12-13; Heb. 9:22). 10. The animal sacrifice is a representative analogy in which the physical death of the animal on the altar represents the spiritual death of Christ on the cross. 11. The blood of the animal sacrifices was merely a shadow pointing to the reality of the cross (Heb. 9:12-24). 12. The blood of the animal is the seat of animal life (Lev. 17:10-14). 13. The blood of the animal was used to represent redemption to OT believers (Heb. 9:18-22). 14. Animal blood was used to represent the figurative blood of Christ. 15. This was done from Genesis 3:21 to the Levitical offerings of Leviticus The animal was real and literal but it did not represent the literal blood of Christ shed on the cross. 17. The animal blood represents the spiritual death of Christ on the cross (Col. 1:20; Heb. 10:19; 13:20; 1 Pet. 1:2). 18. Our Lord was still alive on the Cross when He finished making the payment for our sins (John 19:30). 19. Our Lord did not bleed to death like the animals in the Mosaic sacrifices William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 8

9 20. He didn t pass out on the Cross from loss of blood, but in fact was in total command and was totally alert when He said, It is finished. 21. He didn t die like ordinary men who die involuntarily, but instead, He did voluntarily (John 10:17-18). 22. A real analogy would be a literal death compared to a literal death. 23. As we have noted, a real analogy is where the physical death of the animal would be compared to the physical death of Christ. 24. A representative analogy is where the physical death of the animal on the altar represents the spiritual death of Christ on the cross. 25. The phrases blood of Jesus and blood of Christ are figurative language. 26. Webster s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines figurative, representing by a figure or resemblance: emblematic; of or relating to representation of form; expressing one thing in terms normally denoting another with which it may be regarded as analogous: metaphorical. 27. The term the blood of Christ is a metaphor. 28. Webster s defines metaphor, a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them. 29. The blood of Christ is analogous to: d. Redemption e. Reconciliation f. Propitiation. 30. The Lord Jesus Christ died 2 voluntary deaths on the cross: a. Spiritual b. Physical. 31. Our Lord first died spiritually during the last 3 hours on the cross and then He died physically after He had accomplished His Finished Work (John 19:30). 32. The payment for our sins was not the physical death of Christ but the spiritual death. 33. The penalty of sin is spiritual death, which means the inability to experience fellowship with God in time. 34. Rom 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 35. Spiritual death originated with Adam in the Garden of Eden when he chose to disobey the command of the Lord not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 36. Disobedience to this command resulted in spiritual death and eventually physical death. 37. Gen 2:16-17, The LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die. 38. When Adam disobeyed the command, he lost his fellowship with God. 39. Gen 3:6-8, When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 40. Notice that Adam and the Woman do not die immediately physically but rather they died immediately spiritually when they disobeyed and this is demonstrated by their actions after their disobedience, namely they became aware that they were naked and they hide themselves from the Lord. 41. Since then, every human being past, present and future receives the imputation of Adam s sin in the garden. 42. Rom 5:12, Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned when Adam sinned. 43. The reason why God did this is found in 2 passages. 44. Gal 3:22, But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 45. Rom 11:32, For God has shut up all in (Adam s) disobedience so that He may show mercy to all. 46. Physical death is not the penalty for sin since Adam died 930 years later (Gen. 5:5). 47. Therefore, the physical death of Christ was not the payment for our sins. 48. Physical death is the result of spiritual death and since the penalty of sin was spiritual death, Christ must pay the penalty with His spiritual death. 49. His spiritual death was the judgment for our sins and this is illustrated in Isaiah William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 9

10 50. Isa 53:10-11, But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. 51. Anguish of His soul refers to the intense suffering of our Lord s human soul as a result of being separated from the Father on the Cross and which suffering no angel or man will ever be able to identify with since no angel or man has kept themselves experientially sinless. 52. Isaiah 53:12, Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors. 53. Our Lord was still alive when He said It is finished (tetalestai, it (the work of salvation) is finished in the past with results that go on forever ) (John 19:30). 54. John 19:30, Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. 55. Our Lord in His perfect, sinless humanity died twice on the cross so that we could be born twice (John 3:1-7). 56. He said, it is finished while still alive, therefore, it was the loss of fellowship with the Father that was the payment for our sins and not His physical death. 57. He died spiritually so that we could be born again spiritually. 58. The greatest suffering the humanity of Christ endured on the cross was not the physical and mental torture of the cross but rather when He received the imputation of the sins of the entire world by the justice of God the Father and was separated from the Father during the last 3 hours on the cross. 59. Our Lord s loss of fellowship with His Father in His humanity during those last 3 hours in darkness on the Cross was infinitely more painful to our Lord than the physical suffering He had endured and was enduring. 60. Our Lord s loss of fellowship with His Father in His humanity during those last 3 hours in darkness on the Cross was valued infinitely more by the Father than the shedding of His literal blood or His physical suffering. 61. This is not to say that the Father did not value the physical suffering of His Son, or His literal blood, which was sinless, He did, but literal blood though sinless cannot resolve man s problem of separation from God under real spiritual death. 62. The separation from God of a perfect human being whose soul was never contaminated by sin was the penalty that had to be paid in order to redeem human souls from the curse of Adam sin of disobedience and real spiritual death. 63. The anguish of the Son s soul was valued much more than His blood since blood is inanimate but the human soul is created in the image of God. Our Lord in His perfect humanity learned obedience through His physical suffering and at the same time He became the perfect example for us to follow when we go through undeserved suffering as a result of our identification with Him. 64. Behm commenting on the expression the blood of Christ, states, The history of belief in the atoning and purifying power of blood, especially, among the Israelites and Greeks does not help us to understand the ideas which the NT links with the blood of Christ, since the latter is simply a pregnant verbal symbol for the saving work of Christ. Even in Hebrews, which compares the attributes of the old and new diatheke as type and antitype, and which the blood of heavenly High Priest Christ is thus the counterpart of the blood of animals, the language is metaphorical (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, volume I, page 175). 65. Heb 5:7-9, In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things, which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation. 66. Our Lord s substitutionary spiritual death on the cross-accomplished the following: a. Defeated Satan in the angelic conflict by disproving Satan s claims that God lacks integrity and does not love His creatures. (1) Heb 2:14-15, Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the 2003 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 10

11 power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. (2) 1 John 3:8b, The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. b. Provided salvation for all mankind as well as angels. (1) Col 1:19-20, For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. c. Fulfilled righteous requirements of the Mosaic Law. (1) Rom 8:3-4, For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 67. The Cross of Christ is called the "power of God" and "foolishness" to those who are perishing (1 Cor. 1:18). 68. It is the power of God because it has crucified the old Adamic sin nature and therefore, freed the believer from its power. 69. Gal 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 70. Gal 5:24, Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 71. Gal 6:14, But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 72. The Cross of Christ dealt with man's sins, which have all been forgiven and have been "nailed to the cross (Col. 2:13-14). 73. Col 2:13-14, When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 74. The impeccable humanity of Christ s voluntary substitutionary spiritual death purchased the entire human race out from the slave market of sin in which every human being is born physically alive but spiritually dead as a result of the imputation of Adam s sin (1 Tim. 2:6; Mark 10:45; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Rev. 5:9) Tim 2:5-6, For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. 76. The impeccable humanity of Christ s spiritual death propitiated or satisfied the righteous demands of a holy God that are sins be judged (Rom. 3:22-26; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10) John 2:2, and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 78. The impeccable humanity of Christ s spiritual death reconciled the entire human race to God (2 Cor. 5:18-21; Eph. 2:14-16; Col. 1:20-22; 1 Pet. 3:18). 79. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is also used of course in reference to the Lord s Supper. 80. The Lord s Supper is a commandment given by the Lord Jesus Christ to every church age believer to bring into remembrance His unique Person and finished work on the cross, both of which serve as the basis for fellowship with God and each other as members of the Body of Christ (Luke 22:19-20; Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-24; 1 Cor. 10:17-18; 11:23-26). 81. The bread speaks of the impeccable humanity of Christ, which was given as a sacrifice for the sins of the entire human race. 82. The bread was unleavened which is bread that doesn t rise but is flat. 83. The Jews put little holes in it, which spoke of Jesus Christ Who, would be pierced through for our transgressions (Isa. 53:5). 84. The unleavened bread also had stripes on it. 85. The stripes spoke of the fact that through His scourging we are healed (Isa. 53:5). 86. Leaven in the Bible represents evil. 87. Our Lord didn t have any sin or evil in Him, therefore, the bread was made without leaven. 88. This is why the bread is flat and not fluffy like other bread William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 11

12 89. The Lord s Supper took place during the Jewish festival of Unleavened Bread. 90. The Passover lamb, which spoke of Christ, was killed during the feast of Unleavened Bread. 91. Our Lord was born in Bethlehem, which means house of bread. 92. Our Lord said that He was the bread that came down from out of heaven (John 6:41). 93. He is the bread of life (John 6:47). He is the living bread (John 6:51). 94. John 6:48-51, I am the bread of life. Your fathers (the Jews) ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread, which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it (faith in Christ) and not die. I (the Lord Jesus Christ) am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread (faith in Christ), he shall live forever (eternal life); and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh (His perfect sinless humanity). 95. The bread our Lord broke was taken out of a white linen pouch that was buried. 96. There were 3 white linen pouches, one for God the Father, one for God the Son and one for God the Holy Spirit. 97. The bread was taken from the middle piece, which was God, the Son s pouch. 98. It was God the Son who became a Man to die for the sins of the world. 99. So the bread represents the perfect sinless humanity of Christ, which was given for us so that we might have eternal life and live with God forever It represents His sinless perfection as the Lamb without spot or blemish (1 Pet. 1:19) The wine speaks of our Lord s spiritual death on the cross. His spiritual death was invisible It took place during the last 3 hours on the cross when there was darkness over all the earth (Matt. 27:45-46) Spiritual death is separation from God The humanity of our Lord suffered separation from God the Father for 3 hours God the Father judged His Son for the sins of the entire human race He judged His Son in order that He might not judge us The Lord Jesus Christ took our place Instead of us being judged for our sins, the Lord Jesus Christ got judged instead as our Substitute The wine speaks of our Lord s saving work on the Cross Our Lord death on the Cross: a. Purchased the entire human race out of the slave market of sin in which we are all born spiritually dead. b. Satisfied the righteousness of God the Father which said that sin must be judged. c. Made peace between God and man. d. Defeated Satan in the Angelic Conflict. e. Fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Mosaic Law It proved that God does love His creatures and that God is just and fair in His dealings with His creatures John 6:53-55, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh (faith in the perfect Person of Christ for salvation) of the Son of Man and drink His blood (faith in the perfect Work of Christ for salvation), you shall have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life (faith in Christ), and I will raise Him up on the last day. For My flesh (His humanity) is true food, and My blood (His saving work) is true drink The eating of the bread and drinking of the wine speaks of faith in Christ Our Lord did not mean that we are to really eat His body and drinks His blood He is speaking in metaphorical language about an invisible spiritual truth He means that we are to have faith in Him and His saving work on the Cross Eating and drinking is something that we can t take credit for since anyone can eat and drink and in the same way anyone can believe in Christ for salvation We are saved because of what our Lord did for us on the Cross and not what we do for ourselves (Eph. 2:8-9; Gal. 2:16; Titus 3:5) We are to simply have faith in Christ and nothing else in order to be saved To add anything to faith in Christ dishonors our Lord and His saving work on the Cross When we eat the bread and drink the juice we are to remember the Lord Jesus Christ The passages concerning the institution of the Lord s Supper are found in Matt. 26:26-30; Mark 14:17-21; Luke 22:14-20; 24-30; John 13:1-12) The observance of the Lord s Supper is a commandment to the church Our Lord and His disciples were observing the Feast of Passover (John 13:1) William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 12

13 125. It took place on the Feast of Unleavened Bread according to the Old Testament Scriptures (Matt. 26:17; Luke 22:7) The disciples as prepared the home where the Passover was to take place, which is according to the commandments, found in Exodus 12 (Mark 14:12-16) Our Lord was the literal Passover Lamb that was to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29) The Lord s Supper was instituted specifically for church age believers and not Israel The New Covenant is specifically for Israel and not the church The New Covenant guarantees that God has not cast away Israel for their failures but all Jewish believers in Old Testament, Tribulation, and Millennium will be blessed forever under this Covenant God did not give the Church covenants, but instead the Baptism of the Spirit (Rm. 9:1-5) God has given Israel Covenants (Rm. 9:1-5) New Covenant to Israel is called New because it is in contrast to the Old Covenant, which is the Mosaic Law (Heb. 8:6-13) New Covenant applies to Israel in the past and future, but not the present Eating the bread and drinking the cup looks back at the Person of Christ, it looks at the present and our union with Him, and it looks to the future to the Rapture We are to celebrate the Lord s Supper with sincerity and truth, which means the Filling of the Spirit Our Lord took the 3rd cup (the cup of redemption) along with the buried unleavened bread, the middle piece, to institute the Lord s Supper The cup spoke of His work on the Cross, which was His spiritual death on the Cross for our sins The middle piece spoke of His impeccable Person, the Lamb without spot or blemish When our Lord blessed, He said a prayer which goes like this, Blessed art Thou O Lord our God, King of the universe who brings forth bread from the earth Our Lord picked the bread from the floor, representing the earth, and said, This is my body This was a prophecy; the bread from the earth represented the Lord s resurrection as the bread of life (John 6:35; 12:24) When our Lord gave thanks for the wine, He said, Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine Our Lord was thanking His Father for bringing Him His future bride, which is you and I, the church The 3rd cup was the last cup that the Lord would drink (Matt. 26:29) After Judas had left the room, our Lord spoke of the Church Age, which was to come at Pentecost (John 14-17) The Lord s Supper is a time to bring to remembrance the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26) It is a time to remember the doctrines, which you have learned in Bible class, which speak of His unique Person and finished work on the Cross (2 Pet. 3:18) The body of our Lord is represented by the bread, which brings to remembrance the unique Person of our Lord The doctrines, which pertain to His unique Person The blood of our Lord is represented by the wine, which brings to remembrance the Finished Work of our Lord The Finished Work of our Lord on the Cross, which provided salvation for the entire human race and defeated Satan and the kingdom of darkness in the Angelic Conflict The doctrines, which pertain to the Finished Work of our Lord The Lord's Supper is the only ritual church age believers are commanded to observe and is therefore a sin not to partake of the communion table elements The Lord's Supper is totally unique to the church age and should be a time of reverence for the Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us (Gal. 2:20) The Lord s Supper centers upon the Person and Work of Christ and requires thinking on the part of the believer, and true worship during the Lord s Supper requires thinking on our part Our Lord is the God-Man, undiminished deity and true humanity in 1 Person forever (John 1:14; 1 Tim. 3:16; Col. 1:15, 19; 2:9; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 1:3; Phil. 2:5-8; Heb. 2:14; 1 John 1:1-2; 4:2; 2 John 1:7) He is the unique theanthropic Person of the universe and there is no one like Him in existence in both heaven and earth (Isa. 43:11; 44:6; 45:6: 45:14) He is different from God in that He is a human being and He is different from man in that He is God and without an old sin nature William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 13