The Blood and the Latter Rain

There is no source of the Holy Ghost visitation except the Blood of Jesus Christ. The heart and soul of all redemption is the “Blood” sacrifice. Any religious idea, scheme, or theology that is not utterly dependent upon, supportive of, or connected to, the “Blood” is false. Apostasy always, either at the beginning or shortly after it appears, will begin to reduce or destroy the absolute necessity of the “Blood” sacrifice. Any change of human character or cleansing from human sin or mental sickness that is not fully dependent on the “Blood” offering is dangerous heresy.

Psychology, psychiatry, and every humanistic idea of self-help, self-esteem, or self-worth is a demonic affront to the “Blood” of Jesus Christ. The best that these ideas can offer is a band-aid without adhesive. Every idea in these systems was born of men that deny the supernatural Gospel and the redemption of Christ’s “Blood.” Sigmund Freud believed that “religious doctrines are illusions and that religion is the universal obsessional neurosis of humanity.” (Broken Cisterns, by Richard O’Ffill) Yet, the modern church has so removed itself from the authority of the Bible and the power of the Spirit that “humanistic counseling” is their hope for the church family. Sinners are counseled with humanism instead of being cleansed by the “Blood” of Jesus Christ. The result is religion instead of salvation. The “Blood” is viewed as a covering of sin instead of a cleansing from sin.

A Theology of Blood
From the book of Genesis the Creator established an absolutely perfect system and theology of the “Blood.” Adam and Eve sinned and their fellowship with God was destroyed. The Father was walking in His creation, but when He came to the garden, Adam and Eve withdrew themselves and hid from His presence. Sin has never changed; it still drives the guilty party from all things holy, especially from God Himself. The call of God’s heart for His created friends and family was full of sorrow and plaintiveness. “And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:9)

The Gospel has never changed either. Sin is the same and the call of God is the same. Sin flees, and the heart of God calls. Adam’s guilt was overwhelming. “And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:10) God set about immediately to establish the “theology of the Blood.” A clean animal was chosen, and God Himself drew the “Blood” from this type of His Son. The skin of the animal was a covering of that animal life which was in the “Blood,” and the skin became a coat of covering for the sinful pair. Once the coat was about Adam and Eve, they commenced to have limited fellowship with God. Driven from the garden, they watched a perfect world begin to bear thorns and thistles, and felt the pain in their bodies as something in them began the slow path to death. The price of sin was almost unbearable.

The “Blood” theology was immediately established as an exclusive pathway out of sin into the presence of God. When Adam’s first two sons came to worship with Dad and Mom, one of them came humbly and one came haughtily. Abel found a clean animal from the herd while Cain sought a more sophisticated approach. The result was shattering; God received Abel’s gift, probably by fire consuming the offering, but Cain’s worship was left untouched on the altar. God had rejected the religious gift that was absent of “Blood.” Cain was a modern day Robert Schuller, Bill Hybel, Rick Warren, or any one of thousands. The result was similar to the present. The true worshipper was hated to death because of the “Blood.”

Every expression of worship from Genesis to Malachi was established by “Blood.” The worship of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was completely dependent on a “Blood” sacrifice. When Melchizedec appeared to Abraham after the slaughter of the kings, Melchizedec served Abraham bread and wine. Melchizedec was the priest of the Most High God. “For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him.” (Hebrews 7:1) I believe he was a priest who served in the Heavenly Temple in Heavenly Jerusalem. This was the first event in Scripture where the foreshadowing of the Lord’s communion was on the table. The bread and wine was the future type of His body and His “Blood.”

Joseph and Two Dungeon Friends
The dreams of the two companions of Joseph in an Egyptian dungeon is another great episode in the “theology of Blood.” One of the men was a butler to Pharaoh and the other was the baker to Pharaoh. They both dreamt a dream the same night and to each Joseph gave an interpretation. To the butler he interpreted as follows: “And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days. Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.” (Genesis 40:12-13)

The baker’s dream was similar, and Joseph gave him this interpretation: “And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days: Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.” (Genesis 40:18-19) Both interpretations were perfectly fulfilled. The butler served the cup that represents, in prophecy, the “Blood” of Christ. The baker died because the bread representing the Lord’s body had to be broken for the cup to survive in redemption and deliverance. For a story as this to come from a dark night in an Egyptian dungeon enforces the great truth of this “theology of Blood.” And we have not even left the first book of Scripture – the book of Genesis.

When the curtain is lifted form the horrible four hundred years of Egyptian bondage, the door for escape is clearly opened by “Blood.” The dark night of the first Passover was approaching. Every family, or two or more families when the families were small, was to prepare a Passover lamb from the flock. The lamb lived with the family until the offering was the love of the house. When every heart was tender and the lamb had become part of the household, he was slain, and his “Blood” was freely applied to the doorway, threshold, lintel, and doorpost, and the flesh was eaten by the family. No one must leave the house after the “Blood” was applied.

The angel of death passed through Egypt that night and broke the will of Pharaoh’s resistance to his slaves’ relief. The people of Egypt became well aware that the children of Israel must be allowed to go after their God. The gold and silver, the riches of Egypt, was piled on the children of God as they begged them to leave lest all Egypt should die. The Passover was forever established as the perfect picture of a future Lamb, the Lamb of God, who would die for the world. The “Blood” of this spotless Lamb is the one and only hope of all mankind.

The Mosaic System and the Tabernacle
The height of God’s divine plan was pictured in the great sacrificial system established by Moses and Aaron and the priestly tribe of the Levis. The tabernacle was prepared with the treasures of gold and silver and other precious items that the Egyptians had bestowed on the Jewish slaves as they were thrust out of Egypt. The gold and silver in the portable tabernacle was worth, at today’s value, thirteen billion dollars, not counting the great eloquent structure, the veil that shielded the Ark of the Covenant, and other precious items. It was a perfect shadow of the Temple in Heavenly Jerusalem on the sides of the north, the city of the Great King. Everything from the priests that ministered in this tabernacle, to the structure of the tabernacle, the floor plan, and every instrument of worship and sacrifice, was a perfect type of the Messiah and His “Blood” sacrifice.

When this great structure and order of sacrifice was finished, Moses was commanded to offer a “Blood” sacrifice and to sprinkle every part of the tabernacle, the veil before the Ark, and the priest in preparation for the dedication. There was no glory in this priceless place of worship, and no forgiveness or covering of sin until the appointed “Blood” was upon the whole of this great system. Every sacrifice and every great feast day connected to this sacrificial plan was a type that continually made reference to Jesus Christ and His future death. It was a bloody system of temporary relief from sin and death.

Rahab and the Scarlet Cord
Whenever the Jewish nation was walking in obedience they were dedicated to teaching their own people and the heathens that deliverance was anchored to the “Blood.” The two spies that searched out Jericho, the first city to be encountered as they entered the Promised Land, gave hope to a harlot woman that covered their presence in the city. When the people of Jericho learned of the spies presence, they sought them to be slain. Rahab, recognizing the hand of God with these men, hid them on her roof, and then requested a promise of protection. The promise was given, but it required faith and action that testified of a “Blood” sacrifice.

Rahab was told to hang a scarlet cord from her window and to bring all her family within her house located on the wall of the city. The Bible tells us of the results of that scarlet cord. “But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel.” (Joshua 6:22-23)

When I was in Israel and visited Jericho, the guide took us into an area where archeological research has exposed the remains of that ancient wall. At one place there was a portion of the wall still standing and I felt sure it was the outer wall where Rahab and her family had trusted Israel’s God and the army to protect them because the scarlet cord was in its place. What a message these spies had taught this heathen woman and her household. She became part of the “seed of woman” that gave us Christ, the God-man of the “Blood” of redemption.

Light Regard for the Ark of God
The Ark of God was the very center of the “Blood” sacrifice required in the tabernacle and for the great victory that God planned for Israel. Never was a battle lost when the Ark was properly carried into battle and the hearts of the people were pure. Wherever that Ark rested, it brought blessings, and when it was carried away by the enemy and placed in the temple of Dagon, the false god was caused to miraculously fall and be broken before the presence of the “blood altar.” King David sought to bring it to Jerusalem and used a “new cart.” The failure to use proper procedure became a lesson for their King who was a “man after God’s own heart. (Acts 13:22)

The Word of God describes the lack of Biblical attention to this “blood altar”, the Ark itself. “And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perezuzzah to this day. And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me?” (2 Samuel 6:6-9) Later, David sought the proper regard for the transfer of this treasury to Jerusalem and it became a great blessing. David himself, “danced before the Lord” as the Ark of the Covenant was brought into Jerusalem. What a lesson this should be when we hear and see ministers trying to build GodÂ’s Kingdom on cheap theology and humanistic ideas. It is an abomination to seek the progress of the church by any method, period, except the great truth of His divine “Blood” and pure redemption. The First Testament is full of endless riches that show us the one redemptive value, the “Blood” of a proper sacrifice.

The Saints in Upper Sheol
The “Blood” offering of the First Testament was a beautiful type and was certainly supernatural in its value of redemption, but it was not perfect. The saints of God were still in bondage to death and must await the perfect “Blood” sacrifice to ascend to God’s presence. David, the great king that brought the Ark to Jerusalem, declared this great truth in his revelations. He expressed the hope he would enjoy as he awaited the visit of Jesus Christ into Upper Sheol where he was destined at death. David knew the Holy Spirit would be with him even in this temporary place of the sainted dead. “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.” (Psalm 139:7-11)

The absolute redemption by blood and nothing but blood is expressed in this great truth.

Jesus Christ gave the single sign of His great redemption as His reminder that the saints of old were awaiting His descent into paradise to “lead captivity captive.” (Ephesians 4:8) King David, the prophet Isaiah, prophetic writer Daniel, and the multitude of First Testament saints were totally dependent, not just on the sacrificial type in their tabernacle and temple, but on the sacrificial Lamb Himself for their final triumph. Isaiah wrote of this date and the future resurrection with triumph in his voice. “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” (Isaiah 26:19-21) The First Testament is eternally rich in a theology of the “Blood.”

The Perfect Covenant of Jesus Christ’s Blood
Everything about the “Blood” sacrifices of the First Testament are beautiful foreshadows of the final sacrifice. The “Blood” of Jesus Christ is the perfect offering and is the one and only foundation and substance of the New Testament church. Apostle Paul said it plainly. “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:11-14)

This “Blood” redemption was not cheap and neither is it insufficient for complete and unabridged redemption. Apostle Paul said, “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” (Hebrews 4:1) He speaks of a rest that suggests a life free from spiritual weakness and powerlessness in ministry. The church world has turned to every gimmick of the human mind to try to build the church simply because we have failed to rightly discern the great redemption at our fingertips.

Again, Paul said to the church of Corinth, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.” (2 Corinthians 3:5) He continued by declaring, “Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?” (2 Corinthians 3:6-8) The “Blood” of Jesus has not lost one least amount of its glorious power. Any ministry that will build God’s work on the pure Word and the glorious victory of the “Blood” cannot fail.

The Book of Acts: “Blood” Saturated Pentecost
The book of Acts was God’s picture of a Spirit-filled church that had no message but the cross of Christ. When Peter had witnessed the healing of the lame man and was being held forth as the power of God, He proclaimed loudly, “And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” (Acts 3:16) He did not just say “through faith in His name,” but added, “the faith which is by him.” It was the faith of Christ’s righteousness at work in Peter that produced an attention-gripping miracle. The church was so full of miracles that the world was “turned upside down.” (Acts 17:6) The book of Acts was the redemption of the perfect sacrifice at work making the Kingdom of God powerful and victorious. When you read the last chapter, you will note that there is no closing statement. We are called of God to keep experiencing that same great revival.

The Last Book: Revelation
The “Blood” of Jesus can never shine brighter than in the book of Revelation. The death of Christ is so all-consuming, from chapter four through nineteen, that Jesus is called “the Lamb of God” and is actually seen as a “Lamb slain.” Every judgment of this wicked world and every triumph of righteousness is clearly the work of that Lamb of God. The highlight of that truth is seen in the scene of the Father and the book of the purchased possession. No one could open this book and unseal the judgments of redemption until the Lamb of God appears “in the midst of the throne.” John writes, “…Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.” (Revelation 5:2b;6-7) The entire process of the coming judgment has been adjudicated in advance on the cross of Calvary. Nothing of redemption value is further needed. It is done and we simply await the process.

Conclusion
The Bible can be rightly called “a bloody Book.” Rob the Bible of the cross and it falls to the earth as the greatest failure of all literature. Hold its treasure of the “Blood” in its proper place, preach and teach this Divine sacrifice as God has proclaimed, and it is the greatest power in all God’s universe. The creation of this earth pales in comparison to the power of the “Blood.” The “Blood” brought God down to earth as the God-man and the “Blood” alone will take men to heaven as the new citizens of a new heaven and new earth. Treat the “Blood” lightly and it will damn you, but honor it as God’s eternal gift, and it will transform you. From Genesis chapter one to Revelation chapter twenty-two, the “Blood” of Christ is supreme.