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NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.



As some of my readers undoubtedly already know, Christ's Sacrifice was foreshadowed in the Old Testament by the first Passover in Egypt, as well as by what the Prophet Daniel referred to as the daily sacrifice. This important offering was performed by Aaron the High Priest, as well as by his descendants, near the door of the Tabernacle, according to the Laws of Moses. In the Books of Exodus and Numbers, the daily sacrifice is called "a continual burnt offering". This is because it was performed "day by day continually"; that is, on a daily basis throughout the year; in addition to the other sacrifices which were performed throughout the year:

"Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering. And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee."


When John the Baptist began his preaching ministry in the wilderness areas of the Jordan River Valley, he was fully aware of these things; and thus he knew that the one true Sacrificial Lamb would soon be revealed in Israel; that is why when Jesus finally did show Himself to Israel, John was the first to exclaim:

". . . Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."


The New Testament writers such as Peter, Paul and John used the symbolism of the Old Testament, in order to explain to their followers how the traditions of the Elders, which were still carried out until 70 A.D. when the Temple was finally destroyed, were no longer necessary. They confirmed that it is only in the Blood of Jesus Christ that we find liberation from the Law, as well as Salvation. Consider the following verses. Notice again that in the first verse, the Apostle Paul also mentions the coming Regeneration which I discussed in part one:

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"


"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?"


"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,"


"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."


"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,"


Those of us who have accepted the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have already been clothed in our wedding attire; that is, in the Garment of Salvation mentioned by the Prophet Isaiah. This Robe of Righteousness, as it is also called, is further described for us in the following verses found in the Book of Revelation:

"He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels."


"I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see."


"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."


"After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;"


"And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints."


While we have discussed the Garment of Salvation and the Robe of Righteousness, as is only befitting for the Lord's Bride, there is something else which we must wear in order to be properly prepared for our Celestial Wedding Feast. At the beginning of this series, I shared the following verses from the twenty-seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew:

"Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."


What I would like to call to your attention in the previous verses, is the fact that the Temple veil was torn in half at the time of Christ's Crucifixion. This topic of the veil is actually very profound, and not too many people are fully aware of its significance. As the Apostle Paul explains to us, being as Jesus was the Final Sacrifice, the Temple veil being torn at the time of His Death, shows that from that moment on, Temple sacrifices were no longer necessary as a step towards Salvation. From reading Paul's Epistles, it becomes quite apparent that the Lord had indeed revealed some deep spiritual truths to him, as Paul himself admits in the following verses:

"But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ."


Of course, as I explain in the article "Biblical Cafeteria, Or the Whole Course?", Paul hadn't always been blessed with such a wonderful gift for understanding the Word of the Lord. Prior to his life-changing encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus, Paul was a spiritually blind Pharisee; who in his own self-righteous rage, went about persecuting, arresting and slaying the First Disciples; exactly as the Scribes and the Pharisees had persecuted and killed Jesus a short time before. The Lord clearly exposed the spiritual blindness and callous hearts of His religious persecutors in verses such as the following:

"Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch."


"Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? . . . Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? . . . Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel . . . Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also."


". . . Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?"


"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."


While Jesus harshly condemned His self-righteous enemies who rejected the Spiritual Light which He offered them, from the very beginning of His Earthly Ministry, He let it be known that He had come to give both physical and spiritual sight to the blind. When the writings of the Prophet Isaiah were handed to Him in the synagogue of His hometown of Nazareth, the Lord read the following Scriptures, and made this startling announcement:

"And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears."


In the Apostle Paul's case, it wasn't until three days after the Damascus incident, that his physical sight was restored at the hands of dear brother Ananias. By that time, the Lord must have already performed the spiritual healing of Paul's soul as well. Paul was undoubtedly terribly shaken up and filled with fear, or reverence, for the Lord, after his face to face encounter with the resurrected Jesus; after all, it is a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of the living God! We find the story in Acts chapter nine:

"And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God."


"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."


It was because the Apostle Paul was wonderfully freed from his own spiritual blindness, that he was soon able to begin his own ministry; in which he tried to free others from the same; particularly his own Jewish brethren. In fact, as the previous verses demonstrate, the Lord had given Paul such a spiritual kick in the pants, that the minute that he was healed of his blindness, he immediately began to preach Jesus in Damascus; until he was finally forced to flee for his life some three years later. I encourage you to read the article "Biblical Cafeteria, Or the Whole Course?" for more details regarding the highlights of Paul's amazing life. Concerning his endeavors to free others from the spiritual blindness and bondage to the Law of which he himself had been a victim, consider the following verses found in some of Paul's Epistles:

"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in."


"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."


"This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:"


"Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."


As I explain in such articles as "Is God a Racist?", "The Woman in the Wilderness and the 144,000" and "The Great Tribulation and the Rapture", while spiritual blindness has indeed fallen upon the Jews for the past two thousand years, and while I have not hesitated to expose this blindness in quite a few of my articles, we must also realize, that in His Divine Wisdom, God has purposely allowed this to happen for the benefit of we Gentiles. As Paul states in his letter to the Romans, it is because the Jews rejected, persecuted and killed Jesus Christ, and the First Century Disciples, that some of them were eventually forced out of Israel, and into the Gentile nations of the world. It is in this way that we Gentiles, who comprise the vast majority of the world's population, have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is what Paul means when he says "until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in". He is referring to the harvest of souls; the very same harvest I mentioned in part one of this series.

As I explain in the aforementioned articles, eventually, after a great deal of suffering, and probably after a major war with the Muslim nations around them, in which they will suffer a dismal defeat, a small percentage of the Jews will be saved. Consider Paul's additional comments on this topic:

"And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all."


As Paul states in the previous verses from his Epistle to the Corinthians, and as I point out in many of my articles, the only way this spiritual blindness, or vail, will ever be removed from the eyes and hearts of the Jews, is through their acceptance of Jesus Christ. Only then will the Jews receive spiritual sight, and they will be freed from the bondage of the Mosaic Law. This is the very same sight and spiritual liberty which Jesus promised the Jews through His reading of the prophecies of Isaiah. In that particular case, because they were unable to receive His message of liberation, and even considered it to be blasphemous, they tried to throw Him over a cliff:

"And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way,"


Once the Jews do accept Christ, as with the Apostle Paul, the scales will fall from their eyes, and they will be able to see plainly all of the wonderful prophetic promises of Salvation found in the Old Testament regarding the Birth, Life, Ministry, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thank the Lord that this has already begun to happen as is witnessed by the Jews For Jesus and the Messianic Jews now found in the United States of America and elsewhere. In discussing the deep symbolism behind the Temple veil being torn, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, Paul explains how the Tabernacle and Temple rituals, and the veil which separated the outer sanctuary from the inner Holy of Holies, were foreshadows of much better things to come; that being of course the Final Sacrifice made by our High Priest, Jesus Christ. Consider the following verses:

"For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. 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."


"Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec."


Notice in the first set of verses, Paul tells us that the Tabernacle and Temple rituals, including the daily and the yearly sacrifices, were foreordained by God "until the time of reformation". That is a very interesting phrase, because once we understand the Greek origin of this word, we begin to realize that Paul is talking about how Jesus restored our relationship with God, which had been broken since the days of the Garden of Eden. The word "reformation" is derived from the Greek word "diorthosis", which in a physical sense means a making straight, restoring to its natural and normal condition something which in some way protrudes or has got out of line, as broken or misshapen limbs. Isn't that what Christ did for us through His Sacrifice on the Cross? As Paul states, having passed through the veil once, in order to enter the Holy of Holies, Jesus Christ has become our eternal High Priest; and He has "obtained eternal redemption for us".

In the following verses, Paul makes it even clearer for us, by telling us that the reason that the Temple veil was torn in half, is because through His flesh and blood Sacrifice, Jesus has made the Final Offering for sin; and thus He has given us direct access to God the Father once again. He tells us to approach the Father with "boldness" and "in full assurance of faith". In fact, it appears that Paul is saying that Jesus has replaced the Temple veil with His own flesh:

"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."


This makes perfect sense when you consider the fact that Jesus said such things as the following during His Earthly Ministry. These teachings were so profound, and in fact so misunderstood, that some of the early disciples left off from following after Him. They simply did not possess the spiritual eyes and ears to understand what He was really trying to tell them. It was simply beyond their limited human understand. Thank the Lord that our eyes have since been fully opened to these truths:

"I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever."


So you see, through the flesh and blood Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, in a symbolic sense, as the Bride of Christ, we have put on our Garment of Salvation, our Robe of Righteousness, and our Bridal Veil; for He does indeed represent all three of these. Having done this by faith, we have been properly prepared to meet our future Husband; and what a joyous day it will be when the Prince of Peace returns to rescue His Lady Fair from the Beast, from the servants of his Kingdom of Darkness, and from the jaws of the dragon which lurks in the sea! Our Valiant Prince will ride victoriously upon His white steed, as He brandishes His white-hot Sword of the Spirit, and cuts His adversaries to pieces; and then they shall become food for the fowls of the air, and for the burning flames of the Lake of Fire!

Having now revealed to you the identity of the Lord's virgin Bride, His Elect Lady, and having explained to you the deep symbolism behind her wedding attire, it is important that I issue a warning to you; and that warning is this: Just like in some of the worldly fairy tales which are told to young children as bedtime stories, Jesus' Bride-To-Be has a very jealous sister. Before I tell you who she is, let me share a short story with you found in the Old Testament. This story involves King Saul's daughter, Michal, who became extremely jealous when her husband, King David, joyously danced before the Lord, and and before the maidens of Israel, with hardly a piece of clothing on:

"And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts. And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house. Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself! And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD. And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour. Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death."


As you can see, because of her jealous attitude, Michal was struck barren by the Lord, and was never blessed with any children. This blessing was later given to Bathsheba, who became the mother of King Solomon, King David's heir to the throne. Just like Michal, this sister of the Lord's Bride is also extremely jealous. It isn't that she too wasn't chosen to be a part of the Prince's Bride, it is that she simply rejected His offer. Like Michal of old, this jealous sister was embarrassed when the Prince came to Earth almost two thousand years ago and associated Himself with the riffraff of society. In her pride, she thought that she was too good for Him, and even better than Him; therefore, she too has been cursed barren by the Lord; just like Michal.

While the jealous sister considers her pride and rebellion against the Prince of Peace to be a light thing, the kingly Father views her sins as being very serious. Consider the following verses from the first Book of Samuel:

"And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king."


Please go to part three for the conclusion of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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