A while ago, I received an email from a very fervent believer in Yeshua. In the email was a teaching that was copied from a Facebook posting made by a gentleman who clearly has great knowledge and understanding.
This man mentioned in his teaching that he and his Torah group were wrestling (and midrashing) with a question concerning Yeshua’s shed blood. It has been their understanding that Yeshua’s blood covers their sins. The gist of the concern was this; if Abba is all knowing and nothing is hidden from Him, why is it that He can’t see through Yeshua’s blood to see us as we really are?
There are many people who think and believe along this line and there are many more who teach this – that Yeshua’s blood is an opaque covering so that Abba cannot see through to see our sins and thus we are white as snow. The scripture that is referenced is Isaiah 1:18“Come now, and let us reason together, “Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.”
But they don’t realize how much they are limiting our Elohim and misunderstanding the purpose of Yeshua’s shed blood.
The late Brad Scott (Wildbranch Ministries) gave a totally amazing teaching that what we see here on earth is a manifestation of some aspects of what is in heaven (however, heaven has more aspects to it than the physical realm does). He uses the example of a child’s picture of a house, with stick people drawings of a dad, a mom and the child(ren) along with a tree, the sun, grass and a cloud or two. From this simple picture, Brad explains the overall plan of Elohim for mankind. What is that plan? Read on.
Purposely, when I’m in prayer and specifically in this article, I use the term, “our Abba (Father)”. Why? To follow Yeshua’s example to emphasize that there is a family structure in heaven, which we can readily grasp and understand here on earth with our own physical family structure of father, mother and sibling(s).
Yeshua came to this earth for a multitude of reasons – one of which is to reveal Abba to us (Matthew 11:27; Luke 10:22; John 17:25-26 plus more) and to reveal that He is the Son. But there is more. If we are lead by the Spirit of Elohim, we are His sons too and heirs along with Yeshua (Romans 8:16-17; Galatians 3:29). This is the making of the spiritual Family structure.
So now we know there is a Family structure in heaven (or more accurately, in the spiritual realm), which reveals that Abba as our Father and Yeshua as His Son and our Brother. Together, They are Elohim.
Becoming part of this ultimate Family is done by Yeshua’s blood – His life, being spent/shed to redeem us unto Himself.
There are to be no secrets within this heavenly Family. The concept of our sins being covered by Yeshua’s blood would indicate that is an act of keeping secrets. How does Abba view secrets? Deuteronomy 27:15 tells us plainly, “Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.” If a person keeps secrets, they will be cursed. In addition there is Psalm 19:12 which equates the need for us to be CLEANSED from secrets or hidden things, “Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.” As well, there is Daniel 12:10 which clearly states “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” According to the Oxford Dictionary, purified means “having had contaminants removed; cleansed”. That would definitely make the cleansed item white.
Searching the scriptures using key words such as ‘secret’ or ‘hidden’, brings up so many verses that discuss this aspect of secrets and that which is hidden. In reality, secrets are the domain of Elohim (Deuteronomy 29:29), but that is because there is so much that we cannot understand in our current physical state. Thankfully, we are given some of the secrets as said in Psalm 25:14 “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.” and the promise given to Daniel 12:9 (the unsealing of end-time prophecies). Two thousand or so years ago, even Yeshua was not privy to all that Abba knew because He was in a physical state of being when He was upon this earth. When He was resurrected and ascended, He knew as much as Abba. There will come a time when those secrets will be revealed to us as well.
As mentioned earlier, many people believe that Yeshua’s blood is a COVERING that is laid upon us, so that when Abba sees us, He only sees the white garments and not the scarlet sins. Instead, as one does a quick study, what clearly is revealed is that Yeshua’s blood CLEANSES us, not covers us. There is a big difference. [i] (see end note for link to all the scriptures pertaining to Yeshua’s blood).
Let’s use a bath tub as a physical example to explain this. I know… it’s an odd choice, but it sure makes for a great example.
To cleanse a bath tub, we take cleaning products to it and scrub all the scum, dirt, mold, etc. off the porcelain to make it shiny and squeaky clean. When we are done we can see clearly that this bath tub is spotless and we are confident to use it and to have company use it.
Alternatively, to cover a bath tub would require using a processed acrylic product that is placed over the original bath tub. It has to be measured and a new form created so that it will cover correctly. But the original tub (in its old and decayed state) remains underneath. Confidence is not established, because the question arises… “what is lurking underneath?”.
Yet, there is a much more profound reason why Yeshua’s blood cleanses instead of covers. When Yeshua was hanging on the cross or tree, His body was pierced causing water and blood to gush forth onto the ground. At that moment, three elements of spiritual life occurred.
One: The life of the flesh is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11). Yeshua’s blood was poured out onto this earth. This is where His life is and this is His statement that He will return.
Two: With His blood poured out upon this earth, He was now cleansing the earth and all that is in it. From what? From defilement brought on by the proximity of death that results in becoming unclean, according to Numbers 19. This chapter is all about the red heifer ashes and the purpose of these ashes. Death as been part of the existence of mankind since the first sin. We are surrounded by death. Even our very bodies are constantly in a state of death and regeneration within our cells, etc. Thus the need for the red heifer ashes is very necessary. Yeshua’s death on the cross or tree was multi-purposed. He became the Lamb of Elohim to pay for the redemption of all mankind and He became the Red Heifer to cleanse all of mankind from death, so we can draw near to Abba.
Three: (het, yud - the Hebrew word 'chai' - life) When His blood poured out upon the earth is quite literally was a stream from His body to the ground. That is very much in the shape of a Hebrew letter “yud” (letter on the left side). This letter is the second letter that makes up the Hebrew word chai, the first letter being the “het” (letter on the right side). That first letter was the symbol of blood the Israelites painted on their doorposts and lintels. So, when Yeshua’s blood poured out, it made the letter “yud” and completed the making of the word for life. He purposely died so that mankind could have life and not just a continuation of our current physical life, but eternal life within the Family.
So, check out the foot note listed at the end of this article and once you do, it will become instantly clear that His blood is NOT a covering, but instead IS a cleansing agent. Just look at Revelation 7:14 and Revelation 22:14 for two of the primary scriptures on this. And this makes Isaiah 1:18 easier to understand too (but remember… the whole chapter of Isaiah 1 is concerning Jerusalem and Judah – v.1 – which can be another separate teaching for another time).
As this Torah group wrestles with this subject, the foundation must be laid first – Yeshua’s blood is not a covering, His blood is a cleansing agent. From there it is quite easy to answer the question about Abba’s total power over all things. He is seeing us as the original ‘bathtub’ in pristine condition – squeaky clean and white – which means our Abba can be fully confident to use us for His purposes and His will. And isn’t that what enables a family to be strong and united – knowing exactly what each of us offers and not privately wondering ‘what’s lurking underneath?’
Blessed are You, O Adonai, our Elohim, Melech of the universe, Who has given us the Way of salvation in Messiah Yeshua. Amen.
Let this mind be in you that is in Messiah, Yeshua
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[i] http://www.openbible.info/topics/jesus_blood (a list of all the scriptures referring to Yeshua’s blood)
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