For a large part of the material in this study, I would like to acknowledge the following sources:
- The Miracle of the Scarlet Thread by Richard Booker
- The Blood Covenant by E.W Kenyon
- The Blood Covenant by H. Clay Trumbull
- The Power of the Blood Covenant by Malcolm Smith
- Have you ever found yourself reading the Bible and it did not make sense to you?
- Have you ever felt like the Bible seems like two different books with one cover?
- Have you ever wondered what the connection was, if any, between the Old Testament and the New Testament?
- You know you are a New Testament believer or follower of Christ, but really what does the Old Testament have to do with me now in today’s time?
If you have ever felt this way, you are not alone.
Luke 24:13-32 NKJV Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. (14) And they talked together of all these things which had happened. (15) So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. (16) But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. (17) And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?” (18) Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?” (19) And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, (20) and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. (21) But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. (22) Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. (23) When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. (24) And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.” (25) Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! (26) Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” (27) And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. (28) Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. (29) But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them. (30) Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. (31) Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. (32) And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
Acts 8:26-40 NKJV Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. (27) So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, (28) was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. (29) Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” (30) So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” (31) And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. (32) The place in the Scripture which he read was this: “HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO THE SLAUGHTER; AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT, SO HE OPENED NOT HIS MOUTH. (33) IN HIS HUMILIATION HIS JUSTICE WAS TAKEN AWAY, AND WHO WILL DECLARE HIS GENERATION? FOR HIS LIFE IS TAKEN FROM THE EARTH.” (34) So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” (35) Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. (36) Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” (37) Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (38) So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. (39) Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. (40) But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
John 5:39 NLT (39) “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!
We are going to begin our Bible Study by grasping the most foundational truth of the entire Bible.
- We must realize that the Bible is not a western book.
It is based upon the eastern culture. You must take that into account when you are interpreting scripture.
- The purpose of the Old Testament is to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ in God’s great Plan of Redemption.
The Old Testament is based upon types and shadows and works similar to a shadow picture that many of us had done when we were children. It bears the shape and resemblance of the real thing but it is not the real thing.
Because God has already been in eternity future as well as eternity past, He was able to lay this foundation in the Old Testament with the purpose that the shadow would highlight the real thing when He did arrive.
- This is how the Old Testament and the New Testament are tied together: they both tell the same story.
The Old Testament tells that it is going to happen. The New Testament tells that it did happen.
Let’s be mindful of some things that will help us in Bible interpretation:
- You must always be aware of who is doing the talking and how credible they are as a source of information.
The Bible is not literally true in the sense that every statement is a statement of truth.
The Bible is inspired by God and is truly stated but it is not a book where every statement in it is truth. You must consider the source.
Example: The Pharisees said that Jesus was a blasphemer; Satan’s throne will be exalted above God’s throne.
- Understand the rule of first mentions in the Scripture. God always has the best idea the first time around.
When you can establish a principle of truth in the Bible, it will remain throughout the rest of the Bible. It will not change as the Dispensations change. It is based on the immutability of God.
However, there is a danger in this:
- You cannot use marginal revelation to interpret a greater revelation.
You may begin interpreting the New Testament in light of the Old Testament.
When you interpret the Scripture, you always use the greatest light you have to illuminate that particular subject.
The key to understanding the scripture was well said by St. Augustine: “The New is in the Old Testament contained, but the Old is by the New explained.”
The Old Testament is not a record of meaningless rituals, customs, places, names and unrelated events.
The Old Testament is an orderly, progressive, unfolding revelation from God, of the blood covenant He entered into with man through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Booker – “You see, God has planned, that in His own appointed time, He would prepare for Himself a body just like ours and become one of us. Since He is God, He naturally knew everything He would do when He became one of us. He knew where He would be born. He knew by what name He would be called. He knew everything about the details of His life. He even knew that He would die. Therefore, He painted this shadow of Himself in the Old Testament so that everybody would recognize Him when He arrived on the scene. This is how the entire Old Testament points to Jesus. It is a picture of a person.
Isn’t this what we would do if we were going to meet someone who had never seen us before? Why, we would describe ourselves in great detail and even decide beforehand where we would meet. That way the person looking for our coming would recognize us when we show up.”
In order to understand the Scriptures, one must always look for the Blood Covenant as it is woven throughout the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation.
The Blood Covenant is the common thread that runs throughout both Testaments and it is a covenant established in His blood.
Any time after the Fall of Man that you see God getting involved in the lives of men, the shedding of blood is always involved. Why?
Leviticus 17:11 NLT (11) for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the LORD. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.
Because of man’s sin, a holy God could not have any interaction with him unless there was life that was shed or spilled out because the penalty for man’s sin required it.
Without the shedding of blood, there is no payment, pardon or forgiveness for sin.
Hebrews 9:20-22 NIV (20) He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” (21) In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. (22) In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
The Holy One cannot dwell in the same place as sin and therefore blood must be shed to forgive or wipe away sin so that His presence can show up.
There is more to this than just the shedding of blood. God has a greater purpose in this because of His desire and need to be in contact with man.
God is a covenant God.
Covenant: (Hebrew Dictionary) berîyth ber-eeth’’ (To cut until blood flows)
The covenant is the very foundation of our contact with God and His contact with us.
Blood covenant is an ancient rite. God instituted the covenant almost immediately after the fall of man.
Genesis 3:1-7 NKJV Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (2) And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; (3) but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” (4) Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. (5) For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (6) So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. (7) 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 coverings.
Genesis 3:20-21 NLT Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live. (21) And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.
Adam was ashamed and afraid after he sinned. He no longer possessed the faith and confidence to stand before God because of sin. When sin is present, shame, guilt and condemnation always accompany it.
- What does man do? He tries in his own strength and ability to cover for his sin and shame.
- What did God do? He sacrificed and shed the blood of innocent animals in order to clothe or cover the nakedness of man.
God’s plan was that man always be clothed with the Glory of God and he once was. After the fall, that clothing was lost and for the first time, man was truly naked before God. God shed blood in order to provide a covering for Adam and Eve.
A covenant is simply a contract between two parties. A Blood Covenant goes much deeper than just a contract or simple agreement.
A Blood Covenant is the means by which two persons enter into the closest, most enduring, and most sacred of pacts. Only death can terminate the pact.
God wants that kind of relationship with man!
In this study, we will cover the following:
- We will see the covenant in shadow form as it is spelled out in the Old Testament and how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament and how we relate to Him in the New Testament.
- We will learn exactly what the Blood Covenant is and walk through what a Blood Covenant ceremony would have been like in the Old Testament as we see for example in David and Jonathan.
- We will see how the covenant affected Abraham’s relationship with God because his whole relationship was based upon was the covenant.