The Cross, the Blood, and the Resurrection in Kingdom and Grace

The Cross, the Blood, and the Resurrection in Kingdom and Grace

Introduction: One Event, Two Meanings

The death, the shedding of blood, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ are the foundation of redemption. Yet the King James Bible shows that these same events carry two distinct meanings depending on whether they are applied to Israel under prophecy (the Kingdom program) or to the Body of Christ under mystery (the Grace program). To rightly divide the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15), we must ask of every passage: Who is being addressed? Why is this truth given? When is it applied? For what reason? And what result follows?

The Cross of Christ

For Israel, the cross is national guilt. Peter declared to the nation: “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” (Acts 2:23). The cross is a stumbling stone to the Jews (1 Corinthians 1:23). Prophecy foretells that Israel will one day mourn over the pierced Messiah: “They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him” (Zechariah 12:10). The purpose of the cross in this program is to expose national guilt so that Israel may repent and be restored. Acts 3:19–21 connects repentance to the times of restitution: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out… until the times of restitution of all things.” Hebrews frames Christ’s sacrifice in covenantal terms, showing how His offering relates to the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:15; 10:29). Thus, for the Kingdom program the cross is historically true now but remedially applied corporately when Israel repents at Christ’s return.

The Revelation of Blood and Forgiveness Across the Dispensations

The Revelation of Blood and Forgiveness Across the Dispensations

Redemption has always been tied to blood, but the way God revealed its meaning changed over time. The cross of Christ is the foundation of salvation in every age, yet the understanding of His blood and death unfolded progressively. To grasp this, we must trace the theme across the Old Testament, the earthly ministry of Christ in the Gospels, the preaching of Peter and the Twelve in early Acts, and finally the mystery revealed to Paul. Only then do we see how the blood of Christ takes on its full, once-for-all meaning in the dispensation of grace, and how Hebrews later confirms this truth for tribulation saints.

Old Testament: Blood as Covering, Not Full Payment

From the beginning, God tied forgiveness to blood. When Adam and Eve sinned, He clothed them with skins (Genesis 3:21), showing that blood had to be shed to cover sin. Abel’s offering of the flock was accepted because it was a blood sacrifice (Genesis 4:4). Under the law, God declared, “It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11). Yet Hebrews 10:4 makes clear: “It is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”

Animal sacrifices provided temporary covering, but they could not remove sin. Old Testament saints were saved by faith in what God revealed at the time, expressed through obedience to His instructions. Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6). They did not know the cross, but God looked forward to it. Their salvation rested on His provision, not their knowledge of Christ’s blood.

The Gospels: Messiah Presented, Blood Mentioned but Not Understood

Abel's offering resulted in PAGAN practices! If I were 'God' I'd have required plant sacrifices.

Abel's offering resulted in PAGAN practices! If I were 'God' I'd have required plant sacrifices.

COMMENT:

Referring to your post on the offerings of Cain and Abel, all I see is how the “sons of Adam” CREATED the TEMPLATE for all Pagan CULTS of the future to follow, including those faith systems which came to be known as the Abrahamic religions.

As a decades-long gardener, I would have accepted the sacrifice of plants as the better of the two types of sacrifice which Cain and Abel offered.

REPLY:

It was not the sons of Adam that decided upon the blood offering. It was God Himself, in Gen.3:21, and there is a reason for why blood was required. Everything God does is with perfect reason and purpose. The twisted version of pagan sacrifice you refer to is the creation of Satan in which his counterfeit act skews and distorts the meaning to which God assigned this type of offering.

You say you would rather accept plant sacrifices better. That’s fine if you were ‘God’. Then you could set your own standard for humanity to respect. However, as clay in God’s hands, shall we say to Him that fashions us, “do this”, or “I think that…”, Isa 45:9. No. God has declared these things to be, before the worlds were made. God’s version of the blood offering is pure and perfect and is predetermined to be the ONLY thing that can save our souls. It cost the ultimate blood offering of Christ to redeem us, which in turn informs us of how utterly low we have fallen to have such a heavy price to purchase us back.

Thank God for the blood of Christ which saves to the uttermost those who believe in Him.

The IMPORTANCE of interpreting scripture using Progressive Dispensational Revelation (Part 2 - Q&A)

The following content contains further Q&A on the post called: "The IMPORTANCE of interpreting scripture using Progressive Dispensational Revelation". The questions asked were excellent to constitute creating a 'part 2' of this post.

COMMENT:

I like where your post was headed, but it needs more information to support your conclusion. Can you help us see how you determined, by progressive revelation, that Cain’s offering lacked faith, and needed blood?

ANSWER:

Earlier I mentioned that faith is believing what God has revealed. What God reveals typically keeps us in right standing with Him. Obedience to what God tells us is what saves us. As we advance through the pages of the Bible God reveals new, or additional things to keep us in relationship with Him. It’s these new, or additional things that I refer to as progressive revelation.

The IMPORTANCE of interpreting scripture using Progressive Dispensational Revelation

The IMPORTANCE of interpreting scripture using Progressive Dispensational Revelation

The following, posted to my WhatsApp channel, is a simple post, but the message is of crucial importance, hence the reason for posting it here in my main blog too. 

Please read the following short post and take note of the importance of reading, understanding, and interpreting the Bible with 'progressive revelation' in mind.

https://thebigpictureviews.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-importance-of-interpreting.html

What does the account of Cain and Abel teach us about the only acceptable sin offering?

What does the account of Cain and Abel teach us about the only acceptable sin offering?

Gen 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

Shortly after Adam fell into sin, we read the above verse that tells us that the Lord God slew some sort of animal and clothed them with its hide. The covering of Adam and Eve alludes to God covering their sins, and the sacrifice of an animal alludes to the fact that the life (or lifeblood) of another was the price required for that covering.

Adam, no doubt would have passed this knowledge on to his sons. So, when the time came for both Cain and Abel to offer up a sacrifice, it was Abel’s sacrifice that pleased the Lord.

OBS: God's Word is a Progressive Plan (Part.5.1)

This is Part 5 of the Series

Click here for Part 4

TWO interesting points that required
a 'CHANGE IN COMMUNICATION'

Point #1

Even though Peter and John were disciples of Christ and had intimate knowledge of His teachings and life, it's only later, in their epistles that they write about the concepts of grace, the cross, and the redemptive blood, (which was never mentioned in the Gospels or Acts). Where did they get it from? Well, they learned it from the revelations that Paul received from the glorified Christ.