GOD’S ETERNAL BLOOD COVENANT PATTERN – [The Background and Significance of the Blood Covenant are covered in Part 1 of this teaching, available on our website www.follow-me-ministries.org ]
Part 1 introduces the foundational significance of The Covenant Representative and The Covenant Substitute. So let’s go on to examine the steps of the blood covenant ceremony in more detail.
The two designated representatives… in the presence of official witnesses… exchange the following items with each other:
- Exchange of written Blood Covenant promises – Everything the people of each side is pledging to be and to do for the other is put down in writing. In this way, no one can deny or change or back out of what will be vowed and promised and sealed in covenant blood this day. (For a Biblical example of this, consult Deuteronomy 28.)
- Exchange of Names – Each representative takes on part of the name of the other and adds it to his own name. This is another way of expressing the Reality that the two will, from this time forward, be considered to be One. In ancient societies, the relationship between a king or lord and his emissaries, ambassadors or diplomats, was on the level of a blood covenant bond. When those representatives were sent to convey information or present terms of treaties, or marriage proposals to other kings, lords and leaders and their families, they were considered to be acting and speaking ‘in the name’ of the lord who sent them. And those he addressed were expected to treat that emissary as if he were the king who sent him himself! And so God’s Covenant people are expected to share His mind and heart and intentions. And when they live, speak and act in their eaוrthly societies, they are to do so ‘in the Name’ of their God and Lord.
We see an example of this in the Abrahamic Covenant. After the Covenant was cut, God changed the names of Abram and Sarai to, Abraham and Sarah. In Hebrew, God’s Personal Name, ( יהוה ) can be transliterated like this: YHWH. (Only consonants are used in the original Hebrew; the reader supplied the vowels.) So God inserted part of His Name into Abram’s and Sarai’s names. In God’s Name, the letter H is prominent… In Hebrew (ה), it’s pronounced: Hey or Hay. So a Hey was inserted into Abram’s name to make it ‘AbraHam’. And for Sarai, a Hey was also inserted, to make it: SaraH. And thereafter, God called Himself ‘The Friend of Abraham.’
- Exchange of Personal Gifts – An array of gifts of great value is given by each representative to the other. The gifts represent this reality: “Everything we are and have that is of value, we give to you and to those you represent. From this day forward, if you are ever in need of what we have, all you have to do is ask, and it will be given to you and placed at your disposal, for we are now forever, ONE! And what is ours, is now yours as well.”
God gave the Land of Canaan to Abraham, as the homeland of his descendants. And He gave that barren couple a son of their own, Isaac.
In exchange, God asked Abraham to give Isaac back to Him in Genesis 22. And Abraham agreed to His request without hesitation or question. And God spared Isaac because He had been putting Abraham’s Covenant loyalty to the test. And after Abraham passed the test with flying colors, God replaced Isaac as a sacrifice, with His own beloved Son… the Living Word made flesh.
- Exchange of Belts – Attached to the belts would be weapons, such as daggers, axes, swords etc. These gifts symbolize this reality: “We pledge everything we are and have, to defend and protect you from this day forward. If you are ever in danger from attacking enemies, even if you are at fault, only let us know of your need, and we swear we will immediately come to your side and fight to defend you and your interests… even if it means the loss of our own lives! From now on, your friends are our friends, and your enemies are our enemies, for from now on, we are forever ONE!”
Throughout all of Israel’s history, God has stood by Abraham’s descendants time and time again. He has seen to it that Israel overcomes her enemies and survives them, generation after generation. And so shall it be to the end of time.
- Written Blessings and Curses – A designated reader proclaims the blessings and benefits that will follow when each group honors and fulfills the Covenant promises made by the two groups. And a designated reader then proclaims the curses that will follow if anyone dares to dishonor and violate the Covenant promises that are being made this day. This is read in the hearing of everyone in attendance, and it is put in writing for the benefit of all future generations so that the covenant promises will be remembered and honored from generation to generation to generation. (See Deuteronomy 28.)
The penalty for violating a blood covenant is death! Violations are taken so seriously, that, when one person violates a blood covenant, those who are one with him in the covenant, even his own personal family members, are obliged to kill him for the sake of their covenant integrity! If they do, then the other blood brothers who have been violated on the other side, will have received justice and thus will not have to kill all the members of the criminal’s personal family.
The unbreakable blood bond also obligates all future descendants, since they are all considered to be one with their forefathers. Each descendant must be told about the covenant and its requirements and know that this is part of his or her national or tribal and family legacy and identity. So, from ancient times, this is how fallible humans were able to engender and earn a very high level of mutual trust. The covenant bond was so great, and its underlying meaning so sacred, and the consequences for violating it so severe, that to take it casually and be careless in observing it, was unthinkable! And this is why individuals from future generations had to be taught to see and think and act and react and interact… AS MEMBERS OF THAT ORIGINAL CORPORATE BODY… They were responsible for honoring and perpetuating the inherited corporate value systems that they inherited from their forefathers.
The Significance of Becoming Blood Brothers
So covenant children are not taught to be ‘individuals’ or ‘autonomous’ or self-determining ‘me-first’ types of people. They are taught to consider themselves to be ‘blood brothers,’ extensions of their corporate Family and its set of values, responsibilities and obligations which are universally expected to honor and embody and pass forward into the future.
“Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These words, which I am commanding you today, are to be on your heart. You are to TEACH THEM DILIGENTLY TO YOUR CHILDREN, and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. Bind them as a sign on your hand, they are to be as frontlets between your eyes, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates!” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 TLV. Emphasis added.)
“I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser (God is your Eternal Covenant Provider, Protector and Shepherd)… Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit (God only deals with you on this 2 = 1 Covenant basis). You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you (the necessary Work has already been done by Me). Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
“I am The Vine, you are the branches (we are ONE Blood Covenant corporate entity); he who abides IN ME and I IN HIM, he bears much fruit (Covenant blessings), for apart from Me you can do nothing (you are dead according to the broken Covenant of the First Adam).
If anyone does not abide IN ME (he remains trapped in that broken First Adam Covenant, and) he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned (Covenant curses). If you abide IN ME, and My words abide IN YOU (that is, if you protect and maintain our Covenant Union), ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples (abiding as one with Me).
“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love (You and God are One, therefore His Fullness is yours). If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full (God Himself will be your Eternal Covenant Blessing).
“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as (by My Blood Covenant Chesed/Agape) I have loved (each one of) you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his (Blood brother) friends. You are My (Covenant) friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends (My Blood brothers), for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you (what is Mine, is yours).
“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father IN MY NAME He may give to you (for, IN Me, God is one with you). This I command you, that you love one another (out of My Covenant Love which I keep pouring into each one of you).
“If the (Covenant violating) world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world (to be One with Me), because of this the (Covenant violating) world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My Word, they will keep yours also (for what happens to your Representative also happens to you). But all these things they will do to you for My Name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me (and commissioned Me to serve as humanity’s Last Adam).” (John 15:1-21)
If you read the Scriptures through ‘Covenant Eyes,’ you will see that ‘scarlet thread’ woven throughout every book… from beginning to end. This awesome Blood Bond relationship will appear everywhere! And that will help you know our Heavenly Father and His ways, in Spirit and in Truth. So please do not try to invent new alien ways to get God to notice you and deal with you. He is not here to abide by our terms, nor can we obligate Him to learn and honor our preferences and pet ways of seeing and doing things. We must learn to honor and abide by the Covenant of our Creator, into which He chose to graft us.
This is the Truth and Reality He chose to impart to the world through His chosen Covenant people, Israel! All Jews and non-Jews are children of the First Adam. Thus we are all Covenant breakers from conception! But our Infinitely Perfect, Omnipotent and Eternally Trustworthy Covenant God… always keeps and honors and fulfills His Word! And through Israel, God chose to introduce His Son, the Last Adam, to be her Salvation, and also that of the entire family of the First Adam.
“But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. For if their rejection (of Yeshua and His New Covenant) is the reconciliation of the Gentile) world, what will their acceptance (of the Last Adam) be but life from the dead? If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too.
But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the (God-chosen Jewish Covenantal) branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the (Eternal Covenant) ROOT, but THE (Eternal Covenant) ROOT SUPPORTS YOU!
“You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able (and at the proper time of His unfolding Plan, the time will come for Him) to graft them in again!
“For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?
“For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so (according to God’s Eternal Covenant ways) all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” “This is My (New and Eternal) covenant with them, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS!” (Romans 11:13-27, Emphasis and Amplification added)
Before continuing in Paul’s letter to the Church in Rome, it behooves us to take a look back and see the foundations of the New and Eternal Covenant of which he spoke… and let’s do so with our ‘Covenant Eyes’ wide open:
The New and Eternal Covenant
“A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the Lord.
“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.” (Isaiah 59:20-21)
“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy Name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. I will vindicate the holiness of My great Name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 36:22-28)
“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’ Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’”
So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.”’” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,” declares the Lord.’”(Ezekiel 37:1-14)
The Making of One New Man in Blood Covenant Relationship
So now that we’ve looked a little deeper into the Cultivated Olive Tree of Israel into which non-Jews can also be grafted, let’s continue learning from Paul’s message to the Roman Congregation:
“From the standpoint of the (New Covenant) gospel they (unbelieving Jews) are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the (Covenant God made with their) fathers (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob); for the (Blood Covenant) gifts and the calling of God are IRREVOCABLE!
“For just as you (Gentile believers) once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all (the children of the First Adam) in disobedience so that (through the Everlasting Chesed of the Last Adam) He may show mercy to all (all the way back to the First Adam).
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His (Covenant) ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For FROM HIM and THROUGH HIM and TO HIM are all things. To Him be the Glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:28-36, Emphasis added)
And so dear ones… now that we’ve dug a little deeper into this incredibly rich and productive Covenant soil, let’s go even further and finish looking at the other steps of the Covenant Ceremony. Ponder what it means when we realize that Almighty God Himself, went through the steps of this ceremony with His Living Word, our Representative. The Father and His Living Word (the Last Adam) entered into an Eternal Blood Covenant with each other, while slumbering Abram was out of the way:
“Now when the sun was going down, A DEEP SLEEP FELL UPON ABRAM (in other words, Abram was moved out of the way so God could work); and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. But (for your sake they are included in this Covenant that I make with you, and) I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”
“It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, AND BEHOLD, THERE APPEARED A SMOKING OVEN AND A FLAMING TORCH WHICH PASSED BETWEEN THESE PIECES (while Abram slept).” (Genesis 15:12-17. Amplification and emphasis added.)
“Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep (into whom we had all been placed) THROUGH THE BLOOD OF THE ETERNAL COVENANT, even Jesus our Lord (and Representative), equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, to whom be the Glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21. Amplification and emphasis added.)
God is Eternal. He never begins, or ends, or changes. He eternally IS!
…So His Covenant mind, heart and will are timeless and eternally PRESENT AND CONSTANT.
…So this ‘Blood brother’ Reality has always existed IN and BETWEEN God and His Living Word.
…So Chesed and Agape (Blood Covenant Faithfulness and Loyalty) are forever flowing out of the Nature and Essence of Almighty God… on behalf of His Creation!
So… do you think it’s possible that the Father could or would suddenly change His mind, and betray His Blood Covenant Son, and violate the promises He made, and sealed in Covenant Blood through His Living Word? And could you even imagine the Son, God’s Eternal Word, betraying His Blood Covenant with His Father… and causing all of His repentant human Blood brothers that He represents eternally… to perish because of His violation? No, Beloved, if God ever violated His Covenant promises to anyone… He would violate His own Nature and cease to be God!
So ponder this as you consider what happens after the exchange of the gifts and the pronouncement of the blessings and curses…
Just prior to the beginning of the ceremony, sacrificial animals would be killed and their carcasses cut in half. And then the representatives would stand on either end of the carcasses, facing each other. The bloody remains of the split apart animals would have fallen apart to form a gory valley, which was at times called, ‘The Valley of Blood’ or ‘The Valley of Death.’ And so the bloody deaths of these innocent, Sin-less sacrificial animals highlighted the intense solemnity and far-reaching, Reality-changing consequences of what the representatives are about to do at this point.
What happened to the animals reminds the representatives of the death penalty they are calling down upon themselves, and those they represent, in the case of any future covenant violation and betrayal. (Remember Genesis 15 where God, the Father and God, the Son passed through the pieces of the animal carcasses, while Abram slept!) This tells us that God took 100% of the responsibility for the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant upon Himself… for our sake. He was making sure that everything would be done properly. So, when a Covenant is thus sealed in blood… it is forever unbreakable… as far as Almighty God is concerned. Humans are weak and spiritually bankrupt in themselves. And they frequently violate their promises and oaths. But God will never do that! Once His promises have been sealed in the Blood of His Living Word… everything will be done as promised!
- The Cutting of the Covenant, Walking Through the Sacrifice – Each representative steps into this blood-soaked ‘valley’ and the two meet in the middle of the split carcasses, facing each other. And they read their respective lists of promises that they are making to each other.
- The Covenant Scar and Mingling of Blood – Then a covenant official presents them with a knife and each representative cuts his hand or arm. And then the representatives clasp arms or hands so that their wounds are pressed against each other, and their bloods can mingle and become one. Then they allow some of their blood to drip into a cup containing wine. And the official stirs the cup until the two bloods are thoroughly mixed together with the wine. Then one representative drinks part of the cup, and the other representative finishes it.
- The Covenant Meal – Then they break bread and eat of the same loaf. This symbolizes that the one life that is in that one loaf, now exists in each representative. (See Genesis 19 where God, through His Living Word who appears in the form of a man, breaks bread and drinks with Abraham. In that era and culture, people only invited each other to sit at their table if they were family members or had previously become ‘blood brothers.’ They would not sit at the same table with ‘outsiders’ unless some sort of ‘blood bond’ had first been established between them. (See Galatians 2:11-21) And, since the same life was in the wine mixed with blood that both representatives drank, and the bread they consumed had the same life in it… now both representatives have the same life abiding in them. And by these two elements of wine and bread, the two individual groups die to what they used to be before this day and become ‘one life, and one blood’… in and through their representatives.
So in this blood covenant sense, all participants die to what they were… and are ‘reborn’ into a new identity and corporate unity. And this is how the two representatives and those whom they represent (the many) become ONE in this blood covenant sense… from that point forward. And they call upon their God, or gods, to witness this along with all the human witnesses… so from that day on, they and their unborn descendants will be one… into the endless future.
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his (individualistic radically independent Self-adoring) life will lose it; but whoever loses his (Self) life FOR MY SAKE (becoming one with Me in God’s Eternal Covenant) will find it (That is, everything he will need to be totally fulfilled for all eternity, he will find it by being one with Me and all that pertains to Me.)” (Matthew 16:24-25. Emphasis added.)
Now the representatives, and those they stand for, are all ‘Blood brothers’… forever inseparable and devoted to each other… committed to love and bless and protect one another and whatever pertains to them… even if is at the cost of their own lives! (For an example of this, see the blood covenant that the Gibeonites deceived Joshua and the Israelites into making with them (Joshua chapters 9 and 10).
Israel did not consult with God and failed to receive His guidance. They just went ahead and made that covenant. But later, even though the Gibeonites had acted deceitfully, when they were being attacked by their former allies, Israel had to honor the covenant Joshua had made with them, and fight to defend the Gibeonites. And God had to honor the Covenant He had made with Israel centuries before… through Abraham… and so He came to the defense of His Blood brothers… and He too helped Israel to defend the Gibeonites… for Israel’s sake. (The Covenant friend of My Covenant friend will also be My Covenant friend.)
The Blood Covenant Bond Continues, from Generation to Generation
So compared to the natural bond that exists between natural siblings who drink the milk of the same mother, this blood bond is considered to be stronger and more binding – because it is done voluntarily, with deliberate premeditation. And so, in the Middle East among the Arab peoples to this day, there is a saying that expresses this truth: “Blood is thicker than milk!”
“When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the Kingdom of God comes.” And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is THE NEW COVENANT IN MY BLOOD.” (Luke 22:14-20 Emphasis added.)
“A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” Answering them, He said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” Looking about at those (His disciples) who were sitting around Him, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! For WHOEVER DOES THE WILL OF GOD, he is My (Blood) brother and (Blood) sister and (Blood) mother!” (Mark 3:32-35. Emphasis added.)
And so, Beloved… this is what our Awesome Heavenly Father chose to do with and for His beloved human race that He had designed and created to be His own image and likeness. He has done everything IN and through His Living Word… who became flesh… and served as our LAST ADAM. God took the fallen, Sin-corrupted, death-infected First Adam, and his personal household, and all those unborn descendants that were destined to be born to him… AND PLACED THEM ALL INTO THE EVEN WIDER, DEEPER, PERFECTLY RIGHTEOUS, AND TOTALLY SUCCESSFUL PERFORMANCE OF OUR ULTIMATE REPRESENTATIVE, THE WORD OF GOD, THE LAST ADAM!
And, acting as us, and in our name, the Last Adam made full Atonement… pouring out His life’s blood in payment for us, before God. And since He Himself was Sin-less… death could not hold Him. And so Father raised Him from the dead, and He is now glorified in the Highest Heaven… And His human Blood brothers who will believe and embrace and abide as one with Him in the New Covenant, will also be raised and glorified and they will abide as one with Almighty God… IN HIM… FOREVER!
“Therefore, since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also get rid of every weight and entangling sin. Let us run with endurance the race set before us, focusing on Yeshua (The Last Adam, who, since we believers are IN Him, is), THE INITIATOR AND PERFECTER of (the obedience of our) faith.
“For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame; and He has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God (so that those He represents could join Him in the joy of His Triumph). Consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself (for your sakes and for everyone else’s), so that you may not grow weary in your souls and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3. TLV. Amplification and emphasis added.)
Beloved friends… Our Heavenly Father went through all the steps of that Eternal Blood Covenant Ceremony with us… WITH, IN and THROUGH His Eternal Living Word made flesh who represents us. Father fulfills all of His revelations, and His promises, and any obligation that the Covenant requires of Him. And His Living Word fulfilled all of the promises and obligations that the Covenant requires of us… He did all of that through His Perfect Humanity… in our name… because the Covenant Pattern placed us into (making us one with) THE LAST ADAM… FOREVER!
And that’s why there’s nothing more for you, or for me, or for any of us to do or add or change. EVERYTHING IS FINISHED… AND IT IS PERFECT… AND IT IS OURS ETERNALLY!
“At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My (New Covenant) yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:25-30. Amplification and emphasis added.)
All that remains is for us to repent of our radically independent humanistic Self-life. We must surrender it to God and allow it to be crucified and buried with our Messiah, the Lamb of God… and then the risen Lord of Glory will be able to teach us to identify with Him, just as He has already identified Himself with us. And He will be free to live His Perfect Resurrection Life in us and reveal Himself through us… and He will meet all of God’s Standards and the Covenant requirements to Perfection… in our name… and God Himself will be our Eternal Life!
“Then I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth; for the first Heaven and the first Earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the Tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away!” (Revelation 21:1-4. Emphasis added.)
“Therefore, if you have been raised up with Messiah, keep seeking the things (the Perfect Covenant Realities) above—where Messiah is, sitting at the right hand of God. Focus your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden (joined forever to be as one) with Messiah IN God. When Messiah, who is your Life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him, in Glory! (Colossians 3:1-4 TLV, Amplification and emphasis added.)
“You are the Light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your (indwelling Covenant Representative abide in you, and let His) Light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in Heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16 Amplification and emphasis added.)
That awesome unforgettable Blood Covenant Ceremony is saturated and marinated with incredibly profound significance and far-reaching meaning for all of us… wouldn’t you agree?