Way back in my early days as a believer, one of the songs we sang in church was by that title,
“My sins are under the blood”. It was a catchy tune that we sang with gusto.

As I awoke one morning, that tune flooded into my memory and I had a fleeting image in my mind that is hard to adequately describe. It was like a sheet of paper laying flat on a table with another layer like a sheet, but a sheet made of blood, over the top of it.

The Lord said to me that He dislikes such songs. That initially surprized me until He started to explain that it is only one part of the story.
What I shall share with you conveys its significance. It is part one of a two part message. The sequel is The Power of the Blood.
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Allow me now to go back to the beginning, to Genesis 3:20 that tells us God made coats of animal skins for Adam and Eve.
The Hebrew wording is interesting. The creation account indicates that God created everything by His spoken word but he formed Adam in the way a potter makes a clay vessel, squeezing and shaping it by hand. The Hebrew word is yô·ṣēr that refers to a potter, or someone who constructs clay, earthen objects and containers.

The word used when God made animal skins is ʿā·śā and is different again. They made aprons when they discovered that they were naked.
God made animal skins, or leather, to cover that nakedness, This raises the question as to where He obtained that leather. It suggests that an animal died and because the life is in the blood, blood was most likely  shed.

Blood was shed to “cover” sin, but it did not do away with sin.

If we fast forward now to Exodus, blood shedding is mentioned in very clear detail.

In Exodus chapter twelve, God told His people that they were to have a new calendar starting on that very month. It was not just the start of the new year, but the start of a new era and was to be observed from that day onwards. From the moment we come to Christ, the old life is gone.Everything is new and this is what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:15:

Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared.
A new way of living has come into existence.

This was not something put into motion at the last minute, but a carefully and meticulously planned event. The people had to carefully select the animal four days in advance. They had to care for it all that time and inspect it carefully to ensure it was absolutely perfect.
On the fourth day, they had to slaughter their animals—at dusk.

A Jewish day commences at sunrise and finishes at sunset, so the animal had to be slaughtered at the end of a day—but the end of the day was also the end of an era. They woke up in the morning as slaves and went to sleep as free men.

At dusk they had to apply the blood to every household. It was to be a personal matter between God and each person.

They then roasted the animal and partook of its meat, but none of it was to remain the next morning. If they could not eat it all, what remained had to be burned. All remnants had to be gone. Nothing was to remain.

As we shall shortly see, once God forgives us of sin—nothing remains.

God said that He would be looking for the blood and He is still looking for the blood. The bible tells us that unless blood is shed, there is no remission for sin—but that blood was shed once only and was to never be shed again. Although Jews remember Passover annually as commanded by God, that special Passover lamb was never slaughtered again.
They do of course eat a lamb shank at Seder during their memorial dinner. In 1 Corinthians 5:7, Paul said that Jesus is our Paschal Lamb and He made a once and for all time sacrifice for sin at Calvary.

God opened the Red Sea and Israel crossed over on dry ground, never to return.

They had left Egypt behind and Egypt represents sin and bondage. That old life was gone forever and in like manner, when we come to Christ for salvation, it speaks of how our old life in sin and bondage is a thing of the past. Israel went down into the water so to speak and came up in a new life as a type of believers’ baptism when, after coming to the Lord, we go down into the water and reemerging is a symbol of that transformation.

Israel had now commenced their journey to The Promised Land. We too are on our journey that will eventually take us to be with the Lord in Glory. Their journey could have taken only eleven days, but it took them 40 years because of their own heart attitudes and behaviour. They left Egypt behind, but took it with them in their hearts. We may have left our own “Egypt” behind, but what is in our hearts? The lesson perhaps is that we are on a journey and have not yet reached our ultimate destination. We shall encounter situations and circumstances—the enemy, just as Israel did, but we can overcome.

We shall investigate this more eventually, but please look now at Revelation 12:10-11

Then I heard a triumphant voice in heaven proclaiming: “Now salvation and power are set in place, and the kingdom reign of our God and the ruling authority of his Anointed One are established.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who relentlessly accused them day and night before our God, has now been defeated—cast out once and for all!
They conquered him completely through the blood of the Lamb and the powerful word of his testimony.
They triumphed because they did not love and cling to their own lives, even when faced with death.

From the human perspective, we were outside the tabernacle complex completely, cut off from God because of the linen fence surrounding the complex.

There was only one entrance into the outer court and it faced Eastward. The east speaks of a new dawn. It is where the sun rises each morning.
Jesus is the door. He is the only way we can come to God.
According to Peter in Acts 4:12, salvation comes only by, in and through Jesus.

That tabernacle, its furniture and forms of worship describe God’s plan of salvation for mankind and speaks of Jesus in every way.

We are outside the presence of God until we enter in through the gate and the first thing seen is the brazen altar. That speaks of dealing with sin by way of making an offering and blood was shed.

Moving closer to the presence of God, the worshiper washed in fresh water in the brass laver. This way he could see his reflection and see who he is. It represents the washing of water by the word.

He then entered into the outer part of the tent proper and the only light was by way of the oil filled golden candlestick.

Worship in the outer court was in the natural realm. There was no “revelation” of God. The worshiper was exposed to the elements, but on entering the tent, the environment immediately changed. He entered into a different “dimension in God”.

Here he had access to “revelation” represented by the furniture inside. Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The oil in the lamp provided light. Supernatural provision was revealed there by the table of shewbread. The table of incense stood immediately in front of the veil and that spoke of the prayers of the saints rising up to God. The incense had to be a special compound, revealing that our prayer should be lifted up to God in a special way and I suggest it is via “revelation”.

Once per year, one man only, after making all proper preparations to ensure he was fit for service, entered into the holy of holies carrying shed blood that he sprinkled on the Ark of the covenant. Everything else was designed to allow blood to be shed. Once that was accomplished, the sins of the people were “covered”, but this had to be done every year. It was temporary. The thing that drove man to sin was not dealt with.

We may look at Calvary in two ways. I look forward to the time when we shall partake anew with Him in Heaven. Until then, we also look back by way of remembrance when we partake of communion. It is not a sacrament, but a memorial. Jesus is no longer on the cross and the tomb is empty so we remember that He shed His blood for us—once. He is our Kohen Gadol, our Great High Priest, who walked through the gate of the Outer Court of the Tabernacle, went to the brazen altar and made a sacrificial offering, then washed in the Laver, entered the sanctum, saw the light of the candlestick, saw the bread (of life), offered up His prayer and worship at the altar of incense and went into the Holy of Holies to sprinkle His own blood on the Ark of the Covenant.

He not only dealt with the sin principle, He took our sins upon Himself and carried them away, never to be seen again.

In Leviticus sixteen, God spoke to Aaron and Moses after Aaron’s sons died. They had tried to offer sacrifice but were not authorized by God to do so. This reinforces my belief that people should never try to take up a ministry position, such as the five ascension gift ministries seen in Ephesians chapter four—unless the Lord does the choosing! Whoever does that is trying to function under a “barred anointing” and it is a serious matter. He said:

       After the death of Aaron’s two sons—they died when they came before GOD with strange fire—GOD spoke to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter into the Holy of Holies, barging inside the curtain that’s before the Atonement-Cover on the Chest whenever he feels like it, lest he die, because I am present in the Cloud over the Atonement-Cover.

      “This is the procedure for Aaron when he enters the Holy Place: He will bring a young bull for an Absolution-Offering and a ram for a Whole-Burnt-Offering; he will put on the holy linen tunic and the linen underwear, tie the linen sash around him, and put on the linen turban. These are the sacred vestments so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on. Then from the Israelite community he will bring two male goats for an Absolution-Offering and a Whole-Burnt-Offering.

      “Aaron will offer the bull for his own Absolution-Offering in order to make atonement for himself and his household. Then he will set the two goats before GOD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and cast lots over the two goats, one lot for GOD and the other lot for Azazel. He will offer the goat on which the lot to GOD falls as an Absolution-Offering. The goat on which the lot for Azazel falls will be sent out into the wilderness to Azazel to make atonement. Leviticus 16:1-10

The priest (the priesthood no longer exists as such now) laid his hands on the azazel (scapegoat) and confessed the sins of the people before setting it free. The other goat was sacrificed. Symbolically he transferred their sins on the azazel and sent it away into the wilderness, never to be seen again. One Jewish tradition states that he tied a red ribbon to this goat and as it went away, it turned white suggesting that God had forgiven their sins.

Jesus is our Azazel. He may in fact He is both goats. I say that because He was a sacrifice for sin and He also took our sins away.
Blood was shed.

This now brings us to the crux of the matter. The KJV of Colossians chapter two speaks about a handwriting of ordinances that was against us. It was like having a criminal record of everything in our past life. The Greek for handwriting describes a full record of our debts. The Greek wording for ordinances conveys more than one meaning, but essentially it refers to dogma (you may recognize the word dogmatic) and its primary meaning is decree.
By thinking of being arrested for some reason and taken to court, we are charged with a crime of some kind. The evidence is presented and the judge makes a decree. Before we come to the Lord, that list is comprehensive as depicted in the image. That’s only page 1! I mentioned the accuser of the brethren earlier and he picks up that charge sheet and reads it— and reads it and lays accusation against us. It is a court of law. The judge must look at the evidence and a ruling must be made. Our judge is not looking at the printing—He is looking for the something else.

This is where it gets really interesting and is now touching on what the Lord said to me.

God said:
I, yes I, am the one who blots out your offenses for my own sake; I will not remember your sins.
Remind me when we’re in court together—tell your side, make the case that you are right.  Isaiah 43:25-26

Remember these things, O Jacob. Take it seriously, Israel, that you’re my servant. I made you, shaped you: You’re my servant. O Israel, I’ll never forget you.
I’ve wiped the slate of all your wrongdoings. There’s nothing left of your sins...Isaiah 44:21-22. See also Isaiah 55:7; Micah 7:18.

When we are in right standing with God therefore, having repented and having applied the blood, we can reason things out with Him as seen in Isaiah 1:18.

Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool.

Many years ago, I was having a little pity party and started to think about certain things I had done. On reflection, it was the accuser of the brethren whispering in my ear things like, “You did this. You did that. Who do you think you are?” I listened to that voice and started to feel guilty and that is what the devil does. He accuses you.

He tells you that you are not worthy. He dumps his garbage on us, then stands back and watches us stew in our own juice. Someone needed to hear this. God does not do that!

Therefore when I was having that feel sorry for myself and started to cry, I asked the Lord to forgive me. I will never forget the conversation. He quickly replied, “What for?” I started to mention something and He kept telling me He did not know what I was talking about. We believe that God knows everything I suppose and His answer mystified me until He explained that He had already dealt with it and permanently erased it. He had done such a thorough job in removing it, it was as if it had never ever existed! Thats’ how God forgives!

What motivated me to write this is that He said He dislikes us saying that our sins are under the blood. It is correct, but there is more to it than that. By implication, unless something changes the situation, they remain there on that document and are still able to be read to accuse us. The blood of Jesus is powerful and avails much, but that document remains until we realize one thing.

...And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses... Colossians 2:13

We were dead but He forgave us and we could leave it at that, but there is more.

...Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way... Colossians 2:14

He took it out of the way. He removed it. If He removed it, those charges are no longer there. This may sound pedantic perhaps, but this is much more important than many believers realize. I can say that because many often come under condemnation and accusation, rightly or wrongly, because they do not know the truth.  It need not be so.

The second part of that last verse says that He nailed it to His cross.

The message on John the baptizer based on Isaiah chapter forty is not always what people think Isaiah said:

COMFORT, COMFORT My people, says your God. Speak tenderly to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry to her that her time of service and her warfare are ended, that [her punishment is accepted and] her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received [punishment] from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

The word comfort in the Hebrew is nǎ·ḥǎm and it does mean the obvious—but it also means repent. When we repent, God forgives—and He also forgets. Isaiah continued by saying when we repent, God forgives and gives us kě·p̄ěl (the double). It does mean double numerically but it refers to what is called “the double”.

In those days, someone’s sins, or debts, could be written on a piece of parchment or animal skin and nailed to the doorframe of the debtor’s home. Anyone passing by could see it and so their debts were open to public gaze, bringing shame and reproach, criticism and condemnation. A kindly benefactor could see it, pay the debt in full, fold it up and nail it shut, writing “debt paid in full”. No one could see it then (but the writing remained).

Jesus paid the double for us but took it one step further. He completely erased the record as if it had never existed!

I did not mention what happens when we do make mistakes later, but God has also provided for that.

I shall leave you with this.

God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets. Therefore, let no one judge you... Colossians 2:13-16

Your past record now is just what is depicted below.

Shalom, shalom

Robert