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From “Answers To Your Bible Version Questions” by David W. Daniels 

Question: Gehenna is not hell, is it? It was a valley where outcasts, thieves and infected people where thrown when they died. The Bible refers to “Gehenna” as the place of death and pain. The word “hell”, as you so often use, where eternal pain and fire awaits is actually “Gehenna”. If you have read a bible written before 1400, you will notice a very important thing: “HELL” is missing. Instead it says “Gehenna”. There is no fire breathing eternal pain demon hell!! In fact YOU are committing a sin here. Telling people, or lying to people about hell, when you should know about “Gehenna”. There is no hell. Only the valley of “Gehenna”. A graveyard!!

Answer: The word “Gehenna” is properly translated “hell” in the King James Bible. And actually, except for three known Bibles1, every Bible says “hell,” not the untranslated word “Gehenna”.

What does “Gehenna” mean?

“Gehenna” originally referred to the Valley of Hinnom by Jerusalem. It was the place of horrible idolatry. So when the Hebrews finally came back to Jerusalem after 70 years of Babylonian Captivity (about 605-535/6 BC), they resolved never to use the Valley of Hinnom for idolatry again. Instead, they burned their trash there, and it became a burning valley of waste.

But we know that Jesus and the apostles didn’t mean to refer to a garbage dump. Here’s why. There are certain statements in the Bible that tell us clearly about “Gehenna”, translated “hell” in the King James Bible. Notice these verses.

Both body and soul are destroyed there

“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). No power on earth can destroy a soul. The soul is a part of a person that exists beyond physical death (Revelation 20:4). “Gehenna” has to be a place to destroy both the body and the soul.

A person goes there after death

“And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him” (Luke 12:4-5). It is no threat to throw a dead body into a grave, a junkyard or a furnace. But God has power to cast a person, whose body is dead, into “Gehenna.” There is only one reason to fear the person that can throw you into Gehenna: you must be aware that you are cast there. So Gehenna is hell, the place where the unrighteous dead are cast.

Its fire shall never be quenched

“And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:” (Mark 9:43, 45). “Gehenna” is said to be a “fire that shall never be quenched”. The earth and the works therein shall all be burned up (2 Peter 3:10), but they will be replaced with a new earth wherein righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1). So “Gehenna” could not mean an earthly place, since all fires shall be quenched on earth. But hell’s fire shall never be quenched. It is clear: Gehenna is hell, not a trash dump.

Even though the word “Gehenna” comes from the Valley of Hinnom, simply rendering it as “garbage dump” or “valley of waste disposal” or “burning garbage” could not be an accurate translations, because that’s not what Jesus and the apostles meant when they used the word. It meant “the place where people go when they die.” That’s what we mean when we say “hell”.

You wrote:

“If you have read a bible written before 1400. You will notice a very important thing, HELL is missing. Instead it says Gehenna.”

You mentioned Bibles before 1400. The only known Bible in English from before then is the Wycliffe Bible of 1380. Does it use “hell” or “Gehenna”? Let’s find out!

The term “Gehenna” is found in Greek in these verses of the Bible:

Matthew 5:22,29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; Mark 9:43,45,47; Lu 12:5; Jas 3:6

Here they are in the Wycliffe version:

Matthew 5:22 But Y seie to you, that ech man that is wrooth to his brothir, schal be gilti to doom; and he that seith to his brother, Fy! schal be gilti to the counseil; but he that seith, Fool, schal be gilti to the fier of helle.

Matthew 5:29-30 That if thi riyt iye sclaundre thee, pulle hym out, and caste fro thee; for it spedith to thee, that oon of thi membris perische, than that al thi bodi go in to helle. And if thi riyt hond sclaundre thee, kitte hym aweye, and caste fro thee; for it spedith to thee that oon of thi membris perische, than that al thi bodi go in to helle.

Matthew 10:28 And nyle ye drede hem that sleen the bodi; for thei moun not sle the soule; but rather drede ye hym, that mai lese bothe soule and bodi in to helle.

Matthew 18:9 And if thin iye sclaundre thee, pulle it out, and caste awei fro thee. It is betere to thee with oon iye to entre in to lijf, thanne hauynge tweyn iyen to be sent in to the fier of helle.

Matthew 23:15 Wo to you, scribis and Farisees, ypocritis, that goon aboute the see and the loond, to make o prosilite; and whanne he is maad, ye maken hym a sone of helle, double more than ye ben.

Matthew 23:33 Ye eddris, and eddris briddis, hou schulen ye fle fro the doom of helle?

Mark 9:43 (9:42) And if thin hoond sclaundre thee, kitte it awey; it is betere to thee to entre feble in to lijf, than haue two hondis, and go in to helle, in to fier that neuer schal be quenchid,

Mark 9:45 (9:44) And if thi foote sclaundre thee, kitte it of; it is betere to thee to entre crokid in to euerlastynge lijf, than haue twei feet, and be sent in helle of fier, that neuer schal be quenchid,

Mark 9:47 (9:46) That if thin iye sclaundre thee, cast it out; it is betere to thee to entre gogil iyed in to the reume of God, than haue twey iyen, and be sent in to helle of fier, where the worme of hem dieth not,

Luke 12:5 But Y schal schewe to you, whom ye schulen drede; drede ye hym, that aftir he hath slayn, he hath power to sende in to helle. And so Y seie to you, drede ye hym.

James 3:6 And oure tunge is fier, the vniuersite of wickidnesse. The tunge is ordeyned in oure membris, which defoulith al the bodi; and it is enflawmed of helle, and enflawmeth the wheel of oure birthe.

So you see that “Gehenna” is not the term used in English at all! Not until Young’s Literal Translation in the late 1800s, followed by the Catholic New American Bible of 1970 was the untranslated “Gehenna” put in. Look at foreign translations. The Spanish Reina-Valera of 1602-1989 rightly says “el infierno” and the Portuguese Corrigida Fiel says “do inferno”, both of which mean “Hell” as we in English use the term. “Hell” is an understandable word. “Gehenna” is not.

And “hell” accurately translates the meaning of the word “Gehenna.” “Gehenna” is not a translation; it is just a transliteration (translating letters, but not meaning). We find that first in the perverted Roman Catholic Latin Vulgate (400s AD), which was forced on the people of Europe as the only legal Bible for over a thousand years. Not until the Reformation of the 1500s were God’s actual words translated into the language of the people. And every one of them was careful to translate “Gehenna” into an English word with the same meaning. All but two of the English Bibles, from at least 1380 onward (that’s all I’ve checked on this so far), translate “Gehenna” into the understandable word “hell.”2 That’s what a good Bible should do.

WHO NEEDS HELL?

“Hell” is an uncomfortable word. Everybody knows what it means. But new Bible versions, wherever possible, try to remove the word “hell” from the Scriptures and replace it with “sheol” or “gehenna” or “hades” or “Tartarus.” In doing so, they rob the Scriptures of the force of the word “hell.”

“Hades” has a big pagan meaning that is completely divorced from the Bible. “Sheol” is a Hebrew word without any meaning at all to an ordinary reader. Have you ever heard people say they don’t want to “go to gehenna?”

No. But people do say, “I don’t want to go to hell.” Many people’s salvation is based on that …they didn’t want to go to hell. They may not understand the love of God, but they understand clearly that they do not want to go to hell. The revival that happened under the ministry of Jonathan Edwards began with a sermon called “Sinners in the hands of an angry God.” His listeners felt themselves slipping out of their seats and their feet getting singed by the fires of hell when he preached, and revival broke out.

We need a Bible with a lot of hell in it. We need to know where we are not going. The whole purpose of evangelism is to save people from hell. We need a Bible that doesn’t try to sanitize it with a nicer sounding word that people don’t understand. That forceful warning word, “hell,” is found in the King James Bible.

I hope this has helped you understand the King James Bible a little more, and why it is the preserved words of God in English.

May God bless you as you read and understand His words.

Footnotes

  1. Specifically, the Roman Catholic Latin Vulgate (400s AD), Young’s Literal Translation (1862 & 1898) and the Roman Catholic New American Bible (1970-1991)
  2. This list includes the 1380 Wycliffe, the 1534 & 1535 Tyndale, the Cranmer (Great) Bible of 1539 & 1540, the Geneva Bibles of 1557, 1560 and 1599, the Bishop’s Bible of 1568 & 1602, even the Jesuit Rheims New Testament of 1582, and almost all Bibles from 1881 to the present. Except for Young’s Literal and the New American Bible, they all say “hell” (spelled “hel,” “helle” or “hell”), not “Gehenna”.

Is Hell Forever or Temporal? | More on Hell here

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Is Hell Forever or Temporal? [podcast]

SHOULD “GEHENNA” BE TRANSLATED “HELL”?

“Many shall be Purified, and made White, and Tried” Daniel 12:10 [podcast]

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The Song of Moses: God’s Favor upon His People [podcast]


“And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.” Deuteronomy 31:30

Everything we read of the children of Israel was pointing to Christ and to His perfect salvation He would later come and accomplish and bestow upon His beloved people, the body of Christ which is “the Israel of God.” (Galatians 6:16)  And so this song is written to us (Romans 15:4;  Corinthians 10:11).

At the end of his days, at the end of the 5 books he penned, God gives us through Moses a summation of His salvation work among His beloved people.

“He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. 11 As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: 12 So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. 13  He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;  14  Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.” Deuteronomy 32:10-14

“32:10-14 The birth and childhood of the nation of Israel are described in verse 10. After the Exodus from Egypt, God guided, instructed, and preserved His people with the love of a mother eagle (v. 11). There was no foreign god who had a part in Israel’s preservation. Why then should the nation turn to idolatry and ascribe the goodness of Jehovah to another? Beginning in verse 13, the song is prophetic. He brought them into the blessings of the Promised Land.” Believer’s Bible Commentary

“Deuteronomy 32:10
a    [He found him in a desert land …] The sevenfold preservation of Israel:
1.    God found (literally, sustained) him in the wilderness (Deu_32:10).
2.    He led him around (Deu_32:10-12).
3.    He instructed him (Deu_32:10).
4.    He kept him as the apple (pupil) of His eye.
5.    He preserved him from idolatry (Deu_32:12).
6.    He exalted him among the nations (Deu_32:13).
7.    He gave him material prosperity (Deu_32:13-14).
b    [apple of his eye] Hebrew: ’iyshown (H380), the dark pupil of the eye; the hole, gate, or door of the eye (Psa_17:8; Pro_7:2)” Dake

“Deuteronomy 31:30-32:14
MOSES’ SONG: THE LORD’S FAVOR UPON ISRAEL
The song of Moses, like the fabled song of the swan, was his last and sweetest. It is probably the noblest ode in the whole compass of the Bible, and is the source from which subsequent singers derived suggestions for their noblest outbursts. The marginal references prove how deeply it dyed the national sentiment.

It excels in the names and designations of the Almighty. He is the Rock: Deu_31:4; Deu_31:15; Deu_31:18; Deu_31:30; Jehovah: Deu_31:6; Father: Deu_31:6; the Most High: Deu_31:8; God: El, the strong, Deu_31:15, etc. What a study are the names of God, scattered through the Bible! Each was coined to meet some need of the human soul. What the rocks of the desert are to its shifting sands God is amid the changes of this mortal existence.

This earlier part of the song is very tender. We are God’s portion; the apple of His eye; as young eaglets, whom the mother-bird is carefully teaching to fly, the favored recipients of God’s richest gifts, Deu_31:13, etc.” FB Meyer

Notice the descriptive language, the metaphors—how the LORD illustrates how He loves, protects, and provides for His people. In Scripture, the LORD uses imagery to communicate truth.

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High

shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will

say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my

God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee

from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome

pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with his feathers,

and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall

be thy shield and buckler.” Psalms 91:1-4

Read Psalm 91 often so this truth permeates you. Here the LORD uses the imagery of His “winged fowl” creation (Genesis 1:21). GOD made this very creature/bird for the express purpose of showing us how much He loves us and how He comforts, cares and provides for, guides, and protects His own (Psalms 91:1).

“The Song of Moses is recorded in Deuteronomy 32 of the King James Version (KJV), spanning verses 1 through 43. It is a prophetic poem given by Moses to the children of Israel just before his death, serving as a witness and a reminder of God’s faithfulness and Israel’s potential turning away.”

Prayer: Father, please grant that I know and understand You more and more. I love You LORD. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Jesus in Every Book of the Bible

First and foremost, God’s Word was written to reveal Christ.

The Bible is said to be “The only Book where the divine Author is present every time you read it.”

He’s divinely encoded and present on every page of His Word.

“And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.” Luke 24:44 

Every book of the Bible is about the LORD Jesus, who is the central theme, the sacred substance of all of Holy Scripture. If we miss Him, we miss everything, we miss the grand subject and revelation of God’s Word.

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. 40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” John 5:39-40

This makes it clear that we can “search the scriptures,” we can know them, and yet not know the Author.

They knew the Word of God but did not know the God of the Word. They made the choice not to “come to” Jesus thorugh His Word. They made it about themselves, not Jesus.

The Bible is one Book from one divine Author. The divisions are there to help us navigator His Word. – Old and New Testaments, chapters, verses, etc.

“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” Psalms 119:18

The supreme and most important “wondrous” thing we are to behold in Holy Writ, is Jesus Christ.

Amen. Jesus Christ is King of all kings, LORD of all lords.

“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. 8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:7-8

Jesus is present in every book of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Here’s a breakdown of how He is revealed in each book:

Old Testament Canon:

  • Genesis: Jesus is the seed of the woman (Gen 3:15) and the promised redeemer descended from the line of Judah (Genesis 22:17-18).
  • Exodus: Jesus is the Passover Lamb (Exodus 12:1-13).
  • Leviticus: Jesus is the Great High Priest (Leviticus 8:1-36; Hebrews 4:14).
  • Numbers: Jesus is the Rock (Numbers 20:2-13).
  • Deuteronomy: Jesus is the Bread of Life (Deuteronomy 8:3).
  • Joshua: Jesus is the Captain of the Lord’s host (Joshua 5:13-15).
  • Judges: Jesus is the Judge of Israel (Judges 2:11-15).
  • Ruth: Jesus is the Kinsman-Redeemer (Ruth 3:9-13).
  • 1 Samuel: Jesus is the King of Israel (1 Samuel 16:13).
  • 2 Samuel: Jesus is the Son of David (2 Samuel 7:12-13).
  • 1 Kings: Jesus is the King of Israel (1 Kings 1:30-40).
  • 2 Kings: Jesus is the King of Israel (2 Kings 17:13-15).
  • 1 Chronicles: Jesus is the King of Israel (1 Chronicles 17:11-15).
  • 2 Chronicles: Jesus is the King of Israel (2 Chronicles 6:16).
  • Ezra: Jesus is the Rebuilder of the Temple (Ezra 5:2-5).
  • Nehemiah: Jesus is the Rebuilder of the Walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 6:15-16).
  • Esther: Jesus is Mordecai (Esther 2:5-7).
  • Job: Jesus is the Ever-Living Redeemer (Job 19:25-27).
  • Psalms: Jesus is the Shepherd (Psalm 23:1-4).
  • Proverbs: Jesus is Wisdom (Proverbs 8:22-31).
  • Ecclesiastes: Jesus is the Teacher (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
  • Song of Solomon: Jesus is the Bridegroom (Song of Solomon 1:2-4).
  • Isaiah: Jesus is the Messiah (Isaiah 53:1-12).
  • Jeremiah: Jesus is the Righteous Branch (Jeremiah 23:5-6).
  • Lamentations: Jesus is the Suffering Servant (Lamentations 3:22-24).
  • Ezekiel: Jesus is the Shepherd (Ezekiel 34:11-16).
  • Daniel: Jesus is the Son of Man (Daniel 7:13-14).
  • Hosea: Jesus is the Husband (Hosea 2:16-20).
  • Joel: Jesus is the Day of the Lord (Joel 2:28-32).
  • Amos: Jesus is the Shepherd (Amos 5:24-27).
  • Obadiah: Jesus is the Redeemer (Obadiah 1:21).
  • Jonah: Jesus is the Savior (Jonah 2:9-10).
  • Micah: Jesus is the Ruler (Micah 5:2-5).
  • Nahum: Jesus is the Judge (Nahum 1:2-8).
  • Habakkuk: Jesus is the Righteous One (Habakkuk 1:13).
  • Zephaniah: Jesus is the Righteous Branch (Zephaniah 3:14-17).
  • Haggai: Jesus is the Desire of All Nations (Haggai 2:7).
  • Zechariah: Jesus is the Branch (Zechariah 3:8).
  • Malachi: Jesus is the Messenger (Malachi 3:1).

New Testament Canon:

  • Matthew: Jesus is the Messiah (Matthew 1:1-25).
  • Mark: Jesus is the Son of God (Mark 1:1-11).
  • Luke: Jesus is the Savior (Luke 2:11).
  • John: Jesus is the eternal, the divine Word of God (John 1:1-14).
  • Acts: Jesus is the Resurrected Lord (Acts 1:1-11).
  • Romans: Jesus is the Righteousness of God (Romans 3:21-26).
  • 1 Corinthians: Jesus is the Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:18-25).
  • 2 Corinthians: Jesus is the Great Comforter, Consoler, grace-giver, sufficiency of/to His people (2 Corinthians 1:1; 12).
  • Galatians: Jesus is the Redeemer, liberty giver (Galatians 3:13-14).
  • Ephesians: Jesus is the Head of the Church (Ephesians 1:20-23).
  • Philippians: Jesus is the God of Peace (Philippians 4:7-9).
  • Colossians: Jesus is the Creator and Sustainer of all life (Colossians 1:15-17).
  • 1 Thessalonians: Jesus is the Coming King (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
  • 2 Thessalonians: Jesus is the Coming Judge and King (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12).
  • 1 Timothy: Jesus is the High Priest (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
  • 2 Timothy: Jesus is the Faithful One, Rewarder (2 Timothy 2:13).
  • Titus: Jesus is the Savior, the Blessed Hope (Titus 1:3-4).
  • Philemon: Jesus is the Ransom (Philemon 1:8-9).
  • Hebrews: Jesus is the Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14; 5:1-10).
  • James: Jesus is the Righteous One, Giver of wisdom (James 1:1-18).
  • 1 Peter: Jesus is the Shepherd, Rock (1 Peter 2:25).
  • 2 Peter: Jesus is the Lord, Day Star (2 Peter 1:1-21).
  • 1 John: Jesus is the Son of God, Light, Advocate, Truth (1 John 1:1-14).
  • 2 John: Jesus is the Savior, Truth (2 John 1:1-13).
  • 3 John: Jesus is the Savior, Way (3 John 1:1-15).
  • Jude: Jesus is the Savior (Jude 1:1-25).
  • Revelation: Jesus is the Lamb of God, King of kings (Revelation 1:1-20).

Jesus is present in every book of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, as the seed of the woman, the Passover Lamb, the High Priest, the Rock, the Judge, the King, the Redeemer, the Shepherd, the Husband, the Savior, and more.

Jesus Christ is King. – “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. 8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:7-8

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Redemption Through Christ’s Sacrifice [podcast]


The Glories
of the
Scarlet Thread

(Few things could be this important to your spiritual life)

Of the scarlet of redemption, one writer notes:

“The Wonder of Redemption: The blood is the power of redemption and you will see this as we follow through the Bible from the beginning to the end of God’s revelation of Himself to man as recorded in the Bible.”

“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” Colossians 1:12-14

The great apostle of Jesus declared the Gospel to us:

“Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 

The Fall of Man

The Good News is so good due to the very bad news of our fall.

“Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: … Therefore as by the offence of one (Adam) judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” Romans 5:12, 18

When the man and woman whom God had created chose to sin against Him, He separated them from His presence. They attempted to cover their nakedness by sewing fig leaves together and girding them around their waists (Genesis 2:7). This was man’s attempt to cover his own sin and shame.

“The aprons of fig leaves speak of man’s attempt to save himself by a bloodless religion of good works.” William MacDonald

God did not honor the fig leaves so He shed the blood of animals to make them “coats of skins, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). Because He had already foretold that His Son would be sent to redeem the fallen race (Genesis 3:15), God chose to depict the sacrifice that the coming Redeemer would make by the sacrifice of innocent animals. The atonement for the man and woman by the sacrifice of these animals pointed to the prophesied Savior who would later come and personally shed His blood to atone for the sins of His creation which had been contaminated by sin.

“And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” Ezekiel 22:30

This Scripture above speaks to the utter need and absolute divine exclusivity and uniqueness of Christ.

From the cradle of creation through the dispensation of the Mosaic law, in Christ’s redemptive blood on Calvary’s cross, and throughout eternity future, we see that in the Creator’s economy it is blood that quenches the fire of His holy vengeance.

“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is NO remission.” Hebrews 9:22

God obviously instructed Adam and Eve to sacrifice animals to continue to cover their sin because their son Abel brought “the firstlings of his flock” at the time of sacrifice (Genesis 4:4).

The blood sacrifice that Abel offered to God was accepted because it demonstrated faith in the coming Redeemer.

When Israel was in bondage God informed the nation that each family was to shed the blood of an unblemished lamb and place the blood upon their doorposts before He delivered them from Egypt (Exodus 12). He said that this blood would save them from His wrath. The unblemished lamb was a type of the spotless Lamb of God which was to come to be slain (1 Peter 1:19), saving those who would receive Him, from the wrath of God (Romans 5:9).

Not Just Any Blood

“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem…” Galatians 4:4-5

Sin separated men from their holy Maker and God (Isaiah 59:2). Under the law God instructed the nation of Israel to approach Him by the sacrifice of animals. The sins of the people were atoned for by the blood of animals because this demonstrated faith in the prophesied and coming Redeemer (Leviticus 16:34, 17:11). In Leviticus 16 there is a twofold typology of Christ found. Aaron, the priest of Israel, was to take two goats to atone for the sins of the people (Lev. 16:8-10). One of these two goats was used as a “sin offering” and the other for a “scapegoat.” The “sin offering” goat that was sacrificed was a type of Christ who would later shed His blood, “offering Himself without spot to God” (Hebrews 9:14). His blood, which was depicted here in the blood of the animal, was to be the ultimate price for atonement (at-one-ment) that the Father required for the removal of the sins of the fallen race. The word “scapegoat” here literally means the goat of departure. Concerning this live goat of departure, the LORD instructed Aaron to lay both hands upon him and confess all the sins and iniquities of Israel upon him and then send him away into the wilderness (Leviticus 16:20-22). This goat, the scapegoat, was a type of Christ in that it would carry the sins of God’s people away from them. It would separate them from sin so that their sin wouldn’t separate them from God. This is a type of Christ in that He was to come and shed His perfect blood to “take away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

Jesus cried: “Why hast thou forsaken me?” (Psalms 22:1; Matthew 27:46)

“It was the human body which God had given Him. It was the sacrifice that cried-the Lamb about to die! The Son of Man knew Himself forsaken. God dumped that vast, filthy, slimy mass of human sin on the soul of the Savior-and then backed away.” A.W. Tozer.

“Wow! All that filth was ours! Jesus was our ultimate sacrifice! And Isaiah says in 53:10 that it ‘pleased the Lord to bruise Him.’ This was God’s divine plan that Jesus would be the sacrifice for our sins so we could have redemption and reconciliation with God. We cannot understand the depths of this kind of love for us! All we can do is praise Jesus! And love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37), and obey and follow Him all the days of our lives! All praise to You Jesus for loving us this much!” Karen Cochran

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This prophetic pattern continued to cover the sins of His people from the time of the fall until the One whom these sacrifices foreshadowed appeared (Hebrews 10). Those in Israel who truly loved the LORD fervently anticipated the arrival of the prophesied Messiah a Lamb of God. About 4,000 years after man had fallen, a prophet named John the Baptist, saw Jesus approaching and declared “Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). It was the fullness of time and the Father had sent the promised Redeemer into the earth to “take away the sin of the world.” The sacrifices that once atoned for Israel would now be superseded by the one sacrifice of God’s only begotten Son (Hebrews 10:1-23). His pure and spotless blood would now be shed to remove the sins of the world. The Lamb which was slain before the foundation of the world (in the mind of God) was now manifest in the flesh to redeem mankind from his sinful and separated state (Revelation 13:8; John 1:14). He became the “propitiation” (atoning sacrifice) for our sins (1 John 2:2).

Just before He went to His ordained altar, the cross, to be offered up for the sin of the world, Jesus said;

“For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Matthew 26:28

As is clearly announced in the God-breathed New Testament records, redemption, remission, and the forgiveness of sins comes only from the blood of Jesus, the one and only Redeemer of men (Ephesians 1:7).

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Ephesians 1:7

THE ULTIMATE AND FINAL SACRIFICE

He who knew no sin became the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world (2 Corinthians 5:21).

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” John 19:30

It was out of the riches of His mercy and grace that our sins have been remitted by the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. Note the finality of language He uses to convince you of this in the following passage:

“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God…For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified…. And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith…” Hebrews 10:12-22

Not only does the blood of Jesus take away/remove the sins of the one who personally receives Him, but also the guilt that is always coupled with sin (Hebrews 9:14; 1 John 1:9). What great salvation!

“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first-begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” Revelation 1:5

His blessed sinless divine blood is available to those who will simply “Come” to Him as He invites them to do … before and in order to be saved AND afterward, that fount is always available during this season …. (Matthew 11:28-30; Hebrews 4:14-16)! Anyone else thankful and happy about “the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” today? (1 Peter 1:18-19)

For a topical study of deeper proportions on this subject, see The Blood of Jesus.

Where is YOUR Christology friend? What know thee of Christ? Have you sought and studied Him? Go here: Christology (the study of Christ)

If you will be planted deep into Christ, your Christology, your study of, your personal knowledge of Christ must be deep, not shallow (Colossians 2:6-10).

If you truly desire to know more about how to really know the LORD, go here:  Born Again: What is It?

Sign up for free email devotional HERE… The Moments with My Master email devotional is sent out for the edification of the body of Christ.

PEACE with GOD

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“Amen! Words cannot express our thanks in what our Lord Jesus has done on the Cross for us, His suffering. We thank You Lord for all you have done, though we are undeserving, we thank you so much. Otherwise I would be lost, on my way to hell w/out your salvation.” Paula L.

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