“The Speaking Blood” The Present Truth 15, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
“We are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just man made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” Hebrews 12:22-24. PTUK April 27, 1899, page 257.1
“Cain was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his works were evil, and his brother's righteous.” 1 John 3:12. Cain and Abel each brought an offering to the Lord. Cain's offering was of the fruit of the ground, and Abel's of the firstlings of the flock, and of the fat thereof. Abel's offering was accepted, while Cain's was rejected; therefore Cain was envious, and slew his brother as they were alone in the field. Then said God to Cain, “Where is Abel thy brother?” “The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground.” Genesis 4:10. PTUK April 27, 1899, page 257.2
What did Abel's blood say to the Lord, as it cried from the ground? It cried for vengeance. A life had been taken, and nothing but life could satisfy the demand of justice. It cried just as does the hire of the labourers who have reaped the fields of the rich, which has been kept back by fraud. James 5:4. All the innocent blood that has been shed on the earth, cries to the Lord for punishment which will be meted out to the violent ones who have shed it; “for, behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no moreover her slain.” Isaiah 26:21. PTUK April 27, 1899, page 257.3
But what about “the blood of sprinkling,” to which we have come: what does it speak? It speaks peace and pardon. Christ, like Abel, was put to death because His works were righteous, but His blood calls not for vengeance. On the contrary, that blood is the only means by which even those who shed it can find salvation. It was a most cruel and wicked thing, to crucify “the Lord of glory,” and yet “through the blood of His cross” He reconciles all things to God, “whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” Colossians 1:20. What a marvellous thing! that the blood of the slain one procures pardon for the slayer! PTUK April 27, 1899, page 257.4
“See that ye refuse not him that speaketh.” Hebrews 12:25. The blood is the life, and therefore represents Christ Himself. The speaking of the blood is the very voice of Christ Himself. Christ said of those who with wicked hands nailed Him to the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34. This therefore is what is said by the sprinkled blood unto which we all have come, and by which we are brought near to God. Even though we ourselves have been guilty of the blood of Christ, by it we have boldness to enter into the holiest, even into the secret place of the Most High. Hebrews 10:19. There the blood brings us, and there the blood cleanses us from all sin. PTUK April 27, 1899, page 257.5
Abel knew of this blood, and of its cleansing power, for “by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous.” Hebrews 11:4. Abel was not by nature any more righteous than Cain was; but even those who were “aforetime foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another” (Titus 3:3), are made perfectly righteous through faith in His blood. Being made righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Then they can “offer the sacrifices of righteousness.” Psalm 4:5. PTUK April 27, 1899, page 257.6
It must be remembered that there was no virtue in the offering which Abel brought to the Lord, even though it was a more excellent sacrifice than that of Cain. There is only one sacrifice in the universe, and that is Christ, “who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God.” His blood will purge the conscience from dead works, so that all the works will be wrought in God. He was made a propitiation for sins before the foundation of the world, and faith in His blood, and that alone, without any act whatsoever, makes the believer righteous. But faith works, and the justified one by the same faith through which he receives pardon, can “offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God.” 1 Peter 2:5. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.” Psalm 51:17. This is a spirit that acknowledges that self is nothing but dust, and that the Christ of God is everything. PTUK April 27, 1899, page 258.1
The voice of the blood of Christ still speaks to us from heaven, inviting us, pleading with us, to come and receive pardon. How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation? “To-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.”
