But the blood of bulls and goats represented the blood of Christ.
That’s correct, and a shadow is a reflection that mimics the reality.
Because the New Covenant was not ratified by bread
, it was ratified by blood represented by the “cup”.
I agree the New Covenant is established on the blood of Christ. But its Old Covenant shadow was established on the blood of bulls.
What I mean is this:
"Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words." -- (Exodus 24:7-8).
The Old Covenant, with its rituals and laws, and even its people, was a physical
pattern of the New Covenant established in Christ:
“For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself…For the law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming — not the realities themselves.” -- (Hebrews 8, 9, 10).
The Old Covenant with its physical rituals and laws was a
copy and
shadow of the
realities fulfilled in the New Covenant through Christ. It’s called a
shadow because it’s a reflection that mimics the
realities found in Christ, just as our human
shadow is a reflection that mimics the
reality of our bodily movements.
This takes us back to 1 Corinthians 11:
"In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." -- (1 Corinthians 11:25).
The blood of bulls which ratified the Old Covenant was a copy and shadow that mimicked the blood of Christ which now ratifies the New Covenant. The blood of bulls was a reflecting shadow that mimicked the blood of Christ, just as animal sacrifice was a reflecting shadow that mimicked the sacrifice of Christ.
This means that if the blood of Christ is the sign of the New Covenant, the blood of bulls would, therefore, have been the sign of the Old Covenant, because the blood of bulls was the reflecting shadow that mimicked the blood of Christ. But we know that the blood of bulls was not the sign of the Old Covenant.
The shadow will always mimic the realty that it reflects, just as our human shadow will always mimic the reality of our bodily movements. I therefore conclude that the blood of Christ is not the sign of the New Covenant, because its reflecting shadow (the blood of bulls) was not the sign of the Old Covenant.
This is the sign of the Old Covenant:
"The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between Me and the Israelites forever" -- (
Exodus 31:16-17).
The
Sabbath-rest was the
sign of the Old Covenant and was also a
shadow reflecting the
reality now fulfilled in Christ. Therefore our
Sabbath-rest in Christ is the
sign of the New Covenant, just as its reflecting shadow was the
sign of the Old Covenant.
God said the
Sabbath was to be a
sign between Him and Israel “
forever”. So either God’s word has failed or the
Sabbath still remains a sign “
forever”.
The scriptures tell us that God’s word did not fail, and they tell us why God’s word did not fail:
"It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children….In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children…Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham…So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith " -- (Romans 9:6-8,
Galatians 3:7-18).
God’s word did not fail because the
Sabbath as a
sign under the Old Covenant still remains
forever through its
fulfillment in Christ. The
Sabbath still remains
forever as a
sign between God and the descendants of Abraham, who are now the spiritual Israel of God (the Church).
“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own works, just as God did from His.” -- (Hebrews 4:1-10).
The
sign of the New Covenant is our
Sabbath-rest in Christ from our fleshly works of human nature, just as God’s
Sabbath-rest was from His physical works of creation.
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me…and you will find rest for your souls. ” -- (Matthew 11:28-29).