And drinks My Blood..
And drinks My Blood…
(Imaginary
dialogue between two friends about the true meaning of drinking blood in the bible)
- Thomas: I had a question – or more of an objection – regarding those who claim that the Eucharist is the actual body and blood of Christ. I believe it is very clear that this is a symbolic or metaphorical representation, nothing more…’Am I seriously consuming flesh? Surely the Bible’s teachings condemn this?’ The evidence is that God prohibited the consumption of blood: "But you shall not eat the flesh with life, that is, its blood." (Genesis 9:4). In the New Testament, one of the laws imposed by the apostles on the Gentiles was to abstain from consuming blood. The verse says, "that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell." (Acts 15:29). Is it reasonable that our Lord would command us not to drink blood, and then instruct us to drink His blood? Let’s see what my best friend had to say about this…
- George: Well... let me ask your question in a different way. If we use the same logic you're using, considering that Christ is speaking metaphorically, does it make sense for the Lord to use an analogy that contradicts the commandment that prohibits drinking blood? I think it would be an unacceptable and illogical mistake.
-
Thomas:
- George: Look, the problem is the limited understanding of the commandment. It misinterprets the commandment that testifies to the Eucharist, making it seem as if it contradicts it. Unfortunately, this incorrect interpretation can unknowingly lead to accusations of blasphemy against Christ Himself!
- Thomas:
o "But you must not eat
meat that has its lifeblood still in it." (Genesis 9:4)
o "But be sure you do not
eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life
with the meat." (Deuteronomy 12:16)
o "But be sure you do not
eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life
with the meat." (Deuteronomy 12:23)
-
George: Actually, I think I can even add
more verses to your list:
o "But
be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must
not eat the life with the meat." (Deuteronomy 12:24)
o "But
you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water."
(Deuteronomy 12:25)
o "But
you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water. Do not eat
it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you when you do
what is right in the eyes of the Lord." (Deuteronomy 12:27)
o "And
every person among you, whether a native or a foreigner who is not your
offspring, anyone who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person
who eats blood and will cut him off from his people." (Leviticus 17:10)
o "Therefore,
I said to the people of Israel, 'You shall not eat the blood of any creature,
for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut
off.'" (Leviticus 17:12)
o "For
the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life. Therefore, I
have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature,
for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut
off." (Leviticus 17:14)
o "That
you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from
what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves
from these, you will do well. Farewell." (Acts 15:29)
The idea is not about the number of verses; the argument here is flawed and misplaced. The first indication that the argument is incorrect is that you believe the command prohibits all blood consumption without distinguishing between the body of the Lord and His blood. To address this misconception, consider the following:
If we are partaking in the blood of the Lord, how does the command prohibit blood consumption? … The answer lies within the question itself: we are prohibited from drinking blood because we are drinking the blood of the Lord!
- Thomas: How so? I don't understand.
George: You must first understand why the command in the Old Covenant prohibited blood consumption. What does the testimony of the apostles, who were specifically chosen to uphold the commandments while focusing on the Gentile churches, reveal? (Aside from abstaining from what is sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality). Keep in mind that the strangled animal is like abstaining from drinking blood (as the strangled animal dies with its blood).
-
Thomas: I'm ... I'm not really getting it.
- George: Alright, lets take a deep breath and focus. The answer to your question starts with the verse you mentioned: "But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood." (Genesis 9:4). Did you pay attention to the phrase "with its life, that is, its blood"? This signifies that the prohibition of consuming blood is specifically because blood contains life, and, consequently, blood is considered life itself. Hence, blood is not consumed because it represents life.
-
Thomas: Right,
and that's why it also says, "For the life of every creature is its
blood."
- George: The verse you mentioned emphasizes the sanctity of life, as the blood symbolizes life. Additionally, the verse (Leviticus 17:14)[1] confirms that the soul is in the blood. Thus, the first conclusion is that blood atones for the soul (as blood contains life).
The second conclusion is that the soul of the animal is the focus; it is what should not be consumed. Do you follow up to this point?
-
Thomas: Yeah, I think so.
- George: Great! The Lord prohibited consuming the souls of animals so that His beloved people could consume His own soul. For those who consume the Lord, they shall live by Him (John 6:57), while animals will be destroyed (Psalm 49:12, 20). What share do animal souls have with the Lord? Or what partnership is there between the souls of animals and the Lord, the Spirit from heaven (1 Corinthians 15:40-55; 2 Corinthians 6:14-16)?
-
Thomas: I am not quite getting the connection....
- George: The context is all about the partnership with the Lord, a sacred partnership that does not accept strangers (represented by animal souls). It is a partnership between the people and the Lord and within the people themselves in the Lord's partnership. It is a partnership that brings joy to the Lord, reflecting back joy from the Lord to the people so that they may rejoice in their partnership with Him.
Go back to the text (Leviticus 17:7-16)[1] and see the punishment imposed on the violator. Firstly, "I will set my face against the person who eats the blood" and then "I will cut him off from among his people." It's a double punishment: setting the face against the partnership with the Lord and cutting off the partnership with the rest of the people.
So, in summary, the prohibition of drinking blood is connected to the sanctity of the partnership with the Lord, where the blood symbolizes life and the soul of the animal is not to be consumed. Do you Understand?
-
Thomas: So,
you mean to say that blood carries life, and therefore, drinking the blood of
the sacrifice indicates a fellowship outside the Lord's fellowship?
- George: Exactly!
The same meaning you expressed is evident in the context of the prohibition in
Deuteronomy regarding the consumption of blood (Deuteronomy 12:12-18)[2]
. The commandment to refrain from eating meat with its blood has two reasons:
first, because life is in the blood, and second, on a broader level, it
addresses fellowship on two levels — between the Lord and the people and among
the people themselves. Third, it serves as a punishment for the violator by
cutting them off from that fellowship. So, the prohibition is about the souls
of animals, and the context indicates a rejection of those souls to preserve
the sanctity of the people's souls, consecrated for the fellowship with the
Lord alone.
-
Thomas: Make
sense. So, as part of sanctifying our fellowship with the Lord, we shouldn't
participate in strange associations. This is St. Paul's teaching in his letter
to the Corinthians: 'You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of
demons too. You cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of
demons.' (1 Corinthians 10:21) It might not have been specifically about
the Eucharist, but the same principle applies.
- George: Exactly! St Paul's words take
from the meaning we convey and build upon it. The issue lies in 'the
association between the corrupt and the righteous'.
-
Thomas: Alright.
But I think there is a still a missing piece. What’s the connection between the
soul being in the blood and the sacred association between the Lord and the
church?
-
George: The association with the Lord
means sanctification for the Lord and dedication to Him exclusively... giving
Him everything, the whole heart, mind, and soul. As for the blood, it contains
a foreign animal soul, so whoever drinks it incorporates within themselves a
foreign soul. The reason for the prohibition, as understood from the context,
is to maintain the sanctity of the association with the Lord.
-
Thomas: Got
what you mean... Alright, could you explain this to me in the context of the
New Testament?
-
George: Let's now look at the
recommendations of the First Council of Jerusalem and the prohibitions the
apostles advised: 'It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden
you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from
food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and
from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.'
(Acts 15:28-29) These three directives focus on preserving the
individual—every individual—keeping oneself pure from any association except
with the Lord.
The first commandment: Food
sacrificed to idols carries an honorific authority for the idols. Even if the
eater doesn't believe in them, by partaking in their sacrifices, they honor and
emotionally connect themselves to them.
The last commandment: It
pertains to sexual immorality, where a person engages in a union of body with a
stranger, far from the Lord—not just my words but the Apostle's, following the
Law, as the Apostle conveys from the Law, saying: 'Do you not know that he
who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said,
'The two will become one flesh.' But whoever is united with the Lord is one
with him in spirit.' (1 Corinthians 6:16-17). This directive
safeguards the person's body in association with the Lord, sanctifying it for
Him and keeping it holy from other impure relationships.
The second commandment: which is
about blood. I think now you'd agree with me that the wisdom behind this
directive is to preserve the association with the Lord as sacred on the level
of the soul, which should not mix with bestial desires or foreign spirits
within.
The same essence seen in the Old Testament is
carried by the directive in the New Testament, fittingly placed with two other
directives carrying the same purpose, so that believers, attentive and obedient
to them, can fully preserve the sanctity of their association with the
Lord—heart, soul, and body.
-
Thomas: That’s
much clearer now. Thank you so much!
- George: So, the directive from the beginning of the Old Testament was to prevent the entry of the stranger within us to safeguard us for the sake of the near one, for the Lord Himself. It preserves us as sanctified for the better association, the association of the blood of the Lord. Because the life of a being is in its blood, the directive warned against drinking the blood of animals. For the same reason, we partake of the blood of Christ. For it is Christ who is my life, and because I live, it is not I but Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2:20; Philippians 1:21).
[1]
They shall no longer offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have
played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their
generations." '. Also, you shall say to them: 'Whatever man of the house
of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who offers a burnt offering
or sacrifice, and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting,
to offer it to the Lord, that man shall be cut off from among his people. 'And
whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you,
who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and
will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the
blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your
souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.' Therefore, I
said to the children of Israel, 'No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall
any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.' Whatever man of the children of
Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who hunts and catches any
animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with
dust; for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore,
I said to the children of Israel, 'You shall not eat the blood of any flesh,
for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.'
"And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts,
whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, he shall both wash
his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be
clean. But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his
guilt." (Leviticus 17:7-16)
[2]
And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and your
daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your
gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you. Take heed to yourself
that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; but in
the place which the LORD chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer
your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you. “However,
you may slaughter and eat meat within all your gates, whatever your heart
desires, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you;
the unclean and the clean may eat of it, of the gazelle and the deer alike.
Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it on the earth like water.
You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or your new wine or
your oil, of the firstborn of your herd or your flock, of any of your offerings
which you vow, of your freewill offerings, or of the heave offering of your
hand. But you must eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the
LORD your God chooses, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant
and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall
rejoice before the LORD your God in all to which you put your hands. (Deuteronomy
12: 12-18)
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