There is something about blood that fascinates and horrifies. Even without a body, forensically a certain amount of blood at a crime scene can be accepted as evidence of a death. Many religions require some form of blood, although not usually as an atonement for sin, but usually as a way of calling on the spirits and working spells.
For Christians the Blood of Jesus is both the means whereby sins are covered and a weapon in the arsenal of spiritual warfare. It is therefore imperative that we understand exactly what the Word teaches about blood
"Life's Blood"
Lev 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Lev 17:14 For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.
From the time that Adam and Eve sinned and God killed animals to provide clothes for them, blood has been shed and required as an atonement for sin. With the death of Jesus on the cross when He shed his blood He forever eliminated the necessity for the sacrifice of animals as atonement for man's sins.
Since the time of Adam, animal sacrifice had been required by God as a covering for sin. A few examples are: Abel, Abraham, Job, Elijah, Levitical priests. The Jews performed animal sacrifices on a daily basis in obedience to God's command.
It is interesting that within 70 years after the death of Jesus that the temple in Jerusalem was totally destroyed thereby ending the Jewish sacrifice of animals that has never been reestablished.
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