Sound out the ram's horn!

Matthew 27:50 (NKJV): And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

Leading up to Jesus' death on the cross, here's what Matthew 27:45-46 say, 'Now from the sixth hour (12 pm) until the ninth hour (3 pm) there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour JESUS CRIED OUT WITH A LOUD VOICE, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"... Matthew 27:50 then says, 'And JESUS CRIED OUT AGAIN WITH A LOUD VOICE, and yielded up His spirit'.

Interestingly, at the time Jesus cried out with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit, the sound of ram's horn was also heard from the temple not far away! For the record, the ninth hour was an important time in Jerusalem, because it was the time for evening sacrifice. As it was also the Passover week, the Passover lambs were being sacrificed in the Temple as well.

Therefore, these happened at the SAME time:
- the Passover lambs being sacrificed in the temple;
- the Lamb of God (Jesus) being sacrificed on the cross!

What then is the significance of blowing the ram's horn?
Jesus crying out with a loud voice is synonymous with the blowing of the ram's horn! On the cross some two thousand years ago, JESUS CRIED OUT IN AGONY (and the ram's horn sounded); but when He comes again, HE WILL CRY OUT IN VICTORY (and the ram's horn will sound again)! (see 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 1 Corinthians 15:51-57)

The ram (male sheep) is a 'picture' of our Lord Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, the ram has to be killed in order to get the horn. There's no other way around it. In other words, the ram has to die. 'Horn', by the way, is a symbol of 'strength and power', and Jesus is the strength of our lives. Psalm 73:26 says, 'My flesh and my heart may fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (i.e. mine forever)'.

On the cross, He (who is the strength of our lives) laid down His life for us, and carried all our sins, cross, and shame with Him. He who knew no sin became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21), hence became weak and died; so that we might become the righteousness of God through Him (2 Corinthians 5:21), hence become strong and alive! You see, sin always weakens; whereas righteousness always strengthens! Jesus (who is strong and mighty) gave Himself up for our sake, so that we can have the forgiveness of sins and a new life! (Ephesians 1:7)

And you know what? When this happened on the cross, the veil that separated us from God was TORN! Matthew 27:51-54 says, 'Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!"'

Now, let's look at the Old Testament parallel in the book of Joshua. Joshua 6:2-5 says, 'And the Lord said to Joshua: "See! I have given Jericho into your hand... You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him."

'Joshua' ('Yehowshua' in Hebrew, meaning 'YHWH saved') is a 'type' of our Lord Jesus Christ. How about 'Jericho'? This city was known those days as 'the city of palm trees', and 'palm trees' symbolize 'triumph, victory, prosperity, peace, and eternal life'. 

When the ram's horn was blown, and with a great shout from all the people, the wall (that separated God's people from entering 'the city of palm trees') crumbled! In other words, the wall that separated God's people from walking in triumph, victory, prosperity, peace, and eternal life was BROKEN; just as the veil in the temple was torn!

On the third day after the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, Matthew 28:1-10 says, 'Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, came and ROLLED BACK THE STONE from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for HE IS RISEN, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that HE IS RISEN from the dead, and He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you." So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word'.

People of God, as we celebrate the life and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, this is your time to shout out aloud, and declare that HE IS RISEN, HE IS ALIVE, EVERY STONE HAS BEEN ROLLED AWAY, and YOU TOO HAVE BEGUN WALKING IN TRIUMPH, VICTORY, PROSPERITY, PEACE, AND OF COURSE, ETERNAL LIFE! AMEN!

Jesus is your Perfect Offering

1 Peter 2:5 (NKJV): You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

The word 'offer' is a verb, and it means 'to give freely as a gift or as a sacrifice'. Jesus' sacrifice for you on the cross was a perfect sacrifice and a perfect gift for you, done once for all (see Hebrews 10:10, Hebrews 7:27-28).

What then is an 'offering'? It is a noun. This word 'offering' simply means 'a gift, or a present'. Biblical offerings in the Old Testament include animals, birds, land produce, or incense. A nation or individual those days made offerings in order to have right relationship with God. However, in Old Testament days, this practice was also a never-ending 'cycle', i.e. whenever someone sinned, he had to offer up another offering! How about you in the New Covenant today? The Bible says by Jesus' one offering, He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified (Hebrews 10:14). As a believer, all your sins have been removed permanently because of Jesus' complete, perfect, and finished work on the cross for you. And He did it once for all!

The Old Testament is the 'shadow' of the things to come. So, if the 5 types of offering (see Leviticus chapters 1 to 5) is the 'shadow', then Jesus' work on the cross some 2,000 years ago is the 'substance'.

Today, as a believer, know that Jesus has become your perfect offering, and indeed He has fulfilled perfectly all the 5 types of offering mentioned in Leviticus 1-5.

Leviticus 1:2-3 says, 'When any one of you (i.e. 'offeror') brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of the livestock - of the herd and of the flock. If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord'.

The 5 types of offering:

Burnt Offering (Leviticus 1)
This speaks of Jesus' entire dedication to God when He died for you on the cross, and He did it willingly for you. This was an offering made by fire, a burnt sacrifice, and the sweet aroma of this burnt offering then delighted and pleased God the Father, who accepted this offering.
Today, Jesus' acceptance before God the Father is being transferred to you as a believer. The Bible says, 'as He is, so are you' (1 John 4:17). God therefore accepts you the same way as He accepts His Son, and He is also well-pleased with you, because you are in Christ.
Note: 
In the Old Testament days, the animal (sacrifice) was killed by gripping its nose and mouth (i.e. muzzle it), held tight, and then a knife was plunged into its throat. With every heartbeat, the dying animal would then pump out its own blood. It was a slow but sure death. The animal was then skinned and cut ('picture' of Jesus being wounded, striped, and pierced), and put on the wood to be burned (speaks of 'judgement' at the wooden cross).
Sounds cruel? But somebody had to die because of our sin and unrighteousness. The Bible says, 'for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord' (Romans 6:23).

Grain Offering (Leviticus 2)
This speaks of the Person of Jesus Christ, who also has become the Bread of life for you (John 6:33-35).
Note: 
It's a bloodless offering, i.e. no animal sacrifice, unlike the other 4 types of offering. 
'Fine flour' used for this offering speaks of Jesus' perfection, whereas 'oil' speaks of the Holy Spirit, i.e. the Spirit indwelling Him.
'Frankincense' was one of the best and costliest perfumes then, and it concerns 'priesthood'. This speaks of Jesus being your High Priest. 
'Salt' used for this offering speaks of 'covenant'. Jesus has provided a covenant for you when He came to die for you. 
The 'bread' then went into the oven (or pan), and this speaks of Jesus experiencing God's fire of judgment on your behalf.

Peace Offering (Leviticus 3)
The fact that a peace offering is needed implies something has gone wrong in regard to man's relationship with God. Since Adam's fall, man by nature has become 'unfit' to fellowship with God. So, this offering implies that peace needed to be made between the 'Sinless' and the 'sinner', and this peace was made when Jesus died for you on the cross!
Today, you have peace (and quietness) because you know Jesus has become the full satisfaction of God's wrath and punishment against sin. Real peace in one's life therefore rests not on one's feelings, but on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Sin Offering & Trespass Offering (Leviticus 4 & 5)
The difference between sin offering and trespass offering is a very thin line, but basically sin offering is for sins done ignorantly (or because of one's sin nature), whereas trespass offering is for sins done knowingly (or outward act of sin).
The priest laying hands on the animal's (i.e sacrifice's) head those days is a 'picture' of your sins being transferred to Jesus Christ. He has indeed become your perfect sacrifice, sinless and unblemished, on the cross. The Bible says, 'Jesus who knew no sin became sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God (i.e. in right standing with God) in Him' (2 Corinthians 5:21).
The priest would then dip his finger in the sacrifice's blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the Lord, in front of the veil of the sanctuary (Leviticus 4:6). The number 'seven' means 'perfect', representing the perfect work of Jesus on the cross.
When His work was finished, the veil of the temple that separated the 'Holy of Holies' from the 'Holy Place' was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50-51). This speaks of you (in the New Covenant) having access to His very presence, because someone had opened the way for you. Today, as a believer, there's no animosity between God and you anymore, and you can now therefore come boldly to the throne of His grace (Hebrews 4:16).
Note:
Here's an amazing fact about the veil of the temple: It's about 60 feet in height, 32 feet in width, 4 inches thick, and very tightly woven. Rabbinical records have shown that even two teams of oxen pulling the veil in opposite directions couldn't tear it apart. Yet when Jesus died on the cross, the veil was miraculously torn from top to bottom!