This little Bible study was inspired as part of a wider study on enmity against God. This article, The Origin of the Cross in the Fall of Man, provides the wider context for it.
Short commentaries follow beneath verses. May it be a blessing.
The foundational principle of biblical cleansing is found in Leviticus 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."
Because blood represents life itself, the following passages reveal a profound spiritual truth regarding the cleansing of God's Sanctuary, demonstrating how this purgation is inextricably connected to washing away literal bloodshed. Our heavenly Father desires to cleanse the soul temple of the inclination toward physical violence, which represents the carnal heart's enmity toward His character.
The cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary (not made with hands, Hebrews 9:11-12), finds its ultimate reflection in the complete eradication of the spirit of violence from His people below, as each individual heart, as well as the greater body of Christ, serves as His dwelling place. By understanding that blood equals life, we see that the only way to purge this carnal nature is by receiving the spiritual blood of Christ—His Holy Spirit—which infuses us with His divine life.
Strong's definitions are given in parentheses.
[Dan 8:14 KJV] — And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed (H6663; to be justified, vindicated, or made right).
[Joe 3:17, 21 KJV] — So shall ye know that I [am] the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. ... 21 For I will cleanse (H5352; acquit, clear, cleanse) their blood [that] I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.
These two prophetic statements fit together perfectly: Daniel tells us when the sanctuary will be cleansed, and Joel shows us what is being washed away. We often think of the sanctuary as being defiled by a written record of our sins. The root of all sin is enmity against God—a carnal desire to destroy His life, which manifests as a desire to shed innocent blood. Joel 3:21 tells us that God’s dwelling place cannot be restored until He cleanses this bloodguilt from His people. This means cleansing the sanctuary is about changing how we see God. It removes our belief in a harsh, retributive justice (the root) so we stop bringing the spirit of violence into His presence. When that root is dug up, physical bloodshed (the fruit) can finally cease.
[Num 35:33-34 KJV] — So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye [are]: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed (H3722; make atonement, cover, pacify) of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. 34 Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.
This passage occurs in the context of the cities of refuge. God declares that land defiled by blood cannot be atoned for except by the blood of the one who shed it. How readest thou? (Luke 10:26) Can we read this to mean that in order for atonement in the land to happen, the person guilty of physical bloodshed is the very one who needs to receive the reconciliation? While retributive justice demanded the literal death of the offender, the Cross of Calvary effectively breaks this legalistic cycle of blood-for-blood. It is the sinner's old carnal life that must be surrendered—not to retributive vengeance, but to be fundamentally transformed into the image of divine mercy. Verse 34 reinforces that we should not defile our habitation because God dwells there, reminding us that His dwelling place must be entirely free from bloodshed—an act completely contrary to His harmless nature.
[Mic 3:10 KJV] — They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
[Isa 1:15-17 KJV] — And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash (H7364; bathe, wash) you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Both these passages show clearly that physical blood is synonymous with iniquity and sin. God pleads with us to wash the blood from our hands, a cleansing that can only happen spiritually by us receiving of His lifeblood—His Spirit of true judgement—which which flows outward as practical righteousness, prompting us to relieve the oppressed, defend the fatherless, and plead for the widow.
[Eze 36:18, 25 KJV] — Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols [wherewith] they had polluted it: ... 25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse (H2891; purify, clear, cleanse) you.
This verse connects the shedding of blood to idol worship (there are many more verses showing this link, see footnote 1 at the end of the article), and promises that God will wash us clean from this by giving us a new heart and a new Spirit (verses 26-27). As established at the beginning, substituting the defiled life of the carnal mind with His Spirit is the essence of spiritual cleansing. Salvation is achieved not through penal substitution, but spiritual substitution. In a penal framework, Jesus is said to take the place of the sinner to be killed by an angry deity. It is a substitution for condemnation and death. In true atonement, however, the Spirit of Jesus is received and substituted in place of the sinner's defiled spirit within the sinner himself. It is a substitution for restoration and life.
[Isa 4:4-5 KJV] — When the Lord shall have washed (H7364; bathe, wash) away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged (H1740; rinse, cleanse) the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. 5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory [shall be] a defense.
This profound passage connects the purging of Israel's physical bloodguilt to a spiritual agent—"the Spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning." Rather than consuming the sinner, this divine fire consumes the carnal mind's violent delusions. The result is that every dwelling place in Zion receives complete divine protection because the glory—the fully restored character of God within them—becomes their defense.
[Eze 16:8-9 KJV] — Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time [was] the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine. 9 Then washed (H7364; bathe, wash) I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed (H7857; gush, flood, cleanse) away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.
Perhaps we could read this prophecy as the final movement of the Sanctuary's restoration. In the time of her love (agape), the corporate covenant people—the matured, anti-typical Laodicea—enter into full bridal betrothal with their Husband. He then cleanses the last remnants of blood (the carnal life of violence) from her, and anoints her with oil (symbolizing the Holy Spirit, the life-blood of Jesus). In this light, the work of redemption reaches its ultimate completion.
In the New Testament, the spiritual application is clearly set forth in the following verses, where the blood of Jesus Christ (His life, surrendered and shared through His Spirit) acts as the cleansing agent for human hearts from sin.
[Eph 1:7 KJV] — In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
[Heb 9:14 KJV] — How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
[1Joh 1:7 KJV] — But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
[Rev 1:5 KJV] — And from Jesus Christ, [who is] the faithful witness... Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.
[Rev 7:14 KJV] — ...These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Footnotes
[1] Se also: 2Ki 17:16-17; Psa 16:4; Psa 106:36-38; Jer 7:31, 19:4-5; Eze 22:3-4, 33:25, 36:18; Hos 13:2; Act 15:29, 21:25; Rev 2:14, 20, 9:20-21.
For further study, see following resources:
The Divine Pattern of Life
The water of life
At-one-ment
Cleansed by the blood of Jesus
Blood of the New Covenant
