LESSON
16:
The Miracle of Blood
1: No tissue in the human body is more vital than the blood stream. Our very lives depend on its condition. If it is thin and weak, we cannot expect to be healthy. If it is filled with all the wonderful elements that build up the body, its effects will be seen throughout the system.
2: Why is blood important? God explained this to man immediately after the flood when He said, "But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof shall ye not eat." Genesis 9:4. Our life is in the blood. Without it there could be no complex organism such as our human bodies. In fact, without the blood only the most simple or primitive forms of life could exist.
3: That wonderful stream began to flow before we were born. From that moment we really began to live. If it stops flowing, we could go into a state of shock. If it did not start within a few minutes, we would die. There is an old saying that blood is thicker than water. This is very true. Actually, normal human blood is five times thicker than water. That's why it requires so much pressure in the heart and arteries to keep it circulating through the body.
4: If the blood pressure should fall below normal, we would become weak and dizzy and might faint. If the blood pressure should go too high, we might suffer from headaches, palpitation, and heart failure. We might have a stroke. It is very important for us to maintain normal pressure at all times.
5: Blood is not a simple liquid like water. Under heavy pressure it circulates through a vast network of tiny living tubes, carrying life and energy to every part of the body. The blood that flows through your arteries and veins is also alive. In every drop, there are scores of different chemical substances, and all these have their special work in maintaining life and health.
6: If you are a normal healthy person, you have between five and six quarts of blood in your body. Nearly half of this consists of cells. There are white cells, and red cells, and tiny fragments called platelets. The red cells are the most numerous, but they are all very important.
7: All those cells are suspended in a heavy, yellowish liquid called plasma. This plasma contains other very important substances, such as proteins, vitamins, minerals, complex chemicals, glucose, salt, water, etc. This abundant supply of materials must always be available for the growth and repair of the body, so that the health of the body may be maintained.
8: Your blood stream provides you with the power and energy by which you live. It controls the proper functioning of every cell; every organ, and every tissue in your body. Many of natures most amazing secrets are revealed in the blood stream. Scientists are continually discovering new and more wonderful ways by which the blood stream builds up the body and helps to defend it against disease.
9: The most important work in the body is done by red blood cells. Each of these red blood cells contains a remarkable pigment called hemoglobin. This is what gives the rich red color to blood. If a person doesn't have enough red blood cells, or if his hemoglobin is too low, he suffers from some form of anemia. He may feel tired and listless and utterly worn out for no good reason at all. He should go to see a good doctor. He should never try to treat himself, because only a doctor can know what type of anemia he suffers from, and how it should be treated.
10: If a person's blood is normal, there should be about 5 million red blood cells, very much alive, in one drop of blood not much larger than a pin head. There are many billions of red blood cells in your body.
11: It is their duty to carry oxygen from the lungs out to the different tissues of the body. No cell in the human body can live more than a few minutes unless it receives a fresh supply of oxygen every moment. This is supplied only by the circulating blood. If the circulation fails, all the cells will soon die. No man is ever dead as long as his blood circulates. Deep breathing keeps the red blood cells well supplied with needed oxygen.
12: These red blood cells are very small. You would have to put 3,200 side by side to make one inch. They have to endure a great deal of wear and tear. They are thrown around in the blood vessels at great speed, and they are always under considerable pressure while they are in the arteries.
13: Most red blood cells do not live longer than five or six weeks. Some live less than that. As a result, they must be constantly replaced. In fact, your body must produce no less than 12 million red blood cells every second just to keep your normal blood supply up. To meet this need, you must have a good supply of protein in your food every day. Over 1/3 of the protein you eat goes to replace the red blood cells that are constantly being worn out. These red blood cells are born in the bone marrow. This is the soft tissue inside the long bones of the body.
14: When a person's red blood cells are not replaced quickly enough he becomes anemic. This could be caused by unusual bleeding such as a stomach ulcer. It could come from infections or malaria, or intestinal parasites. Sometimes bone marrow can be injured by industrial exhaust, or from some of the drugs that are found in popular and highly advertised headache remedies, but most people suffering from anemia are sick because of improper diet.
15: The bone marrow cannot produce healthy red blood cells, unless it is given the proper materials, with which to work. These include plenty of protein and iron. Such substances can only come from the things we eat. There is no other way we can get them.
16: Foods that help to build up the blood include such things as apricots, dates, raisins, prunes, greens, peas, beans, whole grains, maize, etc. All these contain iron in the best form that the body can use.
17: Carbohydrate foods such as sweetmeats (candy), cakes, etc., do not contain the substances that build up the blood. In fact, some carbohydrates actually seem to depress the production of red cells. In some experiments, animals were found to replenish their supply of red blood cells better when they were starved than when they were fed on white bread and sugar. So, if you are feeling tired and weak, take a good look at your diet. Our bodies can never be healthy while living on a poor diet.
18: By careful study we can learn to take proper care of these wonderful bodies God has given us. The principles are all stated clearly in this wonderful book called the Bible. There is more in it than just instruction for our physical bodies. In it, God states that He will not do anything greatly affecting this world without revealing His plans to the world through His servants the prophets. Amos 3:7.
19: God's plans for redeeming man from the clutches of Satan provided a way for the payment of the penalty of man's sin. That penalty was death. God's Son would come to this world, take upon Himself the form of a man, and then by His death pay the penalty for all mankind.
20: To the Prophet Daniel, God revealed in visions the time when Jesus would begin His work as the Redeemer. The time when He would die for the sins of the world was also revealed. When people who studied the Bible should see how the life of Jesus corresponded exactly with the prophecies given so long before, they would understand and believe that He was the Redeemer so long foretold.
21: Daniel was in a vision and heard an angel speaking. "And he said unto me, unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Daniel 8:14. At first Daniel the Prophet also did not quite understand this, and he goes on to say, "And it came to pass, when I, even I, Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. Daniel 8:14,15.
22: "And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called and said, Gabriel make this man to understand the vision. Daniel 8:16. Daniel had seen a vision and he could not understand it, so, the angel Gabriel is instructed to make this vision plain to him. "So he (the angel, Gabriel) came near where I stood: and when he came I was afraid, and fell upon my face: and he said unto me, understand, 0 son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision." Daniel 8:17, which is to say that this vision extends right up to the time of the end.
23: Daniel continues: "And he informed me, and talked with me and said, 0 Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications thou art greatly beloved; therefore, understand the matter, and consider the vision." Daniel 9:23.
24: Please note carefully when this period of 2300 days began and its subdivisions and its ending time: "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness and to seal up the vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy." Daniel 9:24.
25: Let us now see how this seventy week period is calculated, "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and three score and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times." Daniel 9:25. "And after three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off. . And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." Daniel 9:26, 27.
26: This period begins when the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem is given. This came in 457 B.C. We find this recorded in Ezra 7:11:26. In figuring out this prophecy, we are to remember that one prophetic day in the Bible is equal to one year as we find it recorded in Ezekiel 4:6, and Numbers 14:34. So, we conclude that 2300 days actually mean 2300 years.
27: So, seventy weeks will mean 490 years. The first part of this long period of 2300 years is 7 weeks or 49 years allotted to restore and build Jerusalem. Counting from 457 B.C., the time when the actual decree was given we add seven weeks or 49 years and come to 408 B.C., when the city and temple were completed.
28: After this another 62 weeks are to be added, or 434 years, which will reach to the Messiah. This is a total of 69 weeks or 483 years, from the autumn of 457 B.C., to the autumn of A.D. 27. In that very year, Christ was anointed at His baptism.
29: In the midst of the 70th week (seven years following A.D. 27) Messiah (Christ) was cut off or crucified (A.D. 31) which marked the time for the sacrifices and oblations of the earthly sanctuary to cease.
30: Three and one half years later Stephen was stoned, the first Christian martyr and the first great persecution of the church broke out. Saul was converted and became Paul the great Apostle to the Gentiles. This year A.D. 34 marks the rejection of the Jews and the end of the 70 weeks or 490 years, which were "cut off" of the 2300 days (years). There remain 1810 years. These, added to A.D. 34 take us to A.D. 1844 about which we shall not study just now.
31: God's clock ticks accurately; so that we will have faith in His words. Yes, friends, the only purpose why Jesus came to this earth, was to live a life of perfect obedience to Gods law and then offer His sinless blood for our cleansing so that we might be saved eternally. Aside from Jesus, no man who lived in this world ever had sinless blood or even claimed to have sinless blood. Jesus is the only name given under heaven whereby we might be saved.
32: Will you, accept His sacrifice on your behalf? Behold Him on the cruel cross not because of anything He did, but all because of your and my sins. He wants to save us. All that He expects of us is to accept His sacrifice and to acknowledge Him. Will you do it?
