Those who do not believe in Christianity think that its future hangs on a thread.
Indeed it does! It hangs on a scarlet thread, a thread strong enough to tie together the Bible and hold together God' people. Although many have tried to sever it, the thread remains intact to this day.
The writers of the Old Testament were not even aware of the scarlet thread, but nevertheless wrote about it. For instance, the midwife who delivered Judah's twin boys marked the wrist of the first baby with a red thread, but the baby pulled back into the womb and his brother was born first (Gen.38:12-30). The first baby represents the Jews, the people God chose first, most of whom did not accept Jesus; the second baby represents the Gentile world who did accept Him. The Book of Revelation explains how the Jews will come to Jesus later, beginning with the tribe of Judah (Rev.7:5).
Judah was the father of the twins, but also an ancestor of Jesus (Matt.1:2). Jesus is called the "Lion of Judah" (Rev.5:5) because he came from the tribe of Judah. The prophet Hosea foretold this "young lion from the tribe of Judah" centuries before Jesus was born (Hosea 5:14).
Rahab, the prostitute who saved two of God's men by means of a scarlet cord from her window, is also listed in Matthew 1:5 as an ancestor of Jesus. The scarlet cord by which she saved the men represents the scarlet blood-line of Jesus which is your and my only way of escape from sin.
Just as God saved Cain from his deserved punishment for shedding the blood of his brother Abel (Gen.4:8-15), God also spared us our deserved punishment for our sins when Jesus shed His blood for us.
Just as God provided a lamb for Abraham to offer as a sacrifice in place of his only son (Gen.22:1-13), God provided Jesus, His only Son, as the Lamb to be sacrificed in our place.
Lambs' blood painted on the doorposts of the Israelites' homes was a sign for the angel of death to pass over them (Exod.12:13). The blood of Jesus painted on the doorposts of our hearts when we are born into the Christian faith also causes the angel of death to pass over us that we might have eternal life.
Moses sprinkled blood over the people and over the books of the law to get rid of sin (Heb.9:19). We pray today that Jesus' blood be sprinkled over us to cleanse us and help us keep His laws. The scarlet thread which saves us does not depend upon our works- program, but on our faith in Jesus Christ's victory over sin. We cannot save ourselves.
The thread is securely tied in Revelation when God's kingdom comes to earth and Satan is destroyed. Only then will the victory be final.
The Lamb's blood is the scarlet thread of redemption. We commemorate our deliverance when we drink the wine at our communion services to remember the One who delivered us from sin and the grave.
If anyone says that Christianity is hanging by a mere thread, let us agree with them, but explain that the thread is indestructible because it hangs on an empty cross. The victory has been won!
© 1999, Doreen Palmer