Opening the Gates of Heaven Perry Stone

“You offer defiled food on My altar, But say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ By saying, ‘The table of the L ORD is contemptible.’ And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil?

Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” Says the L ORD of hosts.

—M ALACHI 1:7–8

Under the old covenant, if the offering was blind, lame, crippled, or sick, the priest might accept it, but God rejected it. The reason: These offerings were pointing to the day a Redeemer would come and offer Himself as a final sacrifice for man’s sins. That Redeemer, Jesus Christ, was pure, perfect, and sinless. The animal sacrifices were a picture of the coming sacrifice and therefore must be perfect and spotless before God. When the Hebrews brought a blemished offering, what was accepted by men was rejected by God! The same spiritual principle applies under the new covenant. Today we do not bring a blood offering in the form of an animal to church and lay it at the minister’s feet.