It is a long-standing practice and tradition in the Judeo-Christian community to communicate deep spiritual truths through the use of dreams, parables, and objects that are symbolic. The Old and New Testaments speak of houses, lions, and lambs. Jesus used parables to a great extent. A precedent has been established by history and documented in the Holy Bible, allowing a blanket to be used spiritually to convey the wonder of Salvation. A blanket is a covering to protect, comfort, and provide security. Let this essay quicken your spirits to hear what God is personally speaking to you about Salvation.
In order to say a lot in a few words, God uses stories and metaphors to enable us to develop understanding on the deepest level. It draws us into a conversation with the Lord in our minds. In these conversations, one finds ideas and answers so clever that there is a knowing that they could not have come from within, but from intelligence apart from the human body. “YES… this is the answer I have been looking for; God must be speaking to me!”
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)
Joseph, son of Jacob, could discern God’s message in dreams. He inherited that mantle, a blanket if you will, from his father. The Pharaoh of Egypt had a dream about fat cows and skinny cows. Joseph was in prison; however, he had a reputation for accurately interpreting dreams. The Pharaoh needed a dream reader, and Joseph was called upon. He told the great leader of Egypt that the fat cows were years of prosperity, and the skinny cows would come up out of the river and eat the fat cows, or years of deprivation and poverty. This made sense to Pharaoh, so he asked Joseph what to do. Joseph asked God, and the answer was to store food from the good years and eat that during the bad years. Egypt’s economy was based on Nile River agriculture, so there was a lot there in the dream to understand. It came to pass. Salvation came with knowledge.
Sometimes, God will give a personal word that cross-references Scripture. About 25 years ago, my wife and I were devoted to ministry and unemployed for several years. We were following the Lord in faith, but there was no income. We were asking God a lot of questions. I received a Word in the Spirit, “It is written the skinny cows came upon the land and ate the fat cows, but as for you, the fat cows will come upon the skinny cows and devour them.” I shared this with a Prophet friend of mine, and he exclaimed, “The fat cow blessing!” Our cupboards have not been bare since, always a fat cow shows up.
A parable with deep meaning would be The Parable of the Wedding Banquet.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.” Matthew 22:2-3 (NIV)
The king gave the invite a second time and was ignored. The king then ordered his men to destroy those who had been invited. Then another invitation was given to whosoever. Those who accepted got a great experience at being with king and his son at the wedding celebration, except… for one person who was not wearing wedding attire. Being dressed in fine clothing was required to show respect and acknowledgement to the Host. Without the proper clothes, the person was bound hand and foot and thrown into darkness. Several things here: clothing serves as a covering, the person was not executed, he did not die, and there is a place other than the banquet hall where one might end up. Here we have a picture of Heaven and Hell. Salvation provided by the Blood of Jesus is the perfect covering blanket for the wedding feast, after all, it cleans white as snow (see Isaiah 1:18). Acknowledging God by accepting Jesus as Lord is the ultimate sign of respect in the Kingdom of God.
The Lamb of God is one very powerful title. The symbolic nature of the sacrificial lamb and the use of its blood for atonement, protection, and acceptance is threaded throughout the entirety of the Bible. Atonement is the payment required to appease God’s Holy Nature for our offences. In old times, it was the blood of creatures; in this new time, it is from the Lamb of God. Jesus was called the Lamb of God by John the Baptist. The blood of the Passover Lamb was used to paint the doorposts and window lintels as a sign that the destroyer could not touch those in the house which had this covering during the great curse that took the eldest of all living creatures in Egypt. Look what happens when one accepts Christ, He blankets you with the Blood.
“See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.” Zechariah 3:4 (NIV)
“Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” Romans 13:14 (NIV)
He makes this promise of acknowledgment and acceptance.
“The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.” Revelation 3:5 (NIV)
Blanket of Salvation
Now then, the blanket of salvation. One cannot stay warm and protected unless under the cover of a blanket; sometimes it takes effort to stay covered. It is common for a young child to carry, drag, and hug their personal blanket. You can have a personal relationship with God, a glorious personal blanket of salvation. Like the child’s blanket, it harbors security and comfort. A blanket will soften the hurt from rocks thrown at you. The salvation blanket marks a person out as being special, and to those who know the truth, acceptance. A blanket can be shared with others; the blanket of salvation is large enough to cover all. Choose to be covered by the blanket of salvation and live well, choose to abandon, reject, or purposely take off this blanket and live without the assurance of eternal life in the Kingdom of God.
The blanket is a simple allegory that God wants to use to pique interest and conversation, and it is not a doctrine. It should be understood that the blanket does not preclude the timely death of the body, or untimely murders, or accidental physical deaths. It does cover, in such cases, the mind and the spirit from fear, bitterness, loss of hope, and possible rejection of eternal life. However, rescue from death in this life happens sometimes and can be considered a thread of Salvation. Salvation is a thing, laced with divinity, but always remember, Salvation is not to be worshiped. Salvation is provided by a savior, Jesus Christ. He is to be worshiped. You see, Jesus is the blanket.
“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Galatians 3.27 (KJV)
Feature Images: Royal blanket GENAI Text to Image; Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
