Thread: Old Testament Verses Relevant To the Issue of Old and New Covenants
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Old Testament Verses Relevant To the Issue of Old and New Covenants
Posted : 30 Sep, 2010 06:12 AM
The words indicated in Bold are censored from the CDFF Forum:
Old Testament On Taking Away the Old Covenant,There are also some Old Testament verses which are relevant to the issue of mingling the Old Covenant with the New Covenant. The covenant with God at Sinai was conditional upon the obedience of Israel to it. Exodus 19: 5 says "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:" God did have mercy on the people of Israel and gave them a restoration at the time of Ezra, Nehemiah and Zerubbabel. But they went into apostasy again and into Talmudic Judaism by the time of Christ. God sent destruction on Jerusalem in 70 A.D. as judgment on physical Israel. Isaiah 50: 1 "Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away." Jeremiah 3: 8 "And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also." Jeremiah 18: 1-8: "The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2. Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. 3. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. 4. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. 5. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 6. O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. 7. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; 8. If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them." God says he can deal with ethnic Israel as a potter deals with a lump of clay. As the potter can take a pot he has thrown off the potter's wheel, mix in some dry clay, knead it again on a table, and then put the lump of clay back on his potter's wheel, and make a different pot (out of the same lump), so can God take ethnic Israel and translate it into Israel reborn in Christ.
Old Testament Verses Relevant To the Issue of Old and New Covenants
Posted : 30 Sep, 2010 06:27 AM
Note that in II Samuel 3: 10 the King James Version has "translate" rather than "transfer" the kingdom. Translate can also mean to "transform." "To translate the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah..."
Isaiah 42: 6 says "I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles." Isaiah 49: 6 repeats this in saying "I will also give thee for a light to the
gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth."
Then Isaiah 60: 2-3 says "For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." Isaiah 66: 12 says "For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory
of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye (censored), ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees."
The automated censorship system of CDFF refused to post this apparently because of a word used in Isaiah 66: 12. You can go there and find out which word was censored. I took out the word to see if this would then be posted.
Apparently there are words in the Bible which will set off the CDFF censor.
Christ totally rejected Talmudic Judaism, saying to its
leaders of his time, the Pharisees, in John 8: 44 "Ye are of your father the devil..." So Scriptures predicting the Gentiles were to join Israel cannot be interpreted to say the Gentiles will join Talmudic Judaism. Gentiles were to be grafted in to Israel reborn in Christ, into the family of faith of Abraham, not into ethnic Israel, as the physical seed of Abraham.
Hosea 2: 23 says "And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall
say, Thou art my God." In Zechariah 2: 11 God promises that "And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know
that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee."
Malachi 1: 11 affirms that "For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles...for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts."
Old Testament Verses Relevant To the Issue of Old and New Covenants
Posted : 30 Sep, 2010 05:59 PM
Halfback, you asked "so can God take ethnic Israel and translate it into Israel reborn in Christ"
Without an understanding of the plan God has for Israel, you will always struggle to see the redemption and restoration of God's people and Israel. God has a tremendous amount of love for them. So much so, that in spite of their disobedience He continues to show them mercy. The day is coming when Israel will return to her God and He will accept them.
Hosea 2:18-20 - And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and [with] the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.
And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.
Old Testament Verses Relevant To the Issue of Old and New Covenants
Posted : 4 Oct, 2010 09:45 PM
JEWS, CHRISTIANS AND TABERNACLES
Tabernacles is scripturally a celebration that God instituted in the Old Testament but declared it a permanent ordinance to be celebrated through all time, including the age after Christ. Although most Christian do not celebrate these so called �Jewish� feasts, choosing instead to observe the pagan originated holidays of Christmas or Easter, extensive study will show that these feasts, such as Tabernacles are the true celebrations ordained by God for both Christians and Jews. See below.
1. Introduction to the Feast of Tabernacles
Following deliverance from Egypt and the settling of the Israelites in the wilderness, God enacted many laws for which the people were to be governed while they were there. He also instituted feasts or holy gatherings (convocations) to occur at certain times during the year. These have become known as Jewish High Holy Days and are celebrated by Jews to this day.
These Feasts have great significance for Jewish peoples but surprisingly have as much or more application to Christianity and Christ�s New Covenant. Hidden in the rituals of the Old Testament are great truths applying to Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. Here we will cover this Feast time. We will first discuss the Three-fold Feast as mandated by God, on a physical level, during the time Moses and the Israelites were in the wilderness and recorded in the Torah (Law) sections of the Bible (the first five books). Then we will compare these to the New Covenant initiated by Christ of which these original feasts were a type and shadow.
The three most important feasts in Judaism are the Passover (Feast of Unleavened Bread), the Feast of the First Fruits (now Pentecost) and The Feast of Booths, Feast of Ingathering or most commonly known collectively as the Feast of Tabernacles including Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year and the Feast of Trumpets), the Days of Awe, Yom Kippur (the day of Atonement) and Succoth the Feast of Booths or Feast of Tabernacles. We will examine the Feast of Tabernacles. It is during this period of time that Israel was cleansed of all sin committed the previous year by observance of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
2. Feast of Tabernacles in the Old Testament
Rosh Hashanah, widely known as the Jewish religious New Year, is the first day of the 20 Days of Awe. It ends the old year and sets the course for the New Year. Rosh Hashanah, in Hebrew, means �Head of the Year�, and falls on the first and second days of the Jewish month of Tishri, the seventh month of the Jewish lunar calendar.
Rosh Hashanah is also known as the Feast of Trumpets, lasting 1 day from sundown to sundown of the first day of the Days of Repentance, or days of Awe. The phrase �Rosh Hashanah� is not found per say in the Bible (Torah). However the Jewish word �teruah� is used when referring to this Holy Day (Numbers 29:1). Teruh means a �loud noise, a shout or a blowing of the shofar ram�s horn�. Numbers 29:1 is translated �a day when the horn is sounded� and �zichron teruah� which means �commemorated with loud blasts�. It is traditionally known as �the day of the blowing of the [shofar] trumpets which are hollowed out ram�s horns. A trumpet call such as this was used when the Israelites were to gather together.
Rosh Hashanah also begins the ten-day period called the �Days of Awe� or the 10-days of Repentence. This period ends on Yom Kippur, the tenth day. The 10 day period called �The Days of Awe� -- in Hebrew Ya-mim' Noh-rah'-yim � is also known as
the ten Days of Penitence (or Repentance). It is recognized by Jews as a time of reflection on the previous year and hope for the New Year. However it is more than that today following the institution of Christ�s New covenant. In either case it a time of preparation for the Day of Atonement, by getting purifying oneself for the day when the sin is removed.
The Days of Awe (repentance) should be just that. Since atonement for sin is the main goal of the Feast, these days are preparation for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. A participant should aggressively set about to expose the sin of the previous year so it could be forgiven. It was a time for heart searching and for reflection. To a Jew it is a time of renewing vows made both to the Lord and others which were broken during the previous year. Under Christ it a time of appropriation of Christ�s nature who removed all sin once and for all on the cross.
Yom Kippur is the most significant in the Jewish experience. It is mandated by God in Leviticus 23:26 and described fully in Leviticus 16. The literal translation of Yom Kippur is �Day of Atonement�. Biblically and liturgically it is also known as Day of Judgment and Sabbath of Sabbaths.
Atonement literally means reconciliation to God after the bond had been broken by sin. It means, in a broader sense in Hebrew �purge,� �cleanse,� �expiate,� �purify,� �wipe on or off,� �cover,�, �justify� etc. The literal meaning of the word is simply �at-one-ment�, i.e., the state of being of one or being reconciled, so that atonement is actually reconciliation to God.
The most important ceremonial aspects of the manifestation of atonement in the days of the Old Testament law involved the High Priest, two goats and a bull. This has great significance to us today. At that time the Jews had constructed a temple (tabernacle) in the wilderness as a prelude to the great temple that was to be built in the Promised Land. The temple was constructed into three main areas or divisions: the �outer court�, the �Holy Place� and finally the Holy of Holies, the most Holy place. No one entered the Holy of Holies except the High Priest once a year on the day Yom Kippur (for a fuller description of the Holy of Holies see quote from Hebrews below). A veil separated this most Holy place from the rest of the temple.
A ritual occurred on the Day of Atonement which literally cleansed the Jewish people from all sins they had committed the previous year. This Old Testament ritual is actually a representation of the eternal sacrifice that Christ was to initiate.As we can see below, salvation, as represented by the Day of Atonement included the two aspects of Christ�s sacrifice for us. The following are a summary of the events which led to the Atonement (see Leviticus 16 for a description of the entire process).
There were two goats and a bull involved. The bull was slain as atonemen�t for Aaron the high priest. The first goat was sacrificed for the defilement of the temple by Israel. This represents the first part of Christ�s sacrifice for us. The first goat was slain and sacrificed as a forgiveness for the sins of Israel. Forgiveness is only the beginning of what Christ did for us. It is the first step.
As to the second goat it remained alive. It was brought before the Lord where Aaron the priest became the vehicle of God to transfer all of the sin of Israel for the previous year to that goat. The goat was then led outside the camp and disposed of in some way, This represents the fact that all of the sins of mankind were transferred onto Christ, thus removing all of mankind�s sin once and for all. This transference of the sin of Israel to the goat was a real occurrence. Just as all the sin of the world was transferred to Christ on the cross, on the Day of Atonement, the sacrifice transferred to the live Azazel goat the sin of the people. The goat was then banished into the wilderness never to be seen again. God also made this ceremony a permanent ordinance which means it was to occur eternally. Today it is carried on as a celebration of the Lamb of God (Christ) who bore the sins of all humanity. In short it shows us that only being forgiven of sin is not enough. We must also have the sin removed completely so that we do not have to continually come back to God to seek forgiveness as the Israelites did.
Following Yom Kipper by four days was the Feast of Tabernacles (Succot) lasting eight days which culminated in an eighth day �Feast of Rejoicing�. The Feast is also known as the �Feast of Booths�.
Tabernacle in the Hebrew means the place where God meets man and the two tabernacles together. Tabernacle is also referred to a tent or dwelling. �Miskan�, a durative of or noun expresses God�s dwelling place called the �Tent of Meeting�. In the Old Testament wilderness it was where God would speak to Moses. In the New Testament the equivalent term �miskan� is used to denote the permanent temple, Christ�s body, where God will tabernacle with His people for eternity. Leviticus 23:39-43 explains why this Feast is called �The Feast of Booths�:
�On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the LORD for seven days, with a Sabbath rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day.
�Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.
�You shall thus celebrate it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
�You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths,
so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt [Passover]. I am the LORD your God. �
Thus each Israelite built a booth from plants and trees for their family to dwell in for seven days. They did this for a remembrance of how God delivered Israel from the bondage of the Egyptians. It was a family time and a time for the Israelites to commune and sup together. Being after Yom Kippur the people rejoiced over God�s forgiveness and all was hope for a favorable upcoming year-crops a� plenty, prosperity, good fortune and well being. Thus the Feast of Tabernacles was a time of God being with His people and a time of remembrance of God delivering them from the bondage of Egypt. In the Kingdom of God we will eternally live in this constant state of tabernacling, being in His presence.
3. New Testament Application of the Feast of Tabernacles.
The Old Testament is, most of all, the physical foundation upon which Christ is building His priesthood and His Kingdom. The Books also, in a literal and symbolic way, all speak of Christ and His coming as the Messiah. Jesus said to the Pharisees: �You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;� (John 5:39). Old Testament scriptures reveal much about Christ that is not revealed in the New Testament. Many Old Testament scriptures are quoted word for word in the New Testament, even by Christ himself (see Luke 4:18-19; the Lord quotes Isaiah 61). This just one example of many. Isaiah 53 is devoted entirely to a description of Christ, the suffering servant. Likewise Jeremiah 31:31-34 lays out Christ�s coming New Covenant centuries before His appearance. That scripture is later quoted by the writer of Hebrews as being the New Covenant (Hebrews 7:8-12).
The Psalms reflect David�s relationship with God (Christ). The Song of Solomon speaks of the relationship between the Bridegroom (Christ) and the Bride of Christ (His body, us). Samuel, Kings and Chronicles speak of God leading and speaking to His people through the numerous Kings, Priests and Prophets looking toward the day when Christ would fulfill His Prophet, Priest and King relationship with spiritual Israel in the end-time. Joshua is Christ the conqueror, defeating 31 nations greater than Israel. Ruth is faithfulness; Esther is courage; Ezra and Nehemiah restoration; Exodus deliverance; Genesis about the origin of Israel and God�s choosing. The Books of the prophets show ordinary men who spoke God�s word to Kings, rulers and the people and who saw the coming Kingdom afar off.
The Feast of Tabernacles is also important in its depiction of our relationship with God today. It covers everything from the blood sacrifice, to the High Priest, to forgiveness of sin, to the relationship of God with his people. First of all is the principle of the blood. Hebrews says that �there is no forgiveness of sin except by the shedding of blood� (v. 9:22). In the Old Testament the blood shed by the sacrificial animals was necessary for the forgiveness of sin. With Christ He was the sacrificial lamb who forgave the entire world by the shedding of His blood on the cross, rendering one sacrifice for all time.
Rosh Hashanah was the trumpet or �loud or noise� that signified the New Year and the gathering of all Israel together. The trumpet is symbolic of the Word of God. Note the parallel references in the scriptures to the sounding of the trumpet: the walls of Jericho fell; the seventh seal of the seven angels with the seven trumpets of Revelation 8; the 7, trumpets carried by those escorting the ark (Joshua 6:4); Gideon and the trumpets (Judges 7:8), the great trumpets that will gather the scattered of Israel (Matthew 24:31); There are many many more examples. Suffice it to say the blowing of the trumpet on Rosh Hashanah was a significant event duplicated literally in the end-time (Christ will descend with a shout! And a trumpet call, the Word). It literally denotes that everything from creation onward was accomplished by the trumpet call, the speaking into existence of all things by a spoken word of God. Today we use the speaking of the Word to call into being things that we do not see, just as God called creation into being by His Word ie. �let it be� and it was done.
The Days of Awe (10 Days of Repentance) are symbolic of our preparation to receive Christ at His return. Our old human natures must be brought to the surface, revealed and replaced by the nature of Christ by transference. This transference principal both removed our sin and placed it on Christ but it also transfers His Holy nature to us so we can be like Him. This involves much reflection and the ability to let go. Being the longest portion of the Feast indicates the importance of this process to God. It can be a difficult and painful time as your most secret sins work their way to the forefront of our lives. But without it there can be no Yom Kippur in our lives. Our depth of repentance in many ways dictates our depth of forgiveness.
On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Aaron was the priest who administered the sacrifice of the blood of �bulls and goats�. In the New Testament God administrated through Christ His forgiveness of the world by one eternal sacrifice.
The writer of Hebrews (9:1-10:21) contrasts the Old Covenant with the New, excerpts of which appear below. There is much scripture to read but the writer of Hebrews expresses the inadequacy of the first (Old) covenant with that of the New Covenant. First He describes the Old Tabernacle as it was in Moses� day:
�Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. �For there was a tabernacle [sacred tent] prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place.
Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies,
having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron�s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant;
�Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship,
but into the second [Holy of Holies], only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance�.
�The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,
which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience,
since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation� (v. 9:1-10).
The priest entered the Holiest place only once a year, on Yom Kippur. The sacrifice he offered there, however, was not an eternal sacrifice but a temporary one relating only regulations for human conduct. Only a cloth veil separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple. When Christ was crucified on the cross, that veil was rent from the top to the bottom providing access to the Holiest place to all (Matthew 27:50�51).
�But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh,
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
For this reason He [Christ] is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance�.
The sacrifices for forgiveness of sin always occurred with a death of a bull or goat under the Old Covenant (see Leviticus 1-7 for an explanation of all the Old Testament sacrifices for sin). The Old Testament sacrifices were but a type and shadow of the true sacrifice that was to come. Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens [the old Covenant on the physical level] be cleansed with these, but the heavenly [spiritual] things themselves with better sacrifices than these� (v.11-23)
�For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a MERE COPY of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, He [Christ] would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself� (v.24-26).
As we have said the Old Testament priest had to continually offer new sacrifices for sin every year performed in a physical temple made with hands. Christ entered into the spirit realm (Heaven) where God dwells and continually lives to make intercession for us.
�For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things can ever, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?
But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins�.
Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened : burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. (Psalm 40:6-8).
This scripture can also be likened to the many good sacrificial works we do for Christ in hopes of pleasing Him. However, He no longer desires or approves such �dead works�. We are transformed into one who comes �to do the works of God� which proceed not out of our flesh but are from God. This New Covenant of Christ, where He writes His Word permanently on our hearts, is described fully in Hebrews chapter 10:
�He takes away the first in order to establish the second.
By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET� [FROM PSALM 110:1]
�For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified (v. 10:1-14).
And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,
�THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM
AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD:
I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART,
AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,�
He then says,
�AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS
I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.�
The First (Old) Covenant showed the way to the second (New) Covenant. The inadequacy of the temporary nature of the Old gave way to the permanence of the New. The Old Covenant was inadequate in that the sin �problem� remained. However, the Old Covenant pointed the way to the new. Since the Old didn�t work a New was necessary oblivate the sin problem forever.
Similarly, the Old Testament Law, the rules and regulations enacted by God, could never be fulfilled by man, even His chosen Jews. This necessitated the one ultimate sacrifice by Christ. Since it was proven over and over again that God�s chosen people, the Jews, could not fulfill the Law in and of themselves Christ came to fulfill it for us. It is not now by works we are saved but by faith in a Messiah that accomplished it for us for eternity.
Therefore, all the Tabernacle �rituals� pointed to Christ�s ultimate sacrifice and was actually a �type and shadow� of the true tabernacle that was to follow. Aaron transferred the entire sin of Israel for the previous year onto the scapegoat (Azazel) who carried it far away and forgotten. With Christ, the entire sin of the world was transferred to Him on the cross. When He died and was resurrected He arose a resurrected being seated at the right hand of God. The sin that had been on Him for us was banished. By faith all can participate in this resurrection. Therefore one could say that Christ was our permanent Yom Kippur. Everything He did, and more, can be traced back to this Old Testament forgiveness of sin and to the type and shadow of the Feast of Tabernacles that we all, Jews, Christians and Gentiles alike should celebrate as an eternal ordinance of God.
