In Hebrews 8:6 the Apostle Paul, who received his Gospel directly from Jesus Christ through revelation from the Holy Spirit (Gal. 1:12), proclaims that He (Jesus) is the mediator of the New Covenant that He made with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. What Paul does not mention here but is made plain in other parts of the Bible is the fact that He (Jesus) was the Creator of both Covenants, as well as the Law around which they are woven. The Law is the “hub” around which both Covenants revolve. BOTH COVENANTS REQUIRE THE PARTICIPANT TO OBEY THE LAW IN ORDER FOR THE COVENANTS TO BE IN EFFECT.
It was the Word, the God who became Jesus Christ, Who was the God of the Old Testament Israelites. It was Christ Who spoke to His prophets through His Holy Spirit, telling them what to tell His chosen people, then instructing them to record what He told them. While in Israel during the late 1970’s I had the privilege of visiting the area where some of the books of the Old Testament had been hidden and preserved. Part of the Book of Isaiah was on display in a museum in Jerusalem. Actually looking at the author’s handwriting was thrilling. Knowing that I was looking at the wisdom of God “spoken” to that “holy man of old” (2 Pet. 1:21) as he was moved by God’s Holy Spirit was priceless. Knowing that God preserved His Word in written form so that I might read it, believe it, obey it and thereby qualify to spend eternity with Him and His Son reveals to me the incredible love He has for me and for all of mankind.
We must bear in mind that the Law that was spoken and written in stone atop Mt. Sinai, codified on paper and distributed throughout the entire world is the expressed will of Almighty God along with explicit instructions explaining how man can fulfill His will. His will for man today is as it was for Adam and Eve–for mankind to be happy and successful, which from obedience to His Law (Lev. 26; Deut. 28), which result in righteousness and holiness which result in salvation (Rom. 5:21; 6:22). Read The Kingdom of God and God’s Very Elect: Future Caretakers of the Universe. Key words–Kingdom and Caretakers respectively. The Holy Bible is the Testament of the Godhead’s great love for mankind. It also details Their Covenant with those who love Them, who prove their (man’s) love for Them (the Godhead) by obeying Their Law/commandments (Jn. 14:15,23; 15:10/ Mat. 19:17). Note that these passages were spoken by Jesus Christ Himself. He also said that by rejecting anything He and the Father said proved that one DESPISES BOTH OF THEM (Lk. 10:16). He warned that mankind will be judged by “… THE WORDS THAT I HAVE SPOKEN” to the prophets and apostles (Jn. 12:44-50), which are recorded in the Holy Scriptures. Those seeking eternal life must know, believe and obey these sanctifying Truths (Jn. 17:17) as they are presented in the Covenants in the form of prophetic and apostolic teachings. Those teachings are the “stones” upon which the Church of God (not the denomination) stands (Eph. 2:20), Jesus Christ Himself (the “Word”) being the main “Stone.”
What we must also understand is that the New Covenant is in the process of being completed. In the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 1 we find that Jesus has returned from heaven following His resurrection and, for 40 days, has taught His 120 or so disciples “the things pertaining to the coming Kingdom of God (on earth, not heaven–Rev, 5:10; 22:5–Jesus is the only human being who will ever live in heaven. Read Life After Death. Key word–Death). Following His teaching concerning the coming Kingdom of God, Jesus told the disciples to return to Jerusalem where they were to “… wait for the PROMISE of the Father which you have heard Me speak of. For John baptized with water, but you will be BAPTIZED with the HOLY SPIRIT not many days from now …. You will receive POWER when the HOLY SPIRIT comes upon you ….” (vss 4,5,7,8).
Several days later came the Day of Pentecost (“50th”), meaning the 50th day since Passover. The disciples were gathered together in an “upper room” of a building in Jerusalem to celebrate the Holy Day. They were gathered together “in one accord” (mind, reason)–TO CELEBRATE THE HOLY DAY OF PENTECOST which the early church continued to do until the Catholic Church, backed by the Roman Empire, did away with all of God’s Holy Days during and substituted heathen holidays such as the Sunday sabbath, Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day, Easter, Halloween, Lent, Good Friday, Ash Wednesday and other such pagan observances and rituals, many of which the “protesters” (Protestants) took with them when they symbolically left the Catholic Church. Note: the so-called protesters were not protesting the church’s doctrines, but rather the evil practices of the priesthood, such as selling “indulgences”–the forgiveness of sins. Read God’s Holy Days and Simon of Samaria: the Legacy. Key word–Days and Legacy respectively.
The truth is that so-called Protestantism is nothing more than closet Catholicism. A few of the rituals and doctrines were changed but most of the changes were cosmetic. The two heads of the beast known as Christianity continue to worship and obey the same god–Satan–who has deceived them into embracing the “perverted gospel” (Gal. 1:6-9) of “another Jesus” just as the Apostle Paul warned would happen in 2 Corinthians 11:4. In Matthew 24:4,5 Jesus had earlier warned about a counterfeit Jesus which Satan’s false prophets would proclaim. This fake christ would introduce to salvation seekers his counterfeit father, counterfeit gospel, counterfeit faith, counterfeit salvation and counterfeit peace. Proof of Satan’s success in steering salvation seekers away from God and to himself can be quantified by looking in any phone book under the heading of CHURCHES–and counting. L.J.
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