Featured Post

Pledges, Oaths, and Service to the Nations of This World?

In the Hebrew Torah, pledges and oaths, along with the service which flows from them, are regarded as sacred responsibilities to God and/or ...

Wednesday, July 31, 2024

The Bread of Life

 John 6:22 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

--English Standard Version

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

The Sabbath: Cultic or Universal?

According to Pastor Vance Stinson of the Church of God International, the Ten Commandments are a "universal" feature of God's Law - meaning that they apply to everyone. Of course, as part of the Decalogue, that would also include the commandment to "remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy." Is that, however, consistent with what Scripture has to say about the Sabbath? OR Does the Bible reveal that the Sabbath was a "cultic" feature of God's Law - meaning that it applied to a relatively small group of people as a religious practice which set them apart from the religious practices of other peoples?

First, although the book of Genesis informs us that the Sabbath was created at the end of God's six days of work after "he" had finished creating (or recreating, as some would say) the earth and universe. Even so, we do not see the Sabbath mentioned again until God introduced it to the children of Israel after "he" had rescued them from Egyptian slavery.

In the sixteenth chapter of the book of Exodus, we read that "the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness" because they were hungry (Exodus 16:1-3). As a consequence, we read that God told Moses: "Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily." (Exodus 16:4-5, ESV) A little later, in the same chapter, we read: "On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, 'This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.' So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. Moses said, 'Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.'" (Exodus 16:22-26, ESV) In this way, God introduced the children of Israel to the Sabbath.

Later, at Mount Sinai, we are informed that God included the observance of this Sabbath in the Ten Commandments which "he" gave to Moses (Exodus 20:8-11). Of course, in so doing, the Sabbath became an integral part of God's covenant with the Children of Israel. Indeed, this was made clear at the conclusion of that account of God's dictation to Moses of the terms of the covenant. We read there: "And the Lord said to Moses, 'You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.'" (Exodus 31:12-17, ESV)

Thus, we can see that the Sabbath was a special feature of God's covenant with the children of Israel. Certainly, the Gentile nations of the world had no such tradition or practice. Hence, if Mr. Stinson is correct in differentiating between "cultic" and "universal" commandments, then we would have to say that the Sabbath commandment is "cultic"!

Saturday, July 27, 2024

Do You See Jesus in Torah?

The Gospel of John informs us that the Jewish religious leaders of the First Century criticized Jesus for healing a lame man on the Sabbath and calling God his Father (John 5:1-18). A little later, he told them: "You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life. Your approval means nothing to me, because I know you don’t have God’s love within you. For I have come to you in my Father’s name, and you have rejected me. Yet if others come in their own name, you gladly welcome them. No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God. Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes. If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?" (John 5:39-47, NLT) Sure, they were familiar with the dos and don'ts of Torah; but they didn't recognize the love which underpinned it, or the one to whom those writings pointed!

Likewise, a little later in the same Gospel, we read that Jesus told another group of Jews who were proud of their physical descent from Abraham, and that they worshipped his God: "You say, ‘He is our God,’ but you don’t even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But I do know him and obey him. Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad." (John 8:54-56, NLT) Also, in the Gospel of Luke, Christ is reported to have said: "'When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.' Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures." (Luke 24:44-45, NLT) Finally, in the epistle to the Hebrews, we read: "Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son" (Hebrews 1:1-2, NLT). Thus, we see that this is the way that those who profess to be disciples of Jesus of Nazareth must interpret the Hebrew Scriptures. The PLAIN TRUTH is that Jesus Christ fulfilled these Scriptures.

For those who may be interested in this subject, you may want to check out these posts:

 https://godcannotbecontained.blogspot.com/2022/05/jesus-in-torah-genesis.html

https://godcannotbecontained.blogspot.com/2022/05/jesus-in-torah-exodus.html

https://godcannotbecontained.blogspot.com/2022/05/jesus-in-torah-leviticus.html

https://godcannotbecontained.blogspot.com/2022/06/jesus-in-torah-numbers.html

https://godcannotbecontained.blogspot.com/2022/06/jesus-in-torah-deuteronomy.html


Wednesday, July 24, 2024

But I say to you

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ talked about several of the commandments mentioned in Torah. Notice that two of the commandments which he mentioned were drawn from the Ten Commandments:

Matthew 5:21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

-English Standard Version

In other words, "You shall not murder" and "You shall not commit adultery" were no longer sufficient.

The Law of Moses: Cultic or Universal?

In a comment on my last post, the leader of the Church of God International stated: "My position...is that the Law of Moses contains both universal and cultic features, and that the cultic features are time-bound, covenant-specific, and served as types and shadows of a higher and infinitely greater reality. The universal features, on the other hand, are not covenant-dependent at all, but exist apart from the covenant and are, in some measure, 'written on the hearts' (Rom 1:15) of all human beings." He went on to characterize the Ten Commandments as: "The Law of God written on the heart (by the Holy Spirit--the 'finger of God') is the same Law that was written on tablets of stone. That IS the Moral Law." Is Pastor Stinson's position consistent with Scripture?

First, the Bible clearly looks at the Law of Moses as a comprehensive whole. The categories of "universal," "cultic," and "moral" do NOT appear in Scripture! In Torah, we read: "And now, Israel, listen carefully to these decrees and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you." (Deuteronomy 4:1-2, NLT) And: "Look, I now teach you these decrees and regulations just as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy. Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations. When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, ‘How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!’ For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him? And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?" (Deuteronomy 4:5-8, NLT) And: "So Moses told the people, 'You must be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God, following his instructions in every detail.'" (Deuteronomy 5:32, NLT) And: "These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, 2 and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life." (Deuteronomy 6:1-2, NLT) And: "So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them." (Deuteronomy 12:32, NLT) And: "The Lord your God will be merciful only if you listen to his voice and keep all his commands that I am giving you today, doing what pleases him." (Deuteronomy 13:18, NLT) And: "Today the Lord your God has commanded you to obey all these decrees and regulations. So be careful to obey them wholeheartedly. You have declared today that the Lord is your God. And you have promised to walk in his ways, and to obey his decrees, commands, and regulations, and to do everything he tells you. The Lord has declared today that you are his people, his own special treasure, just as he promised, and that you must obey all his commands." (Deuteronomy 26:16-18, NLT) And: "So you must obey the Lord your God by keeping all these commands and decrees that I am giving you today." (Deuteronomy 27:10, NLT) And: "If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world." (Deuteronomy 28:1, NLT)

Before leaving the Old Testament, I would also like to ask my readers a couple of questions for your consideration: If Mr. Stinson is correct in dividing the commandments of Torah into categories of "cultic" and "universal," which commandments belong in each category? Are clean and unclean meats cultic or universal? Are the festivals cultic or universal? Is the commandment to remember the Sabbath cultic or universal? If they are universal, then why were Gentile nations not permitted to join the Israelite's in their observance? Were both cultic and universal commandments part of God's covenant with Israel?

Like the Hebrew Scriptures, Jesus referred to the "Law of Moses" as a comprehensive whole. We read in the Gospel of Matthew: "Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose." (Matthew 5:17, NLT) And that Jesus said: "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40, NLT)

Likewise, Christ's apostles looked at the Law in the exact same way. In one of his epistles, Paul wrote: "For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Galatians 5:14, NLT) And, in his letter to the twelve tribes scattered abroad, James wrote: "Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law. For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. For the same God who said, 'You must not commit adultery,' also said, 'You must not murder.' So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law." (James 2:8-11, NLT)

In other words, as we have said here many times, ALL of the different iterations of God's Law are based on the premise of love - not doing hurt or harm to anyone (Romans 13:8-10)! This (LOVE) is the foundation of God's Law in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the writings which we refer to as the New Testament!

Sunday, July 21, 2024

Is CGI Focused on Theology, OR Fiddling While Rome Burns?

While Bill Watson and Adrian Davis doubled down on American politics, the Church of God International's Vance Stinson focused on trying to dissuade the membership of that organization from adopting what he considers to be a highly problematic New Covenant Theology. In their most recent sermons and programs, Watson and Davis have speculated about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and have lauded the former president's courage and anti-leftist rhetoric. Stinson, however, has correctly discerned that New Covenant Theology offers a compelling alternative to the convoluted mess that is Armstrongism. As a consequence, in two of his most recent sermons, Stinson has sought to point out the Problems With New Covenant Theology, and how The Law of Christ is mostly synonymous with the Law of Moses. In other words, Vance Stinson has been busy defending the Armstrongist perspective on Christ and the Law.

As with Herbert Armstrong before him, Pastor Stinson characterizes this "new" theology as abrogating or doing away with God's Law. According to Mr. Stinson, Jesus Christ said that the Law would NEVER pass away, and that our Savior merely explained and elaborated on the intent of the Law of Moses. For him, the terms of the Old Covenant (minus the sacrifices, rituals, and temple) remain the standard for the people of the New Covenant. For him, New Covenant theology is just the latest attempt of sinners to get around obeying God, and/or an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the Old Testament with the New. Sure, Mr. Stinson acknowledges that our salvation is dependent on Jesus Christ, but he seems to not understand that Christ's righteousness, Law, and Covenant exceeds the righteousness, law, and covenant of the Pharisees. For him, the New Covenant is Christ writing the Law of Moses on our hearts; and if we truly want to be a part of God's Kingdom, we'd better get busy internalizing that legislation. Sound familiar? For anyone who has had any experience inside of one of the Armstrong Churches of God, it should!

In reality, New Covenant Theology combines elements of Dispensational, Covenant, Catholic, and Orthodox Theology to arrive at a more coherent, comprehensive, and logical theology for the Christian Church (as Mr. Stinson acknowledged in his own remarks). For longtime readers of this blog and students of Christian Theology, New Covenant Theology is neither a "new" concept or an unfamiliar one. From this writer's perspective, New Covenant Theology makes Jesus of Nazareth the central theme of both Testaments (Old and New). In other words, NCT sees Christ as the fulfillment of the Torah, Prophets, and Writings of the Hebrew Scriptures and the focus of the message of the Greek Scriptures of the New Testament. In keeping with this perspective, NCT views the terms of the Old Covenant between God and Israel as having been fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Hence, this theology teaches that Jesus Christ has defined the terms of the New Covenant; and that those terms are different and superior to the terms of the Old one (as outlined in Torah). In short, New Covenant Theology believes and teaches that Jesus of Nazareth came to this earth to save Jews and Gentiles, and that he represented the most perfect manifestation of both Almighty God and "his" Law. From this author's perspective, this is eminently more consistent with what is revealed in the pages of the Bible than anything Herbert Armstrong or his spiritual descendants has/have ever offered.

Thus, although I believe that Vance Stinson is focused on more substantial ideas than his counterparts in CGI, I believe that his perspective is hopelessly flawed. In my view, whether theology or politics triumphs within CGI, I believe that their message fails. It is, in my humble opinion, evident that CGI is just as wrong and rudderless as the other current manifestations of Armstrongism.

Friday, July 19, 2024

The Kingdom of God and the Millenium

When my article about sacrifices and festivals in the Kingdom of God was posted on Banned by HWA, several commentators pointed out that the Millennium and the Kingdom are NOT synonymous. Now, while I appreciate the distinction between the two, I think that the Scriptural perspective on this subject is a bit more nuanced and complex. From my perspective, it appears to me that Scripture views the Millennium as a block of time which is a part of God's eternal Kingdom.

Notice this passage from the book of Daniel concerning Nebuchadnezzar's dream about a great image:
"This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold. Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure." (Daniel 2:36-45, ESV)

Likewise, notice this passage from later on in the same book: 
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14, ESV)
A little later, in the same chapter, we read:
"And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’" (Daniel 7:27, ESV)

Compare this to what we read in the book of Revelation. After Christ's triumphant return to this earth and the angelic host proclaims that "the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns" (Revelation 19), we read:
"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.
Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years." (Revelation 20:1-6, ESV)

Question: Doesn't this clearly indicate that God's Kingdom has already begun when the Millennium begins?

Thursday, July 18, 2024

The Commandments which the ACOGs Ignore or Dismiss

In an excellent post entitled One Jot or One Tittle, xHWA obliterates their interpretation and use of one of their most important prooftexts! The article begins with the quotation of Christ's statement in Matthew 5:17 Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. The Armstrongists, however, insist that salvation is not a fait accompli and that most of the prophecies of the Old Testament remain to be fulfilled! But wait a second! Didn't Jesus say that not even the tiniest punctuation mark or pen stroke would pass away from the Law until ALL/EVERYTHING is fulfilled? Of course, the answer is: YES, that's precisely what he said!

The next question which comes to mind, of course, is didn't Christ fulfill the Law and the Prophets? Was Jesus the Christ? Did he fulfill the prophecies of old about a promised Messiah? Did he obey/fulfill ALL of the precepts of Torah? Did his life, death, resurrection, and ascension cause us to be forgiven, reconciled, and saved? What did Jesus Christ mean when he said, "It is finished"?

Moreover, if Christ didn't finish his work, if he didn't fulfill the Law and the Prophets, then why have Armstrongists ignored and/or dismissed so many of the commandments of the Law? Don't think that they do? What about the commandments dealing with circumcision, sacrifices/offerings, the Temple, the priesthood, the Law of the Central Sanctuary, menstrual cycles, childbirth, bodily fluids, mildew/mold, skin diseases, agricultural practices, etc. That certainly sounds like more than a jot or a tittle to many of us. What about you?

***Once again, I highly recommend reading the above referenced post and comments (if you're interested in the truth). 

Monday, July 15, 2024

Is it time to free Israel and restore its kingdom?

Just before he ascended into heaven, Christ's disciples asked him: "Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?"

Christ answered: "The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:6-8, NLT)

A couple of things to pull out of this statement:

1) Christ basically told them that the timing of God's plans was none of their business!

2) He told them that they would receive power when they were imbued with God's Spirit.

3) He gave them their marching orders. They were to focus on telling people everywhere about him!

In other words, Christ's final instructions to his disciples was to instruct them not to worry about what was prophesied to happen sometime in the future! 

Sunday, July 14, 2024

Will there be sacrifices, offerings, Sabbaths, and Festival Observances in the Kingdom?

There is an anonymous commentator at Banned by HWA who regularly asserts that there will be sacrifices, offerings, and festival observances during the Millenium. This assertion is based on the premise that many of the prophecies found in the prophetic books of the Old Testament (like Ezekiel and Zechariah) apply to the Millenium and/or God's future Kingdom on this earth. Indeed, these prophecies have been a source of some consternation among Christians for many years and have been used as proof by others that the Bible is unreliable and contradictory. The consternation and the "proof" are a consequence of the aforementioned notion (that these prophecies apply to the future), and this is clearly at odds with what is revealed in the New Testament about Jesus of Nazareth (especially the book of Hebrews).

Recently, in response to my assertion that the book of Hebrews makes clear that Christ's New Covenant makes the old one obsolete. The commentator observed: "I would suggest that it is not the view of the author of Hebrews as your view misses the nuance of Hebraic argument. Heb 8:8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: and it is complicated, at least for me, in that you are not distinguishing between the Church Administration of the New Covenant and the Kingdom Administration of the New Covenant. Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Do you believe that Christ, after his return, will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah? I do; and the Ezekielian Torah is for the Messianic Age and therefore 'is a revision - and up-dating and a rectification - of selected topics of existent priestly legislation and practice very similar to, if not identical with, that of the Pentateuch [for the new era]...' (Moshe Greenberg, 'The Design and Themes of Ezekiel's Program of Restoration,' pp.233-35). It is more but it points in the right direction."

Unfortunately, the view of this commentator is not an isolated one. In response to the question, Why will people offer animal sacrifices in the Millennial Temple? in an article by David Levy for Israel My Glory, we read: "People often ask, 'If Jesus’ sacrifice was the only efficacious, once-for-all sacrifice to expiate sin (Heb. 9:12), why should animal sacrifices, which could never take away sin (10:4), be offered in the Millennial Temple during the Millennium?' It is true the sacrifices in the Millennial Temple will not expiate sin, just as the Mosaic offerings could not take away sin (v. 4). Many conservative commentators believe these offerings will be memorials, similar to communion that Christians take in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. They believe the offerings will serve as visible reminders of Christ’s efficacious work. Although true, it seems these sacrifices also will have an additional function. Scripture says they will be offered 'to make atonement for the house of Israel' (Ezek. 45:17; cf. vv. 15, 20). This sacrificial system will not constitute a return to the Old Testament Mosaic Covenant or Law but will be a new system set up by the Lord with a dispensational distinctive applicable to the Millennial Kingdom."

I believe that these views are inconsistent with both the theology of the New Testament and a Christocentric interpretation of those Old Testament prophecies. In the remainder of this post, we will explore the scriptural evidence which demonstrates the validity of this observation.

In the Gospel of Matthew's account of the "Sermon on the Mount," we read that Christ said: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." Christ said that he came to FULFILL the Law and the PROPHETS. Moreover, throughout the New Testament, the prophecies of the Old Testament are interpreted through the lens of Jesus Christ. Don't believe me? Check out any good concordance of the Judeo-Christian Bible, and you will see that the phraseology of this or that prophecy being fulfilled by Jesus appears over and over again in the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Indeed, the New Testament makes clear that acknowledging Jesus of Nazareth as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah (Christ) is a fundamental tenet of the Christian faith (See Matthew 10:32, 16:15-16, Mark 8:29, Luke 9:20,12:8, John 1:41, 9:22,11:27, 20:31, Romans 10:9, Philippians 2:11, I John 4:15, 5:1, II John 1:7).

Moreover, most biblical scholars acknowledge that the anonymously authored epistle to the Hebrews is the most direct and cogent explanation of the Christian perspective on how the Old Testament should be interpreted in the light of the Christ event. In the eighth chapter of that book, we read: "Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second." The author then proceeded to quote from one of the OT prophets: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." This is immediately followed by: "In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." In this way, the author of the epistle makes clear that he/she believed that Jesus Christ and his covenant represented the fulfillment of this prophecy.

In the next chapter (Hebrews 9), the author proceeded to explain how Christ was the fulfillment of the sacrificial system and the symbolism and ceremony described in Torah associated with the Day of Atonement. The author wrote: "But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God." Continuing in the epistle, we read: "Therefore he <Christ> is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant."

Thus, the author has set the stage to draw the following conclusions about Christ's fulfillment of both the prophet quoted and the provisions in Torah related to sacrifices and the Day of Atonement. The author of Hebrews concluded: "Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him."

In the following chapter (Hebrews 10), the author of the epistle summarized his/her conclusions about Christ's complete fulfillment of both the provisions in the Law and the prediction of the prophet. We read there: "For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, 'Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ When he said above, 'You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings' (these are offered according to the law), then he added, 'Behold, I have come to do your will.' He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified."

Did you catch that? According to the author of this epistle, Christ is the fulfillment of the sacrificial system! Sacrifices are no longer necessary - PERIOD! Christ's one sacrifice has atoned for our sins and has reconciled us to God. Future sacrifices cannot and will not accomplish what has already been accomplished by Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the ULTIMATE Lamb of God, sacrificed on our behalf. He is the one who has carried our sins away into the wilderness, away from us and God's presence!

Now, what about those prophecies related to a return to (or representing slight modifications of) the sacrificial system of Torah? Unfortunately, this is where the Armstrong Churches of God and too many other Christians have gone astray! They ignore or forget that ALL of the Old Testament prophets were sent to the sinful people of Israel and Judah during the period of the Davidic kingdom, or while they were in captivity after its prophesied fall! Don't believe me? Take another look at ALL of the writings of those prophets. The vast majority of those prophetic messages are clearly addressed to the people of Israel and Judah (there are a few which relate to some of the Gentile nations which interacted with the Israelites in some shape, form, or fashion). Indeed, the vast majority of these prophecies are predicated on the same principle which the Old Covenant was founded upon: "If you do this, God will do these things for you!" In other words, the fulfillment of many of these prophecies was contingent upon the repentance of the people for their continuing bad behavior, and their good behavior going forward.

Now, as we have already demonstrated, there is also another element present in many of these prophecies: That many of the things whose fulfilment was predicated on the Israelites behavior back in the day, would find their ultimate fulfillment in the work of the Messiah. In other words, the Israelites could have had a Temple like the one described in Ezekiel, but their continuous violation of the terms of God's covenant with them precluded that ever coming to pass!

In the fortieth chapter of Ezekiel, we read: "In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me to the city. In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south. When he brought me there, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand. And he was standing in the gateway. And the man said to me, 'Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.'" The prophet himself gives the context for what follows (the twenty-fifth year of their exile from their homeland). Moreover, once again, the prophet is told to give this message to "the house of Israel."

Frankly, some biblical scholars have ignored or failed to recognize that the majority of these prophecies were directed at the people of Judah and Israel back in the day, NOT to folks in the Twenty-first Century or the Millennium! Likewise, as we have already noted, some of them have ignored or failed to understand that many of the prophecies of the Old Testament were contingent upon the behavior of the people concerned (like Jonah's prophecy for the people of Nineveh). If Israel had heeded the warnings of her prophets and repented, they would not have been defeated, taken into captivity, and exiled from their homeland!

In similar fashion, if Israel had fulfilled its purpose (to introduce God to the Gentile world), then the vision of the prophet Ezekiel would have happened in their day. There would have been a Temple with water flowing from it, and the city of Jerusalem would have been known as "The Lord is There" (See Ezekiel 47 and 48). Nevertheless, imbedded within many of these same visions and prophecies, we are informed that there is also a connection to Messiah, that some of these elements will find their ultimate fulfillment in him, and not in the physical fulfillment which was contingent on the behavior of Abraham's physical descendants.

In other words, this writer does NOT see a return to the shadows and symbols of the Old Covenant. Christ's work makes that both unnecessary and untenable!









Wednesday, July 10, 2024

An Ancient Appeal Applied to the Armstrong Churches of God

Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of <the Armstrong Churches of God> to be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.

For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ (to bring Christ down to earth). And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead?’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” In fact, it says,

“The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.”

And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

--from Paul's epistle to Christ's disciples at Rome (Romans 10:1-13, NLT)

Sunday, July 7, 2024

Displaying the Ten Commandments in School?

The current cause célèbre of many conservative American Evangelical Christians is the displaying of the Ten Commandments in classrooms. NPR via The Associated Press recently reported that Louisiana will require the 10 Commandments displayed in every public school classroom. Republican Governor Jeff Landry signed the legislation passed by the GOP led state legislature which requires the Decalogue to be prominently displayed in all public classrooms from kindergarten through twelfth grade and in all state funded universities. As with so many other measures endorsed by the Christian Right, the faithful simply cannot understand why anyone could possibly have a problem with displaying the Ten Commandments.

Predictably, NPR reported that Donald Trump endorsed the Louisiana law before a group of cheering Evangelical Christians. Earlier, he had posted on social media that “I LOVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, AND MANY OTHER PLACES, FOR THAT MATTER. READ IT — HOW CAN WE, AS A NATION, GO WRONG???” This from a man who has openly disobeyed those commandments! Of course, the irony and hypocrisy involved in the former president's endorsement of the public display of the Ten Commandments passes without notice or mention among most of his supporters.

Seriously, let's try to objectively consider this for just a moment. Disciples of Jesus Christ endorsing the public display of the basis of God's covenant with Israel! Why not the Two Great Commandments which Jesus said comprehended the Ten and was the basis of the New Covenant in him? Moreover, how many Christians do you know who have been married more than once, cheated on their income tax, coveted their neighbor's new house or car, had an affair with their neighbor, or who has remembered to keep the Sabbath holy? In short, the blatant hubris and hypocrisy has got to be a stench in God's nostrils!

What about the way that Catholics number and view the Decalogue? Will these displays accommodate their beliefs? What about folks of other faiths? What about those Jews who believe that the Decalogue was given by YHWH to them - that it wasn't intended for Gentiles? If the majority of Americans claim to be Christians, does that justify trampling on the sensibilities of the minority? What about the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution? What about the separation of Church and State?

I don't know about you, but this entire subject brings something to my mind that Jesus once said to the scribes and Pharisees a long time ago. According to the Gospel of Matthew, he said: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." (Matthew 23:25-28, ESV) What do you think?

Thursday, July 4, 2024

The Divine Purpose of Authority

On this fourth of July, I am reminded about the profound differences between the way that Almighty God views authority, and the way that humankind views it. In the human realm, authority is meant to be served by those under it. However, in the Divine realm, authority is intended to serve those under it! In the human realm, authority is exalted above the people, and all of their resources are expected to be employed in sustaining and enriching it. Conversely, in the Divine realm, authority uses the resources at its disposal to sustain and enrich the people it serves.

In the Old Testament, we are informed that God reigned over the children of Israel by means of judges which he chose and designated to implement his will for his people. The Israelites, however, were apparently not satisfied with this arrangement and demanded a king to rule over them (I Samuel 8:1-5). Indeed, we read there that the elders of Israel asked Samuel to appoint a king to rule over them, so that they could be more like the nations which surrounded them!

Nevertheless, God warned them in advance about how that human model of authority would work. He said: "These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day." (I Samuel 8:11-18, ESV) In other words, instead of serving the interests of the people, their new king would force them to serve his interests!

In the New Testament, when Christ's disciples were arguing amongst themselves about leadership among Christ's disciples, we are informed in the Gospel of Mark (also in Matthew and Luke) that Jesus corrected their human perspective on authority. He said: "You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:42-45, ESV) Indeed, Jesus referred to himself as the "Good Shepherd" - the one who would nurture and take care of the sheep and would even give his life for them one day (John 10:11-18). This is the Divine perspective on authority, and it is very different from our own view of authority!