THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

 Good Evening to All!

The inspiration of my post tonight came from a question which I read on a Facebook page called the Christian Life.  The question was asked "Why should we read the Old Testament?"I have known so many people who only like to read the New Testament, because it deals with Christ, Salvation and the early church.  What they don't understand is that to have full understanding we need to read Both Testaments.  One of the comments made on this page was,   "There are a couple of places which mention Christ in the Old Testament".   I remember my Pastor talking about all kinds of types and shadows pointing to Christ in the Old Testament, so I decided to delve into it a little deeper.
People today want to go the easiest route possible.  They only want to read what they think is relevant to our lives today. They don't understand that even though something may be brought up much earlier, it can still be important on down the line.  

We always need from beginning to end to get the whole story.   An analogy I think about in my personal life is when I tried to make Christmas cookies from scratch.  The first (and only) time I tried to make them, rather than reading the WHOLE recipe first, I saw the list of ingredients, so I just started going down the list and putting them in the bowl.  AFTER I got everything in the bowl and mixed up, THEN I saw the "procedure", where it said to mix the DRY ingredients first, then put the butter, (eggs, beaten, (not just thrown in), and so on.  When I took my cookies out of the oven, they were hard as a rock.  

If I would have read the WHOLE RECIPE first, I would have been successful with making delicious, chewy Christmas cookies.   That is what the Old Testament does.  It sets the scene for what is to come.


When we study the Old Testament, we find what are called types that are fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah. In these types, there is a correspondence between people, events or rituals of the Old Testament and Jesus Christ. For instance, the Passover was a foreshadow or type of the blood of the Lamb of God who would take away our sin and free us from bondage, who's covering would spare us from judgment, and who's mark separates and distinguishes us from the world. 


Other types are shadows, such as the Passover and the killing of a spotless lamb. "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us," Paul told the believers at Corinth (1 Corinthians 5:7).   The stories and events of the Old Testament were given to us for examples and for our instruction. Paul said to the Corinthians concerning the stories of Israel's redemption from Egypt and their wanderings in the wilderness, "Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.... Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them..... Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed.....

 There are many more examples of types and shadows, but even direct prophesies are brought up as in Psalms 2:7, where He says:  I will declare the decree:  the Lord hath said unto me, "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.  These verses speak about the preexistence of Christ.  This leaves the reference verse of Acts:13:33 --  God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it  is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.  Other references in the New Testament are John 8:58, which was confirmed by Christ, and Colossians 1:15-19 in which He is proclaimed by the apostles.


The birth of Christ is predicted in Isaiah 7:14; Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.  The New Testament reference is Luke 1:35, which says:  And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:  therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.  Of course His birth is fulfilled in Matthew 1:18-25, and the fullness of time, or His actual birth is brought out in Galatians 4:4 which says But when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law,....

His deity is prophesied by Isaiah 9:6; For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:  and the government shall be upon his shoulder:  and his name shall be called Wonderful, Consellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  This is referenced in the New Testament; Matt. 28:18, and Hebrews 13:20.

There are references to Him all through bringing out inferences of his humanity in Genesis 3:15 which declares:  "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between they seed and her seed; it shall bruise they head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

In Daniel, 9:24, the prophet talks about Christ's mission, which is to bring in everlasting righteousness. 

Before I decided to develop an intimate relationship with Christ rather than just calling myself a Christian and going to church sometimes, I made the same mistake as many people do.  I looked at the Bible as it was two separate books in one.  The Old Testament which was history, and the New Testament which was about the Coming of Christ, Salvation, and how to Live for Him. 

The deeper relationship I develop with Jesus, the more I enjoy the Old Testament because I get deeper into it and am able to understand how the two Testaments combine to give us the WHOLE PICTURE.
   
Good Night to All and May God Bless!