The sixty-six books of the Bible are divided into two sections called the Old
and New Testaments. The Old Testament contains the thirty-nine books from
Genesis through Malachi; and the New Testament contains the twenty-seven books
from Matthew through Revelation. These two testaments contain wills or covenants
between God and man. Why are there two testaments? Because no one could qualify
as an heir under the first covenant. When the second testament was established,
the first became known as the Old Testament and the second became the New
Testament.
The goal, reward, or inheritance; which is received by humans who qualify as
heirs under terms of the testaments is eternal life. Those who do not qualify
will perish. Eternal life is presented throughout the Bible as a gift or reward,
never as something man presently possesses. Jesus is bringing the reward with
Him when he returns to the earth:
Behold, the Lord God will come with
strong hand, and his arm
shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him...(Isaiah
40:10)
...Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him...
(Isaiah 62:11)
And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me...
(Revelation 22:12)
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Under the first testament, the only method by which one could become an heir
to eternal life was to never sin. However, there was a fault in the first
testament in that all mankind sinned! Therefore, no one could gain eternal life
under the first testament. Since the first covenant contained faults, God
created a second, or New Testament:
But now hath he obtained a more excellent
ministry, by how
much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was
established upon better promises. For if that first covenant
had been faultless, then should no place have been sought
for the second.
(Hebrews 8:6-7) |
Is it not inconceivable that an omnipotent God produced a covenant
that contained faults? However, was the fault with God or man? Was
it God's fault that no man ever had the character to live a sinless life? Was it
true that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God?" Could
any human ever live a sinless life and become an heir to eternal life under the
Old Testament? Why would God make the requirements so strict that no one could
qualify?
Look at what God desired to accomplish. He is creating replacement caretakers
for the angels who sinned and failed their original assignment on earth:
And the angels which kept not their first
estate, but left their
own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under
darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
(Jude 1:6) |
Jesus, or the Word, created everything that was ever created:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and
the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All
things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made
that was made.
(John 1:1-3) |
He would not directly create immortal spiritual angels again. He would create
man a little lower than the angels and have them earn immortality through their
obedience. After all, the angels on earth did not work out because they sinned
against God. Therefore, in His plan to create replacement caretakers, He would
rule out the character flaw which caused the original caretakers to fail. That
flaw was sin! If any human sinned, he would not be allowed to eat from
the tree of life and become an immortal spiritual being. If he sinned he would
die the second death and that would be the end of him forever. This was the
design philosophy of the Old Testament covenant.
Man and woman were created separately in the Garden of Eden, and both could
make their own independent choices. Both chose to eat from the tree which God
commanded them not to eat from. Thus they sinned, just as the rebellious angels
they were created to eventually replace. God separated them from the tree of
life so that these sinful mortal beings would not eat its fruit and live
forever. He then created laws which mankind must individually obey in order to
gain eternal life. These were in the original testament as the Ten Commandments.
If any man or woman could live a sinless mortal life, by obeying God's laws,
then that person would inherit eternal life. This would rule out sinners from
becoming immortal spirits. However, no human ever became an heir under the
extremely strict covenant since every human ever created had sinned.
Once the Trinity of God makes an agreement and sets the steps in place to
create that agreement, God never violates His part of the agreement. God remains
constant:
Jesus Christ the same yesterday,
and today, and for ever.
(Hebrews 13:8) |
If the wages of sin is death, and all have sinned, then all must die! That's
how the original testament was set up. Thus, no replacements would be created
under this covenant! What to do?
Suppose some human could live a sinless life. He would not be
under a death sentence. He could then give His life freely as a sacrifice for
the others to get them out from under the death sentence imposed by their
sinning under the Old Testament. Since they no longer had to die under the Old
Testament, a new covenant could be designed whereby the fault in the Old
Testament could be corrected. This is exactly what occurred when Jesus Christ
came to earth as a human. He lived a sinless life, then sacrificed His life as
punishment for our sins. Since His sacrifice made eternal life possible for us,
the new requirement for us to attain eternal life under the New Testament became
a belief in Jesus Christ and recognition of His sacrifice.
Under the New Testament man came under grace and not the law. Good works
earned one salvation under the Old Testament. That is, if a person never
violated any of God's laws, he gained eternal life. After Jesus died for us, we
fell under the grace of Jesus Christ for our salvation, not our works to fulfill
the law. So sin does not control our salvation:
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye
are not under
the law, but under grace.
(Romans 6:14) |
We must now believe in Jesus Christ to inherit eternal life. Upon creating a
New Testament, the first covenant became the Old Testament:
In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath
made the first old.
Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
(Hebrews 8:13) |
When did the Old Testament vanish away and the New Testament become valid?
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new
testament, that
by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that
were under the first testament, they which are called might
receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament
is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For
a
testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no
strength at all while the testator liveth
(Hebrews 9:15-17) |
A testator is a person who makes a will. "A testament is of force after
men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth."
Therefore, the New Testament became effective and the Old Testament vanished
away as a will when Jesus Christ died on the cross. Once the New Testament
became the active will, no one could gain eternal life by remaining sinless as
required under the Old Testament. This includes infants! The only path to
salvation presently is through a belief in Jesus Christ under terms of the New
Testament covenant. Infants do not believe in Jesus Christ:
He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life: and he
that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of
God abideth on him.
(John 3:36) |
The path by which infants inherit the Kingdom of God is covered in Chapter 7
entitled The Resurrections - What Really Happens. Of course, not everyone
gains eternal life; only those who qualify under terms of the New Testament as
follows:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.
(John 3:16) |
If we believe in Jesus, we become heirs to the Kingdom of God under terms of
the New Testament which became effective when Jesus died on the cross. We enter
the Kingdom of God when born again as a spiritual being at, or after our
resurrection. It is a real experience, not some emotional sensation one gets
when he or she accepts Christ. The two requirements to enter the Kingdom of God
are clearly stated in the following verses:
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man
be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and
that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said
unto thee, Ye must be born again.
(John 3:5-7) |
The two requirements are to be born as a human being (of water), then to be
born again as a spirit.
In reading the Bible from start to finish, one will notice a sharp contrast
between the two testaments. The Old Testament is considerably more ruthless and
bloody as compared with the New Testament. One explanation for this could be the
different requirements under which one could become an heir under the two
testaments. Under the Old Testament, one had to never sin. Therefore, any
potential obstacle, which might cause one to sin, needed to be ruthlessly
eliminated. God apparently agreed, as he commanded the children of Israel to
erase all life from the cities in the lands he gave to them as an inheritance.
If any life remained, it would be a stumbling block and temptation to sin:
But of the cities of these people, which the
Lord thy God doth
give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that
breatheth: But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the
Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites,
the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the Lord thy God hath
commanded thee:
(Deuteronomy 20:16-17) |
Not only did God command the children of Israel to kill every living thing,
he listed the peoples to be destroyed so there would be absolutely no
misunderstanding. The children of Israel violated this command to kill every
living thing, and later intermarried and worshiped the gods of these people:
And the children of Israel dwelt among the
Canaanites, Hittites,
and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites: And
they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their
daughters to their sons, and served their gods. And the children
of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord
their God...
(Judges 3:5-7) |
The tough requirement of remaining sinless may help to explain the bloody,
ruthless behavior exhibited in the Old Testament. Any source, which might cause
people to sin, needed to be ruthlessly destroyed! Their failure to obey this
bloody command of God may explain the constant warring in the Middle East to
this day. That is, surviving relatives and offspring from the original
inhabitants have been competing with Israel over possession of the Promised Land
to this day.
Contrast the Old Testament approach to the New Testament philosophy. The New
Testament taught a totally opposite approach of turning the other cheek and
forgiveness:
But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but
whosoever
shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
(Matthew 5:39) |
The general Old Testament theme is fighting evil with evil, an eye for an
eye. Although this "eye for an eye" policy may originally sound harsh,
it can also be viewed as setting an upper limit on punishments. That is, if a
person puts your eye out, the most you can retaliate is to put out his eye, and
no more. By contrast, the New Testament theme is forgiveness and
overcoming evil with good:
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he
thirst, give him
drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
(Romans 12:20-21) |
Why this reversal of philosophies? Once again it is due to the requirements
of the testaments. Under the New Testament sin can be forgiven since a scapegoat
took the punishment for mankind's sin. Under the Old Testament, one had to obey
all commandments without exception and must accept the punishment of death for
disobeying any commandment.
There were some God fearing people who lived during Old Testament times, but
they all sinned. Since Jesus had not as yet died for their sins, what happened
to Noah, Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, Solomon, David, and others? They are
presently dead and buried:
Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you
of the patriarch
David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with
us unto this day.
(Acts 2:29)
For David is not ascended unto the heavens...
(Acts 2:34)
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These God fearing men will be resurrected from the dead as mortals in the
second resurrection. They will learn about and accept Jesus Christ as their
savior at that time, and be born again as spiritual beings into the Kingdom of
God.
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