We have followed this theme of remnants and apostates throughout the Bible. We have seen how throughout the Old Testament, the people of God were a small minority that was persecuted and rejected by both those who rejected YHWH and many who professed to belong to YHWH but lived in wickedness. In the days of Noah, a single family was spared. In the days of Abraham, a single family was called out. In the days of Elijah, only 7000 Jews remained faithful to YHWH. This theme also holds true in the New Covenant.
Tag: Typology
Christ the Substance of the Davidic Covenant
So far we have seen how Jesus Christ fulfils the covenants God made with Adam, Abraham and Moses. There is one more covenant that we looked at. This unconditional covenant made with David would see his descendant rule an everlasting kingdom. In his discourse to the Galatian church we have already seen how Paul interprets Old Testament passages of promise in the context of the Abrahamic covenant (Gal 3:16-19). Using his hermeneutic, a reading of 1 Chron 17:11-14 would show that the Seed mentioned in the passage does not refer to Solomon or any other flesh and blood descendant of David but rather Jesus Christ.
Christ the Substance of the Mosaic Covenant
When God rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt, He made a covenant with them at Sinai. This covenant was conditional and the blessings to the Israelite nation and their right to live in the land God had separated for Himself was contingent on their faithfulness and obedience to the terms of the covenant. This contrasts the covenant with unconditional covenants like the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants. Regardless, though the Israelite nation failed to keep the terms of the covenant and therefore rendered it void, the covenant itself signifies something Greater.
Christ the Substance of the Abrahamic Covenant
God promised Abraham that His Seed would inherit the promised land. We have already seen how the Bible teaches that the physical aspect of these promises were fulfilled in the Old Testament Israelite nation (Josh 21:43, 23:14, 1 King 4:20). The physical fulfilment however wasn’t the substance of the promise. It was given to confirm the ultimate fulfilment of the promise in its spiritual antitype, Jesus Christ.
Brief Gleanings from Solomon’s Dedicatory Prayer for the Temple
Mosaic worship revolved around the Tabernacle. This Tabernacle would later become part of the Solomonic temple in Jerusalem. The worship ordained by God in the Old Testament therefore consisted of various outward forms based around this temple/tabernacle structure
How did Christ and the Apostles Understand Old Testament Prophecy?
We have seen the Redemptive Kingdom develop in various stages in the Old Testament. We have also seen some key narratives that have always been part of this Kingdom structure. Now it is time to start connecting the dots to see how those narratives develop towards God’s Kingdom’s in the New Covenant. Before we can get there though, we need to consider some basics in understanding Biblical prophecy. This will help us understand prophetic literature through the lens of Scripture itself. We need to understand Biblical prophecy as the authors of the New Testament did.
Redemptive Kingdom Structure in the Old Covenant: Part 2
The Abrahamic Covenant placed Abraham and his descendants in constant antithesis with the people of the world. However, broadly speaking God didn’t regulate the day to day activities of Abraham’s life. There was no specific law given to him. Apart from circumcision there were no external cultural requirements. The covenant itself required separation and distinction from the world, but the details of that were less regulated and we see that Abraham and his descendants often fell into sin and temptation as they interacted with the world. What this implies is that the Abrahamic Covenant, foreshadowing the ultimate end of the present created order in the final judgement, doesn't regulate the things that are passing away as they are not being redeemed.
The End of the First World and New Beginnings
The Great Flood was a cleansing of sorts. Peter compares what is experienced in Baptism to the preservation of Noah and his household in the flood (1 Pet 3:20). The future judgement will not be a cleansing with water but a purging with fire. It won’t be a reboot of this present material order, either in its fallen state or in its Edenic form. Rather the form of the new order that God will create from the ashes of the old will be grander and even better than anything Adam could even hope to comprehend in the Edenic state.
Deo Vicit Mundum 