Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Put This In Your Dispensationalist Pipe And Smoke It

Put This In Your Dispensationalist Pipe And Smoke It
At hand is possibly no extra Israelite-ish book in the Bible than Leviticus. Furthermost Christians admittedly bog down in their "read including the Bible in a meeting" plans formerly they hit Leviticus. They astonishment if the book has any advantage for New Testament believers. The receive of this triumph is no contrition the lack of self-expression top figure guild exhibit appearing in the bring together of Old Testament Israel to the New Testament Church.

To help elucidate this, let's stand in front of at Leviticus 26:11-12. "I will make my leave among you, and my rank shall not abominate you. And I will effort among you and will be your God, and you shall be my guild." (ESV)These verses are at the end of a allocate (26:1-13) that contains the blessings of distribute confinement. The distribute in interrogate is the Covenant of Elegance. We know that this is so for example it contains God's oath to Abraham from Start 17:7-8

And I will congeal my distribute connecting me and you and your successor once upon a time you all over their generations for an timeless distribute, to be God to you and to your successor once upon a time you. And I will fetch to you and to your successor once upon a time you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an timeless hold, and I will be their God." (ESV)

Many guild unsuspectingly consortium that the Law approved at Sinai was a return to the Covenant of Machinery, but this is not true. The Sinai Law was part of the Covenant of Elegance. This can be seen from the fact that in Exodus 19, through the Decalogue was approved, God re-confirmed with Israel the Covenant of Elegance He had made with their forefather Abraham. Not truthful that, but the overture to the Decalogue is animal, with no added water attractiveness.

One can sense of balance Ezekiel 37:26-28 with the Leviticus 26 exchange to see a justification that this is a special oath of God recounting to the Covenant of Elegance.

I will make a distribute of allay with them. It shall be an timeless distribute with them. And I will set them in their land and proliferation them, and will set my haven in their midst forevermore. My leave place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my guild. Then the nations will know that I am the Peer of the realm who sanctifies Israel, formerly my haven is in their midst forevermore. (ESV)

Fastforward singular centuries to the day of Pentecost and the time quick once upon a time it. Pentecost, doesn't matter what excessively may be aimed about it, is the beginning of the New Testament Church. It is the funny turn at which the adoration of God moves from a physical temple to a spiritual one. I aimed all that to say this: at all which occurs during can no longer be aimed to be a part of the Old Testament Israel-centered religion. In a extremely New Testament context, Peter confirms that the oath to Abraham relates to the Church (Acts 2:39 cf. Acts 3:25).

Final, discourse to a church comprised primarily of ethnic Gentiles, Paul quotes this oath ("I will be your God and you will be My guild) in mention to the Church. Undisputable Paul acts as if he implicit the exclusive oath to be in due course downright in the New Testament Church. Put on is what he says: For instance assurance has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God aimed, "I will make my leave among them and effort among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my guild. (ESV)

Note that Paul actually says that the New Testament Church IS the Temple vocal of all over Scripture.

If this weren't pointed lots, two grow old in Romans 4 (verses 1 and 9-12 - anew addressed to Gentiles), Paul refers to Abraham as "our fright." And in verses 9-12, Paul argues after all that the promises of the Covenant of Elegance were made to Abraham through offer were such guild as Jews. That the New Testament Church is the achievement of God's distribute to Abraham is even clearer in Galatians, for example this is incisive what Paul argues in Galatians 3.The logic of Galatians 3:6-9 totally demolishes the imitation dichotomy connecting Israel and the Church which Dispensationalism creates.

Term back at Leviticus 26:11-12. The distribute oath of God is this: I will be your God and will halt with you. Ezekiel 37:26-28 reaffirms this oath to Israel. Paul as well as interprets the oath to "halt among you" to mean that the Church IS the temple of God and the oath accordingly is sooner or later for the New Testament Church (2 Cor. 6:16). Romans 4 and Galatians 3 argue after all that the New Testament Church is the maintenance and achievement of the Old Testament church, Israel.

Confirming that we spell not read here Scripture something that is not offer, the Bible itself ends on this very location. Astound 21:3 reiterates this oath to the Church:

And I heard a blaring voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the leave place of God is with man. He will halt with them, and they will be his guild, and God himself will be with them as their God." (ESV)