Last week we covered question four in our “apologetics’ overview” on the topic of the human race, made in the image of God. We focused on the genetic transmission of characteristics coming, not so much from Adam and Eve, but from Noah and his three sons. The Biblical narrative of dispersion of people at the Tower of Babel would justify people groups moving out together based not only on language, but common intentions.

This week we are looking at the final question in our apologetics’ overview on the topic of eternal security that began with a rescue plan promised by God at the Fall. We will look at the connection between the Covenants in the Old Testament that build and culminate in the New Covenant (New Testament). This includes the fulfillment by Jesus of these promises, in that He is the “rescue plan” originally promised at the Fall. We then compare the Old and New Testament passages that speak to the Covenant and its fulfillment that can only be found in Jesus. There is an added bonus in a video clip presented for evidence on the “long ages” of people found in Genesis and how, statistically speaking, it makes sense if the Bible is true (and it is)!

View the presentation here, and the overview notes are below for reference:

Overview notes from the presentation:

Genesis
The Apologetics

A few important questions to answer:

1. Where did we (and all life) come from? The question of origin
2. What is wrong with the world? The problem of evil and suffering
3. Does the world’s geography, topography and environmental conditions indicate sudden catastrophe or slow evolutionary processes? The question of the Biblical Flood
4. Where did the idea of race come from? The question of dispersion at the Tower of Babel
5. How does God continue to provide for the original Promise? The question of eternal security and a return to the Garden

(Note: Questions 1-4 were addressed over the last few weeks – question 5 will be addressed today)

Click here to access the link to “Genesis Apologetics” where you can find more video presentations on the first four questions and similar topics.

5.  How does God continue to provide for the original Promise? The question of eternal security and a return to the Garden

God unfolds the original promise through an individual, Abraham, and then through a Nation, Israel, that culminates in the sending of His Son Jesus to fulfill all that was promised. The Old Covenant is now known as the New Covenant – our salvation and eternal home is assured!

Evidence Categories for The Old Covenant

At the Fall God began to show us His plan of salvation through Covenants

1. Genesis 3:15 – The Original Promise and curse Adamic Covenant
2. Genesis 6:18 – Passed to/through Noah Noachian Covenant
3. Genesis 12:3 – Expanded to Abraham Abrahamic Covenant
4. Exodus through Deuteronomy – Unfolded by Moses through the Law Mosaic Covenant
5. 1 Chronicles 17:11-14 (also found in 2 Samuel 7:8-16) – Specified David’s royal lineage Davidic Covenant

In addition, there are hundreds of prophecies throughout the Old Testament pointing to the fulfillment of the Old Covenant and the coming of Messiah!

The Old Promises the New
fulfillment in Jesus

A prophecy of the Messiah and the Covenant Promise made sure:

I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. I am the LORD, that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.  Isaiah 42:6-9

The New Covenant

The time is coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers…  Jeremiah 31:31-32

The Prophecy of a Covenant Messenger in the Old Testament

A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.”  Isaiah 40:3

See I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come, says the LORD Almighty.  Malachi 3:1

New Testament Fulfillment

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” Matthew 3:1-3

Jesus is speaking concerning John the Baptist

This is the one about whom it is written: “’I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’…For all of the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.”  Matthew 11:10; 13-14

New Testament Fulfillment of the Old Covenant Promise

Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”  Matthew 26:26-28

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you…”This cup is the new covenant in my blood, do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”  1 Corinthians 11:23-24

New Covenant Justification

But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.  Hebrews 8:6

By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete, and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.  Hebrews 8:13

Jesus is the Mediator

For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.  Hebrews 9:15

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks better than the blood of Abel. Hebrews 12:22-24

The Final Goal

The Kingdom of God on Earth:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.  Revelation 21:1-7

Do we throw away the Old Testament because we have the New?

• NO

Jesus 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. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Matthew 5:17-20

Paul in his letter to the Ephesians said:

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.  Ephesians 1:13-14

Why is it important to understand that Jesus is in the Old Testament?

After defending His ministry, by healing on the Sabbath Day, Jesus Himself said to the Jewish leaders:

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. John 5:39-40

The Road to Emmaus

And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.  Luke 24:25-27

Paul explains why many did not understand what the Old Testament was teaching, and why many still do not understand it today:

Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.  2 Corinthians 3:12-18

Application

As with most of the Old Testament, it was written to a specific group of people at a specific time in history, and we must keep that in mind, however…

• We can learn much about our own human history and our Christian history through the study of the Old Testament
• We can learn about God, His character, and His great love
• We can learn about how God interacts with His Creation
• We can learn from the successes and mistakes of those in the past
• Most of all, we can help others to learn more about God and His plan (established from the beginning) through His Word, His Covenants, and through the promise of His Son

Reflection

Practice knowing the books of the Old Testament and their categories

1. What are the 39 books of the Christian Old Testament and their categories, in order? (clue: 5-12-5-5-12)
2. What are the major events, who are the major players and what are the major Covenants in the book of Genesis?

Bible Study

Always remember to pray before you study and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you into the truth found in God’s Word – pray for protection from the evil one who will try to discourage, distract and deceive us.

Read Genesis Chapter 24 through Chapter 26 – Then, to the best of your ability, answer the following questions. NOTE: The answers are found in the text (except for “Going Deeper”)

 Isaac and Rebekah; Abraham’s remarriage, other children and his death; Jacob and Essau; Isaac and Abimelech

1.  (Genesis 24:1-67) In this chapter, we find the story of how Isaac and Rebekah married:

• Why do you think it was important for Isaac to get a wife from Abraham’s relatives and not from the local Canaanites?
• List the things that happened in this story that show God was intervening to make Abraham’s servant successful?
• Going Deeper: Are there any parts of this story that foreshadow Jesus?

2.  (Genesis 25:1-18) Abraham remarried after the death of Sarah:

• Who was Abraham’s new wife, and what do we know about the children they had?
• How did Abraham differentiate between Isaac and the other children concerning the inheritance, and why?
• How old was Abraham when he died; where was he buried and who was present at his burial? How old was Ismael when he died, and how many sons did he have?
• Going Deeper: What had God promised Hagar about Ismael’s descendants and what do we know about them today?

3.  (Genesis 25:19-34) In the second half of this chapter, after 20 years, Isaac and Rebekah finally have children, twins in fact:

• What happened between the children while they were still in the womb, and what did God tell Rebekah about the children before they were born?
• What were the boys’ names and what do they mean?
• Summarize what happened between the boys when they were older, and its significance for the future.
• Application: If you were Isaac or Rebekah, how would you have handled the situation between the boys at this point?

4.  (Genesis 26:1-35) In this chapter we get a repeat of what Abraham and Sarah had previously done (Note – this is not the same Abimelech as before – it may have been a title or family name):

• How is Isaac and Rebekah’s story different in this case?
• What happened between Isaac’s men and the men of Gerar?
• What does God say to Isaac in verses 2-5 and then again in verses 23-24, and why do you think this important to know?
• What did Esau do that made his parents unhappy, and why?

Join us next week as we continue our “Case for the Old Testament” with a new session on “Religious Pluralism”

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