Nancy,
Kenyon was a very gifted teacher and he made comparisons between the things of the OT and the Temple practices and Jesus and the new covenant. It was very enlightening back when I studied it.
<<Who do you think dwells in the Temple in Heaven?>>
God sits on a throne (Rev. 4:5) "And from the throne proceed flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder." The ark of His covenant in Rev. 11:19 does not specifically say God dwells there, and He dwells in unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16). He is omnipresent. He is described in many places and in many ways. Why latch onto one description as so important over many others? So much is metaphor, look at the description of Jesus in Rev. 5. In verse 6 ".....a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth."
Paul writes in Hebrews 11:23-28 that the earthly temple, alter, ark are copies of the heavenly ones. The earthly copies were sprinkled with the blood of goats and calves. He explains that the heavenly temple was sprinkled with Jesus's blood to establish the perfect law of grace through faith. That is the new law that is being written on our hearts.
<<Who was showing it to John?>> Jesus called John up to heaven, at different times angels take on the task of showing John different things.
<<The
Temple is Yeshuas dwelling place, He told the Pharisee; destroy this TEMPLE and I
will rebuild it in 3 days.>>
Jesus did rebuild the temple in 3 days, the temple of His body which He allowed to die on a cross, be buried and was raised again into eternal life on the third day.
<<There are other things barely mentioned and people have
created great theology on them and I think this is unwise also.>>
It IS unwise to create theology on such a brief mention in Revelation yet you have done just that. So much of what you assert is completely unsupported.
<< I posted later to Jane on
Jesus that the Ark of the Covenant represents the Holy Spirit to me in the OT.>> Kenyon said the oil used on the alter in the Temple represented the Holy Spirit in the rituals of the law.
<< When
the side of the Lord was torn I believe the access to Heaven was opened and not
abolishing everything but completing it and making it available to all men.>>
The veil of the temple being torn from top to bottom at the time of Jesus's death (Matt. 27:51) was symbolic to all mankind of there access now to the Father through Jesus and His sacrifice. The piercing of Jesus's side was a prophecy that was fulfilled about the circumstances surrounding His death as a testimony that He was the Christ.
<<I wish I
understood what verse you refer to when you say the scriptures were or old way was
imferect. The verses I think you are referring to says the new one is superior to the old
but both are from God and I see everything He does as perfect, the people involved
were imperfect but the Law and the covenant God made were and are perfect but the
completed covenant is superior to the first.>>
This a a pivotal misunderstanding you have about the law. Look at Romans 4:13-15
13 "For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir to the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; 15 for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there violation."
This is before the law that Abraham received the promise, yet the law would and could not fulfill the promise. The principle of faith and grace was before the law as well as after.
Romans 7:6
"But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter."
In Hebrews Paul explains at length the peril of returning to the law.
Hebrews 6:4-6
4 "For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame."
Read carefully Hebrews 8; verse 12, a change in priesthood causes a change in law; verse 14, the Lord being a priest but from the tribe of Judah signals a change in the priesthood, therefore the law; verse 16, this new law is not based on physical requirements but on the indestructible life of Jesus Christ verse 18, "For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of it's weakness and uselessness, 19 (for the Law made nothing perfect)...."
Hebrews 9:11
"When Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; 12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption."
He entered the holy place in heaven, not the earthly things which were just copies.
Galatians 3:11
"Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident..."
<<The old saved the ones that were in the
sacrifical system it was not permantent but I don't think Moses, Elijah, Daniel and
others are in hell.>>
Hebrews 11 explains that all these patriarchs were justified by there faith and not by the law. Matt. 27: 51-53 explains that these "saints" were raised when Jesus died on the cross and came out of the tombs and appeared in Jerusalem to many after Jesus's resurrection. They partook of the perfect covenant of grace through faith, the faith they demonstrated when they were alive. And again; Galatians 3:11
"Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident..."
No one includes everybody including the OT patriarchs. They were justified by their faith.
<< So I can go on and on as to how perfect you can see Gods plan in the OT.>>
Hebrews 8:18-19
"For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of it's weakness and uselessness, 19 (for the Law made nothing perfect)...."
God's plan was a perfect plan and the OT Law was part of that plan, that plan has progressed past the need for the OT Law and now the plan has brought about God's whole purpose which is the new law of faith and grace in Jesus Christ.
<< So I celebrate His fulfillment of the Feast and He is the reason for the feast as Paul said
in 1 Cor. 5 concerning Passover; let us celbrate the feast together and I can share
many verses on the Apostles keeping the feast and I am sure they would be shocked at
the attitude today about them.>>
Paul is not saying they're to celebrate the Old Testament Passover. He is saying Jesus is our Passover. I know you know the OT Passover is celebrating the night in Egypt when the blood of lambs were put on door posts and the angel of death passed those houses. Jesus's blood is our passover and the feast is the Lord's supper which He celebrated with His disciples and said to do it in remembrance of Him. Jesus established a new feast for a new reason. He is the new high priest of a new covenant.
<< The issue in Romans 14 was with food sacrificed to
idols causing your brother to stumble and when he was with a Jew he acted like a Jew. The Galatians 3:10 say those who rely on the Law. I rely on the Messiah and say that
clearly to all and do not hid to celebrate what God has designed. I still think there is
tremendous misunderstanding of the law. But that is OK and I take my faith as a
personal relationship with Him and respect yours to be the same. >>
The issue is principles of conscience, their faith to eat caused their brother to stumble. The same principle can be applied to any situation. Your practice of OT festivals etc. may not harm you because you have faith that it is not needed to draw near to God. But if a brother thinks from watching you that he needs to keep a festival to draw near to Jesus you have cause him to stumble by putting a ritual between him and Jesus. Because so many are subject to flights of fancy about God I would not risk that they would understand your motives and intentions.
Bob |
