Introduction
“Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you - Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
John 5:45-47
Is All Scripture Authoritative?
- 2Tim 3:14-17: All Scripture. Not the last quarter only. All of it. When Paul wrote this, he was speaking specifically of the TaNaKh.
- TaNaKh: The name Yeshua called it (Matt 5:17). Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim [Torah, Prophets, Writings]
- It is:
- Profitable for Doctrine [teaching]
- Reproof
- Correction
- Instruction in Righteousness
- … that the man of G-d may be complete, equipped for every mitzvot.
- Picking up the Bible and getting all your instruction from the last quarter without understanding its context and connection to TaNaKh is more than a problem.
“Testament?”
- The English names, “Old Testament” and “New Testament” come from the Latin names that were chosen for a man-made division. Testament = Covenant. Hence, “Old Covenant” and “New Covenant” are names that even when “Hebra-ized” are problematic. The errant thought is that the “Old Covenant” is the Scripture for the “old way” of approaching G-d; and the “New Covenant” is the Scripture for the “new way” of approaching G-d. The “New Testament” writers would be appalled at such thinking.
- The TaNaKh is not a “Covenant” - it contains many covenants, including the “New Covenant.” The “New Testament” is not a “Covenant.”
The Connection Between the Apostolic Scriptures and the TaNaKh
- One third of the Apostolic Scriptures (Matt-Rev) is either a quote from the TaNaKh or a thematic adaptation.
- John 5:45-47: The introduction to Messiah is not found in Matthew, it is found in the Torah. If one cannot believe Messiah as revealed in TaNakh, then one will not believe in Him though face to face.
- Luke 16:28-31: The incredible testimony of the Risen Messiah does not overshadow the testimony of the TaNaKh in revealing Messiah.
- Deut 4:2; 12:32: Scripture is the self-revelation of HaShem to man. It starts with Torah. After Torah, nothing was truly new. All Scripture refers back to Torah.
- In the way that the Prophets and Writings are elucidations of Torah and commentary on it, so too, the Apostolic Scriptures are elucidations and inspired commentary on the Torah.
- To best understand the Gospels and the rest of the Apostolic Scriptures, one must understand the TaNaKh. As Deut 4:2 says, it all has to agree with Torah, and not add to or take away.
- Deut 13:1: Scripture has a self-validating code within it. It can never contradict, amend, or annul itself. This is why it is important to know what Yeshua meant in Matt 5:17-19: He came not to annul, but to establish the TaNaKh.
Genesis to Revelation: the Same Message
- When the Bible is approached as a single unit, with a single message, it becomes quite clear that the TaNaKh has much to teach us.
- Gen 3:24; Rev 22:1-4: From the relationship we had in the Garden of Eden, and ending with the relationship we will have like the one we had in the Garden.
- The fall in Genesis 3 is the reason for all Scripture. G-d wants to reveal Himself to man, and to thereby bring man back to Him.
- It is all about Redemption – or the “buying back” what man lost when we sinned in the Garden.
- Rom 8:19-23: All Creation is in need of redemption. That redemption, is related to the redemption of man. As G-d brings man back to Himself, even the “curse” against the ground is eventually abolished.
Summary
- We will start at the beginning. The problem, and G-d’s solution. From the opening words of Scripture to the end runs the thread of redemption.