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HE Old Testament includes a forecast of the coming of a New Testament (Jeremiah 31:31-34 & Hebrews 8:8-12). Of course, throughout the Old Testament there are constant prophecies about the coming of the Messiah. Jesus is this Messiah. He is the Christ; the Elect of God; the Chosen One; The Anointed of God (Isaiah 42:1, Matthew 16:16, Luke 23:25 & Acts 10:38). Everything in Bible points to redemption, and without a Redeemer, there could be no redemption. Jesus is our Redeemer. He is our Savior; our High Priest and minister of the New Testament. And, what is this New Testament that replaces the old one (Hebrews 8:13)?
The New Testament is a new deal between God and Israel; between God and all of humanity. It is a new and better arrangement than the Old Testament. The word "testament" means "covenant or agreement." Synonyms for it are "contract, treaty, promise, pledge, bond and pact." So, in the Old Testament there was an arrangement under which God promised to do certain things for Israel, if they would "simply" obey His laws. It was not so simple though. It was agreement that they could not keep (Acts 15:10). In fact, Paul wrote in Galatians 3:24-25 that actually God only ever intended for the Law of Moses to bring us to our knees in humility. It was never imagined by God that the Old Testament could be a sufficient standard for a restoration of peace between Him & mankind. He knew that humanity could never live up to His standards. But the possibility of men being convinced by the Law (that we need someone to rescue us) was obviously worth all the trouble of issuing the Old Testament. But now we have a new deal; a much better deal!
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