The Ark of the Covenant: Crossroads Do you see the Ark of the Covenant above that was housed in the sacred Holy of Hollies? It was an article set apart, and placed in the Jewish tabernacle/temple to be the last in a series of steps leading to a climatic encounter with the manifest presence of God. It was the throne of God on earth inhabited by the Great Jehovah God once a year in a unique and very limited sense, and a shadow of the throne of God in heaven. Only one appointed representative stood before the ark on behalf of those identifying with God. Why? Do you notice the golden cherub on each end of the sacred ark designed as directed to hover over something on top of the Mercy Seat and staring intently? What is under the cherub’s intent gaze, what is the symbolism, and what is the significance? In this page I will begin to explain what that something entails as it relates to the gospel in the covenants predating historical Jesus the man in a truly fascinating study that shows the Old Testament is really not "old" or ALTOGETHER "obsolete." Moreover, the new covenant is not first revealed in the Christian New Testament either. In fact, the New Covenant, or Brit is specifically revealed in the Tanackh (What Gentiles know as the Old Testament-law, prophets, and writings). Moreover, Yeshua (Jesus) claimed to complete or fulfill the Tenachk; not abolish it altogether. Therefore, the Tanackh is best described as the testament progressively pointing beyond itself to a better brit, or covenant from the onset, and by its own admission. In other words, the covenants, Levitical institution, and prophets predating historical Jesus have always pointed beyond to the gospel of the Kingdom of God predicated upon a suffering-servant Messiah who would be cut-off for transgressors. Strange? This becomes clear when the covenants revealed in the Tenachk, and tension between the law and what the symbolism of the Ark of the Covenant represents and the rites involving it is understood. If I were an instructor of theology I might challenge the student to explain how the conditions of the law are perfectly met based upon what the Tenakh reveals about the symbolism the Ark of the Covenant represents and the rites involving it. The answer to this question in the final analysis is very good news to those receiving it, and is appropriated then as it is now-by grace (God's initiative) through faith (man's response). Apprehending what the Tenachk teaches about covenant is a good place to begin understanding how "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other"-Psalm 85:10.

In this page I will show the relationship between original sin, God's covenants, and the Gospel of the Kingdom of God predicated upon "the bruised seed" identified as "He"-the Messiah within the framework of the Old Testament Torrah/Penteteuch that predates historical Yeshua-Jesus the man. This will show the covenants, while including benefits unique to the Jewish people that are binding, not only include those Gentiles who identify with them in covenant hopes, but ultimately point beyond to a Jewish Messiah for the nations and the gospel of the kingdom of God. This will enable you to identify the substance of the gospel of the kingdom of God in the covenants, show the precedence for this gospel of the kingdom of God in the Holy Scriptures dated after this period, and the continuity of the gospel of the kingdom of God throughout the Holy Bible, including the New Testament.

The Gospel & Covenant In the Beginning   In the Garden of Eden the first people, Adam and Eve, were a people of God not merely in the sense of identifying with him, but as a holy people enjoying a unique interpersonal relationship with him. They also exercised authority and dominion over God's creation in accordance with God's expressed will. They walked under an open heaven in the sense of enjoying an unrestricted and unhindered kind of mutual communion with Holy God. Adam and Eve were holy and God was and is holy. They did not need to wear clothing as we do today but they were not naked as they were clothed with the glory of God. Sickness and desease did not dwell in the realm of the manifest presence of God. So initially, Adam and Eve and creation lived free from sin and its effects that are universally characteristic today; nor was there a temple veil separating sinners from God's holy manifest presence. Adam and Eve were without sin, and therefore nothing came between them and a Holy God. That all changed when Adam and Eve, who at that time were free from an inherent sinful nature, yielded to the devil's temptation and chose to rebel against God in unbelief. Consequently, Adam and Eve were separated from holy God by their sin. The glory of God had departed in a dramatic way, and their eyes were opened to their physical and spiritual nakedness. Hence, they were no longer the holy people of God he called them to be having authority and dominion over God's creation, and found themselves in a context where grief, suffering and death became a normal part of living under the curse of sin. Moreover, the very nature of sin became resident within the heart, mind and soul of Adam and Eve- a nature or curse causing death that would pass from Adam and Eve to their descendants. Adam & Eve and their offspring were now doomed to a slow strangling death by sin and its effects, and hopeless to be freed without God's help. The impact of sin upon the creation including man, sin's separating effect upon the unique fellowship intended by God between God and man, and the devil usurping God's expressed will of a holy people created in His own image unto Himself having authority and dominion over His creation prompted God to make the first covenant/promise of restoration and reconciliation between God and the "seed" of the woman. In this covenant God declares that He will redeem man from sin and death in order to restore those identified with God's seed to their intended purposes as a holy people of God. Not only would God regain the authority Adam and Eve forfeited, but also God declares that satan would ultimately be crushed under the feet of one sent from God through the seed of the woman. God stated, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will bruise his heal" (Genesis 3:15; cf. Hosea 6:7). Not only does the text identify one from among the seed of the woman, but Eve seemed to understand that she would give birth to a child who would crush the devil as well (cf. Gen 4:25; Midrash Rabbah Genesis 23:5). And while the term "gospel," or good news is not explicitly used in the context of God's declaration in this Genesis 3:15 account, the concept of God's redeeming initiatives and ultimate defeat of the devil is nevertheless explicitly connected to the term "gospel" as it relates to the Kingdom of God in other Old Testament books to which this first declaration pointed. Thus, ultimate redemption and restoration was/is to be predicated upon "the bruised seed" identified as "He"-the Messiah. Why is this declaration in Genesis 3:15 good news?

The Bad News & The Good News   The Genesis 3:15 declaration is good news for all mankind who is under the curse of sin as there is no other hope in the fallen sinful condition of man and a fallen world cursed by sin apart from God's redeeming initiatives. Click Here for further explanation. It is God alone Who initiates and can accomplish the redemption of man and this comprehensive restoration; "I will put enmity between you and the woman" (Gen 3:15). And while this covenant includes very good news for those identified with this particular Messiah sent from God through the seed of a woman, it is often overlooked that this covenant is also very bad news for those not identifying with the Messiah as it also includes God using this self-same seed of the woman in and through Messiah to ultimately crush the devil, and those aligned with satan in the end of things; "I will put enmity between . . . your offspring and hers . . . He will crush your head" (Gen 3:15). SelectThe Mystery of Christ for further clarification. Even during the interim of time characterized by enmity between the devil and the woman preceding satan's ultimate demise, the gospel of the kingdom of God is already near when God intervenes in bringing the various aspects of his redemptive covenant promises to pass on earth as already firmly established in heaven, and predicated upon the "bruised" seed of the woman in the present context of a fallen world, and in opposition to the kingdom of darkness currently in operation on earth. While the gospel of the kingdom of God will indeed be fully realized on earth as it is in heaven in the end of things through Messiah, what was not revealed at the time of God's Genesis 3:15 pronouncement was the timing and circumstances leading to its ultimate fulfillment. Consequently, the fallen angel known as the devil not only sought to kill the seed of Eve, but the seed of her descendants to whom this promise of God is re-affirmed in future generations in efforts to thwart God bringing to fruition his promise to bind him, return what he's stolen, and from being crushed under the heel of Messiah ultimately. Since Genesis 3:15 this conflict of enmity between the devil and the seed of the woman has indeed been in motion as God accomplishes the various aspects leading to the ultimate fulfillment of His covenant promises. It is no historical coincidence that those from the seed of the woman who would later form the Jewish nation from which the promised messiah would spring together with those Gentiles later identifying with them in Messianic covenant hope in the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15 through the Jewish Messiah for the nations has and continues to face relentless efforts from those being driven by the devil whose aim is to exterminate them, the "children of promise," altogether. Nevertheless, God protected his seed, and reaffirmed this Genesis 3:15 covenant promise with individuals he chose in future generations as indeed preserved in the Holy Bible, and along the way provided a little more insight into the nature/scope of the redemption of man, a restored creation on earth typical of the Garden of Eden, messianic kingdom rule on earth as it is in heaven, and how satan would be ultimately destroyed by the messiah-the seed of the woman, and born under law to redeem those under the curse of the sin under law (Cf. Genesis 22:18, "Abraham"; Genesis 21:12, "Isaac"; Genesis 28:14, "Jacob"; Genesis 2:28, "Israel"); first in a suffering servant role making an end of transgression for the penalty and effects of sin, and subsequently as the great and everlasting Davidic king on earth as it is in heaven (cf. Isaiah 11:10). Therefore, the covenants of God, while indeed including binding promises unique to Israel, are founded upon the substance of the Genesis 3:15 covenant pointing beyond to a restoration of all things accomplished by the Jewish messiah for the nations in the progress of redemption and ultimate restoration. While those identifying with God in this covenant hope can and should be "salt and light" in a sin-plagued world of troubles, only God will usher in the ultimate fulfillment of this covenant promise.

The Gospel Seed & Covenants      What is the relationship between the Genesis 3:15 declaration regarding the seed of the woman crushing the devil and Abraham? Many generations had passed after Adam and Eve lived and died before a man named Abraham was called out from among mankind primarily to become the geanological line from which this Holy seed and Annointed One would spring to redeem mankind in order to bring them the life and blessings of His kingdom "on earth as it is in heaven" and ultimately to "crush" the devil ending with the restoration of all things. God made a covenant with Abraham giving him the land of Israel, a national calling, and the promise the Messiah would be his descendant."I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless you and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:3) It is noteworthy that "all nations being blessed" through his geneological line pointed beyond the binding promises unique to Israel the nation to include gentiles (See also-Isaiah 11:10, Isaiah 42:6, Isaiah 49:6-7, Isaiah 52:15). And while God also promised Abraham the deed to the land of Cannan (Genesis 15:7, 18-20), the ultimate fulfillment of this promise and God's declaration to put enmity between the devil and the seed of the woman ultimately crushing the devil was to extend beyond the life of Abraham by God's own admission. For example, God informed Abraham "Your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years . . . in the fourth generation your descendants will come back here for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure" (Genesis 15:13-16; cf. Exodus 12:40). It is noteworthy that Abraham was submitted under the Melchizadek King of Salem, or "Peace" (Jerusalem) who is identified as "Priest of God Most High" (Genesis 14:17-24). Abraham also brought sacrifices characteristic of the Levitical priesthood and Mosaic law four centuries before the institution of Mosaic law (Genesis 15:9), and was justified by faith apart from the Mosaic law (Genesis 15:6). Nevertheless, God changed Abram's name, to Abraham (Abba Raheem/Abu Raheem), meaning "The Father of Many Nations" stating, "This is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you. I will establish an everlating covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Cannan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God . . . As for you and your descendants after you . . . Every male among you shall be circumcised . . . it will be a sign of the covenant between me and you" (Genesis 17:1-27). Can you imagine introducing yourself as "The father of nations" knowing you would not realize this promise in this lifetime? That is what Abraham did among other things that with exception demonstrated his faith. No wonder Abraham was still justified by grace through faith! In any case, it is important to note that this covenant included unique promises for those who would later form the nation of Israel now set-apart by circumcision at the time of Abraham, but the covenant also includes unique blessings reaching beyond to include all nations in the future vis "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you." This threefold covenant of making Israel a nation, settling the Jewish people in the land of Caanan, and blessing all nations through the seed of Abraham was reaffirmed by God to the descendants of Abraham; Issaic (Genesis 22:18), Jacob/Israel(Genesis 25:23; 28:14), and Moses. In fact,four centuries after Abraham died God remembered this covenant (Exodus 2:24), and told Moses, "I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Cannaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites-'a land flowing with mild and honey' (Exodus 3:17; cf. Genesis 15:16).

The Gospel & Covenant Continuity-Canaan to Egypt God told Abraham his descendants would be enslaved four hundread years in another country, and then come back to the land of Canaan to possess it(Genesis 15:13-16; cf. Exodus 12:40). This is how it came to pass. Abraham's grandson Jacob, renamed Israel, had tweleve sons who became the twelve tribes of Israel (Eleven and two half tribes). Israel's sons sold one of their own brothers Joseph to slave traders who were passing nearby Dothan, and deceived their father into believing Joseph was killed by wild beasts upon returning home. Israel (Jacob) had no idea that his son Joseph was still very much alive, and in Egypt living in slavery. Even so, God made Joseph prosper as an Egyptian slave until he became second only to the Pharoah. Moreover, due to a severe drought, Joseph's brothers came to Egypt looking for famine relief. After a series of events, Joseph's father, brothers, and families were reunited with Joseph settling in Egypt (cf. Genesis 37-50). Initially, the people of Israel lived well under Egyptian rule. However, Joseph and the Pharoah he served under died. "Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt" and enslaved the people of Israel (Exodus 1:8-14). This is how Abraham's descendants, the people of Israel, ended up in Egypt as slaves in accordance with God's foreknowledge.

The Continuity of the Gospel & Covenants in the life and times of Moses & Israel's Exodus The people of Israel had been in Egypt for 430 years when God called Moses to lead the Israelites (Hebrews/Jews) out of their bondage as slaves, and to the land of Canaan in accordance with the covenant promise just as God had knew and told his forefathers (Genesis 15:16). God told Moses, "I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites-'a land flowing with mild and honey" (Exodus 3:17). This covenant included the fulfillment of the unique promises for those Hebrews/Jews who were already set-apart by God as his possession now about to form the physical nation of Israel, and a promise that entailed reaching beyond to include all nations through their seed vis "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:3). And, recall that this Genesis 12:3 promise is connected to the gospel declaration of this “seed of the woman” one day crushing the devil (Genesis 3:15; cf. Genesis 22:18). God’s promise in the text itself singles one seed of Abraham out from among many. This seed of the woman (Gen 3:15) would be a descendant of Abraham (Genesis 12:3; 22:18), Abraham’s son Isaac (Genesis 21:12), Isaac’s son Jacob who was renamed “Israel” by God (Genesis 28:14), and Israel’s son Judah (Genesis 49:10). It is clear “seed” refers to an individual Messiah even before Israel became established as a nation for several reasons revealed within the first book of the Torah itself, and as cited above. Moreover, Judah in Genesis 49:10 is a tribe from among many other tribes from Israel, and singling Judah out from the other tribes indicates the “seed” that is to bless all nations is an individual Jew from that tribe. Therefore, God blessing all nations through Israel includes national AND messianic hopes for Jew and Gentiles identifying with Jehovah-God that can be traced back to the Genesis 3:15 gospel declaration. The Jews possessing the land God promised them is only a smaller part of the bigger gospel picture. In other words, having real-estate to build a place for worship is a means to a greater end. God was on a mission to redeem mankind from the curse of sin through the seed of the woman identified as "He-" The Jewish Messiah for the nations. THIS MUCH IS ESTABLISHED IN THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES IN THE JEWISH BIBLE-GENESIS. This must be kept in view in order to perceive the nature, scope, and continuity of the gospel & the covenants relative to the subsequent institutions initiated and events during the life and times of Moses, and as revealed in subsequent books following Genesis.

Moses personally met the one true covenant-keeping God as “I AM that I AM,” and encountered His manifest presence in a limited sense while he was tending to his father-in-law’s flocks at Mt. Horeb in the wilderness (Exodus 3:1). He was being drawn to a place of an open heaven as the fire of God burned. However, it did not seem to be good news to Moses when the great “I AM” Jehovah God subsequently directed him to return to the very place he previously fled for his own life in order to face off against the Pharaoh of Egypt with the ultimatum from God to “Let My people go” in keeping his covenants with Israel (Exodus 4:19). Indeed it was good news that God was keeping his covenant with Israel by moving to deliver them from Egyptian bondage and bringing them into their own land to ultimately bless all other nations through “the seed” in accordance with His Word, but being chosen to be a useful instrument in the hand of God to fulfill even a part of this purpose required Moses to face his own fears by grace through faith demonstrated in his obedience in spite of any anxieties. Moses preferred the experience with God as the “I AM” in the mountain at Horeb. Yet, it was in the subsequent valleys on God's terms that Moses came to understand the covenant-keeping Creator experientially as the “I AM" the redemptive God of Peace (Shalom), Provision (Jireh), Victory (Nissi), Presence (Shammah), Healing (Rapha), Righteousness (Tsidkenu) and Shepherd (Raah) throughout this redemptive process dispersed throughout with times of leanness as well as supernatural displays of God’s power. In all of this God reveals Who He Is, which was not only essential to understanding how to become God’s people, but foundational in terms of what it means to be His people. Israel was to be blessed to be a blessing unto the nations (Genesis 12:2-3 cf. Isaiah 11:10). This is good news. But, before all nations through the seed of Abraham could be blessed in the coming messianic age (Genesis 3:15 & Genesis 49:10), Israel had to be redeemed as a nation unto the land God had promised (Genesis 15:13-16). The great Jehovah God indeed uses Moses as spokesman in this capacity, and God indeed delivers the people of Israel as He said He would do at the appointed time. -the first Passover.

The Gospel & Covenants-The Passover Lamb & Israel's Exodus God distinguishes himself as redeemer among the Jews when he instituted the first Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread right before delivering the Jews from Egyptian slavery in accordance with his covenant promise. This is how and why God did it: The night before the Jewish people were led out of slavery God ordained that the first born of all living things would be killed in Egypt. However, God made an exception based upon the concept of substitution, and those embracing this provision would be “passed over“ or spared when the death angel moved throughout the land. Specifically, God instructed Moses and the Jewish community to kill one-year old lambs without blemish, apply the blood of the sacrificial lamb to the doorframes of their dwellings, and to eat the meat of the sacrificial lambs with bitter herbs and unleavened bread with haste. Those who believed God got rid of all leaven in their homes, killed one-year old lambs without blemish, applied the blood to the door frames of their dwellings, and ate the sacrificial meat with bitter herbs and unleavened bread with haste in accordance with God’s word. That night the death angel went through the land of Egypt killing the firstborn of everything not having the blood of the substitutionary lamb without blemish painted over the entrance of their dwellings. Those who failed to partake of the substitionary lamb during the first Passover had no part with God. On the other hand, the destroying angel "passed over" those being baptized into or identifying with the substitutionary death of the lamb (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:7; John 1:14 John 8:46. & Hebrews 4:15). Later, those who appropriated the blood and life of the substitutionary lamb in exchange for their own by grace through faith demonstrated by their obedience were baptized into the Red Sea, which means they identified with the new life in God signified by "passing over" from Egypt through the Red Sea toward the new life in covenant promise. The blood of the lamb appropriated in faith demonstrated by obeying God’s directive resulted in personal redemption, national redemption, and culminating with new-birth nationally. Recall, though, that national new-birth was only part of the bigger gospel picture (See above), and God would continue to lead those people dentifying with him as their God of redemptive Peace (Shalom), Provision (Jireh), Victory (Nissi), Presence (Shammah), Healing (Rapha), Righteousness (Tsidkenu) and Shepherd (Raah) to the new-birth found in God exclusively through "the seed of the woman" identified as the Jewish Messiah for the nations; That one day this sinless "Lamb of God" would appear at the appointed time to make an atonement putting an end to transgression resulting from sin once for all who would receive it; That those embracing his substitutionary atonement, Jew or Gentile, would be given the right to be sons and daughters of the Most High God with the quality of intimacy with God Adam and Eve knew, be ambassadors of His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven prior to the inauguration of the Messianic reign, to reign with Messiah as members of his body crushing the serpent, and to be "passed over" the second death following the final judgment in the end of things. In any case, this first “Passover” occurred on the fourteenth day of the month Nissan/April after 430 years in Egypt, and taught the people identifying with the great Jehovah-God at the time the first of many vivid redemptive objects lessons with gospel of the kingdom significance. Click here for specifics regarding to times and seasons.

The first Passover illustrated that being “called” and “chosen” as an individual and as a nation of individuals did not diminish individual/national necessity for national redemption from among mankind. Israel as a nation needed saving. Likewise, the first Passover illustrated that being “called” and “chosen” as an individual through national affiliation did not diminish individual/national necessity for individual redemption from among all mankind for the Passover substitution concept was later qualified by God with the institution of the laws given to Moses and the prescriptions given to him for administering the Levitical sacrificial system to mean the guilt, penalty, and judgment resting upon an offender was transferable to a worthy substitute that was in turn put to death in their place to make atonement for them thereby diverting God's just wrath. Those embracing this provision by grace through faith, and demonstrated in repentant obedience as stipulated would have their offence covered, be passed over and be declared righteous. See Covenant: Remnant Versus Individual. Moreover, it is very important to realize people were declared righteous; not made righteous under the Levitical sacrificial system. Before God could make the distinction between being declared righteous and being made righteous for His people, He had to show them what sin is, what it does, its end-result-death. Israel was physically delivered as a nation from ancient Egyptian bondage, but needed to be delivered from sin and its power, considered "bondage within," individually and nationally.He had to have a mechanism that would expose our own inherent sinfulness to realize our need for his deliverence from the power of sin, for the benefit of our own self-awareness in order to shape us as the people he was calling us to be, and to guide us to sin's remedy that those drawing near to Him could enjoy a less distant, and more intimate relationship with God. Individuals need redemption on ALL levels and so do nations.

God used the manipulative, leaven in bread, to communicate the more abstract concept of sin just prior to the exodus out of Egypt. Ridding themselves of all leaven, symbolizing sin, and eating unleavened bread, symbolizing holiness, only prior to their Exodus from Egypt signified a setting apart from sin in order to be the Holy people of God he was calling them to be. Differentiating between the two was the first step of an important component in them fulfilling their destiny in God as His people among the nations.-God was guiding them to "identifying the problem" of sin and its bondage within. However, the Israelites did not fully understand what that act of obedience would entail in practical terms of transferring the concrete to the abstract at that point any more than people first coming to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through Messiah Yeshua’ today. Keep in mind, the Israelites were influenced by Egyptians for four centuries without the explicit distinction of sin, signified by leaven, and holiness signified by unleavened from God’s vantage point. In fact, God provided the law through Moses after the people were liberated from Egypt, in part, to teach his people the difference between what leaven symbolized (sin) and unleavened symbolized (holiness); not that man could become holy by strictly observing outward ceremonial laws or that holiness could be legislated, but that God would redeem from the wages of sin through a worthy substitution and subsequently empower those identifying with him in covenant hopes to be and do what God was calling them to. Partaking of the Passover Lamb itself identified with the lamb’s substitutionary life and death in order to live by grace through faith. So, God redeemed Israel from bondage nationally apart from the law to be the people of God, and subsequently provides the law to guide them in that calling and also to continue their progress of redemption delivering those he was calling out from the bondage of sin. How did God give this guiding as well as restraining mechanisim, or law to his people?

At Mt. Sinai the Decalogue, or Ten Commandments were written by God on tablets and presented to Moses by God's serving angels (cf. Galatians 3:19 and Acts 7:38). The law differentiated between leaven (sin) and unleavened (holiness), exposed one's need for redemption, and served as a deterrent for the benefit of the people as a whole by regulating conduct. The law is very good in this regard, but holiness and changing hearts could not be legislated. In fact, God never created the law so man could vainly attempt to be justified by it, or become self-righteous by comparing one with another using it. In other words, the law cannot justify sinful man. It is an objective standard that condemns from different extents for all fall short of God's glory (Isaiah 64:5; Psalam 49:8-9; Ezekial 18:4, 20). This is evident by virtue that redemption after the institution of the law itself was provided through blood atonement in accordance with the sacrificial system in the Torah! Even then people were not empowered to be and do what God intends (See New Covenant Below). God ultimately must provide redemption Himself in accordance with His Genesis 3:15 Gospel of the Kingdom declaration (Psalm 49:16); The meaning of the festivals, the law, and Levitical system instituted during Moses' lifetime point us in that direction. For example, the tablets containing the law were placed in THE ARK OF THE COVENANT under the Mercy Seat cover where the blood of the sacrifical lamb was placed during the administration of the atonement ordanance through priestly mediation thereby diverting God's just wrath. Click Here for more about the Levitical System and the Gospel. The law was/is connected to the covenants reaching beyond to include all nations in the future vis "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

The threefold covenant of making Israel a nation, settling the Jewish people in the land of Caanan, and blessing all nations through the seed of a woman (Genesis 3:15) descending from Abraham (Genesis 12:3), Issaic (Genesis 22:18), Jacob/Israel(Genesis 25:23; 28:14) from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:20) would converge in partial fulfillment of all three facets during the life of Moses. First, Moses would lead the people of Israel out of Egypt toward the land of Canaan (Exodus 2:24; 3:17; Gen 15:16). Israel physically possessing and occupying their promised land has end time global and spiritual ramifications extending beyond the life and times of Moses. Second, the feast cycles, law, and sacrificial system was instituted to point beyond to the promised seed of the woman who would be the way and means whereby mankind could "draw near to God and God would draw near to you." The law helps us perceive our need for redemption on all levels. This covers the partial fulfillment pertaining to the "seed of the woman" component in the life of Moses. Third, "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Another interesting point is that the sacrificial system made provision for Gentiles and Jews to draw near to God by the blood of the Lamb, and pointed beyond when Messiah Himself would appear to remove transgression. (See also-Isaiah 11:10). In fact, the inclusion of the Court of the Gentiles in tabernacle/temple worship is an extension of the universal aspect of the covenant made in the Garden of Eden, and with Abraham. Therefore, even the Ten Commandments and the Mosaic Law is based upon the good news and covenants that "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Specifically, the Levitical Priesthood exclusive to the Jewish tribe of Levi, the tabernacle in the wilderness, Jewish temple in Jerusalem, the symbolic articles within them as well as their rites and services point beyond to the good news of God again bringing the life and blessings of His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven through the Jewish Messiah for the nations-Yeshua'. At this point in Israel’s history they were a redeemed people, but far from being established in their own land as a nation.

  The Gospel & the Covenants Continuity Among the Later Prophets   It would be another forty years of living in the desert and after the death of Moses before the Israelites would possess the land God promised. During that time Moses wrote about the coming Messiah. Unfortunately, the people of Israel did not always follow God after taking possession of the land. Over time the majority turned away from God, and failed in their national calling to be priests of the most High God unto the nations. They even appealed to other nations and their gods instead of pressing into God during national adversity. This led to God first raising-up judges, and then prophets among His people to remind them of their high destiny in God, who preached repentance, and warned them of impending judgement. Several prophets provided more insight into the coming “seed of the woman” identified as He-The Jewish Messiah unto the nations during this time. For example, Michah said He would be born in Bethlehem (710 BC), Jeremiah said he would be David’s descendant and “righteous Branch . . .[who] shall execute judgment and justice on the earth" (Jeremiah 23:5), and Isaiah said Messiah would spring from Jesse taking on the sin of mankind among other things. One post exilic prophet, Daniel, even pinpoints the time of Messiah appearing at two different times in accordance with the Levitical feast cycle. It is these prophets that first use the term “Gospel” in making the connection between the Levitical sacrifical system and covenants outlined on this page. I share more details within context of their writings complete with scriptural references on the Gospel in Isaiah, Gospel in Daniel, and Gospel in Prophesy pages for you to verify yourself. In this section, however, I limit the discussion to the continuity of the Gospel and covenants among the prophetic writings covering the preexillic period of Israel’s history. God was not going to replace Israel or breach His covenants with Israel even though Israel failed. God would severely punish the nation, though, by removing his hand of protection thereby allowing the majority of His people to be led away from their promised land and again into captivity between 722 and 586 BC. The temple built by King David’s son, King Solomon, would be burned down. Even in the midst of all of this travesty, God re-confirmed His threefold covenant of preserving a remnant and making Israel a nation again resettling the dispersed Jewish people back into the land of Canaan, and blessing all nations from among the seed of Abraham, Isaac (Genesis 22:18), Jacob/Israel (Genesis 25:23; 28:1), David and Jesse (Jeremiah 23:5) through the Messiah springing from the Tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10) among other things. God promised to preserve a remnant, not all, for his name’s sake. Moreover, He made a new Brit, or covenant that, in part, entailed completing the former covenants by empowering those identifying with Him in the gospel of the kingdom covenant hopes to be the people of God He was calling them to be. What does that mean?

The Gospel Continuity With the New Covenant Among the Later Prophets   Right before Jerusalem was burned down by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed the new covenant as directed by God stating, "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day [that] I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, [and] the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts [is] his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, [then] the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, [shall be] holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever." (Jeremiah 31:31; cf Hebrews 8:1-13). See Ezekiel 11:19-20 and Ezekiel 36:26-27

Not only will people be redeemed nationally, and from sin, but this new covenant is unique in that it empowered man to be a holy people of God. This was something the law was weak to do. Moreover, the Bible is emphatic that the Levitical priesthood as it relates to the sacrifial system would be made obsolete by the new covenant, and in particular by the Messiah Who would be after the eternal priesthood order of Melchizadek. Melchizadek will be explained on the Gospel In The Priesthood page. Those identifying with Messiah in the new brit will reign with him during the messianic age enjoying a restoration of all things charachteristic of the pre-fall Garden of Eden on earth as it is in heaven. Indeed, those trusting Messiah Yeshua will be made righteous, and God’s Holy Spirit will tabernacle in the heart of man enabling them to do what the law was unable to do-be the holy people of God He was calling them to be. This promise sounds a lot like what you read in the Christian New Testament, but it was, in fact, declared by the prophet Jeremiah seven centuries before historical Yeshua/Jesus of Nazzareth.

  The other important component in them fulfilling their destiny in God as His people among the nations would be the appearing of the suffering servant Messiah to make an end of transgression redeeming all those, Jew and Gentiles, who will "partake of him" by admitting their need as a transgressor for Messiah's atoning life and death, believing Yeshua' is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, confessing Yeshua' as your Messiah and feeding off of his word. He is the Son of God, the afikoman, that was broken to offer up the cup of redemption in which all prophets, Levitical ordanices, and rites point. Even today, the way Passover is celebrated continues to support the notion of a suffering servant Messiah appearing once to make an end of transgression redeeming all those who will partake of him in identification. For example, there are three kinds of unleavened bread used during Passover, which are placed into a special cloth that have three departments called "matzah covers" and stacked one atop the other. The middle piece, the afikoman, identified with the Passover Lamb, the Mediating Priest, and Isaac who at Yom Kippur is the "Akedah" in the binding of Isaac story about substitutionary sacrifice. The afikoman is hidden during the ceremony until just before the third cup of redemption.

Many perceive the irony in the life and times of historical Yeshua'. The three matzo are seen as symbolic of the three categories of one deity: The Father (holy), the Son, represented by the middle piece (holy) and the Holy Spirit (holy). Moreover, the middle piece of the three matzoth is removed, broken it in two, and the larger piece is wrapped in a napkin and set aside as the "afikoman" Matzah. Yeshua Messiah was broken for us, wrapped for burial, placed in a tomb, and appeared after three days during "Yom Habikkurim"- "Day of First Fruits." Interestingly, Messiah Yeshua used the Seder and Afikoman illustration the night before his crucifixion to preview for those closest to him the plan and purpose of God to present himself as sacrifice for the redemption of mankind. (This part of the Passover meal has been celebrated as memorial of Yeshua's incarnation, crucifixion, and ressurrection on behalf of those who would receive it as Communion). Therefore, the laws given to Moses, and the institution of the Levitical sacrificial system was the mechanism that exposes one's need for redemption from the penalty for sin, and provided a means to draw near God in a unique way. However, this system was temporal, limited, and pointed beyond the life and times of Moses to a much later time when the eternal Passover Lamb who said, "Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no part with me." And, those receiving Yeshua as their Passover Lamb are made righteous; not merely declared righteous as He is the great substitution that all other concrete types of the Levitical sacrificial system points. Not only that, but sacrificial lambs in the Levitical system stayed dead once sacrificed. Yeshua, on the other hand, was raised from the dead meaning those partaking of Him continue to identify with his new life in resurrection power (cf Psalm 110:4). That tabernacling power that raised Yeshua from the dead in accordance with the Jewish prophets, and dwelling within the life and soul of those identifying with him in the gospel of the covenant enables the individual to become holy and with a holy propensity to do the things in the law with a new spirit characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control of which there is no law. Yeshua, the afikoman, identified with the Passover Lamb, the Mediating Priest, and Isaac who at Yom Kippur is the "Akedah" in the Isaac story about substitutionary sacrifice. Messiah Yeshua is the beginning and end of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God very soon to be fully realized on earth as it is in heaven AFTER the Gospel of the kingdom has been preached to all peoples and THE MAN OF LAWLESSNESS APPEARS (See Matthew 24).

The Ark of the Covenant & The Gospel   Have you ever considered why the symbolic cherubs on the sacred ark in the Holy of Holies hover over the covenant staring intently? That "box" contains Aaron's rod, manna, and the Mosaic Law. On the cover of that box blood from the sacrificial lamb was placed for it is the life and blood of a worthy sacrifice that makes atonement (Exodus 25:19-22; cf. Hebrews 8:1-5; 9:4). It is called the ARK OF THE COVENANT because of the sybolisim it represented and the focal point was/is the gospel of the kigdom, or good news of God's manifest presence again tabernacling with man in a unique way on earth as it is in heaven-and ultimately in an unrestricted way for eternity MADE POSSIBLE BY ATONEMENT OF MESSIAH! The tendency, however, has been to use the law unlawfully to compare one's self relative to each other rather than appreciate our need relative to a holy God, appropriate the atonement of the Son, and covenant blessings pertaining to intimacy/reconciliation with God empowered by the Holy Spirit. The law exposes one's need from different extents and compels one to embrace the provision for atonement from Jehovah God. Those not appropriating this atonement by grace through faith stand condemned already. They are "spiritually naked" (compare with Galatians 3:27). And while it is possible to hide one's sins from one another temporarily, those not receiving the atonement of the lamb of God remain uncovered in the sight of a Holy God. The good news is that there is no condemnation for those in Messiah Yeshua, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the mankind. The Genesis 3:15 gospel declaration is the basis for the covenants and the Levittical system, and Yeshua' is the "seed" identified as "He"-the Messiah. Through this Jewish Messiah all nations are indeed blessed for it is his sacrificial blood that turns away God the Father's just wrath, breaks the power and curse of sin over one's life IN ORDER TO BECOME GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM CITIZENS on earth as it is in heaven-and ultimately for eternity. You ministers of the Good News of the kingdom of God take a look at that image of the Ark of the Covenant to the right. If all heaven is focused on the blood of Messiah, shouldn't you be talking about it more? Shouldn't you be talking not just about a life without it, but how about an eternity? Everything the Gospel of the Kingdom entails including salvation past, present, and future is predicated upon Mesiah Yeshua's substitution.

Summary: The Gospel in the Covenants   This good news, or Gospel of the kingdom of God is all-encompassing, and is predicated upon "the bruised seed" identified as "He"-the Messiah. Unfortunately, this overarching purpose of raising up a people to be a light unto the nations through the seed of Messiah has been overlooked even by many Jewish people viewing the promises unique to Israel the nation such as the deed to land of Cannan (Genesis 15:7; 17:18), and the Holy sanctuary married to the Levitical system in exclusivistic terms by even forbidding foreigners to enter the Court of Gentiles. (See inscription found in the temple ruins at right). Much of the reluctance in the latter case of not promoting Gentile worship at the designated area in the tabernacle/temple had to do with post-exillic religious authorities wanting to avoid Gentiles altogether mindful of their previous Babylonian captivity, in part, resulting from forsaking God by embracing the "gods of the people that were round about them" (Judges 2:12). So, they came up with fencing laws that are not in Bible, but with the intention of honoring what is in the Bible. In the case of the temple, the orhodox religious leaders said one needed to avoid Gentiles altogether (not in law) to ensure the people of Covenant did not go to far in their association with them. (The extra space freed up by decrees like the image at the top right also suited the religious profiteers who set up their money changing tables in the area set apart and intendend for those Gentiles identifying with the "Children of promise" in covenant hope). Over time accumulated fencing laws began to look like a kingdom other than Jehovah God, and more like the prominant rabbis representing Him. Religous people do that today over all sorts of issues. To be fair, I institute my own fencing laws to guide my own children in things pertaining to the Gospel of the Kingdom of God as presented in the Bible. We just need to be careful not to make to word of God of no effect elsewhere and to evaluate the "fencing laws" we come up with by the written Word of God (Tenachk & New Testament), and not vise versa. In any case, the Levitical system, albeit very limited, was intended to include Gentiles in the worship of God and Him alone in accordance with the Levitical ordanances. And, while the covenants made by God indeed include unique promises that are still binding exclusively to the nation of Israel today, it should not be overlooked that Israel's choseness is primarily about God soverignly choosing the lineage in which this Messiah for the nations would spring. The Messiah was to not only be the Jewish Messiah, but he was to ultimately be the Messiah of the nations. The covenant promises, Israel's election, very existence, its law and priesthood were established for the purpose of "blessing all nations" through the seed of Abraham-the Messiah. Arguably, those Jews or Gentiles, i dentifying with the Jewish Messiah are counted as true descendents of Abraham by faith, and benefactors of God's covenants. The Levitical sacrificial system served as an ongoing vivid picture of God one day reconciling for Himself one people of God, Jew and Gentile, unto salvation through his Chosen One's atonement, everlasting mediatorship as high priest, and ultimately his eternal kingdom rule. Before one can apprehend the significance of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God as it relates to the Levitical priesthood, one must have a basic understanding of Aaronic priesthood and the sacrificial system as it relates to the covenant made with Israel the nation in a Biblical framework.

The completed list of all the books that belong in the Tanakh was settled by 435 B.C., and unquestionablly by 246 B.C. Ptolemy II of Philadelphus in Egypt arranged to have seventy-two Jewish scholars, six per Jewish tribe and a Hebrew copy of the Tanakh with the help of Rabbi Eliazar, to translate the Tanakh into Greek since it was the international language of that time due to the prior conquests of Alexander the Great (356 -323 B.C.). This Greek translation, the Septuagint LXX, was completed between 285-246 B.C. As a side, critics trying to support a Bible corruption presupposition like to point out the A.D. 90 Council of Jamnia as a place where they claim the Tenakh "must have" been changed. I mention it here as ancient LXX survive today such as the Textus Recepticus, are housed in museams, and are identical to the books found in contemporary Bibles that predate Jamnia. Additionally, Melito of Sardis specifically list these same books in his writings dated 170 A.D. according to Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 4.26.14.

The Dead Sea Scrolls also confirm the existence of a completed Tanakh before 68 A.D. For information about the Dead Sea Scrolls select the image to the right, or visit Isaiah & the Dead Sea Scrolls-Book of Isaiah published by AllAboutGOD.com Ministries, M. Houdmann, P. Matthews-Rose, R. Niles, editors, 2002-06. Used by permission. Moreover, the links below will direct you to the English Greek intilenear, and concordance for the book of Isaiah. Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scroll manuscripts one could appeal to other ancient records confirming what Old Testament books were intended for doctrine and how they were discovered/recognised to be canon. For example, Josephus (Against Apion 1.41), rabbinic literature , and Melito of Sardis 170 A.D. as cited by Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History 4.26.14 (325 A.D.) held that the Old Testament canon was complete by 400 B.C. Interestingly, Melito of Sardis, Athanasiaus of Alexardria, and Origen list only those Old Testament books that match what the Jewish people accepted as scripture predating Christianity, and what we find in the Bible today with the exception of Esther (Melito did not include Esther in his list). In each case, the book of Isaiah was unanomously recognised as sripture as is in the Old Testament canon. Moreover, all scriptural references cited in the New Testament are from among the Old Testament books that were regarded as Biblical canon before Jesus the man! This internal/external "paper trail" allows one to examine the textual integrity of the Bible as we have it, confirms that modern English translations of Isaiah are subtantially the same, and has remained in tact. The Dead Sea Scroll manuscript of Isaiah combined with preserved writings of the early church leaders  citing passages that concurr with the same passages found in modern translations of the Holy Bible affirms the book's integrity. Therefore, we can have confidence in its itegrity. We should also seriously heed the message of this book where Isaiah states the unredeemed alienated from God and dying in their sin will experience everlasting torment where "their worm will not die, nor will their fine be quenched" (Isaiah 66:24), and urges to "Seek the Lord while he may be found" (Isaiah 55:6). Click here for more.

There is internal and external evidence for maintaining the traditional position regarding who penned each Biblical book as guided by the Holy Spirit of God, and contained in this preserved and completed list of books conatained in the Tanakh. I will use the Torrah, or Pentateuch for an example. Internal evidence within the Torrah itself supports Moses as the author of these five books, and can be found in Exodus 17:14, Exodus 24:4, Exodus 34:27 Numbers 33:1-2, and Duteronomy 31:9-22. Writers outside the Torrah, but in other sections of the Tanakh attribute the first five books to Moses, e.g. Joshua 1:7-8, 1 Kings 2:3, Ezra 6:18, Daniel 9:11-13 and Malachi 4:4. Other external evidence for Mosaic authorship of the Torrah can be found in the Talmud, Mishna, the historian Josephus, and archeology. Interestingly, Yeshua' (Jesus), and New Testament writers cite from these books in such a way that supports Mosaic authorship of the Torrah-Matthew 9:8, Mark 12:26 and Romans 10:5. Yeshua, for example, attributes Genesis 2:24 to Moses in Mark 7:10. As a side, appocraphal litterature was not included in the Septuagint LXX for lack of such internal/external authority and continutity. Protestant Christianity followed suit.