In part one of this series the question put forth involved why the world is in the mess in which it now finds itself. One of the main reasons involves Satan’s supreme deception by which he convinced salvation seekers that the Old Testament/Covenant plays no part in the life of the New Covenant Church. He has successfully used the writings of the Apostle Paul to bring about a total misunderstanding of the Law and the writings of the prophets. He has convinced the Institutional Church that the writings of Moses–the first five books of the Bible known as the Tora/Law–and the writings of the prophets–the books of Joshua through Malachi–were “nailed to the cross” of Jesus Christ. In spite of the fact that the Almighty preserved those writings for thousands of years until they were found in 1948 in a cave near the Dead Sea, professing Christians are convinced that they no longer have relevance. Genesis, written by Moses around 1700 B.C. and were found in 1948, means that what came to be known as the “Dead Sea Scrolls” remained intact and readable in clay jars for over 3600 years. The odds that man-made parchment could survive in the open air for that length of time is incalculable.

Obviously, there was a reason that the Lord wanted those Scriptures to survive the ravages of time and weather. The Apostle Paul tells us that they were preserved to serve as teaching material for those who would be living in the last days of the world (1 Cor. 10:11) which began on the Day of Pentecost 31 A.D. The Apostle Peter spoke to this truth as recorded in Acts 2:16,17 when he identified the coming of the Holy Spirit on the newly created church as: “THIS (speaking in tongues) IS THAT which was spoken by the Prophet Joel” concerning what would take place among God’s saints “… IN THE LAST DAYS ….” According to the signs the Lord provided to let us know when those days were approaching, we are in the world’s final years at this time. Read The Signs of the End of the Age. Key word–Signs.

Concerning the devil’s success in separating the Old and the New Covenants (Testaments) and the relegating the former to the dustbin of history, the New Covenant did not exist for the first 60 or more years of the church’s existence. Then the Lord had the Apostle John to codify the letters written by the 12 original apostles and Paul into what came to be called the New Testament. Satan’s deception proved to be a major component in the gradual decline of the original church which has continued throughout her existence as false prophets began to arise within her soon after her creation. In the writings of the apostles we find them warning the church about Satan’s influence. As Jesus warned in Matthew 24, his influence has steadily increased to the point that God’s Truth is rarely mentioned during her meetings. In First John 2:18 the apostle warned the church of his day that Antichrists were already at work. By this they knew that the world was nearing its end. John’s letter was written around 90 A.D. As this series proclaims, Christendom’s “falling away” (apostasy), having been developing almost 2000 years, will soon reach its climax.

As I wrote in The Soon-coming Global War Against God’s Church, key word–Global, there is soon to arise a church-wide civil war which will be followed immediately by the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. I suggest that you read that series as soon as possible. The forces that will create that war are at work today and are beginning to involve the world’s political structures. Now we will go back in history to see what the Lord says about the part the Old Testament has played and continues to play in the lives of His true saints. Simply stated, THERE SHOULD BE NO DIVISION BETWEEN THE OLD AND THE NEW TESTAMENTS IN THAT THE NEW TAKES UP THE NARRATIVE WHERE THE OLD ENDS.

If the Bible is the WORD OF GOD as all professing Christians proclaim to believe, then what the apostles said about the subject is vitally important and must be understood, believed and obeyed by all of those who expect to be born again/saved at the return of Jesus Christ. Paul, whose Gospel was given to him by the Lord through revelation (Gal. 1:12), wrote that all Scripture is “inspired by God” and “profitable for doctrine, for correction and for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:14-16). All Scripture was written in order to provide God’s people with His Truth. As Jesus said to the Father in John 17:17: “THY WORD IS TRUTH.” Recall that at Berea those who heard Paul preach the Gospel “searched the Scriptures daily” to determine if what he was telling them was true. THEY SEARCHED THE OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES–THE ONLY SCRIPTURES IN EXISTENCE AT THAT TIME in order to prove the truth about Paul’s message. What does that tell us? As stated, it would be many years before the New Testament would come into existence and made available to the church.

In the series titled The God of the Old Testament (key word–Old) I prove that the Old Testament God was the same God (the Word–Jn. 1:1-4) who taught God’s Truth to the 12 apostles who then preached those Truths and committed them to print. In Ephesians 2:20 we are told that the New Covenant Church was founded on the teachings of both the prophets and the apostles. Those seeking salvation must believe that the Holy Bible is God’s Truth, that the Bible is Him in written form as Jesus was Him in human form. Jesus said that whoever saw Him, saw God. PEOPLE MUST SEE CHRIST (AND GOD) WHEN THEY SEE US IF WE ARE TO SPEND ETERNITY WITH HIM IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

As Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24:4-8, the apostasy of the church, having begun early on in her history, has continued and increased in both size and power over time. As He warned would happen, God has sent wars, famines, crop failures, pestilence (diseases) natural disasters, etc. in order to convince church people to obey the Holy Scriptures. THEN AND ONLY THEN He would be their God and they would be His people. Read Second Chronicles 7:13,14.

It is time to rid our hearts of the thoughts and spiritual “truths” of man that have been handed down from generation to generation. What is being proclaimed from millions of pulpits, televisions, radios, etc. is Satan-inspired and man-centered propaganda. With the exception of the Philadelphia Church era (Rev. 3:7-13), the church has not heard God’s Truth since the original apostles preached it throughout the world. For this reason Paul told true believers in the church at Corinth, “Come out of her and be separate, touch not that unclean thing.” Then and only then would God be their God and they would be His people. That message was meant for all true saints who find themselves in one of the world’s counterfeit church systems. THE HOLY BIBLE IS THE ONLY TRUE SOURCE OF GOD’S TRUTH. Everything else, including church doctrine, is an abomination unto the Lord.

What did Jesus say about the separation of the two Testaments? “Search the (Old Testament) Scriptures … FOR THEY TESTIFY ABOUT ME” (Jn. 5:39). When He spoke those Words, not one Word of the New Testament had been written. If the Old Covenant/Testament was written about Him, should not we value its contents as much as we value the New Covenant? The Word of God–the Holy Bible–cannot be understood without the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Sadly, the vast majority of professing Christians also reject God’s Spirit. As a result, only a minutely few believers have God’s Spirit within them.

Recall when Jesus had finished His 40-day fast and was immediately tempted by the devil. Each time He countered the temptation using the Old Testament to explain why He would not bow to the devil. Three times He replied when tempted: “IT IS WRITTEN ….” He used the expression on other occasions when God’s Old Testament Truth needed to be proclaimed. In Romans 15:8 we are told that Jesus came to earth to “CONFIRM THE PROMISES MADE TO THE FATHERS” (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). Where do we find those promises being made to those men? In the Old Testament. If, as we are told, the Old Testament is of no value to us, why did Jesus come here to confirm the promises to the fathers in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28? The answer is obvious.

It is time that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord admit that Truth. Will they? According to the One Who declares the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10), the answer is “NO.” Which is why the Lord will soon pour out His wrath on sinning man as the Great Tribulation sinks humanity into World War III. And remember this: IT IS THE LORD HIMSELF WHO SENDS THE CURSES ON SINNING MAN, INCLUDING SINNING CHURCHMAN. Why? Because as man sows, man reaps. Man sows the wind and reaps the whirlwind (Hos. 8:7). This explains why God sent enemies to defeat, enslave His chosen people. Then He scattered them throughout the world. He has promised to do the same for the church–the Israel of God–Gal. 6:16)–at the time of the end. Why? SIN–THE BREAKING OF HIS LAW (1 JN. 3:4).

The Scriptures provide evidence that the Gospel Jesus and the apostles preached had been preached to the Old Testament people during the time of Abraham. “And the Scripture (the Word/Jesus) foreseeing that God would justify the heathen (Gentiles) through faith … PREACHED THE GOSPEL TO ABRAHAM” (Gal. 3:8). Hebrews chapter 11 shows that all of the godly men and women of the Old Testament lived holy lives by obeying the Gospel that was made available to them.

Hebrews 4:2 proves that ancient Israel was taught the Gospel . “For unto us (New Testament saints) was the Gospel preached, AS WELL AS UNTO THEM. But the Word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” Lastly, recall that there was no New Testament in existence when Philip spoke to the eunuch as recorded in Acts 8:30,31. Philip, a New Testament apostle, explained related to him the meaning of the writings of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. (Acts 8:20-38). L.J.