God’s Plan of Salvation-1(Old Testament)

 


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Thinking about God’s plan of salvation for mankinds in the Old and New Testaments.

The Bible begins magnificently with the Book of Genesis.
(Genesis 1:1)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Famous stories unfold, such as God’s creation of the universe
– the world (Earth) – all things – the Garden of Eden.
The story of Noah’s Ark, the story of the Tower of Babel,
and other stories of all mankind from long ago follow.

Up until this point…
The Bible repeatedly emphasizes that God is the God of the entire universe and all mankind.

As we continue reading the Bible,
Abraham appears for the first time in Genesis 12:1.

(Genesis 12:1,2)
1. Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives
And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you;
2. And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;

“You will be a blessing.”

And in the Bible, the flow of human history was blocked
by a huge dam at the time of one person, Abraham.
It is focused only on Abraham, who is like a small sluice gate of a dam.

When you read the Bible,
it seems that the flow of human history was blocked by a huge dam at the time of Abraham.
And
history flows along the small stream that passed through the sluice gate called Abraham.
The history of the Jews is the history of the Bible.

Without any explanation of who Abraham is, God calls Abraham
and unilaterally declares and promises that he will be a “source of blessing.”

Before Abraham, God seemed to be the God of all mankind,
but from this time on,
God became the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Israel.
The focus of the Bible is only on Abraham and his descendants.
The history of the Bible changes to the history of the Hebrews, the Jewish people, and Israel.
It suddenly shrinks to the history of a very small race.
(
 This seems regrettable to non-Jewish Gentiles.
 There must be many who envy the Jews.
)

(Exodus 3:6a)
He said also, “I am the God of your father,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

God declares himself to be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
He is not the God of the whole world, but the God of Israel (the Jews).


 The Korean people and all the peoples of the world may feel sad and wronged.
)

It seems that the great waters of human history are blocked by a dam,
and through the small gaps of the dam, the history of Israel flows as a stream.
They are not interested in the history of the human race of the world,
and only the history of Israel, which is like a trickling stream, appears.

From Genesis 12 to Malachi 4 (the last chapter), only the Jewish people (Israel) exists.
Other peoples appear only as extra role…

(The history of Israel, like a stream, flows throughout the Old Testament)

Abraham might lived around 2,000 BC, then the history of the Bible for about 2,000 years
until the birth of Jesus is exclusively the history of Israel.
During that long period, it was not a great nation, but a history of slavery,
short independence, division, captivity, and a nation without a country,
a history of an insignificant people.

From Genesis 12 to the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi,
the center of the Bible is the Jewish people.
There is absolutely no room for non-Jews (Gentiles).

The promise of God’s blessing (covenant) to Abraham,
“You will be a source of blessing,”
flowed as a tiny stream of history through Abraham – Isaac – Jacob – his 12 sons – the Israelites (Jews).

The history of all mankind is of no interest.

The Old Testament law recorded in the Bible after Abraham,
the law of Moses, was also given only to the Jews.
The history of the Old Testament is the history of the Jewish people.
The prophecies and prophets of the Old Testament are prophecies for the Jewish people and something related to them.

All records of the Old Testament are records of the Jewish people only,
from Genesis 12 through the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi,
and until the coming of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

There is no place for non-Jews (Gentiles) at all.
There is even less room for Koreans from the far East of the world.

Paul writes in Ephesians as follows:
(Ephesians 2:11,12)
11. Therefore remember, that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” [which is] performed in the flesh by human hands–
12. [remember] that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

“NO! NO! You have nothing to do with God at all.”

(
 Gentiles have no obligation to keep the law.
 The law was not given to them.
 Of course, they did not keep it and they didn’t have to to keep it.
 So the Jews not even treated them as human.
)

“You will be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2)
This promise seems to have been given only to Abraham and his descendants (Israel).
Even though Abraham had many illegitimate children, such as Ishmael,
the promise was only given to the legitimate son, “Isaac.”
Since it was a promise that was not even granted to Abraham’s illegitimate children,
there was no need to say anything more to the Gentiles.

God’s promise to Abraham (the promise of the Bible) was only for the Jews.
The law and the prophecies are all the same.
The promise of the Messiah, which is occasionally revealed faintly, was also for the Jews.
(The Old Testament has nothing to do with any other people who are not the Jews.)

God declares that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
(Exodus 3:6)
He said also, “I am the God of your father,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Many many years later,
after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Israelites (Jews) went through the Exodus,
and God gave them (the Jews) the law through Moses.
And God commanded them to keep the law.

Until the birth of Jesus, the Bible is only a record of the Israelites.
The prophets speak only of Israel and something to do with them.
Today, though we say that the Bible is God’s word for all people,
but the law, history, and prophets all unfold only around Israel.

The Jewish people were commanded to be circumcised
in order to keep the covenant that God gave them.
They were commanded to keep the law.
The law was mandatory only for them.

The prophets warned and prophesied to them (the Jews).

The savior and Messiah they were waiting for was naturally the Messiah of the Jews.
They believed that the Messiah of Israel would come from the Jews, the descendants of Abraham.
That Messiah had to be someone who was blameless even in the law.

There are prophecies of the Messiah in every important part of the Bible prophecy.
The Jews have been waiting for their Messiah for 2,000 years.
All the records of the Old Testament are records of the Jews and at the same time, prophecies of waiting for the Messiah.

(
 Occasionally, it was faintly written that the Messiah would be
 the Messiah for all the people of the world,
 but it was really difficult to understand that it was a prophecy of the Messiah
 for all the people of the world at the time of the prophecy.
)

Jesus came to the world and perfectly fulfilled all the requirements of the law.
So he fulfilled the law and was perfect to be the Messiah of the Jews.
This is Jesus’ own declaration in the Gospel of Matthew.
“I came to fulfill the law and the prophecies of the prophets.”

(Matthew 5:17,18)
17. “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets;
I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.
18. “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished.

John the Baptist in the New Testament was the last prophet of the Messianic prophecy.
Strictly speaking, John the Baptist was a person from the Old Testament era.
Jesus says that John the Baptist was the last prophet who prophesied the Messiah.
John the Baptist himself says the same.

(Matthew 11:13-14)
13. “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John.
14. “And if you care to accept [it,] he himself is Elijah, who was to come.

(Mark 1:2-4-8)
2. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER BEFORE YOUR FACE, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY;
3. THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.’ “
4. John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

8. “I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

(Luke 7:27-28)
27. “This is the one about whom it is written, ‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER BEFORE YOUR FACE, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’
28. “I say to you, among those born of women, there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

(Luke 16:16, 17)
16. “The Law and the Prophets [were proclaimed] until John; since then the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
17. “But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

(John 1:23)
He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

If you read the Old Testament,
There is no God’s covenant/promise for non Jews(Gentiles) in the Old Testament.
The Old Testament law of God does not apply to non-Jewish Gentiles.
Almost Nothing of it was directly mentioned.


 What is the relationship between me (Christian) and the Old Testament?
 Do I (Christian) exist in the Old Testament?
 If so, where do I begin to exist in the Old Testament?

 I believe that the Bible is the Word of God. 
 I believe that the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God.
 I believe that the Bible is the Word of God that God speaks to me as well.
 But, I have these questions as I read the Bible.

 That is why I am writing down something of the Bible that I have read and understood. 
 I did not study theology.
 My major in college was applied physics.

 However, I believe that God has sufficiently revealed His will to me through the Bible. 
 I read the Bible (Korean) and come to this conclusion.
 Of course, I acknowledge that there are people who have influenced my views.
 How can it be easy for a person to establish his views on their own?

 If I find any errors in my views, I will revise this article.
 There must have been many great and faithful people (scholars) in the 2000-year Christianity history.
 What I discovered while through SNS is that
 not only ordinary church members but also pastors read the same Bible as mine,
 but many of them have completely different view form mine.
 So I think there will be people who disagree with my thoughts.

 Someday, I will challenge myself to read the Bible in its original language.
 – If the Lord allows it or if only I could be able to do it –
 I will also read other people’s thoughts and writings through their books.
 My opinion may change then.
)

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