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- Have you ever wondered exactly when the Old Covenant (Contract) came to an end
and was replaced by the New Contract?
- I know I did.
he met them. What about John the Baptist? Did he ever offer sacrifice for sins? His father did, because he
was a priest. What about Joseph and Mary? Did they follow the customs of the Levitical Priesthood and
offer animal sacrifices? Did Yahshua and his Disciples observe or celebrate the Holy Days at the Temple
with everyone else? Enquiring minds would like to know!
Let us begin this discussion with Mother Mary. Some people think that she was pure and perfect, and
without sin, but let us read what the Bible says, in Luke 2:22-24. “And when the days of her purification
according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him (Yahshua) to Jerusalem to present
him to the Supreme Deity. (As it is written in the law of the Supreme Deity, every male that opens the
womb shall be called holy unto the Supreme Deity); and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said
in the law of the Supreme Deity, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
Verses 27 and 29 both indicate that Joseph was there for the ritual ceremony too. So we know that Mary
was not above the law, and that the law of the old contract was still in full force at the time of the birth and
dedication of Yahshua the Messiah.
Verse 39 concludes, “And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Supreme Deity,
they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.”
Yahshua’s cousin, John the Baptist, was born 6 months before Yahshua, And since his own father was a
priest in the temple of Jerusalem, we know that he would have been similarly dedicated in service to the
Supreme Deity. By law, John the Baptist was also a priest by genetic inheritance as the son of a Levite
priest. But he never did enter the priesthood or follow in the footsteps of his father before him.
It is evident that John the Baptist studied at the Essene community at Qumran, which was just a 12 mile
hike from Jerusalem. It is evident that the Essenes did not participate in animal sacrifices, nor did they
ever darken the doors of the Jerusalem temple. They did not observe the Levitical laws. According to the
laws of the old contract, there was a cleansing with water ceremony at the Day of Atonement every year.
This was to symbolize being cleansed and becoming one with God. Atonement = At one ment.
The Essenes changed that ritual to baptism by emersion. Baptism symbolized becoming one with God,
not for just a year, but forever.
Now, John the Baptist enters the scene near Qumran at the Jordan River. Mark 1:4-5 reveals, “John did
baptize in the wilderness (desert), and preach the baptism of repentance (change of direction) for the
forgiveness of sin. And there went out to him all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all
baptized of him, in the River of Jordan, confessing their sins.”
Do you see what John was doing? He was teaching that animal sacrifices were no longer necessary.
Keeping the laws and rituals of the old contract were no longer necessary for purification and forgiveness
of sin. Forgiveness of sin and purification were now contingent on changing the way you think
(repentance), and then being baptized to symbolize your resolve to change the way you think. The people
were coming in droves to see and hear John, and were enthusiastically accepting the message, and
becoming baptized. The message was called, ‘the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Yahshua explains in pure, simple language exactly what earth shaking event is happening with the
ministry of John in Luke 16:16-17. “The law (Torah) and the prophets were until John. Since that time the
kingdom of YAHWEH is preached, and everyone presses (crowds) into it.”
The Torah, or law, is the first five books of the Old Testament, which are the books of Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Prophets are the books that are named after the various
prophets from Joshua and Judges through Malachi. Yahshua says that all of the traditions, rituals and
prophecies in those books would be in force until the time of John the Baptist. From that time on, the
kingdom of YAHWEH would dominate the scene. Even the purification rituals that Joseph and Mary took
part in at the temple to dedicate their firstborn son to the service of YAHWEH would be replaced by
individual baptism.
What is repentance?
Repentance is a change in thinking. People need to change their thinking about the kingdom of YAHWEH.
The way people think about the kingdom of YAHWEH, even today, is a physical kingdom on earth. Our
conversion, or change in thinking about the kingdom of YAHWEH, even today, is determined by how we
view the kingdom of YAHWEH. Let me explain this, because it is a truth that has been hidden in the
Torah, and in the Prophets all of these years.
When YAHWEH established what we now call the old contract, it was a spiritual contract. However,
because of the spiritual density of the people, it was codified into laws, statutes, precepts and rituals to
guide a nation of people. The code of laws, and the prophecies based thereon, would be eliminated and
fulfilled by the time of John. But the spiritual contract would be in force forever. The spiritual contract was
revealed to Moses in Exodus 19:5-6, “Now, therefore, if you will obey my voice (The WORD) and keep my
contract, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, for the earth is mine. And you
shall be unto me a kingdom of priests (mediators) and a holy (morally sacred) nation. These are the
words that you shall speak unto the children of Israel.”
This is a prophecy directly from YAHWEH concerning the kingdom of YAHWEH. The kingdom of YAHWEH,
a morally sacred spiritual kingdom, could be embedded within the nation of Israel. If that nation could
continue to uphold that morally sacred spiritual condition, then it would become a nation of priests to the
rest of mankind. Then the kingdom of heaven would be established upon the earth. However, the holy
spiritual nation never fully developed.
The writer of the Psalms revealed his understanding of the kingdom of YAHWEH with these words in
Psalms 103:19, “The Elohim has prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.”
Daniel describes how the kingdom of YAHWEH would come to earth and replace the other kingdoms
ruling the earth. If you remember the dream of king Nebuchadnezzar about the statue with the head of
gold, down to the feet mixed with iron and clay, it was a metaphor of a succession of world ruling powers.
Daniel 2:44 says, “And in the days of these kings shall the Elohim of heaven set up a kingdom which shall
never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left up to other people. It shall break in pieces and
consume all of these kingdoms and it shall stand forever.”
The phrase, “The days of these kings” describes a succession of kings spanning several centuries, so
this prophecy does not mean that a physical, political kingdom will be destroyed and replaced with
another political kingdom called the kingdom of YAHWEH, or of heaven. This image, which is destroyed by
the stone made without hands, represents a line of thinking that is re-enforced by each succeeding world
ruling power. It is that line of thinking that would be destroyed by the eternal kingdom of YAHWEH.
The prevailing thinking was that the kingdom of Israel would be re-instituted as the kingdom of YAHWEH
ruling on the earth. But that was the faulty thinking that had to be changed. [Continued next month]
| BEYOND QUANTUM THEOLOGY: THE OLD CONTRACT By Dr. Gary Hanson Ph.D. |