Wednesday 27 August 2014

Can Modern Judaism Be Compliant with Moses' Law?

I'm asserting that all of the Old Testament prophecies which foresaw Israel or the nations observing Feasts and bringing sacrifices, were already fulfilled during Old Covenant times and have no place in our future.

I assert this on the basis that:

1. The New Covenant has come, and supersedes the Old Covenant. We don't return to shadows once we have the substance. Gospel-truth is such that those things are not and will never again be needed.

2. It hasn't been possible to keep Moses' Law since AD70, and can never again be possible.  

Moses' Law was a composite system which had to be kept as a whole, or they weren't keeping it at all. It isn't possible to keep it as a whole, therefore it isn't possible to keep it at all.  

It required that worship be done exclusively at the altar in the Temple at Jerusalem with Levites serving as priests - and the priests had to be able to prove their descent from Levi by written genealogy, or else they were not permitted to serve as priests. But in AD70 theTemple was destroyed, Levitical genealogies were lost, and the Jews were deported from the place of worship, Jerusalem.

3. Although Moses' Law made provision for adjusted ways of fulfiling certain aspects of the ceremonial Law for people in mitigating circumstances such as being away traveling, modern Judaism does't have the same authorisation from within Moses' Law itself.

In the first case, an individual may have been distant from Jerusalem, while the worship in Jerusalem itself was still fully compliant with Moses' Law - so at that time a person may have been separated geographically, but not covenantally; but in the second case (in the case of modern Judaism) the rug is completely pulled from under its feet: there is no altar, no Temple in Jerusalem and no fucntioning Levitical priesthood that can over-arch the fact of their physical separation from the holy city. Even if they look in the direction of Jerusalem, they have nothing to look to. 

It wasn't possible for the Jews of the captivity to comply with all of the ceremonial aspects of Moses' Law. However their way of keeping Moses' Law at that time was still authorised in ways which modern Judaism is not. 

Firstly, it was still authorised because the Old Covenant still stood. The Levitical priesthood hadn't been superseded. The priests' unbroken lineage to Levi was still proveable by written genealogy. And Moses' Law itself predicted and made provision for such a scenario.

Secondly, because God Himself had directed Israel into such a situation - and given them instructions regarding that time-period through His Prophets.

And thirdly, because the same Prophets foretold of a restoration back to Moses' complete system. In other words, Moses' Law and the Prophets still over-arched each of the pre-captivity, captivity, and post-captivity times, and covered all three scenarios with its provisions.

But that's not the case with modern Judaism. Moses' Law and the Prophets didn't give such provisions. There were no Prophets sent by God to authorise Judaism's additions, adjustments and subtractions of the Law. No holy Scriptures were written by God's Prophets to legitimise it. 

What then did the Law and the Prophets say about the current time-frame? They witnessed to a righteousness independent of the works of the Law. That righteousness is upon all who believe in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, irrespective of nationality, as the Law and the Prophets also foresaw. And that righteousness is here to stay, without anyone anywhere ever being obliged to keep the ceremonies of Moses' Law again. 

Not even just as a memorial - for the Lord's Table is the memorial which our Lord instituted until He come, and then after He comes we will need no memorial for we shall be with Him.

Not even with a new appreciation - because God made all things new, He didn't just put new sauce on top, it's a whole new pudding.

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