Foreword
Introduction
I. You Would Have Believed Me
II. He Wrote of Me
III. What Thing Is This?
IV. What Is This That He Saith?
V. Two Rocks
VI. Your House Left Desolate
VII. Saying None Other Things
VIII. By Faith
IX. Through Faith We Understand
X. By Faith Abel...
XI. The Blood of Abel...
XII. Enoch, Translated into Heaven
XIII. The Biblical Structure
XIV Noah, Through the Flood
XV Abraham, A New Beginning
Appendix
(Book written, 1998, '99)
As the Church nears the end of the present dispensation, the damaging work produced by the leaven placed in the three measures of meal very early in the dispensation (Matt. 13:33) has resulted in the prophesied Laodicean state of the Church (Rev. 3:14-21). This, in turn, has resulted in a generation of Christians who know not Moses (cf. Ex. 1:8).
The foundational material, the basics, for every Biblical doctrine can be found in the writings of Moses, more specifically in the Book of Genesis. And when earlier revelation is not known or understood, an individual lacks the proper foundation to correctly understand later revelation. Such an individual finds himself in a similar position to that seen among the Jewish people in Israel at Christ's first coming.
Jesus speaking to the Jewish people at this time said,
"For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" (John 5:46, 47).
Moses not only wrote about Christ, but the things which he wrote were about and perfectly in line with the things which Christ was proclaiming to the Jewish people. Or, to turn that around, the things which Christ was proclaiming to the Jewish people were about and perfectly in line with that which Moses had previously written.
That seen in the writings of Moses and that seen in the New Testament (the Gospels, the Book of Acts, the Epistles, and the Book of Revelation) deal with exactly the same thing. The foundational material is to be found in the writings of Moses, and the New Testament writers simply wrote about the same thing which Moses had previously written about, building upon previously revealed foundational material.
Thus, to properly understand either section of Scripture -- Moses or the New Testament -- one must be studied in the light of the other, comparing Scripture with Scripture.
When Christ was on earth the first time He referred to or drew from the writings of Moses, along with other Old Testament prophets, on a number of occasions. Dealing with a blinded and disbelieving Jewish crowd on one occasion, Christ said,
"For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" (John 5:46, 47).
Then, following His Resurrection, Christ dealt with two disciples on the Emmaus Road after a similar fashion. Their "eyes were holden [their vision was held, preventing them from recognizing Him]," and He revealed Himself to them through calling their attention to the Old Testament Scriptures. He used the Written Word to reveal the Living Word.
"Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:25-27).
Moses had previously written about all the various facets of the person and work of Christ. And an Israelite believing that which Moses had previously revealed would have found it quite natural to believe the things surrounding Christ. The two -- that which Moses had revealed, and the things surrounding Christ -- were exactly the same.
However, disbelief or unfamiliarity with that which Moses had previously revealed would have resulted in the inverse of the preceding. Such a person in Israel would have been in no position to properly understand the things surrounding Christ. That would be to say, a person in Israel not understanding earlier revelation would have been in no position to understand later revelation.
And this was exactly the prevailing situation throughout Israel when Christ came the first time. The Jewish people, for the most part, were unfamiliar with that which Moses had written. They held to the letter of Moses' writings, but they didn't understand the spirit of his writings at all (cf. II Cor. 3:6-18). In this respect, they had little understanding of the revelation which God had given to them. This, in turn, led to their not understanding later revelation as well, resulting in their rejection and crucifixion of the nation's Messiah, something which Moses had also foretold.
And exactly the same problem which existed in Israel 2,000 years ago exists in Christendom today. The letter of the Word is generally known, but the spirit of this same Word is, for the most part, unknown. Resultingly, conditions which prevail in Christendom near the end of the present dispensation are identical to conditions which prevailed in Israel near the end of the preceding dispensation. Christians possessing an improper understanding of earlier revelation simply cannot possess a proper understanding of later revelation.
The "letter" has to do with the exact wording of the text; and the "spirit" has to do with the way in which God has structured His Word, necessitating the Holy Spirit to open up and reveal that which is spiritual. The "words of the Lord" are not only pure words, but God has magnified His Word above His name (Psa. 12:6; 138:2); and the Old Testament Scriptures, were structured in a highly typical manner, forming word-pictures which deal with all the various facets of the person and work of Christ (cf. Rom. 5:14; I Cor. 10:6, 11).
And any correct study of Christ from the Scriptures must begin with these word-pictures which God has set forth in the Old Testament, beginning with Moses.
Arlen L. Chitwood, The Lamp Broadcast, Inc., Norman, Okla.
E-mail: alchitwood@icnet.net.