How is the New Testament different from the Old?

Theologians are well aware that the concept of old, despite its name, does not mean that the first 39 books of the Bible are unnecessary or archaic. All the praiseworthy sayings about the Holy Scriptures given in the New Testament refer exclusively to the Old Testament writings, since the books of the New Testament themselves did not exist at that time. Jesus called to read Scripture 1, and the Apostle Paul declared that all Scripture « inspired and wholesome for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness» 2 .

Within the framework of the New Testament, the ceremonial provisions of the law concerning the Jerusalem temple (sanctuary, tabernacle), rituals and services carried out in it became "old". Jesus explained that He is the Temple and even more than the Temple 3. After the sacrificial death of Christ, our sins are symbolically passed onto Jesus. On the cross, a true sacrifice was offered, the type of which was the sacrificial animals killed in the sanctuary. That is, now we do not need to go to the temple, sacrifice an animal for sin, but, having sinned, we must repent and realize that Christ suffered and died for this sin on Calvary. And at the end of time, at the Great Judgment, the guilt for the sins of the world will be borne by the culprit of sin - Satan and his henchmen, as the 20th chapter of the last book of the Bible, Revelation, tells us.

Jesus Christ today "Sat down at the right hand of God» 4 and is located in the heavenly sanctuary (tabernacle), in the image of which it was built earthly temple... Now He is performing there an intermediary (intercessory) ministry instead of the earthly priests, who were His types in the Old Testament sanctuary.

The Apostle Paul proclaimed Jesus and His mission in the heavenly temple thus:

“We have such High priest [Christ], Which the… in heaven… [He] there is clergyman ... tabernacle true [heavenly] which the Lord raised up, not man» 5 .

"This[Christ] ... has and priesthood imperishable, therefore, and can always save those who come through Him to God, being always alive, so that to solicit for them"6.

In addition to serving in the sanctuary, the Old Testament religious holidays established by God and described in the Bible were also types of the ministry of Jesus Christ. Thus, the Easter holiday was dedicated to the liberation of the Jews from Egyptian slavery. Every year on the evening of the 14th of Nisan (Avivv), believers killed a lamb (which bore the name of Passover) and ate it, remembering that once upon a time, thanks to the trust of God and the blood of the Passover lamb, symbolizing a substitutionary sacrifice, no one in their families was hurt and they were all saved from Egyptian slavery. And the 15th of Nisan was considered a great holiday. Jesus died on the cross exactly on Easter, having liberated people from the bondage of sin and death. The Apostle Paul spoke about it this way: « Easter ours, Christ, was slain for us» 7. Following Easter "Next day[after] holiday» 8 was the feast of the ascension of the first sheaf before the face of the Lord, called Omer. It was on this day that Jesus was resurrected « firstborn of the dead» 9 before the eyes of God and the inhabitants of the entire universe. Then, 49 days later, the Jews celebrated the feast of Pentecost (Shavuot). It marked the conclusion of a covenant with the Lord on Mount Sinai. After the resurrection of Jesus, also 49 days later, that is, on the feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on Christ's disciples and they carried the message of Jesus Christ and the new covenant throughout the world. Long after Pentecost, in autumn the Jews celebrated the Feast of Trumpets, ending on the Day of Judgment - Yom Kippur. Trumpets are described in the last book of the Bible, Revelation. Yom Kippur was a type of the Judgment of God and is expected in connection with the Second Coming of Christ. And the series of annual biblical Jewish holidays is completed by Sukkot - the Feast of Tabernacles following Yom Kippur. Then, in the time of the Old Testament, the Israelites in those days rejoiced, rejoicing at the cleansing from sin. Thus, after the Great Judgment, people saved from sin, death and the devil will rejoice.

When Jesus comes a second time, the representatives of God's people who were alive at that time will be transformed, and the dead will be resurrected in new bodies for eternal life:

"The Lord ... with ... the trumpet of God, will descend from heaven, and dead in Christ resurrect...; then we, survivors, together with them we will be delighted ... so always we will be with the Lord " 10 .

“At the last trumpet; ... the dead will rise incorruptible, a we [live] change» 11 .

That is, the ministry of Jesus on Earth fulfilled many Old Testament images. From now on, the Old Testament holidays and temple rituals, including, of course, sacrifices are no longer needed: they were all fulfilled, being the prototypes of the ministry of Christ and other spiritual realities. Therefore, the New Testament is called New, since it became different in comparison with the covenant concluded with the Jews on Mount Sinai, which is now called the Old. The first covenant (Old) was based on the blood of sacrificial animals killed in the sanctuary, symbolizing Jesus, and the New - on the very blood of Christ. Jesus took on the sins of the world by paying for them at Calvary. This is how the apostle of God spoke of the difference in covenants:

« First covenant had a decree on worship and earthly sanctuary... The old tabernacle[earthly] … with… various…rituals related to the flesh, were installed only before correction time. But Christ, ... having come with a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made by hands [that is, with the heavenly sanctuary] … not with the blood of goats and bulls, but with His own blood... entered the sanctuary[heavenly] and acquired eternal redemption ... and therefore He[Jesus] have a petitioner new testament » 12

The Lord's love for people was clearly shown through the substitutionary sacrificial ministry of Jesus Christ on Earth! And the hearts of many people who believe in Jesus as Christ and the Son of God are transformed from the realization of the great sacrifice that the Lord made for each person.

Long before the coming of Jesus, the prophet of God saw that the time would come when the characters of believers would become completely different. After all, the law of God will be in their hearts, and not only on the scrolls:

“Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will conclude with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah[with the people of God] New Testament... this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law in their inwardness, and on their hearts I will write it and I will be their God, and they will be my people» 13 .

Therefore, the apostles in their New Testament epistles more than once call Christians new creations, which, thanks to Jesus, become other people, “Putting on a new[human] that is renewed in cognition in the image Who created it» fourteen . True Christians reflect the image of God in their lives: “Whoever is in Christ is a new creation[creation] » 15 . That is, a person “ in Christ"Is already a new creation. His old thinking is replaced by a new consciousness, grateful to God and directed to good deeds in accordance with His will. This personality change is a supernatural process and takes place with the help of the Holy Spirit.

The greatest evidence that Jesus is the Christ and Lord is a personal meeting with Him. Sometimes people are surprised at how much their family members, acquaintances, or colleagues change when they become Christians. Their life, character, attitude towards people are changing. How and why does this happen? It's simple - this is how their relationship with Christ affects them. That is why the young Christian church, which at first consisted of only a few dozen believers, grew so quickly, despite various persecutions. People took new religion and followed Christ, inspired illustrative examples those kind changes that happened to their family and friends. This is how they got to know Jesus themselves. And then their worldview changed and, as a result, their whole life. Only a personal meeting with the Lord can prove to us that everything the Bible says is really true. And this meeting is much better than any treatise, logical reason or factual analysis. It is a personal meeting with Jesus that makes people believing Christians, it is in this personal meeting God reveals Himself to us.

For clarity of these, at first glance, dry arguments, I will cite evidence of miraculous conversions of souls from unbelief to faith.

1 Bible, New Testament, Gospel of John, 5:39
2 Bible, New Testament, 2 Timothy, 3:16
3 Bible, New Testament, Gospel of John, 2: 19-22; Matthew 12: 6
4 Bible, New Testament, Gospel of Mark, 16:19
5 Bible, New Testament, Hebrews 8: 1,2
6 Bible, New Testament, Hebrews, 7:24, 25
7 Bible, New Testament, First Corinthians, 5: 7
8 Bible, Old Testament, Leviticus, 23: 10,11
9 Bible, New Testament, First Corinthians, 15:20
10 Bible, New Testament, First Letter to Thessalonians, 4: 16,17
11 Bible, New Testament, 1 Corinthians, 15:52
12 Bible, New Testament, Hebrews 9: 1,9-12,15
13 Bible, Old Testament, book of the prophet Jeremiah, 31: 31-33
14 Bible, New Testament, Colossians, 3:10
15 Bible, New Testament, 2 Corinthians, 5:17

The Bible ("book, composition") is a collection of the sacred texts of Christians, consisting of many parts, united in the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Bible has a clear distinction: before and after the birth of Jesus Christ. Before birth, this is the Old Testament, after birth, it is the New Testament. The New Testament is called the Gospel.

The Bible is a book containing the scriptures of the Hebrew and Christian religions... The Hebrew Bible, a collection of Hebrew sacred texts, is also included in the Christian Bible, forming its first part - the Old Testament. Both Christians and Jews regard it as a record of the covenant (covenant) made by God with man and revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai. Christians believe that Jesus Christ announced the new Covenant, which is the fulfillment of the Covenant given in Revelation to Moses, but at the same time replaces it. Therefore, books describing the activities of Jesus and his disciples are called the New Testament. The New Testament is the second part of the Christian Bible.

The word "bible" is of ancient Greek origin. In the language of the ancient Greeks, "byblos" meant "books." In our time, we call this word one specific book, consisting of several dozen separate religious works. The Bible is a book of over a thousand pages. The Bible is divided into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Old Testament Relating to God's Participation in Life Jewish people before the coming of Jesus Christ.
The New Testament, which gives information about the life and teaching of Christ in all His truth and beauty. God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ gave people salvation - this is the main teaching of Christianity. Although only the first four books of the New Testament deal directly with the life of Jesus, each of the 27 books seeks to interpret the meaning of Jesus or show how his teachings apply to the lives of believers in their own way.
Gospel (Greek - "good news") - the biography of Jesus Christ; books revered as sacred in Christianity, which tell about the divine nature of Jesus Christ, his birth, life, miracles, death, resurrection and ascension. The Gospels are part of the books of the New Testament.

Bible. New Testament. Gospel.

Bible. Old Testament.

The texts of the Books of Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testaments presented on this site are taken from the Synodal translation.

Prayer before reading the Holy Gospel

(prayer after the 11th kathisma)

Shine in our hearts, Human-loving Master, of Thy Imperishable Light of God-mind, and open our mental eyes, in Thy Gospel sermons understanding, put in us the fear of Thy blessed commandments, and fleshly lusts, all right, we will pass through spiritual life, all Thy pleasing and wise and effective. Thou art the enlightenment of our souls and bodies, Christ God, and we glorify Thee, with Thy Beginning Father, and the Most Holy and Good, and Thy Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever, amen.

“There are three ways to read a book,” writes one wise man, “you can read it in order to subject it to critical assessment; you can read, looking for comfort in it for your feelings and imagination, and, finally, you can read with your conscience. The former read to be judged, the latter to amuse themselves, and the latter to cultivate. The gospel, which has no equal among the books, must first be read only with a simple mind and conscience. Read this way, it will make your conscience tremble on every page before the good, before the lofty beautiful morality. "

“When reading the Gospel,” Bishop says. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) - do not seek pleasure, do not seek delight, do not seek brilliant thoughts: seek to see the infallibly holy Truth.
Do not be content with one fruitless reading of the Gospel; try to fulfill his commandments, read his deeds. This is the book of life, and one must read it with life.

Rule Regarding Reading the Word of God

The reader of the book must do the following:
1) I must not read many sheets and pages, for one who has read a lot cannot understand everything and keep in memory.
2) It is not enough to read and to argue a lot about what is being read, because this is how the read is better understood and deepens in memory, and our mind is enlightened.
3) See what is clear or incomprehensible from what is read in the book. When you understand what you are reading, it's good; and when you don’t understand, leave it and read on. The incomprehensible either from the next reading will be clarified, or by repeated reading, with the help of God, it will be clarified.
4) What the book teaches to evade, what it teaches to seek and do, about what you try to do in order to do it yourself. Avoid evil, and do good.
5) When you only sharpen your mind from the book, but you will not correct your will, then from reading the book you will be more evil than you were; even the most evil are learned and rational fools, rather than simple ignoramuses.
6) Remember that it is better to love in a Christian way than to understand high; it is better to live redly than to say redly: "the mind is swearing, but love creates."
7) What you yourself will learn with the help of God, teach both of them on occasion, so that the seed that is sown will grow and produce fruit. ”

Covenant- this is, in fact, the expression of the will of the person whose death he is certified. Hebrews 9:17 because the will is valid after the dead: it has no effect when the testator is alive. In this sense, there is only one Covenant made by God. The new covenant, in the same sense, is not new. It can be called the renewed Eternal Covenant that God supplied with Adam, Noah, Abraham, etc. Genesis 6:18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark, you, and your sons, and your wife, and your sons' wives with you. Genesis 17: 4 I - this is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations, Genesis 17: 7 and I will establish my covenant between me and you and between your descendants after you in their generations, the everlasting covenant is that I will By your God and by your descendants after you;

It is a mistake to understand the covenant as a contract between God and man and that it is concluded between these two subjects. The Bible says that the covenant is “supplied” (established) by God, who is the only source and guarantor of this covenant. I am my covenant with you. This is the only one the right decision because we do not exist here, we are dead in our sins. Eph. 2: 1 And you, who were dead in your transgressions and sins, Eph. 2: 5 and us, dead in your crimes, He revived with Christ - by grace you are saved, but the Dead cannot promise anything on his part.

Our trouble is that we do not realize that we are dead, and for this reason, we are not able to enter into the Covenant with God. It is for this reason that God offers us a version of the relationship, which has received the name - the Old Testament. This is very obvious in relation to ancient Israel and the Sinai covenant. Ex.19: 8 And all the people answered with one voice, saying: All that the Lord has said, we will do. Here one can clearly see the people's misunderstanding of their dead state. What can the dead "fulfill"? .. It is for the realization of our inconsistency that we need this temporary version of the covenant. We all need to make sure that we cannot promise God anything. We have nothing. We are beggars, although we think we are rich. But it is difficult (almost impossible for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven without giving up his "wealth"). Mark 10:24 The disciples were horrified at His words. But Jesus again says to them in response: children! how difficult it is for those who hope for riches to enter the kingdom of God! That is why "blessed are the poor in spirit."

But the Old Testament also includes that Eternal and only saving covenant with God, only in images and symbols that speak of the essence of the spiritual things of the true Testament. Paul calls the O. Z. "the shadow of future blessings" (Heb. 10: 1). The shadow gives some idea of ​​the subject itself. Likewise, the Old Testament gives an idea of ​​the Eternal Covenant. He is an excellent teacher for us as long as we are unable to enter into an everlasting covenant with God. Gal.3: 24 So the law was for us a schoolmaster (in Greek, a teacher) to Christ, so that we might be justified by faith. Through our attempts to "fulfill everything", he reveals to us our helplessness and poverty and, if we are desperately looking for a way out of a disastrous state, he shows the only way of salvation hidden in the symbolism of images, giving hope and cultivating the faith necessary to walk this path.

So, the Old Testament is our spiritual childhood and youth, New or Eternal - maturity and perfection. (A careful study of chapters 8, 9 and 10 of the Epistle to the Hebrews is very helpful in understanding this). What is only a dream in childhood can become a reality for an adult.

Old Testament- the first and more ancient of the two parts of the Christian Bible, along with the New Testament. The Old Testament is Holy Scripture common to Judaism and Christianity. It is believed that the Old Testament was written from the 13th to the 1st century. BC NS. Most of the books of the Old Testament are written in Hebrew, however, some of them are written in aramaic. This fact associated with a change in the political situation.

Read the Old Testament online for free.

Historical books

Teaching books

Books of prophecy

The texts of the Old Testament were widely disseminated after their translation into ancient Greek. This translation dates back to the 1st century and is called the Septuagint. The Septugiant was adopted by Christians and played key role in the spread of Christianity and the formation of the Christian canon.

The name "Old Testament" is a tracing paper from ancient Greek. In the biblical world, the word "covenant" meant a solemn agreement of the parties, which was accompanied by an oath. By Christian tradition the division of the Bible into the Old and New Testaments is based on the lines from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah:

"The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah."

Old Testament - Authorship.

The books of the Old Testament were created by dozens of authors over the centuries. Most of the books traditionally bear the names of their authors, but most modern Bible scholars agree that authorship was attributed much later and that in fact the bulk of the books of the Old Testament were written by anonymous authors.

Fortunately, the text of the Old Testament has reached it in many copies. These are both original texts in Hebrew and Aramaic, and numerous translations:

• Septuagint(translation into ancient Greek, made in Alexandria in III-I centuries BC NS.),
• Targums- translation into Aramaic,
• Peshitta- a translation into Syriac made among early Christians in the 2nd century A.D. NS.
• Vulgate- a translation into Latin made by Jerome in the 5th century A.D. NS.,

The Qumran manuscripts are considered the oldest (incomplete) source of the Old Testament.

The Septuagint became the basis for the Church Slavonic translations of the Old Testament - the Gennady, Ostrog and Elizabethan Bibles. And here modern translations Bibles into Russian - The Synodal and the translation of the Russian Bible Society were made on the basis of the Masoretic text.

Features of the texts of the Old Testament.

The texts of the Old Testament are considered divinely inspired. The inspiration of the books of the Old Testament is recognized in the New Testament, a similar point of view is shared by early Christian historians and theologians.

Canons of the Old Testament.

Today there are 3 canons of the Old Testament, slightly differing in composition.

1. Tanakh - Jewish canon;
2. Septuagint - Christian canon;
3. Protestant Canon dating back to the 16th century.

The canon of the Old Testament was formed in two stages:

1. Formation in the Jewish environment,
2. Formation in a Christian environment.

Jewish canon divided into 3 parts:

1. Torah (Law),
2. Neviim (Prophets),
3. Ktuvim (Scriptures).

Alexandrian canon differs from the Jewish one in the composition and arrangement of the books, as well as in the content of individual texts. This fact is explained by the fact that the Alexandrian canon is based not on the Tanakh, but on the proto-Masoretic version. It is also possible that some of the test differences are due to Christian reinterpretation of the original texts.

Structure of the Alexandrian Canon:

1. Legislative books,
2. History books,
3. Teaching books,
4. Prophetic books.

From point of view Orthodox Church The Old Testament consists of 39 canon books, while Catholic Church recognizes 46 books as canonical.

Protestant Canon appeared as a result of the revision of the authority of the Bible books by Martin Luther and Jacob van Lisveldt.

Why read the Old Testament?

You can read the Old Testament for a variety of purposes. For believers, this is sacred, sacred text, for the rest, the Old Testament can become a source of unexpected truths, a reason for philosophical reasoning. The Old Testament can be read along with the Iliad and Odyssey as great monument ancient literature.

Philosophical and ethical ideas in the Old Testament are rich and varied. It is and about the destruction of false moral values, and about the love of truth, and about the concepts of infinity and limit. In the Old Testament, a peculiar view of cosmology is set forth, issues of personal identification, issues of marriage and family are discussed.

Reading the Old Testament, you will talk about both everyday issues and global issues. On our site you can read the Old Testament online for free. We also provided the texts with various illustrations on the Old Testament plots in order to make the reading even more enjoyable and informative.

What is the difference between the Old and New Testaments?

"But this High Priest received a ministry that is more excellent, the better He is the intercessor of the covenant, which is established on the best promises. For if the first covenant were without flaw, then there would be no need to look for a place for another"(Heb. 8: 6,7). These verses mention the first and second covenants. We call them old testament and the new testament. As we open the Bible and begin to study it, we notice that there are clear differences between the teachings of the two covenants. We would like to highlight some of these obvious differences. We invite you to study the following points in order to compare the Old Testament (O.Z.) and the New Testament (N.Z.). (In other words: first read OZ "1", then OZ "1", then OZ "2", NZ "2" and so on).

OLD TESTAMENT	NEW TESTAMENT
1. Events recorded in V.Z. occurred before the birth of Jesus. We can say that his theme is "Jesus is coming." Old Testament prophets predicted that the Messiah would be a prophet like Moses (Deut. 18:15), He must be born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14), He must suffer for our sins (Is. 53: 5,6), and must come to earth to build up a kingdom that will never break down (Dan. 2:44).	1. Events recorded in N.Z., begin with the birth of Jesus (Mat. 1). The first four books by N.Z. show that Christ came to Earth, and the entire N.Z. shows that Christ will one day come again. The first time He came as Savior (1 Tim. 1:15). The second time He will come to judge all people (2 Tim. 4: 1; Mat. 25: 31,32).
2. Four main sections 39 books V.Z .: 1) Law (Genesis - Deuteronomy) (5 books); 2) History of Israel (from Joshua to Esther) (12 books); 3) Literature (poetry) (Job - Songs of Songs of Solomon) (5 books); 4) Books of the prophets (Isaiah - Malachi) (17 books).	2. Four main sections 27 books N.Z .: 1) The Life of Jesus (Matthew - John) (4 books); 2) Church History (Acts) (1 book); 3) Epistles (Romans - Jude) (21 books); 4) Prophecy (Revelation) (1 book).
3. Special attention given to the people of Israel (Jews). The Israelites were the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (also called Israel). God promised each of them that all nations would be blessed in their seed (Gen. 22:18; 26: 3-5). Jesus Christ was a Jew on earth (Rom. 9: 5), and V.Z. especially singles out the people from which He came.	3. Special attention given to Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. His followers are the spiritual descendants of Abraham (Gal. 3: 28,29). N.Z. shows that Jesus of Nazareth is the seed through whom all nations will be blessed (Gal. 3:16). In N.Z. glory is given to God in the Church, whose Savior is Jesus (Ephesians 3:21; 5:23), and to which God adds all saved people (Acts 2:47).
4. Religion: family and national. God chose Israel to be a holy people (Ex. 19: 5,6). Before the law of Moses was given, we read about families worshiping God, not nations (Job 1: 5; Gen. 12: 7; 4: 3,4).	4. Religion: Christians are “the holy people” and “the people of God” (1 Pet. 2: 9,10). All God's children were baptized into Christ (Gal. 3: 26,27). God's family or house is His Church (1 Tim. 3:15).
5. Law: the law of Moses, which, according to the Jews, included more than 600 commandments. Moses was the mediator between the people of Israel and Jehovah (Gal. 3:19; Deut. 5: 5). The Law of Moses was given only to the Israelites at Mount Sinai (Deut. 5: 1-5; Ex. 20-23). This law was temporary, since it had to be in force only until the coming of the seed and the faith of Christ (Gal. 3:19, 23-25).	5. Law: It is called "The Law of Christ" (Gal. 6: 2), "the perfect law of freedom" (James 1:25), the teaching of Christ (2 John 9). Jesus is the Mediator of the New Testament (Heb. 9:15). His law is universal, as He commands all people everywhere to obey Him (Mark 16:15,16; Acts 17:30). His law is eternal, as it will be in force until the end of the world (Mat. 28: 18-20).
6. Special or holy places: For the people of Israel, the "holy land" was Canaan. Contents V.Z. associated with Israel's activities in Canaan. Jerusalem was " holy place"which God chose so that Jewish men would come to the temple for the holidays.	6. Special or holy places: For Christians, neither the birthplace of Jesus (Bethlehem), nor the place where the church began (Jerusalem, Acts 2) are not "holy places." Our "spiritual Canaan" is in heaven. The very place where we worship God in spirit and in truth is not important (John 4: 21-24).
7. Victims: From creation to the time of Moses, worshipers of God sacrificed animals (Gen. 4: 4; 8:20; 12: 7). According to the law of Moses, the Jews continued to sacrifice animals. But "it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins" (Heb. 10: 4,11).	7. Victims: Christians do not bring animals to sacrifice to god because Jesus is the Lamb of God who came into the world to take away his sins (John 1:29). Jesus offered Himself as a sin offering once and for all (Heb. 7:27; 10:12). Followers of Jesus must present their bodies in living sacrifice God (Rom. 12: 1,2).
8. Priesthood: All priests in the nation of Israel were to come from the tribe of Levi (Deut. 18: 1; Heb. 7: 5). The primary functions of the priests were to help others to worship Jehovah (Heb. 5: 1-3) and to teach God's people to His law (Lev. 10:11). Israel has always had one high priest who served until his death (Heb. 7:23).	8. Priesthood: All Christians are priests, because The Bible describes them as "the holy priesthood" (1 Pet. 2: 5,9). The Bible says the priesthood has changed (Heb. 7:12). Jesus is our great High Priest who has passed through heaven (Heb. 4:14). Jesus leads the house of God, the Church, as its first and last High Priest (Heb. 10:21).
9. Special days or holidays: There is no evidence that before the time of Moses, God commanded mankind to keep feasts or holy days. The people of Israel observed the seventh day of the week, that is, the Sabbath, as a holy day of rest (Deut. 5: 12-15). They also observed the Feast of Passover, the Feast of Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the Feast of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles, and others (Lev. 23: 4-44).	9. Special days or holidays: Holidays V.Z. are not part of the teachings of Jesus. For Christians, the first day of the week, i.e. Sunday is a special day of worship. Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week (Mark 16: 9). His disciples rendered and received the Lord's supper also on the first day of the week (1 Cor. 16: 1,2; Acts 20: 7). All current "religious holidays" come from people, not from God!
10. Birth and circumcision: Physical circumcision was first commanded to Abraham (Gen. 17: 1-14). It was also commanded to the Israelites in the law of Moses (Lev. 12: 2,3). At the time of V.Z. a person became a member of the chosen people of Israel simply by birth. V.Z. was holy, righteous and good (Rom. 7:12), but we died to this law (Rom. 7: 4).	10. Birth and circumcision: According to the law of Jesus to enter the Kingdom, i.e. the family of God, you can be spiritually reborn from water and the Spirit (John 3: 3,5; 1 Pet. 1: 22,23). Christ does not command physical circumcision, but spiritual circumcision of the heart (Rom. 2: 28,29; Col. 2: 11,12). Jesus' way is "new and alive" and His covenant is better than old testament(Heb. 10:19; 8: 6).