(237) – PARADOXES – IV

237 – PARADOXES 4

A careful examination of the work of the Old Testament will prove that there is not the least trace of unity between Jesus and Jehovah. The two testaments could run parallel, but they are completely opposite to each other. The Old Testament deals with the things of the flesh, and the New Testament deals only with the things of the spirit. Jeremiah says, “Can the sacrificial flesh take away from you your disaster” (Jer. 11:15). And Jehovah declares by the mouth of Isaiah that he will create a new heaven and a new earth, and that all flesh will worship him every Saturday (Is. 66:22-23). Flesh to Jehovah is so important, that he declares, “I am Jehovah, the God of all flesh” (Jer. 32:27).

In the New Testament Jesus says, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing” (John 6:63). In the letter to the Romans the apostle Paul places the flesh on the lowest level possible: “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:6-8). Paul continues saying, “If you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom. 8:13). And the great apostle to the Gentiles reveals something profound: “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (1 Cor. 15:50). It is very difficult to reconcile the flesh with the Spirit (Gal. 5:16-22). The concept that Jehovah has about the flesh does not agree with the concept of Jesus, Paul, John, Peter, etc.

In order to prove without any doubt the uncontestable differences between the works of the Old and New Testaments, we will mention a few points:

  1. If Christians, who are the people of God the Father, and the disciples of Jesus were commissioned to save all the people of all nations, why did Jehovah send his people Israel to kill and make slaves? The bible texts are clear. Jesus commanded, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matt 28:19-20). “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:15-16). Now the command of Jehovah: “There was not a city which made peace with the sons of Israel except the Hivites living in Gibeon; they took them all in battle. For it was of Jehovah to harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might utterly destroy them, that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses” (Josh. 11:19-20). Concerning Israel, Jehovah said through Jeremiah, “Thou art my battle-axe and weapons of war: and with thee will I break in pieces the nations; and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; and with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and him that rideth therein; and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces the old man and the youth; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the virgin; and with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke [of oxen]; and with thee will I break in pieces governors and deputies. And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith Jehovah” (Jer. 51:20-24). The absurd is that Jehovah had delivered all the nations in the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Chaldeans, saying that he was doing this because this king was cruel and pleasing in his eyes (Jer. 27:5-8). What a complicated paradox!
  2. If where there is no law, there is no transgression (Rom. 4:15)and if where there is no law there is no imputation of sin, as we read in Rom. 15:13, why did Jehovah impute sin to the peoples who did not know him, nor his law, which was given to Israel only 700 years later? (Gen. 6:7; 19:24-25). The ones who lived before the flood, and the Sodomites all died without any conscience of the evil they had practiced. Today, 4,000years later, there are sodomites to the millions, and they are protected by the human laws, and why does Jehovah not show any reaction? It is a paradox.
  3. We read in Matthew’s gosple that temptation comes from the devil (Matt. 4:1). If the temptations all come from the devil, why did Jehovah, the god of the Old Testament, tempt men? “Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham” (Gen. 22:1). Jehovah delivered Israel from the Egyptian captivity, took the people to the desert, and tempted them there. This is what the text says, “And you shall remember all they way which Jehovah your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not” (Deut. 8:2). To make it more complicated, James, in his universal Epistle, declares, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for god cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt any one” (James 1:13). Either Jehovah is not the Father, or the Bible is not true. As the Bible is true, Jehovah is not the Father, for Jehovah tempts, and is tempted by evil, but the Father cannot be tempted and does not tempt anyone. Jehovah confesses that he is tempted in Num. 14:22.
  4. Jesus descended from heaven, from God the Father, to undo the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).The devil is the adversary of Christ, of the Church, and of the Christians, and goes about setting traps, “seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). If this is the situation of the New Testament, why did Jehovah and Satan work together in the Old Testament? In 2 Sam. 24:1 we read that Jehovah incited David. The narrative of this same occurrence is repeated in 1 Chr. 21:1, except that this time we read that Satan incited David. How do we explain it? It is easy. The two of them worked together. The situation of Job is similar. In a meeting in heaven Satan was present when the children of Jehovah came. Jehovah praised Job’s faithfulness and perseverance. Satan suggested a hard testing for Job. Jehovah agreed with it and handed the faithful Job in to the perverse hands of Satan. The two of them were associated in this evil project (Job 16-12). We know that the serpent is a picture of Satan (Rev. 12:9). And the prophet Amos reveals the following concerning Israel: “And though they hide on the summit of Carmel, I will search them out and take them from there; and though they conceal themselves from My sight on the floor of the sea, from there I will command the serpent and it will bite them” (Amos 9:3). How could Jehovah be a partner of the devil in the Old Testament, and be his adversary in the New Testament? The truth is that the Father’s partner is Jesus, and Jehovah has Satan as his partner.
  5.         If Jesus is meek and humble in heart, as we read in Matt. 11:29, how come Jehovah in the Old Testament was so arrogant? “If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready. He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons” (Ps. 7:12-13). “‘As I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘surely with a mighty hand and with outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you’” (Ezek. 20:33). Jesus is the prince of peace, and Jehovah is the prince of violence, of war, of vengeances. The God and Father is also the God of peace and of love, such as Jesus.
  6.       It is really difficult to reconcile the works found in the two testaments, that is, the works of Jehovah with the works of Jesus, that are the works of the Father (John 10:32; 14:10).

by PASTOR OLAVO SILVEIRA PEREIRA

Deixe um comentário

O seu endereço de e-mail não será publicado. Campos obrigatórios são marcados com *