Disciples Digital Library

A charge commonly heard in popular preaching is “replacement theology.” It is usually hurled against anyone who claims a promise from the Hebrew Bible made originally to Israel now finds its fulfillment in the church. But the accusation misses the point. The New Testament teaches neither “replacement theology” nor the idea that God has two distinct covenants and peoples, each with a separate eternal destiny.

The Messianic Age dawned in Jesus, and calendrical rituals and other Levitical regulations belong to the obsolete old order .  In  Galatians , Paul chides believers for their desire “ to return to bondage under the weak and beggarly rudiments , ” including calendrical observations and circumcision. Since they now live in the  AGE OF FULFILLMENT , resorting to outmoded rituals is tantamount to returning to a state of slavery.

Jesus came to bring all that is promised and foreshadowed in the Hebrew scriptures to fulfillment .  Fulfillment  is a prominent theme in Matthew’s gospel - with the arrival of the Messiah, the time of fulfillment has arrived. All that was anticipated in the Hebrew Bible began to come to fruition. But with his advent, what are the implications for the Law?

The gospel of  John  identifies Jesus as the  Logos , the “ word ” by which God made all things, a key theme that is explicated in the body of the book. In doing so, John does not engage in metaphysical speculation but builds on traditional ideas from the Hebrew Bible about how Yahweh created the universe and gave life through His spoken word.

From the beginning, Revelation states that its purpose is to show God’s servants “what things must soon come to pass” – Revelation 1:1-3 .  Revelation’s first paragraph lists its purpose, themes, and main characters, and that purpose is to show God’s servants “ what things must come to pass ,” and it establishes their timing as “ soon .” The imminence of these events is emphasized further by stating that the “ season is near .”

The letter to the  Hebrews  is addressed to a congregation that was facing pressure from outsiders, and some members were contemplating withdrawing from the assembly and returning to the local synagogue. The letter presents arguments for why doing so will have catastrophic consequences by stressing the superiority of the “ word of the Son ” over past revelations.

Jesus is the Greater and Final Temple foreshadowed by the ancient Tabernacle and the later Temple in Jerusalem .  Jesus is the true sanctuary that was foreshadowed in the ancient religious structures and worship rituals of Israel. He is the dwelling place of God’s presence and glory, and the true and final mediator between heaven and earth. Christ is the temple “ made without hands ” that was destroyed by evil men but restored when his Father raised him from among the dead.

In Revelation, the period known as the last days began following the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth .  The last book of the New Testament is called   the “ revelation of Jesus Christ ,” and it is a message for his “ servants ,” namely, the “ seven churches of Asia .” It concerns “ what things must come to pass soon ,” information that is vital since the “ SEASON IS AT HAND .”

The fullness, grace, and truth of God are found only in the Word made Flesh, namely, Jesus of Nazareth  – John 1:14-18.  The prologue to John’s gospel introduces several key themes -  Life ,  Light ,  Witness ,  Truth , and  Grace .  Jesus is the  Light of the world , the source of  Grace and Truth , the  True Tabernacle , the  only born Son of God , and the only one who has  seen the Father .  It concludes by declaring that he is the only one who is qualified to  interpret  the unseen God.

Jesus is the True and Final Sanctuary in which the glory of Yahweh now dwells, the substance foreshadowed by the ancient Temple  –  John 2:13-22 .  In the second chapter of  John , we find the disciples discovered that Jesus is the  True and Final Temple of God . The era of God “dwelling” in portable tents and stone buildings in Jerusalem or anywhere else had come to an end. God does not dwell in structures “ made-by-hand ,” nor can His presence be contained within physical or geographic boundaries.

The Word of God finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. “ IN HIM ,” all His promises are “ yea ” and “ amen .” The things that were “ hidden ” in the past are revealed in the life, words, death, resurrection, and exaltation of the Son, the one in whom all the shadows and types prefigured in the Hebrew Bible have become real. All His mysteries are laid bare in the Nazarene.