The Veil of Moses

Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures are from the NKJV

Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. . . . And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. Ex 34:29, 33-34

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious. Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech--unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Cor 3:5-18

In the above passage the apostle Paul contrasts the Old and New Covenants. Although the Old Covenant was glorious, it was a glory that was passing away. It was the letter that kills, a ministry of death and condemnation. It was also a physical covenant, written on stones and lived out in the priesthood and the Levitical law. In contrast, the New Covenant is of the Spirit, and lived out in the Spirit — where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. This transforming process takes place by the inner man being conformed to the Spirit of God, not by the outer man conforming to external laws, as with the Old Covenant:

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Rom 12:2

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Gal 2:20

Paul uses the veil of Moses, which dimmed the passing glory of the countenance of his face, as an allegory of the Old Covenant, with its passing glory, veiling the surpassing glory of the New Covenant. While the Old Covenant spoke in types and shadows, the New Covenant was proclaimed with great boldness (KJV = plainness, YLT = freedom) of speech. Whereas Moses covered his face with a veil that the Israelites might not look steadily at what was passing away, Paul states that the gospel is proclaimed boldly, for the veil is removed in Christ. Several commentators make note of this fact. To preserve our flow of thought, we have included these comments in Appendix A. We provide two quotations here as samples:

The gospel is a more clear dispensation than the law; the things of God are revealed in the New Testament, not in types and shadows. (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible — 2 Cor 3:12-18)

The obscurity which rested on the prophecies and types of the former dispensation is withdrawn; and as the face of Moses could have been distinctly seen if the veil on his face had been removed, so it is in regard to the true meaning of the Old Testament by the coming of the Messiah. What was obscure is now made clear; and the prophecies are so completely fulfilled in him, that his coming has removed the covering, and shed a clear light over them all. Many of the prophecies, for example, until the Messiah actually appeared, appeared obscure, and almost contradictory. Those which spoke of him, for illustration, as man and as God; as suffering, and yet reigning; as dying, and yet as ever-living; as a mighty Prince, a conqueror, and a king, and yet as a man of sorrows; as humble, and yet glorious: all seemed difficult to be reconciled until they were seen to harmonize in Jesus of Nazareth. Then they were plain, and the veil was taken away. Christ is seen to answer all the previous descriptions of him in the Old Testament; and his coming casts a clear light on all which was before obscure. (Barnes’ Notes, commentary on 2 Cor 3:14)

Many of the Jews’ conceptions of the teachings of the Old Testament were incorrect because they failed to realize that the Old Covenant was merely a shadow of the New Covenant. The New Testament confirms that the material things of the Old Covenant were copies, shadows and symbols of spiritual counterparts found in the New Covenant:

So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. Col 2:16-17For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” Heb 8:4-5 . . . the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience . . . Heb 9:8-9 Therefore it was necessary that the copies [the Temple and its furnishings] of the things in the heavens should be purified with these [the blood of animals], but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us . . . Heb 9:23-24

For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. Heb 10:1 (emphases added)

Wycliffe, whose commentary appears in Appendix A, makes an observation that, while most would give assent to, many have failed to apprehend the ramifications--our opening passage in 2 Corinthians is Paul’s inspired interpretation of the Old Testament! The same Spirit that inspired Moses as he penned the accounts contained in the Pentateuch also inspired Paul to interpret and expound upon portions of that text. As 2 Timothy 3:16 says, All Scripture is inspired by God . . . (NASU). Some would say that the Scripture referred to here is only the Old Testament. But Peter equates the writings of Paul with the Old Testament Scriptures:

If we believe that Peter was inspired as he wrote this, then we have confirmation that when Paul comments on the Old Testament, it is an inspired commentary. Furthermore, if we accept that our present New Testament was written and compiled under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, then we have in our possession an inspired commentary on many Old Testament passages. Granted, it is not a verse-by-verse commentary, but concerning those passages that it does interpret, we would do well to put every volume written by man back on the shelf, and discover WHAT DOES THE SCRIPTURE SAY? For every commentary written by man, no matter his education, insight, inspiration or communication skills, is the product of a fallible being. The New Testament, however, was authored by the Holy Spirit, whose ministry it is to lead people into the Truth:

. . . knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 2 Pet 1:20-21

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. John 16:13

Unfortunately, instead of interpreting the Old Testament through the lens of the New Testament, we tend to do just the opposite. Because the Old Testament is older than the New Testament, and is positioned first in our Bibles, we have a mental picture of it as the foundation upon which the New Testament is built. Thus we try to harmonize our individual interpretations of the New Testament with our pre-established interpretations of the Old Testament. While it is true that all 66 books of the Bible are inspired, and that the Bible is truly “one book”, we have failed to completely grasp the interrelation of those books, particularly between the two testaments. We tend to view the Bible as 66 volumes, which we attempt to interpret with the use of external Lexicons, Commentaries, Dictionaries, etc. What we have failed to fully appreciate is that the last 27 books are, in many instances, a divinely inspired Lexicon, Commentary, Dictionary, etc., for the first 39 books. Again, not a verse-by-verse commentary, but enough of a commentary to establish interpretative principles that should cause us to take a hard look at what is espoused in uninspired commentaries, regardless of their popularity or appeal. This is not to say that the Holy Spirit doesn’t still inspire preachers, teachers and authors, but this is a different level of inspiration. We believe that the Canon falls under the type of inspiration described in 2 Peter 1:21 . . . for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, while all other inspiration falls under 1 Corinthians 14:32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets (NIV). In those areas that the New Testament interprets the Old Testament, it should be the first, last and final word. Instead of (re)interpreting the New Testament to fit our a priori interpretation of the Old Testament, all Old Testament interpretations should align themselves with those passages which are divinely interpreted for us by the New Testament. Once the New Testament authors establish a precedent for interpreting particular Old Testament texts, we must accept nothing less than scriptural support to deviate from that precedent. As Max R. King states in The Spirit of Prophecy:

But it is never wise to allow our concept of a Biblical subject to place us in opposition to inspiration. (p. 115--2nd Printing 1983)

Milton S. Terry says the following in Biblical Hermeneutics (note that hermeneutics is the study of the methodological principles of interpretation):

It is of the first importance to observe that, from a Christian point of view, the Old Testament cannot be fully apprehended without the help of the New. The mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known unto men, was revealed unto the apostles and prophets of the New Testament (Eph 3:5), and that revelation sheds a flood of light upon numerous portions of the Hebrew Scriptures. (p. 18)

We believe that Terry’s point — the Old Testament cannot be fully apprehended without the help of the New — cannot be over-emphasized. The Old Testament contained mysteries that were not fully revealed apart from the Gospel. There were truths in the Old Testament that were shrouded in darkness, awaiting the “flood of light” of revelation to the New Testament apostles and prophets to be shed upon them. This is confirmed by the following passages:

Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.” Luke 10:23-24. . . according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest . . . Rom 16:25-26 . . . and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places . . . Eph 3:9-10 . . . how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets . . . Eph 3:3-5

. . . which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but has in due time manifested . . . Titus 1:2-3

Paul states that the mystery of Christ was not revealed prior to the Gospel age. Therefore, to formulate any doctrine apart from the fuller revelation of the New Testament apostles is attempting to build a house before the foundation is finished. This is because the revelation given to the New Testament apostles was not merely building upon the foundation laid by the Old Testament prophets--it was part of that foundation:

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone . . . Eph 2:19-20 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior . . . 2 Pet 3:1-2 But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . Jude 17

Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Rev 21:14

This revelation to the apostles and prophets is the removing of the veil of Moses. What was previously a mystery, and veiled in types and shadows, was now revealed by the Holy Spirit. We believe that Pentecost, and the subsequent ministry of the Holy Spirit in the early church, is a pivot point in understanding the truths of God:

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. John 16:12-13 (emphases added)

At the end of Acts 1, just prior to Pentecost, the apostles cast lots to find a replacement for Judas, to be numbered among the twelve. This seems to be such an unspiritual solution for such a weighty matter. Perhaps this is why, after being chosen by the lot to be numbered with the other eleven apostles, Matthias is never mentioned again. Paul, on the other hand, is stated as being an apostle no less than nine times. Christ Himself didn’t choose the original twelve apostles (disciples) until after spending a night in prayer:

Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles . . . Luke 6:12-13

But after Pentecost, the apostles never use lots again. It is the Spirit that directs their lives, using a vision to send Peter to the Gentiles, forbidding Paul to minister in Asia, setting apart Paul and Barnabas for the gospel, etc. Similarly, they now understood the Scriptures--the veil of Moses had been removed! Prior to Pentecost, the apostles (disciples) were fairly ignorant as to the meaning of Scripture. Any understanding of the Scriptures they had, apart from their traditional background, was limited to either direct teaching or special revelation:

Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” Matt 16:16-17 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Luke 24:44-45 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.” Matt 15:15 Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread--but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees? Matt 16:9-11

And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?” Mark 4:13

For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.” But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him. Mark 9:31-32

They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. John 8:27

His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. John 12:16

Although they lacked discernment during Christ’s ministry, after Pentecost the apostles understood the Scriptures. For example, Peter begins by immediately expounding on Joel’s prophecy and Philip is able to explain Isaiah 53 to the Eunuch:

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.’” Acts 2:14-17

So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him . . . . Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Acts 8:30-31, 35

This newfound insight into the Scriptures is too easily glossed over. We cannot over-emphasize its importance, for it is the very crux to understanding Biblical truths. Prior to Pentecost, the New Testament saints could only apprehend what was behind the veil of Moses either by special revelation from God, or by specific teaching from Jesus. After Pentecost, however, when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon all believers, they understood the Scriptures, and the mysteries of God were revealed to the apostles. Thus the veil is removed in Christ, because those who turn to Him receive His Spirit, Who gives spiritual discernment:

For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 2 Cor 3:14-16

These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Cor 2:13-16

Just as the page between Malachi and Matthew separates the Old and New Testaments; just as the death and resurrection of Christ separates the Old and New Covenants; so the day of Pentecost separates the veiled understanding of Scripture from the unveiled understanding of Scripture. Before Pentecost, Peter needed a revelation from the Father to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. After Pentecost, the Holy Spirit can reveal that to us through the written Word:

. . . but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. John 20:31

Prior to Pentecost the disciples had to ask in ignorance, “explain to us . . .”, because their understanding was based upon the incomplete teaching of the Scribes and Pharisees. After Pentecost the disciples were explaining the Scriptures to others with confidence, and the Scribes and Pharisees marveled, knowing that they were uneducated and untrained. What was hidden to the “wise” of that age had been revealed to the “babes” of Christianity. Thus, the wise of that age had become foolish, because through their wisdom they did not know God:

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. Acts 4:13 At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.” Matt 11:25

For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 1 Cor 1:22-25

Even the Old Testament prophets did not completely understand their own prophecies, because they were hidden (at least in part) until the days of the New Testament apostles:

. . . and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished. Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, “My lord, what shall be the end of these things?” And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.” Dan 12:7-10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things which angels desire to look into. 1 Peter 1:10-12 . . . which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets . . . . Eph 3:5

After Pentecost, the Holy Spirit not only revealed the mysteries of God to the New Testament apostles and prophets, He taught all believers the truth:

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. . . . But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. 1 John 2:20-21, 27

The Gospels were written after Pentecost, and thus with hindsight the authors were able to say, “this was done that the words of the prophet might be fulfilled”. We believe that the disciples didn’t recognize at the time that prophecy was being fulfilled before their eyes (except in a very limited way), but after Pentecost they did, and therefore pointed it out as often as possible in the gospels. But notice who is informing the people of all of this fulfilled prophecy in the Gospels--a tax collector, an understudy of a fisherman, a (possibly Gentile) doctor, and a fisherman. Not the religious leaders, not the scribes, Sadducees nor Pharisees:

And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” Matt 13:10-11

While the authors of the Gospels were able to recognize and document fulfilled prophecy after Pentecost, notice that they also documented the disciples’ lack of Scriptural discernment prior to Pentecost. Since all Scripture is given by inspiration of God (2 Tim 3:16), we feel that the Holy Spirit inspired these authors to document this previous lack of discernment in order to illustrate the change that took place at Pentecost.

The closing words of Malachi are followed by what are known as the “four-hundred years of silence”. During that period there is no record of any inspired words from God. That silence was broken by the ministry of John the Baptist. Yet his message was contrary to tradition, for he dismissed the importance of Jewish heritage in the kingdom of God:

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! . . . Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.” Matt 3:1-2, 8-9

Not only did John understand that the true children of Abraham were not the physical Jews, he also knew that he was the fulfillment of the forerunner to the Messiah:

Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the LORD,”’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” John 1:22-23

John was able to look behind the veil of Moses, and thus understand the fulfillment of prophecy and discern the nature of the kingdom of God. This is in stark contrast to the disciples, who didn’t understand that John was the Elijah to come, nor, as we shall see in coming chapters, did they understand the nature of the kingdom of God. How was John able to “see” behind the veil of Moses, when the disciples weren’t? Because, unlike the disciples, who had to wait until Pentecost, he was filled with the Holy Spirit from conception:

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. Luke 1:15

Jesus continued in this vein of proclaiming a fulfillment to prophecy that was contrary to current tradition. After being baptized by John, which marked the beginning of His public ministry, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. He returned from the wilderness in the power of the Spirit, and proclaimed in the synagogue that He had just fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah. His subsequent commentary filled those in the synagogue with such rage that they tried to kill Him!

Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. . . . And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” . . . So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Luke 4:14, 17-21, 28-29

Certainly no one would argue that both John the Baptist and Jesus were fulfilling Old Testament prophecy. But they were doing it in a manner that did not conform to the teaching of the religious leaders of their day. The religious leaders of the day did not even recognize that Jesus was the Messiah. They knew all of the passages concerning Him, but wrongly interpreted them. When asked, they knew that He was to be born in Bethlehem, yet they didn’t recognize the Child that was born there. As we saw in the previous chapter, the disciples didn’t recognize John the Baptist as Elijah. Neither the disciples nor the religious leaders could see behind the veil. This is why we mustn’t build our theology upon those “experts” of the law, but upon the inspired revelations of the New Testament authors. After Pentecost the mysteries of God, which were hidden in previous ages, were revealed to those authors. But as we shall see, what was revealed to them was in sharp contrast to what they had been brought up to believe. God was doing a new thing:

“Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.” Isa 43:18-19

The New Testament apostles continued what began with the teaching of John the Baptist and Jesus--clarifying the Old Testament prophecies. The above passage is very reminiscent of the ministry of John the Baptist, which we have already seen was associated with the Gospel:

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isa 40:3-5

By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the New Testament authors were rightly interpreting Old Testament prophecies. Therefore, rather than letting the theological elite interpret the Old Testament for us, we must allow the inspired authors of the New Testament to interpret the Old Testament. Then we are truly letting Scripture interpret Scripture, instead of letting man interpret Scripture. To construct a theology based solely upon the Old Testament (or to force our understanding of the New Testament to fit traditional Old Testament theology) is to formulate doctrine before all of the facts are in. Those missing facts were revealed to the apostles and prophets of the New Testament. As we shall see in the coming chapters, it was because the Jews based their theology solely upon the Old Testament that they were in such opposition to the Christian Church, just as they were with Jesus. The Church, which had the full revelation, could now correctly formulate doctrine and reveal that which had previously been a mystery. Those Jews who accepted the full revelation removed the veil of Moses and became sons and daughters of God (John 1:12). Those who stubbornly refused that revelation continued on in their inadequately founded doctrine, and the veil of Moses remained over their hearts.

Because it was to the apostles and prophets of the New Testament that the mysteries of God were revealed, we feel that it is with them that the search for understanding Bible prophecy must begin and end. Again, this is not to say that we cannot benefit from the education and gifting of others within the Body of Christ. However, we must come to all extra-biblical interpretations with the same attitude as the Bereans:

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Acts 17:11 NIV

Do the interpretations in the commentaries on our shelves regarding Old Testament prophecy (and by implication, our understanding of it) agree with the interpretations presented by the New Testament authors? As Paul wrote his epistle to the Corinthians, he said that the Jews still had a “veil” over their hearts when Moses was read. Yet they were experts in the law (so NIV, Darby = “doctors of the law”, most versions read “lawyers”). But their expertise was only in studying and interpreting the veil, not discerning the truth hidden behind it. The veil is only removed in Christ, therefore if we are to discern the truth represented by the types and shadows of the Old Covenant, our starting place should be with those who did turn to Him--the inspired authors of the New Testament.

As mentioned earlier, the precedent of the New Testament authors understanding Old Testament prophecy is established for us in the Gospels, which were written after Pentecost. In them we often read a phrase such as “that it might be fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet . . .”.

Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.” Matt 2:17-18

So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.” Mark 15:28

Perhaps it was because most of the Jews had completely missed the fact of these fulfilled prophecies, that the Gospel authors took pains to establish these fulfillments. In essence, what they were saying was, “this is what’s behind the veil”. They were trying to reveal as much as possible. In Appendix B we provide a list of references where the Gospel authors are declaring fulfilled Old Testament prophecy. Even though the Gospel authors were writing after-the-fact, they still felt it necessary to explain the fulfillments of these Old Testament prophecies. Why? Because those fulfillments did not necessarily meet the expectations of their contemporaries. The Gospel authors were providing an inspired commentary on those Old Testament passages that did not agree with the traditional interpretations of their day. What we have failed to fully grasp is that this action continues past the Gospels, into Acts and the Epistles. As we shall see, the interpretations that the New Testament authors provide are often markedly different than the prevailing teachings even of today. But we must remember that those interpretations were also markedly different from the prevailing teachings of their contemporaries. This led to the persecution of Jesus and the Christians by the Jews. In choosing between markedly different interpretations of Old Testament passages, and in establishing doctrine, mustn’t we choose the inspired authors of the New Testament over and against any theologian or prophecy expert, past or present?

In order to establish a Biblical interpretation of the New Covenant, and the time and nature of the return of the Mediator of that covenant (Heb 8:6; 9:15; 12:24), shouldn’t we first complete the foundation upon which that interpretation is built? This can only be done by adding the inspired interpretation of the New Testament authors. Anything that doesn’t conform to that foundation must surely be questioned. In the preceding chapter we asked, “are we willing to receive it?” In this chapter we ask, “are we willing to lay aside the tradition of man in favor of the inspiration of the New Testament authors?” Many of the Jews, to whom the very oracles of God were entrusted (Rom 3:2), answered no to both questions. Thus Paul lamented, but even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.