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A Glorious New Exodus

The New Covenant Deliverance in Jesus Christ

by John Dunn

The Exodus deliverance of the nation Israel was the archetypical salvation event of the entire Old Testament period.  Everything which preceded and every event which followed after revolved around Israel’s Exodus redemption from Egypt by God’s outstretched arm.  The Exodus event became the climactic theme of Israel’s cult of worship, Psalms of praise, feast celebrations, prophetic revelation, and future hope.  Through the Exodus event God entered into a conditional legal covenant with national Israel at Sinai, based on outward obedience to external law codes.  It was there that He gave them his Law and espoused them as His own peculiar covenant people.  This covenant (Old Covenant) was not saving, but acted as a “ministry of death” and a “ministry of condemnation” against the backdrop of sin (II Cor. 3:7-9).  The Law’s function was to teach Israel God’s righteous character and show them that this true “image of God” (Gen. 1:26-27) was missing in the corrupted human nature, ever since the fall of mankind into sin.  To this end, the Law’s design was not to restore the lost “image of God” in men but rather to kill and bring wrath upon sinful human rebellion against God (Rom. 4:15, 7:5).  To be sure, the Law was spiritual (Rom. 7:14), but it was not of faith (Gal. 3:12).  Therefore, it had no power of itself to produce “the righteousness of faith” (Rom. 4:13-16).  “For the Law made nothing perfect” (Heb. 7:19).  Just the opposite, the Law serves only to inflame sin in the natural man who walks after the flesh and not after the Spirit (Rom. 7:8-9).  The Law was only an outward and external rule of moral conduct written on lifeless tables of stone (II Cor. 3:7).  It was merely “a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Col. 2: 17).

The Law was added because of transgressions and served merely as an external “guardian and manager” (Gal. 3:23-24, 4:1-5) to keep adolescent Israel governed and subservient under a typological pattern of righteousness until the true spiritual righteousness (Holy Spirit of Christ) was given (Rom. 7:6, 8:1-2).  Under the Old Covenant, salvation from the Law’s curse was typified through the shedding of the blood of animals (Heb. 9:13).  This salvation was only external and served only the purification of the flesh (Heb. 9:13).  Salvation did not and could not come by keeping the Law (Rom. 10:1-4, Gal. 3:11).  Nor could it come merely through bloody animal sacrifice (Heb. 9:7-10); “for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 10:4).  Salvation under the Old Covenant came only by faith in the gracious promises of a coming Redeemer – as in the faith of Abraham (Rom. 4:3), whereby he “rejoiced” to see Christ’s day “and was glad” (John 8:56).  [See “Covenants of Promise” below] To this end, the Old Covenant was only a temporary external covenant and “guardian” (II Cor. 3:7, 11, 13) “until Christ came” (Gal. 3:24) in order that justification might be by faith, apart from the Law (Rom. 3:21, 28).  It was a covenant of shadows and types which pointed to the coming Christ (Col. 2:17).  The shadows and types were only elemental fleshly representatives of the true spiritual realities which were to be revealed.  As such, they served as an outward religion of regulations – “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (Col. 2: 20-21).   This means that national Israel was also temporary and external in nature, serving as a type of the true spiritual Israel to come.  “Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel . . . It is not the children of the flesh who are counted as offspring, but the children of promise are counted as offspring”, the true spiritual offspring of Israel (Rom. 9:3-8, Gal. 4:28).  Therefore, to view the Exodus exclusively as an Old Testament event, confined solely to Hebrew history, is to miss the glory of the entire revelation of Scripture.

The wonder of the Exodus event is that it gloriously foreshadowed and typified the new Exodus event of the New Covenant in Christ Jesus.  The Exodus event of old has been divinely cast as the definitive paradigm of redemptive history.  The apostolic Gospels and epistles are nothing less than the full expounding of the New Exodus spiritual realities.  A right view of Christ’s redemptive work can only be viewed through the lens of the New Exodus paradigm.   A careful study of New Testament language usage will reveal how the apostolic authors import many significant words, texts, and themes from the Old Testament into their writings.  For example, the apostle Paul uses explicit Exodus language in his epistles (bondage, slave, Passover, liberty, sacrifice, firstborn, firstfruits, circumcision, mediator of the covenant, Great High Priest, Mt. Sinai vs. Mt. Zion).  This clearly indicates that the apostolic writers understood the New Covenant Christ-event as a completely new spiritual Exodus, the grand fulfillment of all the Old Covenant types.

Through the new Exodus-event of Jesus, God has entered into an unconditional grace-covenant (the New Covenant) with His Church, the true Israel of God (Gal. 6:16), and has espoused Her as his own peculiar covenant people (II Cor. 6:16, Heb. 8:10).  The Church is now dead to the Old Covenant Law through the body of Christ and has been joined to Him, so that She would “serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code” (Rom. 7:1-6).  He has accomplished this by putting away Her sins (Heb. 9:26) and abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances (Eph. 2:15) by nailing the legal demands to his cross (Col. 2:14), through the shedding of Christ’s blood, offered once for all (Heb. 10:10).  The former commandments have been set aside because of their weakness and uselessness (Heb. 7:18-19).  The Church is now the place where God “makes his dwelling among them and walks among them;” He is now “their God and they are His people” (Ex. 29:45, Lev. 29:45, II Cor. 6:16).  This is the New Covenant which God promised would come (Jer. 31:31, I Cor. 11:25, II Cor. 3:6, Heb. 8:5-13, 9:15, 10:15-17, 12:18-24).  This covenant is entirely saving and gracious.  It is no longer external and ineffectual as the Old Covenant was.  Rather, the New Covenant exists solely as a “ministry of the Spirit” and a “ministry of righteousness” (II Cor. 3:8-9).  Its design is to save and give life internally (Rom. 5:17-18).  Its righteousness is imputed and applied to the heart by faith, without the use of the external Law (Rom. 3:21-22, 7:6).  This internal New Covenant righteousness is accomplished by the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit now written upon the tables of the heart (II Cor. 3:3, Heb. 8:10, 10:16).  The Holy Spirit is the new “Law” of the New Covenant (Rom. 8:1-2).  This new spiritual law is not merely a “Christian” reformulation or restatement of the 10 Commandments.  Rather, it is the active and powerful inward restoration of the “image of God” in the hearts of fallen man, by the Holy Spirit.  “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (II Cor. 3:18).  Jesus Christ is the very “image of God” into which we are being restored (II Cor. 4:4), as we behold his shining face (II Cor. 4:6).  We “have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Col. 3:9-10).  Jesus, our new Lawgiver, shines his face toward us from Mt. Zion as Moses did from Sinai (Mat. 17:2, Rev. 1:16).  Love is fulfilment of the Law and the chief fruit of the restored image of God’s righteousness in us (Rom. 13:10, Gal.5:14, 22), and not surprisingly so since God himself is love (I John 4:8, 16).  Unlike the Old Covenant, which was temporary and passing away (II Cor. 3:7,11,13, Heb. 8:13), the New Covenant is permanent and eternal (II Cor. 3:11, Heb. 13:20).  “And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord:  I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds, then he adds, I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more” (Heb. 10:15-17).

This New Exodus view of redemptive history recognizes that the New Covenant is the spiritual fulfillment of the literal Old Covenant, which stood only as a temporary fleshly type.  As such, the spiritual New Covenant is essentially “new” in contradistinction to the Old Covenant order of the flesh which has passed away.  “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh.  Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold the new has come” (II Cor. 5:16-17).

This New Exodus understanding is not a formulation of classical Reformed Covenant Theology, with its view that the New Covenant age is merely a newer administration of the continuing and over-arching “covenant of grace,” which Israel was also supposedly under.  The theological system of classical Covenant Theology does not recognize the distinctiveness of the New Covenant, and,  as a result, insists on a continuing use of the Moral Law (10 Commandments), identifying national Israel as the “Church”, and the covenant inclusion of New Testament infants (through infant baptism).  The covenantal distinctions of Reformed Covenant Theology (“covenant of works” and “covenant of grace”) are theological formulations, not Scriptural terms.   Nowhere are the terms “covenant of works” or “covenant of grace” ever used, conceptualized, developed, or explained by Scriptural exegesis or inference.

In the same way, the New Exodus understanding is not a formulation of Dispensationalism, with its insistence on 7 distinct “dispensations” or epochs of salvation and its radical separation of Israel and the Church.  Again, the concept of distinct “dispensations” is a theological formulation which is nowhere used, conceptualized, developed, or explained by sound Scriptural exegesis or inference.  The term “dispensation” is used in the New Testament, but it does not possess the theological value or meaning that Dispensationalism assigns to it.  Dispensationalism also fails to recognize the distinctiveness of the New Covenant.

On the other hand, the Scriptures do explicitly use, describe, develop, and distinguish between two primary covenants (Gal. 4:24), specifically the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.  These Biblical covenants stand opposed to the theological formulations of both classical Covenant Theology and Dispensational Theology.  The New Exodus understanding will show that the literal Old Covenant types have passed away.  They are now the “weak and worthless elementary principles of the world” to which we can no longer return (Gal. 4:9).  However, this is not to say that the types have passed away leaving an empty void.  Rather, the Old types have given way to the glorious New Covenant spiritual realities which they prefigured and pointed toward in a fleshly way.  So, as it concerns the 10 Commandments engraved on tablets of stone, the nation Israel, the temple, the Levitical priesthood, the cult of worship, and the bloody sacrificial system, they have all permanently and everlastingly “perished with the using” (Col. 2:22).  They were “a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Col. 2:17).  This reality can be most clearly seen through the lens of the New Exodus in Christ.

The New Exodus Patterns

The entire historical timeline of Jesus’ life, death, burial, resurrection, and ministry as mediator, prophet, high-priest, and king is a spiritual recapitulation and fulfillment of all the literal Exodus types under Moses.  The Exodus event of the Old Covenant gloriously foreshadowed the New Exodus event of the New Covenant.  The Gospel story is the New Exodus story.  The following points show the identical correlation between the fleshly Old Exodus types and the corresponding spiritual New Exodus fulfilments in Jesus Christ:

  1. 1. Moses was born into lowly poverty and laid in a basket (Ex. 2:3).
    Jesus was born into lowly poverty and laid in a manger (Luke 2:7).

  2. 2. Moses “fled” to Egypt in a basket to escape death, Pharaoh’s infanticide (Ex. 2:1-10).  [Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob also prefigured the Exodus imagery.  They each “fled” to Egypt to escape death, famine.  They received “gifts” from the kings when they came out.]
    Jesus “fled” to Egypt with his parents to escape death, Herod’s infanticide (Mat. 2:13).

  3. 3. Moses forsook the pleasures of Egypt (Heb. 11:26) and was rejected of his brethren and men (Ex. 16:7-8, Num. 14:36).  He spent 40 years in the wilderness where, being called of God, he returned to be Israel’s deliverer and prophet (Acts 7:29-30). 
    Jesus forsook the pleasures of heaven (II Cor. 8:9) and was rejected of his brethren and men (Isa. 53:3, John 7:1-5).  Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness where, being called of God, he returned to be Israel’s deliverer and prophet (Luke 4:1-21, Rom. 11:26).  Christ is our “greater prophet” and mediator than Moses.  He has delivered his people from the slavery and bondage of sin (Egypt) through his own blood.

  4. 4. Moses appeared to Israel, performing miraculous signs and wonders – of affliction and death (Ex. 7:3).
    Jesus appeared to Israel, performing miraculous signs and wonders – of healing and life (Acts 2:22).

  5. 5. Israel killed male Passover lambs , without blemish (Ex. 12:5), which blood the destroying angel passed over (Ex. 12:13).
    Jesus is the true Passover Lamb (I Cor. 5:7), like that of a lamb without blemish or spot (I Peter 1:19), whose precious blood the wrath of God passes over (Rom. 5:9).

  6. 6. Israel’s Passover lamb was slain in the darkness of evening (Ex. 12:6).
    Jesus, the true Passover Lamb, was slain in a supernatural darkness which covered the land at his crucifixion (Mat. 27:45).

  7. 7. The Israelites were commanded to remove the leaven from their houses and eat the Passover with unleavened bread (Ex 12:8-17).
    Christians are commanded to remove the “old leaven” of sin from their hearts (I Cor. 5:6-8, Gal. 5:9).
  8. 8. Under Moses, the Feast of the Passover was inaugurated and observed (Ex. 34:25, Lev. 23:5).  It was the Old Covenant meal in which Israel looked for and anticipated her coming Messiah.
    Under Jesus, the Feast of the Passover was fulfilled and finalized.  At the final Passover meal, Jesus changed the celebration into the New Covenant meal (the Lord’s Supper), saying “this cup that is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20), “Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” (I Cor. 11:25).  In eating the bread and drinking the cup, the Church now anticipates the second coming of Jesus Christ in glory, “proclaiming the Lord’s death until he comes” (I Cor. 11:26).

  9. 9. The crossbeams of the lintel and doorpost were covered with the blood of the Passover lamb (Ex. 12:7).
    The wooden crossbeams of Jesus’ cross were covered with his own blood (Col. 1:20).

10. Through the Passover lamb, the Israelites were released from servile bondage to slavery under Pharaoh (Ex. 12:23-33).
Through Christ the Lamb, the elect are released from servile bondage to sin under the Law (Rom. 7:1-6).

11. At Israel’s Exodus deliverance, God led a host of captives to their destruction in the Red Sea and gave gifts to the Israelites, when they plundered the Egyptians (Ex. 3:22, 12:36). 
At the Church’s New Exodus deliverance, Jesus ascended on high and led a host of captives, and gave spiritual gifts to men (Eph. 4:7-8, Col. 2:15, Luke 11:21-22).

12. At Israel’s Exodus, Pharaoh and his army were destroyed (Ex. 15:4,19).
At the Church’s New Exodus, Satan and his army have been disarmed and are awaiting final destruction (Col. 2:15, Heb. 2:14, I John 3:8, John 16:11, Rev. 20:9-10).

13. Israel’s salvation came by the shedding of blood, fire, and water (Passover lamb, the protecting and illumining Pillar of Fire, the path through the Red Sea).
The Church’s salvation came by the shedding of blood, fire, water (Lamb of God, baptism with fire by the Holy Spirit, washing with water by the Word).

14. Egypt’s judgement and destruction came by blood, fire, and water (their own blood by destroying angel, the separating pillar of fire became darkness to them – Ex. 14:19-20, drowning in Red Sea).
The Church’s judgment came by blood, fire, and water.  This judgment was poured out upon Jesus Christ in Her place.  Jesus was destroyed by the shedding of his own blood (Heb. 9:12-14), the sweet smelling aroma of himself as the whole burnt offering, consumed by the fire of God’s wrath (Heb. 10:6-10), and the water which flowed from his side (John 19:34, I John 5:6).
The World’s final judgment has already begun at The Flood, and will be completed at the Last Day by the bloody destruction of unbelievers (Rev. 14:14-20), and the consuming fire of God’s wrath, being drowned in the “lake of fire” (II Peter 2:5-10, Rev. 20:9).

15. Israel glorified God and sang the song of Moses (Ex. 15:1).
The Church glorifies God and sings the new song of Moses and the Lamb (Rev. 15:3).

16. The Israelites celebrated the Feast of the Firstborn upon their deliverance from Egypt (Ex. 13:2), signifying that Israel, the Lord’s “firstborn son” (Ex. 4:22), had been figuratively raised from the dead when the destroying angel passed over Egypt, killing their firstborn.
The scriptures identify Jesus as the true “Firstborn from the dead” (Col. 1:18), signifying that his resurrection is the fulfilment of the Exodus type, and identifying him as God’s firstborn Son, actually resurrected from the dead.

17. Israel celebrated the Feast of Harvest, in which they brought the firstfruits of their crops into the house of the Lord as an offering for holy service (Ex. 23:16-19).
Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection from the dead (I Cor. 15:20-23) who has entered the heavenly tabernacle of the Lord (Heb. 9:24) as an offering for holy service (Eph. 5:2, Heb. 9:14).  Believers are firstfruits unto God (I Thes. 2:13, Rev. 14:4), bringing spiritual offerings for holy service, as they themselves are the spiritual house of the Lord (I Pet. 2:4-5) and are seated in heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 2:6).

18. The children of Israel passed under the cloud and through the Red Sea and were baptized unto Moses (I Cor. 10:2).
New Covenant believers pass through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and are “baptized into Jesus Christ” and “baptized into his death” (Rom. 6:3).

19. Three days before Israel received the Law, Moses ascended Mt. Sinai to mediate before God.  Moses was the mediator of the Old Covenant (Heb. 9:19-20) which has now passed away (II Cor. 3:7,11, 13, Heb. 8:13).
Three days before the Church received the Holy Spirit, Jesus ascended into Mt. Zion (Acts 1:9-11) to ever mediate before God (Heb. 9:11-15).  Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (Heb. 8:6, 9:15, 12:24) which is permanent (II Cor. 3:11).

20. Moses’ experience on Mt. Sinai in the presence of Jehovah caused his face to shine, and the people were afraid to come near to him. (Ex. 34:29-35, II Cor. 3:7, 13)
Jesus’ time on the Mount of Transfiguration caused his face to shine “like the sun” and his clothes to shine.  The disciples were initially afraid but were comforted by Jesus.  (Mat. 17:1-8).  The transfiguration was a ‘sneak-peak’ preview of Jesus’ resurrection glory on Mt. Zion, as new Lawgiver, “the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom” (Mat. 16:28).  God now shines in the hearts of believers “to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (II Cor. 4:6).  [See: “The Transfiguration” below]

21. Before receiving the Law, Israel sanctified and set themselves apart in prayer for 3 days (Exodus 19:10-11).
Before receiving the Holy Spirit, the Church sanctified and set themselves apart in prayer for 3 days (Acts 1:12-13).

22. Fifty days after the Passover was slain Israel received the Law of the covenant on Sinai, engraved on tables of stone in the hand of Moses, the mediator of the Old Covenant (Heb. 8:5-6).  “For the law was given through Moses . . . ” (John 1:17).
Fifty days after Christ our Passover was slain, the Church (at Pentecost) received a new Law, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:2) . . . written not on tablets of stone but on the tablets of human hearts (II Cor. 3:3), in the hand of Jesus, the mediator of the New Covenant (Heb. 12:24).  New Covenant believers now “serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code” (Rom. 7:6).   This is the very Spirit that the Prophets said would be poured out (Ezek. 39:29, Joel 2:28-29), the “promised Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:33, Gal. 3:14, Eph. 1:13).               “ . . . grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).
Indeed the apostle Paul affirms, “if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the Law (Gal. 5:18) and therefore exhorts believers to be “filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18) and to “walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:16), “live in the Spirit” (Gal. 5: 25), “pray in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18), “worship in the Spirit” (Phil. 3:3), and “love in the Spirit” (Col. 1:8).   If it is true that the “fruit of the Spirit is love” (Gal. 5:22), and “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:8-10, Gal. 5:14), and “God’s love is shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom. 5:5), then surely the Holy Spirit is, without question, the new ‘Law’ of the New Exodus in Christ, written upon our hearts through faith . . . “faith works through love” (Gal. 5:6).  To this end, believers “are not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:15).

[See: “The Law and the Christian” below]

23. On the day that Israel received the Law, there was thunder, trumpet blasts, and the terrifying voice of God, accompanied with lightning, fire, and smoke resting on Mt. Sinai.
On the day that the Church received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, there was a mighty rushing wind and cloven tongues of fire resting upon the saints, accompanied by the joyous voice of God speaking through the Spirit-filled saints, “as the Spirit gave them utterance” proclaiming the “wonderful works of God” (Acts 2:1-11). 
Peter signifies that this event is the New Exodus when he quotes from the Prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-32).  Notice Joel’s Exodus-event imagery – Signs, Wonders, Water, Blood, Fire, and Cloud:

“And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit (An image of water, as in Israel’s baptism through the water of the cloud and Red Sea – see I Cor. 10:2) on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.   And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs (Moses and Jesus did signs and wonders) on the earth below, blood (Passover Lamb), and fire (Pillar of Fire – Ex. 13:21), and vapor of smoke (Pillar of Cloud – Ex. 13:21); the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.   And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:17-21).
It is significant to note that this Exodus theme of blood, fire and water reoccurs in I John 5:6-8: “This is he who came by water and blood–Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit (Spirit = Fire – see Matt. 3:11, Luke 3:16) is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.  For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.”

24. Israel came to Mt. Sinai, “to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.  For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.”  Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear” (Heb. 12:18-21).
The Church comes to Mt. Zion, “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Heb.12:22-24).

25. At Sinai, Israel received the Old Covenant.  Israel was given a conditional covenant promise based on their own legal obedience to the external Law code (Ex. 19:5-6).
The Church having come to Mount Zion, not Mt. Sinai (Heb. 12:18-24), has received the New Covenant.  The Church has received the very same covenant promise that Israel was given, only now it is given unconditionally through grace (I Peter 2:9-10) and is rooted in Christ’s legal obedience to the demands of the Old Covenant in Her place (Rom. 8:3-4).  Christ has thus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets and brought the Old Covenant to an end (Mat. 5:17, Rom. 10:4).

26. Those who set aside the Law of Moses died without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses (Heb. 10:28).
Those who spurn the Son of God, profane the blood of the New Covenant, and outrage the Sprit of grace (the new “Law”) are deserving of far worse punishment – a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries (Heb. 10:26-31).

27. After the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai about 3000 Israelites died in one day (Ex. 32:28).
After the giving of the Holy Spirit from Mt. Zion at Pentecost about 3000 souls were saved in one day (Acts 2:41).

28. Moses prophesied that a greater Prophet than himself would appear, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers–it is to him you shall listen” (Deut. 18:15).
Jesus is the greater Prophet than Moses, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45, Acts 3:22-26).

29. Israel was given the tabernacle to establish God’s dwelling place among them (Ex. 25:9).  Moses interceded in the tabernacle at the mercy seat (Num. 7:89).
The resurrected Jesus has entered the true tabernacle in heaven to intercede for his Church (Heb. 8:1-5, 9:11-12).  Christ “tabernacles” in his people through the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 3:16) and “dwells in them and walks in them” (II Cor. 6:16).

30. The Levitical priests partook of the sacrifices offered on the altar (Lev. 10:12).
Christians are spiritual priests (I Peter 2:5,9, Rev. 1:6, 5:10) and partake of the one Sacrifice (Jesus Christ) offered on the true altar (Heb. 13:10-13).

31. After 3 days in the wilderness, Moses turned the “bitter water” into “sweet water” (Ex. 15:22-25).
On the third day of Jesus’ public ministry he attended a wedding at Cana of Galilee.  Jesus turned the (bitter water) dirty purification water into (sweet water) wine (John 2:1-9).

32. Israel was judged by serpents and was commanded to look upon the brass serpent and live (Num. 21: 4-9).
Christ became a curse, being hung on a tree (Gal. 3:13), and was lifted up as the serpent was in the wilderness, so that all who look upon him receive eternal life (John 3:14-15).

33. Israel made warfare against her physical enemies (Num 21:32-35).
The Church makes warfare against her spiritual enemies (Luke 10:17-20, Eph. 6:12).

34. Israel received a daily portion of manna from heaven every day (Ex. 16:4).
The Church is to pray “give us each day our daily bread” (Luke 11:3).

35. The Law-based Old Covenant was a “ministry of death” and a “ministry of condemnation” which was being brought to and end (II Cor. 3:7, 9, 11, 13, Heb. 8:13).
The grace-based New Covenant is a “ministry of the Spirit” and a “ministry of righteousness” which far exceeds the Old in glory and is permanent (II Cor. 3:7-11).  For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (II Cor. 3:6, Heb. 8:13).

36. The external Law was a ceremonial and legal function of the Levitical priesthood (Deut. 17:18).
The new internal law of the Spirit (Rom. 7:6, 8:2) is a spiritual function of Christ’s new Melchizedek priesthood (Heb. 7:11-12).

37. Israel built an earthly temple after entering the Promised Land (I Kings 8:17-20).
God is presently constructing a permanent spiritual temple with “living stones” (believers), to be completed at the Last Day (I Pet. 2:5, Rev. 21).

38. Israel sojourned in the wilderness, awaiting the earthly Promised Land.
The Church sojourns on the earth, awaiting a new heavens and new earth, “looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10-16), and yet She is already seated with Christ in heaven (Eph. 2:6).

39. God supernaturally caused Israel’s outward clothing not wear out during their 40 year sojourn in the wilderness (Deut. 8:4, 29:5).
God supernaturally causes believers’ “inner self” to be renewed day by day (II Cor. 4:16) during their sojourn in their temporary “tent”, as they long for their “heavenly dwelling”, “a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (II Cor. 5:1-3).

40. Israel belonged to a literal earthly Jerusalem, enslaved under legal bondage to the Law and sin (Gal 4:3-5, 25).
The Church belongs to the true heavenly Jerusalem, for “the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother” (Gal. 4:26, Heb. 12:22, Rev. 21:10).  This Jerusalem is under grace, not under law (Rom. 6:14-15).  She is no longer enslaved to sin (Rom. 6:17), and is set free from the Law (Rom. 7:1-6, Gal. 5:1).

41. Israel received conditional “If, then” blessings for legal obedience to the Old Covenant (Deuteronomy 28:1-14).
Jesus gave his disciples unconditional “blessed are” New Covenant blessings (Mat. 5:1-11).

42. Israel received conditional “If, then” curses for legal disobedience to the Old Covenant (Deut. 28: 15-68).  An entire generation of Israel was judged and destroyed after the Exodus during 40 years of wilderness wandering, because of faithless disobedience (Heb. 3:16-19).
Jesus gave his unbelieving people unconditional prophetic curses regarding the soon destruction of Jerusalem, using the language of Deuteronomy 28:52 (Luke 19:43-44, 21:2024, Mat. 24:1-2).  Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70, approximately 40 years after the New Exodus.  Historian Josephus describes the starvation and cannibalism caused by devastating siege of Jerusalem by Titus exactly as Deuteronomy 28:52-57 foretells.

43. Israel’s circumcision was made in the flesh (Gen. 17:24) of the physical children of the Old Covenant.  Newborn male infants received an external seal of circumcision of their foreskins on the eighth day (Lev. 12:2-3).  This circumcision was merely an outward fleshly rite.  It could not save or impart grace.  It was merely an external representation (sign) of the “seal of righteousness” which comes by faith (Rom. 4:11), the “righteousness of faith” (Rom. 4:13).
The Church, the true Israel of God (Gal. 6:16), received a “circumcision of the heart made without hands” (Col. 2:11).  The Church’s infants are those who are spiritually “born again” of the Holy Spirit, by grace, through personal faith (John 3:3-8, I Peter 1:3).  These newborn “infants in Christ” (I Cor. 3:1) receive the true inward seal of circumcision (Eph. 1:13, 4:30) of their hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 2:29, Col. 2:11, Phil. 3:3).  The Holy Spirit is the true seal of inward righteousness (Rom. 8:4).  This circumcision is internal, spiritual, life-giving, and completely saving.

44. Joshua (meaning: Jehovah is salvation) led Israel over the Jordan into the Promised Land and slew the nations and their kings (Josh. 10-12).
Jesus (meaning: Jehovah is salvation) leads the true Israel over the Jordan of death into Heaven and gives life to the nations, and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it (Rev. 21:23-25).

Through the New Exodus paradigm we see that the Church is the true Israel of God (Gal. 6:16, Rom. 2:28-29, 9:6-8, Rev. 7), the true circumcision (Phil. 3:3) and the end-time eschatological Temple filled with the Holy Spirit of Christ (I Cor. 3:16-17).  True infants of the New Covenant are those “infants in Christ” (I Cor. 3:1) who have been born into the covenant by being spiritually “born again” by grace, through personal faith (John 3:3-6,  I Pet. 1:3), by “the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:13),.  They receive the seal of circumcision (Eph. 1:13, 4:30) upon their hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 2:29, Col. 2:11).  The Holy Spirit is the law of the New Covenant, “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:2), written “not on tablets of stone but on the tablets of human hearts” (II Cor. 3:3).  Believers in Christ are now a royal kingly priesthood unto God, bringing sacrifices of praise and righteousness (I Pet. 2:5-9) and serving in the “new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code” (Rom. 7:6).  They are seated with Christ in heaven, sharing his Kingly rule and reign on the earth (Eph.2:6, Col. 3:3, Rev. 5:10).  Jesus is our Mediator of the New Covenant (Heb. 9:15, 12:24).  It is a “better covenant” than Moses’ covenant (Heb. 7:22), “since it is enacted on better promises” (Heb. 8:6).  Indeed, our exalted “Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses” (Heb. 3:3).  He is our Prophet, greater than Moses (Acts 3:22).  He is our Great High Priest, after the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 6:20).  He is our eternal King, the true Son of David (Luke 1:32-33).  Jesus himself is the true living water (John 4:10) from the true spiritual Rock (I Cor. 10:4).  He is the true heavenly bread/manna (John 6:33) and the true Sabbath rest of the New Covenant (Mat.  11:29030, Col. 2:16-17, Heb. 4:8-10).  In place of the Passover meal, the Church of Jesus Christ now celebrates the New Covenant in his blood.  Behold, old things have passed away, and all things have become gloriously new!

All of the Biblical patterns fit together perfectly.  All of the prophets give witness, and all the apostles agree together with one unified voice.  The Gospel message which Jesus and the apostles proclaimed often began with the retelling of Moses and the Prophets (Acts 28:23), thereby demonstrating that they were expounding the Good News of the Kingdom through the lens of the Exodus event.  It is the very message that made the two apostles’ hearts burn within them as the resurrected Jesus, the unknown traveller, expounded the Word to them, “beginning with Moses,” on the Emmaus road (Luke 24:24-32).  It was the bold declaration of Peter after Pentecost (Acts 3:22).  It was the sermon which the blessed martyr Stephen gave witness to with his own blood (Acts 7).  It was the rich New Covenant language and theology of the apostle Paul and the other New Testament writers.  With this entire weight of Biblical evidence set forth, it is clear that the New Exodus paradigm is what the Scripture is testifying about itself concerning the New Covenant salvation in Jesus Christ.  It is my prayer that these truths may abound in the midst of today’s Church, re-igniting a passion for the study of God’s Word and causing the grace, knowledge, and love of Jesus Christ to abound with “all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit we may abound in hope” (Rom. 15:13)

Covenants of Promise: The Faith of the OT Saints

The Scriptures speak of the “covenants of promise” in addition to the Old and New Covenant:

“Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12).  Under the Old Covenant the Gentiles were outside of (alienated from) the fleshly commonwealth of Israel and her covenants of promise.  But, praise be to God we have been brought into the full spiritual inheritance and particiapation of them, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13).

The “covenants of promise” were specific covenants that God made at certain times throughout redemptive history, which contained a promise of future blessing.  Each of these covenants had two fulfillments: a literal fulfillment (the temporary Old Covenant type), which would eventually pass away, and a true spiritual fulfillment (the permanent New Covenant antitype) concerning Christ.  For the sake of brevity only two covenants of promise will be briefly examined:

  1. 1. Abrahamic Covenant Promises
  2. Abraham would bear a Seed (Gen.  17:7) = type (Gen. 17:9) / antitype (Gal. 3:16)
  3. Abraham would become a great nation (Gen 12:2) = type (II Sam. 7:23) / antitype (Rev. 5:9)
  4. Abraham would inherit a land (Gen. 12:7) = type (Jos. 22:4) / antitype  (Rom. 4:13, II Pet. 3:13)

Abraham’s faith was not fixed on the literal earthly fulfilments of the promises that he received.  Rather, he saw, by faith, the true spiritual realities which they represented:

Heb. 11:10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

Heb. 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

Heb. 11:16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

  1. 2. Davidic Covenant Promise
    1. David’s sons would reign forever ( II Chr. 13:5) = type (I Kings 1:39) / antitype (Mat. 1:1, Rom. 1:1-3)

David saw by faith that his Son was not a merely a fleshly descendant, but the Lord himself:

Acts 2:29-31 Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

In the same way all the saints saw and believed, by faith, the true spiritual realities of Christ which the prophetic and covenant promises foreshadowed.  Adam named his wife “Eve”, meaning ‘giver of life’, in response to God’s promise that the Seed of the woman would destroy the seed of the serpent (Gen. 3:20). Enoch believed in the final resurrection and judgment (Jude 1:14-15).  Job believed in a future Redeemer and the resurrection of his body (Job 19:25-27).  Noah was a preacher of righteousness (II Peter 2:5) and was an heir of the “righteousness which is by faith” (Heb. 11:7).  Isaac was a child of promise and was born after the Spirit, just as we are (Gal. 4:28-29, Rom. (9:6-8).  The Prophets “inquired carefully” about the sufferings of Christ which they prophesied by the “Spirit of Christ in them” (I Peter 1:10-12).

The Transfiguration

Moses appeared in glory with Elijah at the transfiguration and spoke with Jesus about his “departure” (meaning: exodus) that he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31).  This event with Elijah and Moses communicates powerful spiritual parallels.  Both Elijah and Moses were passing the prophetic ‘mantel’ of their respective ministries over to Jesus, so to speak.  Jesus is the new Moses, the new Exodus Deliverer, the mediator of the New Covenant (Heb. 9:15, 12:24) whose face shone “like the sun” (Mat. 17:2, Rev. 1:16) at the giving of the new Law (Holy Spirit) from Mt. Zion.  Indeed, Jesus explains that the prophecy concerning Elijah’s appearing (Mal. 4:5) is fulfilled in John the Baptist (Mat. 17:10-13).  However, Jesus also takes upon himself the mantel of Elijah as the new prophet of fire, who calls down fire on His enemies at the Last Day (II Peter 3:12, Rev. 20:9) as Elijah did (II Kings 1:10).  It also shows that the complete judgement of the world has been accomplished through blood, fire, and water, all the elements of the Exodus judgement against Egypt (firstborn of Egypt slain, separation by the pillar of fire which became darkness to them, drowning in the Red Sea).  The judgement of the world (spiritual Egypt) has  already begun at The Flood, and will be completed at the Last Day by the bloody destruction of unbelievers (Rev. 14:14-20), and the consuming “lake of fire” of God’s wrath (II Peter 2:5-10, Rev. 20:9).  All of this imagery shows that Jesus is truly fulfilling the Law and Prophets.  Jesus’ transfiguration was a ‘sneak-peak’ glimpse of His resurrection glory as the “Son of Man coming in His Kingdom” (Mat. 16:28).   So, indeed it was an image of Jesus as the new Lawgiver, with his shining face after his ascension to the heavenly Mt. Zion (Heb. 12:18-22), in the same way that Moses’ face shone when he descended from Mt. Sinai (Ex 34:29-30).  This new Lawgiver uses no veil to conceal his glory like Moses did (II Cor. 3:16-18).  His people are not afraid but are “beholding the glory of the Lord, and being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (II Cor. 3:18), as they behold his glorious face by faith (II Cor.4:6).   They are being restored into the “image of God” which they lost at the fall, the very image of Jesus Christ (II Cor. 4:4).  Jesus is truly the New Covenant fulfillment of all the Old Covenant types and promises.  It is interesting to note that the imagery of Elijah and Moses, the “two witnesses”, are described in Revelation 11.  Since Jesus fulfills the prophetic ministry of both prophets, the passage is therefore describing the ministry of Jesus’ everlasting Gospel going forth in the earth through his suffering and persecuted Body, the Church.


The Law and the Christian

There is therefore now no (legal) condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1).  Instead of terror and dread, the Holy Spirit of Christ, who is the new “law” of the New Covenant, produces “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17).  Law terrors are completely abolished for those who are in Christ.  Granted, our sin grieves the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30) and, consequently, our consciences are injured when we sin.  Yet this Godly sorrow is entirely the work of the Holy Spirit and is much different than fleshly, self-centred, legal terror brought about by the external Law.  The Holy Spirit of Christ is the sole means of our sanctification (I Cor. 6:11, II Thes. 2:13, I Peter 1:2).  The Holy Spirit is the means whereby sin is mortified in our lives, not the Mosaic Law; “for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live (Rom. 8:13).  But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh (Gal. 5:16).  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit (Gal. 5:24-25).

Nowhere in the New Testament record are there examples of the Good News being preached with the Law preceding it in order to “prepare” hearts.  Just the opposite . . . the Good News goes forth freely with exceeding great joy, uninhibited, unfettered, and unaccompanied!  The Pentecost sermon of Acts 2 describes the Holy Spirit as the means whereby sinners are “cut to the heart” with conviction for sin (Acts 2:37).

Furthermore, the Apostle Paul never rebukes the erring Corinthians or Galatians with a healthy dose of the Law.  The Mosaic Law is never expounded in an “experiential” manner in the New Testament to produce sorrow or repentance.  Rather, Paul points the erring Galatian church back to the Holy Spirit (Gal. 3:3), in opposition to their walking in the flesh.  Sadly, many churches today are seated under the shadow of Sinai, under bondage to fear (Rom. 8:15) and not under the full liberty of free grace (Rom. 6:14, Gal. 5:1).

The New Testament is abundantly clear that the Gospel is GOOD NEWS of joy and assurance to all who believe it:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Rom. 15:13).

“And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit“ (I Thes. 1:6).

“Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ . . . So there was much joy in that city” (Acts 8:5-8).

“And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing“ (Acts 8:39).

“And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48).

“But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit“ (Acts 13:51-52).

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:22).

While it may immediately appear that this New Exodus view espouses “anti-nomianism,” it assuredly does not.  Rather than doing away with the Moral Law it recognizes that the Old Covenant type (Mosaic Law), as written on tables of stone, has given way to the New Covenant spiritual reality, the very Holy Spirit of Christ, written on the tables of our hearts.  This new Law of the Spirit is the means by which we are being transformed into the glorious image of Jesus Christ, from glory to glory, as we behold His face in the Word, by faith.  In this way, the Moral Law is no longer an external force which acts upon us from the outside.  Now we learn Christ (Eph. 4:20), the very image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15), who writes Himself upon our hearts by His Holy Spirit.  The Law of God is now spiritual and glorious.

Therefore, to transgress this new Law is to do “despite to the Spirit of grace” (Heb. 10:29), “grieve” the Spirit (Eph. 4:30), and, most seriously, commit blasphemy against the Holy Ghost (Mark 3:29, Luke 12:10).

In this way, the Moral Law of God is fulfilled spiritually, being effectually and irresistibly applied to our hearts – no longer the curse that it once was to those who heard it and trembled under the Old Covenant.  We now come to Mt. Zion with joy and gladness and “to innumerable angels in festal gathering” (Heb. 12:22-24).

Furthermore, this New Exodus understanding of the Holy Spirit does not abrogate or diminish the absolute necessity for the written Word of God in the Christian’s life.  The written moral propositions and ethics of Scripture are indispensable for the Christian.  The Christian faith is a body of propositional knowledge that must be learned, studied, and applied, by faith alone, through grace alone.  The Scriptures make this abundantly clear.  The Holy Spirit works in, with, and through the written and preached Word to make it effectual in those he calls and ordains to eternal life.

Therefore, it would be heterodoxy to say that all we need now is the Spirit with no other ethical or propositional written Truth required.  This would be pure existential mysticism, which would result in moral relativism.

The understanding that the Holy Spirit is the new law given from Zion, vs. the Law given from Sinai, means, most simply, that God’s righteous moral character (the original sinless “image” into which we were first created) is now a Divine Person who works this righteousness effectually and powerfully upon the tables of our hearts, as opposed to external rules written on lifeless tables of stone.

In this New Covenant age, the Law itself IS Christ, the Holy Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:2, 9).  He works His glorious transformative Law work in our hearts, by faith, as we behold His glory in the written propositions of Scripture alone.  Jesus taught that true law keeping is a matter of the heart, as in adultery (Mat. 5:28).  Paul taught the same in I Corinthians 13 where he expounds the “better way” of love.  Love is the fulfillment of all the Law, love toward God and love toward neighbour (Mat. 22:36-40, Rom. 13:8-10, Col. 3:14, Gal. 5:14, James 2:8).  Therefore, Love equals true Law fulfillment.  And true regenerate Christian love of this calibre is wholly a work and fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22), against such things there is no Old Covenant Law (of threats and terror).  This new law is the person of the Holy Spirit.  This new law is Christ Himself within us (Col. 1:27), for God is Love (I John 4:16).  Therefore, Christians are to be true law keepers, not by merely keeping an external list of rules ever so strictly, but by being filled with the Holy Spirit of Christ and walking in divine Love.  This is the essence of       I Corinthians 13 – it is possible to do, and sacrifice, and labour, and work, and strive ever so religiously and piously (like the Pharisees) – yet without divinely wrought Love, the true work of the Spirit of Christ in the heart, it is nothing.

In this way, New Covenant believers are under a new pedagogue for righteousness.  Not an external list of commandments, which were only a shadow of the true, but a new spiritual heart of loving obedience to the Word of Christ through the Holy Spirit of Christ poured out upon His people.

The issue may be pled that Christians are still sinners and, as such, still require the Law to make them see their sin drive them back to Christ.  It is a given that Christians still sin and wrestle against the flesh, but Paul never pointed his erring recipients back to Moses for sanctification under the terrors of the Law.  Rather he pointed them to Christ and the Holy Spirit (Gal. 3:2-4).  We are to wrestle against the flesh by the mortifying and sanctifying power of the Spirit.  Paul continually differentiated between walking in the flesh and walking in the Spirit.  A concordance search of all the verses that contain both “flesh” and “Spirit” will show this distinction.

The classical Reformed view understands that the Law’s function is to lead people to Christ (justification) and back to Christ for good works (sanctification).  It is to make them see their need of salvation at all times.  This is based on Galatians 3:22-24 and I Tim. 1:8-10.

While I can agree with the first part of that idea (that the Law imprisons everything under sin, until Christ comes, so that we may be justified by faith), I do not agree with the latter for these reasons:

”But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith” (Gal. 3:25-26).

”Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted” (I Tim. 1:8-11).

Once we are in Christ and sealed with the Spirit, the Law and its curse is completely abrogated.  It ceases to be that old external guardian that condemns us and produces death.  It is not laid down for the just.  There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1). We are now married to another, even Christ (Rom. 7:1-6).  The Law no longer enslaves us under the dominion of sin and death.  Rather, the New Covenant “law” (Holy Spirit) becomes our internal guardian, working in us eternal life, by the effectual working of the Word.  This new “law” produces in us all joy and peace in believing (Rom. 15:13).  ”For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Rom. 8:15).

To this end, we should never cease praying that God would rend the heavens and pour out His glorious and powerful Holy Spirit upon us in mighty ways!  O how the Church in our day so desperately needs this.  O that we would truly be filled and enflamed with the Spirit of the risen and exalted Christ.

The Old Covenant Prophets Foretell of a

New Exodus / New Covenant Salvation:

  • A new Moses would come.  Deut. 18:15 = Acts 3:22
  • A son born, who is God, who is the new divine David, with an everlasting kingdom.  Isa. 9:6-7
  • A new Exodus deliverance for a new people. Isa. 11:11-16, 43:13-21
  • A new deliverance from hard bondage.  Isa. 14:3
  • A new suffering servant.  Isa. 53
  • A new deliverer/liberator.  Isa. 61
  • A new song of praise.  Isa. 42:10 = Rev. 15:3
  • A new mountain.  Isa. 2:1-3 = Heb. 12:22
  • A new Law-giver for the nations.  Isa. 42:1-6
  • A new Israel.  Isa. 60 = Gal. 6:16
  • A new Jerusalem.  Isa. 62
  • A new Mount (Zion) and new Jerusalem. Jer. 3:14-18
  • A new Covenant – with a new law written on the heart.  Jer. 31:31-40, Jer. 32:40 = II Cor. 3:3-9, Heb. 8:7-13,  10:16,  12:24 (new law covenant).
  • A new David, a new Law-giver, a new priesthood, an everlasting covenant.  Jer. 33:14-26
  • A new Israel with no iniquity – fully pardoned.  Jer. 50:20
  • A new covenant of peace, with a new David.  Eze. 34:22-25
  • A new David, a new covenant of peace, a new obedience, a new tabernacle. Eze. 37:24-28 = II Cor. 6:16
  • A new heart, a new law obedience.  Eze. 36:26-27
  • A new heart, a new spirit, a new law obedience.  Eze. 11:19-20
  • A new temple.  A new priesthood.  Eze. 40 to 48 = I Cor.3:16-17, I Cor. 6:19, II Cor. 6:16
  • A new indwelling of God.  Zech. 2:10-13
  • A new era for Israel – righteousness and peace, deliverance from captivity.  Zech. 3:9-20
  • A divine house of David.  Zech. 12:8-10
  • A new Spirit to be poured out.  Isa. 44:3, Eze. 39:29, Joel 2:28-31 = Acts 2:16-19
  • A new era for Israel.  Joel 3
  • A new covenant betrothal.  Hos. 2:18-23
  • A new tabernacle of David.  Amos 9:11 = Acts 15:14-17
  • A new Elijah.  Mal. 4:5-6 = Mat. 11:12-14
  • A new PASSOVER LAMB!  John 1:29, 36

“The primary failure of reformed Evangelicalism is that we have not focused on the texts of Scripture; we have focused on the texts of the confessions.  Being reformed is not being committed to the confessions, it is being committed to the convictions of the reformers, that of on-going Scriptural reform.”

– Dr. Tom Holland, Wales Evangelical School of Theology –

Davao Church Update-New Tribal Bible Study

Ernie (in the blue shirt) and Pastor Bosay from our church in Pamuhatan,  received permission from the tribal chieftains to start a new bible study.  20 were in attendance not counting children. This meeting was held in Baganihan on Friday, June 11.   Our upcoming Sept-Oct 2010 pastor conferences and evangelistic meetings report can be found here –  Davao-update

New Covenant World View

Baruch is a native Israeli who is a Christian pastor and well known author.

ALSO NOTE THIS:

Baruch has also been just as vocal in criticizing the Israeli government on certain issues in his articles.

This article is taken from his Breaking News column at www.themaozweb.com

You are welcome to distribute it as widely as you wish. If you do, please quote www.themaozweb.com


Baruch Maoz

Gaza Flotilla

Update No. 10

June 4 2010

The Flotilla

Eight ships, including four cargo vessels, headed for Gaza in defiance of a combined Israeli and Egyptian closure on the territory, clashed with Israeli troops.

Israel acted according to International law, defending itself on the high seas against efforts to aid Hamas, internationally recognized as a terrorist organization which has openly avowed its intention to destroy Israel.

Both Israel and Egypt have imposed a closure on Gaza and cooperate in maintaining it. Egypt has carefully avoided the public eye over this affair.

Who Initiated the Flotilla

The recent attempt to break Israel and Egypt’s blockade of Gaza was initiated by a Turkish organization, Insani Yardim Vakfi (IHH), founded in Turkey in 1992, registered in 1995 and is presently led by Bülent Yildirim. London’s Daily Telegraph has described the IHH as “a radical Islamist group masquerading as a humanitarian agency.” According to the Wikipedia, several newspapers and credible international terrorism research institutions have indicate the organization’s links with Al-Qaeda and other global jihad networks. Henri Barkey, an analyst for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that the IHH is, “an Islamist organization … deeply involved with Hamas.”

In 2006, the Danish Institute for International Studies published a report titled “The Role of Islamic Charities in International Terrorist Recruitment and Financing”. This report was authored by American analyst Evan Kholman. Kohlman claims that major international Islamic charities, such as IHH, provide genuine humanitarian relief, but their charitable activities actually function as a façade, and that all such are “charitable front groups that provide support to Al-Qaida.” Kohlman also blamed IHH for assisting the Iraqi Sunni insurgency that claimed so many Iraqi and American lives, and reminded his readers of a 1997 raid of IHH offices in Istanbul, following which the Turkish police found weapons, explosives and bomb-making instructions including “firearms, explosives, bomb-making instructions” and records of telephone conversations to an al-Qaida guest house in Milan.

The Turkish-based Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH), an Islamic charity that organized the flotilla, has publicly described its connections to Egypt’s radical Islamic Brotherhood and to Hamas. It has been a central actor in financing terror for Hamas worldwide. For example, a 2006 report by the Danish Institute for International Studies written by counter-terrorism expert Evan Kohlmann described the IHH as a front for funding terrorist organizations, and for recruiting and sending fighters to countries such as Afghanistan, Bosnia and Chechnya. Interrogation of passengers who were aboard the Marmara – the Gaza aid flotilla’s flagship – has revealed that the majority of those who attacked the Israeli troops have direct and indirect Global Jihad ties, and were recruited by the same IHH handler who organized the flotilla. A number stated prior to boarding the ship that, in so doing, they were engaging in world-wide Jihad. Some wrote their wills in radical Islamic fashion, expecting to die as martyrs.

The Openly Professed Goal

The passengers, claimed they were innocent citizens, peace activists, on their way to provide Gaza with needed supplies. Their conduct was anything but peaceful.There is no shortage of supplies in Gaza, as Israel weekly assists the import into Gaza of 15,000 tons of food and other supplies. Food, medicine and all basic supplies are allowed in without limit, and Gazan exports to Europe and the rest of the world assisted. A UN investigation confirmed there is no humanitarian crises in Gaza. Knesset Member Zuabi, an Israeli Arab parliamentarian who took part in the flotilla’s attempt openly stated that the purpose for which the flotilla was organized was specifically to force Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza.

A search of the vessel’s cargo has revealed a very small quantity of what could be termed humanitarian supplies, but extremely large caches of knives, axes, crow bar, metal and wooden clubs, chains and other cold weapons.  Israel offered to allow the supplies into Gaza, subject to inspection. The offer was rejected, coupled with an explanation that the aim of the flotilla was to force liftage of the siege imposed on Gaza.

Israel imposed its part of the siege following repeated rockets attacks and aggressive intrusions from Gaza, peaked by an intrusion three years ago that ended with the kidnapping of Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who has been held incommunicado ever since. Egypt imposed its siege due to the threat the extreme Hamas regime represents to the stability of Egypt.  In the past, Israel offered to lift its siege of the Hamas-led regime in Gaza provided if Hamas released Shalit, brought an end to the attacks and ceased its weapons smuggling. Hamas rejected the offer, which still stands. The international recent demand that Israel lifts its blockade of Gaza is meant by its instigators to leave Israel defenseless.

The blockade is as legal, as justified and as necessary as was President Kennedy’s blockade of Cuba when Russia moved attack missiles onto Cuban soil.

The Boarding

The operation began at about 4:30 A.M. on Monday. The flotilla was ordered, according to international law, to change course. Following a final warning, while drawing near the largest of the vessels in the flotilla, the Mavi Marmara, stun grenades were thrown at the Israeli boats and men on the Mavi Marmara brandished various cold weapons. Nevertheless, the Israel soldiers were dropped onto the Mavi Marmara equipped with paint-gun rifles and merely their side arms for personal defense. Upon boarding, the seals discovered that women, children and the elderly had been ordered to the lower decks. The seals were confronted by dozens of activists, attacking in an organized manner.

As seen on a video documenting the takeover, the first four commandos to rappel onto the deck were attacked by activists with bars, axes and knives. The fourth commando, K., saw his team leader on the deck, with a professed peace activist holding a pistol, snatched from the team leader and pointing it to his head. K. jumped from the rope and shot the activist. This happened 20 seconds after the first soldier landed on the deck. The commandos cared for the wounded and secured part of the upper deck.

Two minutes after the incident began, following shooting by the activists, the naval commandos were permitted to use live ammunition. Prior to that, they had been strictly ordered to refrain from the use of lethal force, except in self defense. Post-operation assessments have the number of hard-core activists involved in the fighting at between 60 and 100. They were trained, experienced in hand-to-hand fighting (some of them did not retreat when shots were fired) and well equipped. An arsenal of cold weapons was found, including scores of knives and code books used to pass on orders from group leaders. The activists had prepared for the boarding by accumulating a large number of metal bars, and had brought materials and electric saws with them as they entered the ship. Obviously, they were preparing for a battle.

Six minutes into the operation, another force landed from a second helicopter. They discovered that three of their men were missing and began looking for them. A short while later dozens more soldiers boarded the ship. The search involved limited shooting on the bridge and on the lower deck, until the three men were recovered. They had been stunned and dragged into a cabin, apparently in an attempt to kidnap and bring them to Gaza, where Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is held for the last three years.

The soldiers reported that the activists had fired on them during the confrontation. At least two Israeli commandos suffered gunshot wounds. After the incident, 9mm bullet casings of the kind ammunition not used by the seals were found on deck, as well as other ammunition cases and a sniper’s gun sight.  The captain of the ship told the naval commando chief that activists threw guns overboard before the take-over was completed.

The wounded activists, together with wounded Israeli soldiers, were airlifted to Israel for treatment. Some of the activists were seriously injured, and their lives were saved by the immediate evacuation.

Go to the following link for a relevant video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzqcqNPHkk4&feature=popular

Peace Activists Anything But Peaceful

“The attack on the Israeli soldiers was beyond all doubt premeditated. The weapons used had been prepared in advance,” Israeli Ambassador, Aharon Leshno Yaar said, Tuesday June 1, in Geneva meeting. This was not a humanitarian mission but one of provocation and incitement. Flotilla passengers were made up of two kinds. Hiding among the majority of “useful fools“, naive enough to be used by the rest, was a specially recruited body of men. These carried no identification papers, were all able bodied, young and physically impressive. They were equipped with cold weapons(knives, clubs, axes, chains, hammers and other heavy metal tools), night vision equipment, military grade flack-jackets, and gas masks. They were organized in detachments and led by a body of trained men.

These men used knives and clubs as soon as the first Israeli soldiers boarded the ships, equipped with paint guns. They shot two soldiers, leaving the Israeli forces had no choice but to defend themselves.  They were briefed in advance and divided into two main groups, the largest being posted on the upper deck.  Some of this group’s members had stated that they had written their last will and testament.” (The Daily Telegraph, Richard Spencer, May 31 2010). Obviously, they had come with the clear intention to force Israeli troops to use lethal force.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stated Tuesday that Israel deeply regretted the loss of nine lives, but defended the Israel Defense Forces soldiers and commended their restraint. “This was not a peace flotilla, but a violent force,” he said.

Boarding the Flotilla

According to international law, Israeli troops boarded the vessels in international waters, following prior warning. The commando troops were equipped with paint-gun rifles, indicative of their intention to avoid violence. They carried handguns but were ordered not to use them except in self defense.

Upon boarding the vessels, they were attacked with knives and metal clubs, fired upon and thrown from the upper to the lower deck. One soldier sustained severe head wounds. Still the soldiers showed restraint until, in response to the gun fire, they were ordered to use discriminate lethal force when necessary. They did so, aiming only at those who attacked them and whom they could not restrain by other means. Nine passengers were killed and some 50 wounded. The large number of casualties is indicative of the level of violence used against the soldiers.

The captain of the elite marines unit who carried out the operation said Tuesday. “We knew there would be resistance, but not at such a strong level,” said R., who was wounded in the mission. “They tried to kill us“, he said.  R. was the second commando to be dropped from a military helicopter onto the Turkish-flagged ship. During the mission, a large mob of the activists hurled him from the upper to lower deck of the ship. From the Hospital in Haifa, R. said that every commando who entered the ship was met by a number of activists who charged the soldiers and physically attacked them.

An overwhelming majority of the activists in the vessels boarded by Israeli troops took part in what the soldiers later described as an attempted “lynch.” “I was the second to be lowered in by rope,” said R. “My comrade who had already been dropped in was surrounded by a bunch of people. It started off as a one-on-one fight, but then more and more people started jumping us. I had to fight against quite a few terrorists who were armed with knives and batons.”

R., an officer, said that he was forced to cock his gun and shoot once when one of the activists came toward him with a knife. “At that point, another twenty people starting coming at me from every direction,” said R. “They jumped at me and hurled me to the deck below the bridge. Then I felt a stabbing in my stomach – it was a knife. I pulled it out and somehow managed to get to the lower level. There, was another mob of people.”

The unit had seized control of the ship by that point, save for the lower-most level. “Another soldier and I managed to get out of there and jump into the water.”  The commandos had been prepared for the mission, said R., and had taken into account that the activists might respond with violence. “We thought it would be passive resistance, maybe verbal, but not at such strength,” he said. Despite the tragic results, R. said he felt his soldiers had operated in a justified fashion. “We worked in an outstanding way, in accordance to the humane values instilled in us by the army,” he said. “We only turned our weapons against those who put us in danger.”

The Troop’s Behavior

Former US Ambassador to Mauritania Edward Peck, one of the strongest opponents of his country’s policy in the past few years, was on one of the ships. At a demonstration against Israel on Tuesday, May 31, he stated, “After the Israelis gained control of the ship, they didn’t harm anybody. They harmed some folks in getting on board as people tried to block them from taking over.“ Israeli President Shimon Peres also commended the troops, saying that “Any other army would have immediately used their guns. What we saw was an exemplar of troops who preferred getting hurt rather than hurting someone else. This is the epitome of humane behavior”.

One hundred and twenty of the 682 passengers were transferred Tuesday evening to the border crossing with Jordan, from where they will be returned to their home countries. Forty five were deported on Tuesday. Others have refused deportation and have been were jailed, or are being treated for injuries in a local hospital prior to deportation.

Blockade to Continue

PM Netanyahu has reiterated that the blockade of Gaza is necessary to prevent weapons from being smuggled into the Gaza Strip. “Weapons entering Gaza are being used against our civilians.  Gaza is a terror state funded by the Iranians, and we must prevent weapons being brought into Gaza by air, sea and land,” he said.

Referring to an Antiguan-flagged ship that Israel intercepted off the coast of Cyprus in November 2009, he reminded his audience that, “On the Francop, making its way to Lebanon, we confiscated some 200 tons of weapons being smuggled to Hezbollah. Opening a naval route to Gaza will present an enormous danger to the security of our citizens,” said Netanyahu. “We will stand firm, maintain the naval blockade and inspect all incoming ships. It’s true that there is international pressure and criticism of this policy, but [the world] must understand that it is crucial to preserving Israel’s security and the right of the State of Israel’s to defend itself.”

Israel is not the only State  blockading Gaza. Egypt has a land-border with the Hamas-led strip, and has refused to allow the free passage of goods into Gaza so long as Hamas rules there. All real humanitarian needs can, therefore, be met through the Egyptian border crossing. It is also allowed by Israel, who continues to provide Gaza with water, electricity, tax money, agricultural produce and the possibility to export goods to the rest of the world.

The Protests

Protests against Israel’s actions have broken out around the world, in many cases questioning the legitimacy of the Jewish State and calling for its “removal” (a threatening euphemism) from “Muslim land”.  There have been no protests against Hamas’ repeated attacks, no public calls for the release of Shalit, no international protests against bus, coffee house and restaurant attacks, and no call issues for the Palestinians to make for peace. There was no international protest when Israeli towns and villages were attacked from Gaza for eight long years. But once Israel lifts a hand to defend itself, it is subject to international outrage.

A visceral hatred of the Jewish people has once again raised its ugly head. Jews are to lie down and be trodden upon. They have no right to be numbered as part of humanity. They must not defend themselves.

Another Ship on the Way to Gaza

Israel had offered to transfer all goods carried by the now-stopped flotilla, provided it was allowed to inspect the cargo and ensure to contraband was included. The flotilla organized refused, clearly stating their intention was not primarily to transfer aid but to break the blockade. Another ship, the Rachel Corrie, is now making its way toward Gaza, and an acceptable agreement between Israel and the ship’s organizers appears to be imminent.

Rachel Corrie will dock without incident at the Israeli port of Ashdod, where its cargo will be inspected and then transferred by Israeli authorities to Gaza, provided no contraband is included. As agreed with the ship’s organizers, any contraband found will be confiscated.  The ship is expected to arrive by the weekend. The Rachel Corrie’s trip to Gaza is sponsored by two non-governmental organizations in Ireland and Malaysia. On board is Irish Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire and former United Nations deputy secretary-general Denis Halliday. Also on board are Malaysians from a group sponsored by the former prime minister of Malaysia.

The Corrie was to have been part of the original flotilla that was stopped at sea early Monday morning, but the Corrie was delayed due to technical problems. Its cargo is described as including cement and medical equipment, such as a tomograph (CT), toys and paper for printing. European diplomats and senior Israeli Foreign Ministry officials said Israel had been communicating with the organizers of the ship through the Irish government. The most recent messages from Halliday were said to be particularly encouraging.

Halliday said the ship intended to reach Gaza, but the 15 passengers aboard pledged that if the Israel Navy stopped them, they would refrain from the use of violence, and that they would obey instructions. Israeli Foreign Ministry officials said that talks between the parties have been good, and that the ship is likely to sail directly to Ashdod, offload its humanitarian cargo there and ensure its immediate transfer to the Gaza Strip. Israel has stated that its only concern is the safety and security of its own citizens, and that it wishes the citizens of the Gaza Strip well.

International Hypocrisy

Many in the world are presently engaged in a hypocritical outrage against Israel. How dare Turkey, with its history of massacres against the Armenians and its present determined conflict with the Druze, so much as raise an accusing finger against Israel? How dare the Republic of Ireland, in light of its past clandestine record  or supporting terror in Northern Ireland, play the righteous critic toward Israel?

Which of the castigating countries would have acted differently in any way if they had reason to believe that a nearby country, openly committed to their destruction, was accumulating weapons?

How many protested when the USA blockaded Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crises? How many protested Britain’s forcible closure of Israel’s shores to Jewish refugees, fleeing the ravages of the Second World war and Nazi cruelty? Did France, Britain, America, Cuba or Argentina open their ports to the SS St. Louis, with its human cargo of 930 Jews fleeing Nazi Germany in 1946? (All 930 were forced back to Germany, where most of them were exterminated). How many demonstrated against the Taliban’s massacre of Muslims in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Iran’s brutal suppression of its loyal opposition, Turkey’s continued horror against the Kurds,North Korea’s repressive regime, Sudan’s systematic murder of its Christian citizens, or China’s persecution of religious groups? Why is Israel, only Israel, always Israel, criticized by the international community?

I have, on these pages and elsewhere, been highly critical of some of actions taken by some Israeli governments. But the boarding of and forcible arrest of those involved in this facade of peace-loving supporters of terrorism is nothing less than outright hypocrisy. Israel cannot, ought not and will not surrender its right and duty to defend itself against radical Islamic  terrorism. Unless the West finds the courage to face reality, it will soon be engulfed by the same forces that threaten Israel.

We here, in Israel, carry this terrible “genetic disease”, effectively identified some in the middle of the 20th century by competent and famously humane geneticists in Germany. Tremendous efforts have failed to eradicate it. Our parents brought it with them to Israel and to many parts of the civilized world: we’re Jewish.

Remember the famous words Shakespeare puts into the mouth of his Shylock (here slightly modified to suit the occasion): “He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million; laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies; and what’s his reason? I am a Jew.

Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you threaten us, shall we not defend ourselves?”

We have no place to hide but behind the broad shoulders of our determination to live. We prefer to be alive yet unpopular than mourned – or unmissed.

What say ye?

Copyright by SOLI DEO GLORIA (ISRAEL)

You are welcome to copy and use this report at will.

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New Covenant Church in Pamuhatan

These are the pictures of our progreess on the new building on the property that was donated last year.( One of our church family made a donation to the family that gave us the property)  We only need $400.00 to complete the building.Pamuhatan is our mountain church, Our mother church that Ernie planted first is in Davao City proper and our third church is in Cagayan De Oro – 4 hours south. I will be there  from Sept13-Oct 1 a teaching our pastors who are desiring to work with us and doing evangelistic meetings. We need one couple or person in each of the three areas and eventually some support for them from $50-$100/month. We have raised enough money to support two of the five hopeful candidates for a year of high school. The cost is $88.00/student for the year. Public school is not free in the urban areas like Davao.

As always we appreciate your prayers for this work that Christ has prepared for us.

New Covenant Goings On-Davao Philippines

Below is a  brief conversation I had with Ernie this morning as he returned from Pamuhatan from building the new building and is back in Davao to teach Bible  study  tonight. Then he is back to Pamuhatan tomorrow for more work on the building. The church there continues to grow. Pastor Bosay is doing home visitations in the mountains. I also met the Morales sisters.

Brother Joe,

Dorcas and I arrived from Cagayan last May 8, (NOTE:this is our newest work, 4 hours south of Davao, as documented in earlier posts. It is growing. Please pray with us for a man to work there with us. We had someone considering it but he has taken a position in Canada. We need someone full time at about $30+ per month support at least to start. ) this week and next week we are busy for the construction of Pamuhatan church building. I am here in Buhangin now because we have a Bible study this evening at 7 p.m. and we will go back to Pamuhatan tomorrow.

Anyway, here is the possible expenses of each  high school scholars for the whole year: Tuition fee-1,930; Uniform-2,870; School supplies-1,282; Transportation-940. Last year’s budget to each scholar was 4,000 each students. We have 5 students prospects this year. The 2 of the 5 students are now with us living in our house. ( this allows for ongoing tutoring and disicipleship) Namely; Christianne Morales and Marianne Morales, they are sisters. (Note: the cost for complete scholarship for a high school student is $89.00 per year. Last year it was on we were able to help 2 students via two families taking on support. Public school is not free in the city proper. In the mountain areas like Pamuhatan it is free. Australia and  Japan  partner in this venture with the Philippine government.)

We praise and thank God because the churches in Pamuhatan, Cagayan and Buhangin are growing in number as well as spiritual. Let us pray for their spiritual growth as they continue to learn about the truth in the word of God.

I was not able to look for a venue for our coming conference in September (Note: I will be there from Sept 13-Oct 1) because I am busy. But the schedule is already done, I will finalize it next week and I will let you know.

Another consideration for prayer.

Ernie will have to move out of his present home/church building.

His landlord, who provided the facility rent free for the past two years, works in Dubai but is getting married in June and wants his wife to live there.

We are working through various ideas of finding a temporary/permanent location for the church in Davao and housing for Ernie. They may be separate locations at this time. The church can afford about $66.00/month for rent, which is not adequate enough for a location.

We have considered splitting the congregation into three locations in homes in Davao and having three meetings on Sundays. However, most of the homes may not be large enough to do so. We area also considering the possibility of approaching the manager of the government housing in the Buhangin district to see if there is some facility we could lease.

Our resources are very limited as you know.

We ask for your prayers concerning God’s provision.

You can contact me via our website or posting a comment.

https://www.ncbf.us/NewCovenantBaptistFellowshipEvansNY/AboutUs.html

New Covenant Baptist Fellowship – Davao

Preparing lumber for the new building
Preparing lumber for the new building

Helpers Preparing lumber for the new building
Preparing lumber for the new building

Ernie sent me these pictures after a day of preparing lumber for the new building in Pamuhatan. $900.00 of the $1300.00 needed for the building materials was raised in Davao. We are praying for the rest. All the materials except the outer wall sheets have been purcased (lumber, concrete, etc.) This is certainly God’s provision. Our brethren there are on very meager if any incomes.

I will be going back to Davao from September 13-October 1 for evangelism and pastoral training and visiting our third new church in Cagayan De Oro as posted below. The chairs have been provided for.

We will keep the news up to date here and at our website www.fbceny.org

New Covenant Church in Davao

Praise the Lord for the new church plant in Cagayan De Oro ( we now have three churches established) and our ongoing pastor’s training meetings.
There are 22 in attendance at the new church which has been organized for just under 2 months. Please pray that we will find someone in the region who is suitable for us to train to lead the new work. Ernie’s cousin was working with us but has decided to go to Canada to be engaged in ministry there. We could use about $200.00 for some plastic chairs for the meeting house. Right now, everyone walks and brings a chair with them or they are borrowed from neighbors.
We have also received a generous offering from River Crossing Community Church to enable us to purchase a computer for our work in Davao at the home church. I will be able to do webinar training from here, along with Ernie in Davao with our pastors in training. I am trusting the Lord that it is His purpose for a return visit to Davao to work with our pastors and visit our church in Pamuhatan and Cagayan De Oro and have some days of study with our pastors in Davao. Please pray for the Lord’s provision concerning this trip, sometime in early September, as God wills.
You can read other posts about our work on this page and visit our website at www.fbceny.org and go to the photos page and the conferences page for much more.

Our new church plant in Cagayan De Oro
The fellowship in Cagayan De Oro
The fellowship at Cagayan De Oro
last weeks pastor's training meeting at Ernie's

New Covenant Church in Davao

Here are pictures of the roof repair of our church plant meeting place in Pamuhatan and pictures of the pastors from Pamuhatan who attended the mini-conference at Ernie’s home/church building. The conference focused on aspects of understanding New Covenant Theology and was based on a conference I taught on Samal Island last April.You will notice a small home with an extension to the front in one picture. That was the original meeting area for the church meetings. The new structure needing repair is on a neighbor’s property which was given to us for the church to put up a larger structure. We secured the property with a gift to the family. They did not want to sell it. [new covenant theology]

New Covenant Events in Davao

Last week Ernie was able to visit Pamuhatan and fix the roof. The damage was from heavy rains caused by the typhoons up north in Manilla a few weeks earlier. Pictures will posted once I get them.
I had my weekly chat with Ernie this morning.
Here is an update on how things are moving along with Ernie, the pastors mini-conference at his home this past week ( he translated all of the seminars on aspects of New Covenant Theology that I taught last year into Bagobo for this conference), church planting hopes and ideas for further pastor training and a conference in the Philippines this year, Lord willing. Our church planting efforts are as Sovereign Grace Baptists committed to a continued understanding of New Covenant  Theology as a biblical theology .

jenefaed: hello Joe.
josephkrygier: Hello my brother.
jenefaed: how are you brother?
josephkrygier: I am well and looking forward to hearing about the time with the men.
jenefaed: Dorcas and Ian are with me now. By God’s grace we finished the meeting yesterday with joy in our hearts.
josephkrygier: :Hi Dorcas and Ian
jenefaed: hello brother joe..this is ian….i am with my father i did not go to work today so i have the time to come with him… GOD bless.
jenefaed: hello brother joe. this is dorcas. this is my first time to come with ernie in your chat time. please say my hello to deborah and please do hug her for me. GOD BLESS YOU AND I MISS YOU BOTH.
jenefaed: By God’s grace the meeting was succesfully done wwith the help of our Awesome God. there were only 7 of the ten who attended the meeting because the other pastors didn’t shown up.
josephkrygier: I will do so when Deborah gets home.She just left for work.
josephkrygier: Seven is still a good number for the purpose we hoped for.
josephkrygier: One of our pastor friend is trying to see if his church can raise some funds for us to visit again this year as we discussed, in early July. I’ll will keep you updated.
josephkrygier: How did the men respond to the teaching?
jenefaed: 5 of them decided to join our ministry for the Tribal church planting ministry. That is the reason why they decided to join us because of the good teaching we have, they really appreciated the lessons from our seminar last April.
josephkrygier: That is an answer to prayer.
jenefaed: Brother Joe, as I look forward to our ministry it is going to grow with God’s blessing. There are some opportunity to plant new churches in different places in Mindanao.
josephkrygier: We are praying for that. Pray for me as I develop more of our ministry training studies for you.
jenefaed: As of now my heart’s desire is to start a new work in Cagayan de Oro but I’m still praying for more budget for this plan.
josephkrygier: . Is that where your mom is? What kind of budget is needed to start? By the way, in 2-3 weeks I will start a series on Ephesians at our fellowship. Right now in Sunday School I am doing some thematic studies in Acts.
jenefaed: yes, it is the place where my mom lives. the budget I need is for transportation and for my food as I stay in CDO, in my brother’s house. I would appreciate if you can send me some copies of your new lessons.
jenefaed: The pastors who attended the meeting decided to meet again in February and they want to have a regular meeting once a month for training. I don’t know if I can do this because of the insufficiency of funds.
josephkrygier: Ok. How many times a month would you like to get Cagayan de Oro? Figure a budget for the travel and food. I will send you lessons via email as they develop. I have added 3 messages to the Who Do Men Say I am series I have sent you. When I finish this I will send the final ones. I think you have the first 18.
jenefaed: yes I have and I put them in a book bind files. I started to study them so I can use it for our next meeting with the pastors.
josephkrygier: Ok. Budget me the cost for the five men for a monthly pastors training meeting. We will pray. Then perhaps we can at least plan for a couple of months ahead and see how God continues to provide once we start. We have another brother who has given us some funds for NCBF Davao to use as we decide what is most important.
jenefaed: I think it would be good that I can get to CDO once a month or twice a month depends upon the development of the studies.
josephkrygier: I will also be developing the studies you requested on church leadership and so on. These we will be on dvd and I will send them when completed. I will also record the Ephesians and Acts studies for you. If I am able to come this year I want to do the Sermon on the Mount for a pastors meeting as we discussed last April, but if I cannot, I will record and send it.
josephkrygier: At this time if I can come, do you think it would be better to do a conference for whoever could come like last time or focus on the pastors who will be working with us and a few others who really benefited from our last confererence?
jenefaed: thanks, but I am very optimistic that the Lord will provide all you need for our seminar this year. You are really needed that you can come. I have to choose those pastors who attended last year and we will invite the pastors who are really committed to work with us because we will continue establish a new covenant church here in Davao, the one in Pamuhatan and beyond.
josephkrygier: When you get some time, get some information on a place for a conference that would be convenient and thinking about having some of the expenses possibly on a scholarship like last year but charging something for those who could contribute, if we do something with a larger group.
josephkrygier: We could also plan another ladies seminar if Deborah is coming along.
jenefaed: I would suggest if you agree with me that we will make our seminar in CDO this year if we have a good result of our Bible study there.
josephkrygier: Agreed.
jenefaed: okey, next week I will be in CDO to start a new bible study and I will let you know what will be the development.
josephkrygier: Excellent. Also, remind me of when school registration fees are due. We have a couple studying at seminary who want to support a student for next school year.
jenefaed: yes I will but most probably we offer the scholarship to the unbelievers because this is a ministry for the lost.
josephkrygier: I sent you an email concerning a mens retreat where i will be teaching in february where some of our think tank brothers are elders.
jenefaed: ok thanks.
josephkrygier: Yes. Will we have some guidelines like last time?
jenefaed: yes I will make some guidelines.
josephkrygier: ok.
josephkrygier: I saw your pictures with Dorcas on Facebook in your traditional clothes. Very nice.
jenefaed: It is the clothes of the Bagobo Tribe. I will let you know the budget for food and travel to CDO later.
josephkrygier: I thought so from pictures you have sent with Pastor Bosay and others in the pictures at the meetings in Pamuhatan.
jenefaed: the church building in pamuhatan is now temporarilly roofed with plastic trapal, I will send the pictures of it and our meeting activity.
josephkrygier: thank you. you did mention you got there last week to do the repairs.
jenefaed: I will send pictures tomorrow and Ian will do it for me.
josephkrygier: He will appreciate that. I will post them on the websites.
jenefaed: I want to talk with you more but my eyes is already “lowbat” tired.
josephkrygier: Understood. Rest them. Talk to you next week. We have much to pray and plan for, for Christ’s glory.
jenefaed: bye for now and our love to all the saints in your church family and to Deborah.
josephkrygier: Bye.

[new covenant theology]

New Covenant Thoughts from Dr.R.K.McGregor Wright

WrightDr. Wright has an article posted at Moe’ Bergeron’s Christ My Covenant blog.

For any pursuing New Covenant Theology and a redemptive-historical approach to understanding the Scriptures though the lens of the New Covenant, this article is a must read.

His book No Place For Sovereignty is a superb work as well.

[new covenant theology]