Reading The New Testament Into The Old

Recently I picked up Dr. Michael Heiser’s book “Unseen Realm.” For those interested, a review will follow in the future. However, I want to focus on one passage that relates to our topic here. Is it appropriate to read the New Testament back into Tanakh? Obviously, I feel that it is not. I was surprised to see Dr. Heiser agree with my opinion. He says the following in Chapter 28.

Chances are good that you’ve heard the New Testament mistakenly read back into the Old hundreds of times. Therefore you might be surprised to hear me say that the Old Testament profile of the messiah was deliberately veiled. Let me illustrate.

Dr. Michael Heiser, Unseen Realm

This is an interesting approach to the topic that I hadn’t heard before. Was God hiding his plans for the Messiah? He goes on.

Reading the New Testament into the Old.

Mashiach occurs with reference to a deliverer whose appearance would be future to the Old Testament era in only a handful of places, and some of those aren’t clear as to whether the anointed is even a follower of Yahweh. And there is no Old Testament verse that has a dying and rising mashiach. If you’re thinking Isaiah 53 is the exception, it isn’t. The word mashiach does not appear in that passage. That doesn’t mean Isaiah 53 isn’t part of the messianic profile—it means that the content of Isaiah 53 is just one piece of a much larger whole. The pieces were kept separate to obscure the big picture.

Of course, God must have a reason for hiding this information in Dr. Heiser’s opinion. What is the reason?

By God’s design, the Scripture presents the messiah in terms of a mosaic profile that can only be discerned after the pieces are assembled. Paul tells us why in 1 Corinthians 2:6–8. If the plan of God for the messiah’s mission had been clear, the powers of darkness would never have killed Jesus—they would have known that his death and resurrection were the key to reclaiming the nations forever.

Dr. Michael Heiser, Unseen Realm

The problem with this position.

Obviously, this challenges the typical view of an omniscient, omnipotent God. Would such a being really have to sneak around behind the back of his adversary? Certainly not. He would be able to simply overpower Satan and his dark forces. For this reason, I find this view to be untenable. So why am I sharing it here?

This is Biblical Anarchy. I want to present all sides to my readers and viewers, to the best of my ability. I am well aware that this position can be used as a refutation against points I will make in future videos in this series. However, I welcome this. If this view makes sense to you, embrace it. But always remember to hold all views accountable to the text of the Bible.

Atar

I was raised a Christian, turned atheist as a teenager, and became a Noahide in my 40's. Here I will share what I have learned, and look forward to what you can teach me. Thank you for stopping by Biblical Anarchy. Feel free to leave a comment.

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