In Chapter 13 the Author’s main message is that the New Testament is the answer to all predictions and enigmas that the Old Testament presents and that God is the ultimate planner and executer. The Author says that the Old Testament twice narrates that God, Yahweh is one True God.
God himself challenged all nations that worshiped idols made of wood and stone to prove their worth; to ask the idols to predict the future or narrate the past? To predict their plans and then execute them accordingly! God says that He is the one who singlehandedly created the Heavens and the Earth and everything therein, so is there anyone who can do the same as He?
The Author quotes Isaiah where he argues with the pagans that their handmade gods are as lifeless as they themselves are. Their gods do not have the ability to do anything of their own free will; they cannot think, plan or actively act upon anything. They are powerless and dead and their claim to deity is false. While God is All Powerful. He was there from the start and will be there when the end happens. He is Master of His Grand Plan and everything that happens is simply pieces falling into place for the completion of His plan. All events, conflicts and wars are part of a divine purpose, where each actor plays his/her role, when God provides the cue.
The Author is overwhelmed with the fact that the predictions of the Old Testament come true in the New Testament. He praises God for the Supreme Powers that He has because only He could have predicted events centuries ago and made them come true with the passage of time. Only God has the full knowledge of His Grand Plans and only He can realize them at the right hour. The Author says that there are “five notable avenues of fulfilment” when we see the predictions of the Old Testament come true:
- Obedience Fulfilment was when Jesus Christ read about himself through the predictions in the Old Testament Scriptures and set forth to complete what was written. When Jesus read what was written about him (Luke 4:14-22) he said, “Today these words have been fulfilled in your hearing”. Jesus later said, “The son of man goes as it is written of him”, (Matt 26:24). Jesus ensured that each word of prediction about him was carried out to fulfill the will of God. Here the author says that we observe that Jesus was “tied” to the Scripture and was following it to the last word hence we should never be ashamed of being true followers of the Word of God.
- Circumstantial Fulfillment was when the Word of God was being carried out not because the people were doing it deliberately but because the Word was controlling the events; no one could have done otherwise, everything was rolling out as planned. The Author gives the example of the day when Jesus was on the cross, the soldiers started distributing the garments among themselves as was predicted while they had no reason to know what was written in the Scripture. That goes to say that the Word of God is Ultimate and what has been written will take place. God Himself will create the circumstances which would be beyond our comprehension.
- Proleptic Fulfilment is when we speak of something in the past relating it to an event in the future. The Author says that the prophecies about Jesus Christ have a strong relation to what happened to the Israelites. They were taken out of Egypt and returned because of what would happen to Jesus later. Every event that happened during that time was casting a light to the arrival of Jesus and how God’s Word would find its fulfilment.
- Explanatory Fulfilment bears light on the fact that there are many instances in the Old Testament that have no explanation at that time. The Author quotes Isa 9:6 where it states that the Messiah will be a mighty God and will also be born as a baby? Again Isaiah 14 states that Messiah will be born of a virgin; a root out of a dry ground; the arm of the Lord! The Author goes on to say that the enigma or the mystery of these statements in the Old Testament come true in the New Testament where every word is clearly understood. Another amazing example is in Isaiah 53:9 where the prediction of Jesus being on the cross because of wicked people, dying on the cross between two thieves and being buried in a rich man’s grave becomes clear.
- Essential Fulfilment is explained by the Author as the culmination, the completion of something that was started in the Old Testament. Giving the example of the sacrifices that God taught Israelites to offer for their atonement he says that when Jesus died on the cross it was not a “replacement” but “completion” whereby no other sacrifice would be required for the atonement of the faithful people.
Another example is of the Promised Land. This promise was started with Abraham in Genesis 12:1, 13:14-15 and continues all through the Old Testament. It was again an enigma, difficult to understand as it stated a land that sounded more like heaven than an earthly place, however the New Testament brought with it the explanation. Though it is still mentioned as “a land” and a “place” for the people of God, Jesus calls it “my kingdom” and “not of this world” John 18:33-6.
The Author ends the chapter by saying that God’s Word in the Old Testament is completed in the New Testament. From the start God mentioned the arrival of Jesus Christ but the whole and true picture became clear when the events unfolded through the New Testament. Giving the example of a flowering plant, the author says that the final and perfect bloom of that plant came forth in the shape of Jesus Christ, who was sacrificed by God for the salvation of His true followers.
Important Lessons Learnt:
- God (Yahweh) is the real and true God who has the ultimate power over everything that He has created.
- God has always had a Grand Plan; everything that has been happening from the beginning of time is taking place exactly as God planned it.
- Over the centuries, God’s messengers disseminated the information that they were sent with. They played their parts in God’s Grand Plan.
- Each and every word, every statement that appears in the Old Testament finds its final explanation in the New Testament. Certain things that we do not understand in the Old Testament are fully revealed to us in the New Testament.
- God works in mysterious ways to fulfill His Grand Plan. Situations and circumstances revolve around the completion of His will; nothing happens without His approval; no soul on this earth can do anything that is not ordained to complete God’s Grand plan.
- The arrival, life, death, resurrection of Jesus Christ, everything to the last detail was prophesized in the Old Testament and it was executed on earth in the same manner when we compare it to the New Testament.
Conclusion:
Chapter 13 has revealed to me that God has been telling all nations, all through the centuries, that He is the True God and no one can stand up to negate that claim. He is the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth and the Master of the Grand Plan that He executes everything according to His will. The Old Testament bears witness to the word of God that keeps unveiling, with more explanations and revelations as we continue to read the New Testament. Nothing remains a mystery as everything that is mentioned in the Old Testament and at times difficult to decipher, finds its culmination in the New Testament. The predictions in the Old Testament are true to this day and will remain so in the times to come. Whatever God has said in the Old and the New Testaments is bound to happen in the exact same manner so that His Grand Plan is achieved.
