Why is the Old Testament still relevant today?
The Old Testament is crucial as the foundational narrative of God's persistent redemptive work, providing divine context, patterns, and prophecies for the Messiah's mission and humanity's restoration. It chronicles God's history of Restoration through Indemnity, detailing how human failures led to compensatory periods and how central figures prepared the way for the Messiah, establishing a pattern for spiritual growth and resurrection applicable today.
The Old Testament remains exquisitely relevant today, not as a relic of a bygone era, but as the foundational narrative of God’s persistent redemptive work. It is the indispensable precursor to the New Testament, offering the divine context, patterns, and prophecies without which the Messiah’s mission and humanity's ultimate restoration lose their profound meaning. Far from being superseded, its principles are continuously at play, illuminating the path to God's original ideal.
The Biblical Foundation: God's Persistent Pursuit
The Old Testament meticulously records God's unwavering effort to establish a foundation for Messiah's advent. Jesus himself affirmed its enduring significance: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished" (Matthew 5:17-18). This declaration underscores the immutable and foundational nature of the Old Testament's principles.
The Old Testament showcases humanity's repeated failures, from Adam to Israel’s idolatry. The recurrent cycle of disobedience, repentance, and backsliding is a central theme. For instance, after being liberated, Israel quickly manufactured an idol, as recorded in Exodus 32:7-8. These experiences and the long, often tragic providential time periods, such as the 400 years of slavery in Egypt (Genesis 15:13), which followed Abraham's failure to cut the doves in his symbolic offering, and the 40 years in the wilderness (Numbers 14:33), highlight the human element crucial to fulfilling divine will. God's will is absolute, but its realization on Earth requires human responsibility and cooperation. These periods also served as conditions of indemnity for past failures, such as those of Adam and Noah's families.
Divine Principle's Clarification: The Formula of Restoration
The Divine Principle clarifies that the Old Testament chronicles God's tireless work of Restoration through Indemnity. It explains that this history, replete with cycles of blessing and tribulation, is not arbitrary but a structured process to reverse the effects of the human Fall. Historical courses reveal divinely set patterns, or "types," through which humanity had to pay indemnity—conditions of compensation—to restore what was lost. Failures by central figures like Abraham and Moses necessitated God's repeated attempts to raise new figures to fulfill restorative conditions. For example, Abraham's failed symbolic offering (Genesis 15) led to the 400 years of slavery in Egypt, prolonging the providence.
This explains recurring numbers and the cyclical nature of tribulation in Israel's history. They represent specific indemnity periods or "conditions of separation" required to reverse the Fall's consequences and separate good from evil. The Old Testament age itself represents the formation stage of God's providence, similar to how the dove symbolized the formation stage in Abraham's offering. Just as the sun, moon, and stars in Joseph's dream (Genesis 37:9) and in Matthew 24 symbolize human figures and institutions, the Old Testament's metaphorical language points to deeper spiritual realities. The Old Testament, therefore, provides the providential formula for overcoming the spiritual effects of the Fall, establishing a "foundation stage resurrection" for spirits who practiced the Law and worshiped God.
Understanding the Deeper Meaning: The Blueprint for Salvation
Together, the Bible and Divine Principle reveal the Old Testament as the blueprint for salvation. It is a providential pattern that Jesus came to fulfill and perfect. As Jesus explained on the road to Emmaus, "He said to them, 'How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?' And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself" (Luke 24:25-27). The Old Testament explicitly sets the stage for the Messiah, outlining the spiritual prerequisites for his advent as the culmination of God's redemptive plan.
The Apostle Paul noted, "These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come" (1 Corinthians 10:11). The Old Testament also established the foundation for resurrection. From Abraham, people could achieve a "form spirit" level by making offerings and following the Law. These form spirits from the Old Testament age later returned to Earth after Jesus' coming to receive help from believers and resurrect to a "life spirit" stage, as indicated by the passage about Old Testament saints rising from tombs (Matthew 27:52-53). The Old Testament consistently demonstrates God's persistent, forgiving heart, eternally focused on the restoration of His children. It shows how the past provides the context and lessons for present and future providence.
Living the Principle
The Old Testament, through the lens of Divine Principle, provides a practical guide for spiritual growth and participating in God's restorative work.
1. Embrace Indemnity: View challenges as opportunities to fulfill spiritual conditions, converting hardships into growth, understanding that our failures can be indemnified. 2. Act as a Central Figure: Take responsibility in your sphere, knowing your actions contribute to God's larger plan, like Abraham's faith (Genesis 15:6) and his role in laying the foundation for resurrection. 3. Cultivate Patience: Trust God's timing, understanding that providential waiting periods often precede significant breakthroughs, akin to Israel's journey through the wilderness (Numbers 14:34). 4. Seek Deeper Truth: Recognize that God's truth evolves. Just as the Law illuminated the Old Testament era, prepare to receive new light and understanding for your age, applying lessons from the past to understand present revelations (Matthew 24).
These answers explain the Bible in the light of the Divine Principle, the teachings of Reverend Sun Myung Moon. Read about the author, Sun Myung Moon.
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Sources and further reading
- The Holy Bible, King James Version — Scripture quoted and referenced throughout the answers.
- The Divine Principle (full text) — The complete text of the Divine Principle, the teaching of Reverend Sun Myung Moon that these answers explain.
- Unification texts library (tparents.org) — Large online library of Unification texts, sermons and collected speeches, including the Cheon Seong Gyeong.
- Short video lectures in English — Playlist of short English video lectures presenting these same principles.