Separated No More

By Chuck Ness

Most people seem to be confused as to when the New Testament times began, and the Old Testament times ended. Do you know, and do you know why?

The misconception on this matter comes from both non-Christians and Christians alike. It's understandable that non-Christians would be confused about this matter, but many Christians are also confused. Sadly, many Christians seldom, if ever, read their Bible. When they do it's because they are told by their Pastor, on Sunday morning, to open up their Bibles and turn to a specified Scripture. Then they will look at the book while the Pastor reads the Scripture.

When I discus the dividing line of the Dispensation Era with many Christians, I see confusion in their eyes over the topic. The very discussion should bring remembrance to their minds as to when it took place. Yet they are confused. Many Christians are under the assumption that the New Testament era started the day Jesus was born. Some will tell you it began when He started His ministry after being baptized by John the Baptist. I even had an older gentleman tell me that the New Testament didn't start until Titus destroyed the Temple in 70 A.D..

Now I readily understand the ignorance an atheist, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, or anyone who is not a born again Christian would have over the matter. Yet, few, if anyone can give a correct answer to the question, "When did the New Testament Era begin?"

Well, the answer to the question is, the New Testament Era began the very nano second Jesus Christ died. When He breathed His last breath, we were in a new Era.

And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. Mark 15:37

That is when the veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was torn in two.

Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Mark 15:38

This veil was moved aside only once a year to admit the high priest to the shrine on the great Day of Atonement as explained in Exodus;

“You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy of holies. Exodus 26:33

That sanctuary inside the veil was called the Holy of Holies, and it enshrined the very Shekinah glory of God. The Holy of Holies excluded everyone but the High Priest who was only allowed to enter once per year, the day of the Passover. The separation between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies represented the imperfect reconciliation between God and his people. This ritual took place Until the very moment Christ died to become the perfect sacrifice for our sins for all-time. Until that moment, the way to the presence of God was not yet made manifest. However, the rending of this veil gave us all an access to heaven through the wounded body of Christ. The author of Hebrews tells us,

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:19-22

All this to point to the fact that everything we read in the Gospels, up to the moment Christ died, should be looked at as the last years, days, hours, minutes, and seconds of the Old Testament Dispensation Era.

As you know, Jesus was a Jew. Thus He had to follow all the Mosaic laws and partake in all Jewish ceremonial festivals. He also had to fulfill all the prophecies concerning Him. If he didn't, then even if He was the perfect lamb with no blemishes, He would not qualify. So, every prophecy was fulfilled, every Feast was attended, and then He became the perfect sacrifice for our sins, and upon his death, the New Dispensation Era began.

The old Dispensation Era ended the moment Christ died. Christ is the last sacrifice ever needed, because He died for our sins and no animal sacrifice was ever needed again. Until Christ was sacrificed, the blood of all the lambs, all the bulls, all the goats, and all the doves just covered our sins for a year. They never permanently fully removed our sins. Thus the ritual had to happen every year, and the Israelites needed to continually sacrafice an animal for their sin. With the blood of Jesus shed, and His death, the separation that kept us from personally coming to God, our Father, with our pleas for forgiveness was removed.

We no longer need a mediator, like the High Priest, we have Christ, and He tabernacles in our hearts. You remember the Tent of the Tabernacle the Israelites used to keep the Ark of the Covenant in? Well, it traveled with them throughout the wandering years in the desert. Long before Solomon built the Temple, God would enter the Holy of Holies inside the Tent of the Tabernacle when the Passover lamb was sacrificed for the nation.

We are now the Tabernacle that Jesus travels in as we wonder through this desert, we call the World. This is why Paul tells us that we must keep our body pure. God through the Holy Spirit resides inside us. Your body is the Temple of God, or rather the Tabernacle of God.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

The very moment He died for our sins, is when we were freed from the law. That is why the veil dividing the Holy of Holies from the the Holy Place was ripped by God from top to bottom. The tearing of the veil was God's proof to the Priests that the seperation had ended. It's like God ripped His contract with the Levite priesthood in half if you will. This act, by God, took place the very moment Jesus died.

Now, with the New Testament period begun, if we believeth in Christ , then we can gain everlasting life. Then we will be allowed to come to our Father in Heaven, in the name of His son, and receive forgiveness for our sins.

For more information, I suggest picking up your Bible, and read about the importance of the veil in 2 Corinthians 3:13 - 4:6.

I pray that those who have ears to hear, will hear the voice of the Lord and call upon His name.