| Show THE OLD AMI keha TESTA mEM AMERICAN FORK nov 27 1889 correspondence of the testament from the latin testis witness means properly the last will confirmed by bitnes wit nes or a written instrument ment anly certified concerning the disposition of a persons property after death in this sense we may say that the gospels are the will of christ and the epistles the codicils annexed and that both constitute the supreme authority which must decide all controversies among the descendants of the family but in the latin bible from which it passed into modern translations testament is tho equivalent for the greek diathea diat hka which means both a will baeb 9 ag 17 and a covenant or agreement between two persons or parties embracing mutual promises prom ses on mutual conditions gen 1518 17 2 luko 1 72 gal the word was first used for the two dispensations the mosaic and the christian but since in the second century it also signifies the book wherein they are recorded the sacred writings of the jews being called the old testament and the sacred writings of tha christians being called the new testament the old covenant or the jewish dispensation is the covenant of law made on mount sinai between god and abo jewish people through moses with sacrifices and the blood of beasts 3 12 the new covenant or the christian dispensation is the covenant of the gospel promised of old and foretold by the prophets made between god and the whole human race through christ the mediator of the better coven anta and beald by his blood for the remission of sins jer 34 matt 26 28 heb 7 22 15 17 the old dispensation was notional and merely preparatory Ere to the christian and enco temporary the new despen bation is esmeral and eternal the new testament is concealed in the old the old testament is revealed in the new they are related to each other as the germ and the fruit christianity is on the one hand the fulfillment and perfection of judaism but on the other handi fc is a new and the highest revelation a new moral creation at the incarnation of christ the creative word was repeated in a higher spiritual sense lot there be light and there was light the hebrew was the vernacular language of the jews for whom the old testament revelation was origin language was the ruling language in the eo man empire at the time of christ and the apostles the bible was at an early period translated into latin syriac and all other languages in which was preached the old testament is popularly divided into moses and the prophets more accurately it is divided into three classed of books thirst the historical books relate the history of the divine revelations and the for annes of the people of god from the creation down to the return from the captivity second the poetical books sometimes also called the didactic books exhibit the religion of the old testament in sacred poems prayers and proverbs third tha prophetical books certain exhortations warnings and predictions of future events especially of the coming of the messiah for the salvation of israel and the whole human race the new testament is divided into twenty seven histories doctrinal and prophetical books and we call them the gospels the english word gospel from the old saxon gods spell speech or good spell means good news or glad tiding sand is the precise equivalent for the greek word from which wa derive the verb to evangelize between the old and new testaments there are the canonical books from the greek word canon i e mile or measure they are so called to distinguish them from the apocrypha or obscure books which are added to all tho roman catholic and many protestant editions of the bible these apocryphal books are useful and edifying and form an important historical link between the old and the new testament bat are not in inspired for the following reason 1 the apocryphal books were written by unknown authors after the extinction of prophecy malachi and after the collection of the jewish canon by ezra and nehemia nut in the as the canonical books but originally m greeck 2 they were not regarded by the jews according to josephus nor by the primitive christians before augustine as belonging to the sacred canon or the body of inspired and autuori even jerome who was a better biblical scholar than angus tane insists upon the distinction 3 they are never quoted by christ and the apostles in the new testament the jewish apocrypha are twelve or more in number viz wisdom of solomon or the wis dom of jesus the son of tobi judith the best of esther baruch the song of the three children the story of Su anaBel and the dragon the prayer of manasses two books of tho and several books of badrus the whole new testament is a beautiful organism in which the gospels may be compared to the the elisues Epi sUes to the branches tho Eo to the anpo fruit or to use another figure the first form the foundation tho second the edifice itself and the last the domo the three classes bear to each other the same relation as conversion sanctification and glorification or as the cardinal christian virtues faith love and hope the substance the all absorbing theme tho beginning middle and en A of tho testa mentis desus christ DR ED |
