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Friday, September 11 2009
Jesus Christ was born as a normal human (see The Adam Family). He is the Saviour of humanity and the firstborn representative of what is coming when humans will be "born again" (see the Fact Finder question below). The Messiah is an example of what He alone made possible.
"2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood [see Why Blood?], he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 2:16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted." (Hebrews 2:14-18 KJV)
"Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto his brethren"
The Greek word (pronounced) dee-ath-ay-kay means a disposition, the act or means of disposing of something, as in a will. It is variously translated as either "covenant" or "testament," which is interesting because they differ in meaning in English usage i.e. covenant means "a written agreement between two or more parties to perform some action" while testament means "a legal document declaring a person's wishes regarding the disposal of their property when they die." While the Greek word is closer in meaning to the English word "testament," the Biblical usage of it blends "covenant" and "testament" in a way that the full Scriptural meaning is only made clear by the use of both.
The original Greek word is variously rendered according to a translator's preference, whether within a single version of the Bible, or in comparing versions such as the example below where the original Greek word in Mark 14:24 is translated as "covenant" in the Revised Standard Version (which was based upon the American Standard Version, which was based upon the King James Version) and "new testament" in the King James:
"14:24 And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many." (RSV)"14:24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many." (KJV)
Examples of the original Greek word dee-ath-ay-kay translated as "covenant" in the King James Version:
"8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 8:8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 8:9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people" (Hebrews 8:6-10 KJV)
Examples of the same original Greek word dee-ath-ay-kay translated as "testament" or "new testament" in the King James Version:
"26:27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matthew 26:27-28 KJV)"3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." (2 Corinthians 3:6 KJV)
While the New Testament is about a New Covenant, the word testament is appropriate because, according to the literal meaning of testament, a death, not of calves and goats, but of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is a key event of the new covenant. Again, the very same original Greek word variously translated as either covenant or testament, is here very appropriately translated as testament:
"9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. 9:16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 9:17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. 9:18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. 9:19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, 9:20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you." (Hebrews 9:15-20 KJV)
Fact Finder: What does "born again" really mean? When will it happen?
See Born Again, How and When?, When Will You Be Judged? and Could Christ Return Tonight?; also What Is Jesus Christ Doing Right Now?
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This Day In History, September 11
1297: The Scots under William Wallace battled a large English force under the Earl of Surrey at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
1541: Jacques Cartier reached Lachine rapids above Montreal on his third voyage to Canada.
1609: Henry Hudson discovered Manhattan island.
1709: An Anglo-Dutch-Austrian force led by the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy won a costly victory over the French in the Battle of Malplaquet, the last great battle of the War of the Spanish Succession.
1712: French astronomer (of Italian origin) Giovanni Cassini died at age 87. He made numerous discoveries, including 4 moons of Saturn, the existence of divisions in the rings of Saturn, and the rotational period (the length of its "day") of Mars.
1777: The Battle of Brandywine during the American Revolutionary War. American troops under George Washington, British troops under William Howe, battled in Pennsylvania.
1922: "Palestine" (today, Israel) and Trans-Jordan ("across the Jordan," today occupied by the Kingdom of Jordan), came under British control as one of the major after-effects of the First World War (see United States, Britain and Israel).
1971: Nikita Khrushchev died at age 77. He led the Soviet Union through the height of the Cold War with the United States. He began to lose political power after losing the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 during which President John F. Kennedy imposed a naval blockade on the island and put all American nuclear forces on their highest alert. Many historians consider the crisis to be the closest the world came to nuclear warfare.
1974: Haile Selassie was deposed as king of Ethiopia.
1997: Scottish voters strongly approved (74.2%) plans to establish a separate Scottish parliament apart from the British parliament, 290 years after the Act of Union with England in 1707.
2001: Using hijacked airliners, Pakistani and Saudi Arabian terrorists killed approximately 3,000 people in New York (the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center), Washington (the Pentagon) and Pennsylvania (a hijacked airliner that went down before reaching its target because of a passenger revolt). The terrorist attacks triggered the US military invasion of Afghanistan where the attacks on the US were planned and commanded by Saudi Arabian born Osama bin Laden, and was used as a partial justification for the US invasion of Iraq - although no evidence has ever been found that Iraqi dictator Sadam Hussein had any involvement in the attacks on New York and Washington (the hijackers were all from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia), nor were any "weapons of mass destruction" ever found in Iraq.
