The Old Testament and The Salvation Army

Today I just want to give you some definitions to finish our time (for the moment) in the Old Testament as next week we're moving into the New Testament.

Wikipedia says: The Old Testament is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred by both Judaism and Christianity.
So the books of the Old Testament are used by both Christians and Jews but remember our Jewish friends call it the Tanahk.

Ever heard of Progressive Revelation before? It's the idea that God has revealed Himself over a period of time rather than all at once. So in the Old Testament God is starting to reveal himself piece by piece, moment by moment and by the New Testament when Jesus comes along there is more and more of the nature of God revealed. Interesting thing to think about when we think that God continues to reveal more and more of Himself today even. Google it if you want to know more.

Relating to that point is the Prophecies of Christ. Remember how we mentioned in this post  that there are some books of the bible which are the Prophetic books? Well there were a lot of prophecies or predictions about Jesus or the Son of God coming to the Earth. These prophecies make the Old Testament really important for when we read the New Testament because they validate Jesus. Again, if you want more info Google it or try reading Isaiah and Jeremiah. They are sometimes hard to read because of the language they use and it sounds a bit like someone is telling you about a dream they had but if you power through it God will help you understand.

If you want to find out more about what The Salvation Army believes about the Old Testament ask your Corps Officer for a copy of The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine and read Chapter 1A. It's a book that looks a bit like a bible and parts of it can be boring but if you are looking at becoming a Senior Soldier of The Salvation Army it's really important to know a lot of what's in it.

Another much funner way to get into the Old Testament is to watch the 1999 animation The Prince of Egypt this week. Or see if there is a local production of the stage-show Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat on near you, maybe you could suggest to your drama teacher that you do it as a musical at school? Here's a bit of a teaser on YouTube if you go here.


Hilarious Fun!***

P.S Did you know that the Broadway Musical Guys and Dolls was based on The Salvation Army?! That's Old, next week we will be looking at the New!