Which is your favorite – the old testament or the new testament? While one contains so many stories about the wars between the Israelites and other countries, the other spoke so much about the life of Jesus and the stories of what happened after he ascended into heaven.
The Bible is a collection of books from the old and new Testaments that center around one unique message. The Old Testament is a collection of books that dates earlier than the New Testament.
If you have a favorite testament, you must understand these two testaments, noting the differences and similarities. There are quite a several differences and similarities that can be fished out between them. If you would love to know more about this, keep reading; this article is for you!
Old Testament and New Testament Similarities
God inspired
Even though there are different books of the bible, there is a bond between all these books; it is divinely inspired. All books of the Bible, are inspired by God, no matter the book’s author. This is the greatest similarity shared by all the books in the holy scripture. Timothy further confirms this in one of his letters in 2 Timothy 3:16. This scripture says, “All Scripture is God-breathed.” Despite that, they are written by men; all scriptures are words inspired by God.
Synchronization
The Old Testament, with its books, serves as a foundation for the books in the New Testament. The content of the Old Testament was a major pointer to the son of God, who is the Messiah. He was later revealed in the New Testament. There is a synchronization between the two books. These two books do not pass two entirely different sign messages; instead, it is like the revelation of what was written in the previous book. In the New Testament, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, fulfilled all the predictions written about the Messiah in the old testament.
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Differences between the Old and New Testament
Covenant
The New Testament and the Old Testament have different covenants. In the Old Testament, what can be seen is more of the Mosaic Covenant. The Mosaic Covenant is named after Moses and refers to the covenant between the Israelites and God. It is also referred to as the synaptic covenant, with the name derived from the mountain Sinai in the Bible. This covenant is not limited to the Ten Commandments, as it includes all the laws that God gave to Moses in the five books of the Torah.
The new covenant wasn’t much of the Mosaic Law; instead, it was centered around the new covenant, which shows Jesus coming as the fulfillment of the Law. It entails the forgiveness and eternal life offered by Jesus and all who believe in him.
Size
When compared side by side, the New Testament and the Old Testament are very different in length. This Old Testament accounts for three-fourths of the Bible, while the New Testament takes up the remaining space in the holy book.
However, the New Testament comprises four gospel books (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), while the Old Testament does not. Other books in the New Testament include a book of history (Acts of the Apostles), twenty-one letters, and a book of prophecy( revelation)
Mode of worship
The practice of worship in the Old Testament differs from that in the New Testament. The central place of worship in the New Testament is in the temple or tabernacle. The difference in the mode of worship is also reflected in how they do their festivals, offerings, and other related spiritual practices.
However, in the New Testament, their worship was centered around Jesus Christ. In John 14:6, Jesus made it known that he is the way, truth, and life and that whoever wants to get to the Father must come through Him. In this manner, Jesus centered the worship of God around him, and all his words were preached throughout his lifetime.
Time
There is a big difference between when the old testament was written and when the new testament was written. The Old Testament was steadily written from when Moses was alive until around 400 BC.
The New Testament was written around AD 50 and AD 150. When the old testament was written, it was about a thousand years interval, and various events were written during this time. These events varied from the creation of the universe by God to the deliverance of the Israelites from the Egyptians, the return of the people of God to Jerusalem, etc. All these were well captured in the old testament.
The New Testament, although capturing the life of Jesus, also expatiated on the events that took place after the death of Jesus Christ.
Focus and prophesy
The old testament focused more on God’s power and mighty miracles while anticipating the coming of the Messiah. Many prophecies about the coming Messiah were not fulfilled when the book of the old testament was completed.
The New Testament revealed Jesus Christ as the Messiah that the old testament prophesied about. It had more of the prophecies of the Old Testament coming to pass.
Conclusion
It is important to note that the differences noted between the old and the new testament aren’t a sign of diversity in the bible. This is because even though these two testaments are written in different ways, with different dates, they portray a single message of how to live a good Christian life.
No matter which of these testaments is your favorite, you will learn a lot from understanding these two books and what they stand for.
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