what does this mean to you?

[Hedgehog]

2Cr 3:14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which [vail] is done away in Christ

This cant be meaning what we call " the old testament".. because scripture wasnt organized and put together nicely in one book as we have today.

It must mean the old covenant.
How did they read the old covenant wrong? In the New Testament we see it talking about " not the letter, but the spirit" could that be what it mean?
They are reading it wrong by looking at it " by the letter" ?

2Cr 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.

If you look at it "by the letter".. literally.. then it appears to offer physical death.


How do you believe they were reading the old covenant wrongly?

 

[Dmckay]

Your observation that Paul had to be talking about the old covenant and not the Old Testament is a good and accurate observation, even though the canon of the Old Testament was pretty much set prior to the time of Christ. But, your correct, they didn't refer to it as the Old Testament as English translations are often guilty of doing.

What Paul is teaching is that because, when Moses returned form G-d's presence glowing from the radiated Glory of G-d, the people couldn't stand to observe that radiated glory and asked Moses to hide his face, their understanding of the Truth of Scripture was also hidden from them. Thus, despite the amount of time and study that they might put into studying the Scripture that they had they would never have the full understanding of the Word.

Thus there were different schools of thought with regard to almost every point of Scripture. The Sadducees held that only the Torah was Scripture. Among the Pharisees there were many different sects following different rabbis' positions. More than 200 years before Christ appeared there were arguments about how many Messiahs there would actually be, because of the different schools of thought. Today, most of the Rabbis who hold the Tanakh with reverence, would describe the Jewish people as the Messiah.

It's not so much that they are reading it wrongly, but rather that they can't see the proper meaning and understanding of what they read. Because G-d's Word reveals G-d's Glory, and they refused as a people to look on G-d's radiated Glory shining in Moses' face.

 

[billwald]

Paul consistantly fails to differentiate between the Covenants.

 

[Dave Taylor]

They were mis-interpretting the Scriptures incorrectly; which caused them to be looking for:

1) The wrong Messiah
(They wanted a governmental, political, reigning monach)

2) The wrong Kingdom
(They wanted a kingdom on this world to rule over the Gentiles)

3) The wrong path of Redemption
(They want Judaic rituals, sacrifices, and rules; instead of a perfect heavenly one-time sacrifice)

Luckily for us, we have the NT scripures, which give us the direct words of Christ Himself; showing where He rebutted their misunderstandings and denounced their false expectations; and told us, those who have eyes to see and ears to hear...the truth.

Hold fast to the truth that Christ taught, in a world of modern-day false teachings that abound in conflict with Christ's teachings, just like in the days of the Pharisees.

 

[Hedgehog]

Dave

 

[Tractor1]

They were mis-interpretting the Scriptures incorrectly; which caused them to be looking for:

As opposed to mis-interpreting the Scriptures correctly?

In Christ,
Tracey

 

[LamorakDesGalis]

2Cr 3:14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which [vail] is done away in Christ

This cant be meaning what we call " the old testament".. because scripture wasnt organized and put together nicely in one book as we have today.

It must mean the old covenant.

Yes, most modern translations say "covenant." Only the KJV and NKJV say "testament" here. What Paul referred to was the Mosaic covenant, not the Abrahamic Covenant. The veil that Paul refers to is in Numbers 23:29-35, when Moses' face became radiant because he spoke with the LORD. Moses put the veil on because he did not want the Israelites to see the glory of the LORD fading from his face.

How did they read the old covenant wrong? In the New Testament we see it talking about " not the letter, but the spirit" could that be what it mean?
They are reading it wrong by looking at it " by the letter" ?

The context shows its not the "reading" of the old covenant that is wrong, but that a veil covers their understanding. They did not grasp the temporary nature of the Mosaic covenant and the permanence of the new covenant. Here is what Paul said in 2 Cor 3:13-14:

13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read.

The Jews lacked understanding that the Mosaic covenant was temporary and fading, and that the new covenant is permanent.

Paul continues in 14-16:

It [The veil] has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Its clear that the veil has everything to do with their resistance/acceptance of the gospel and not a specific method of reading the OT.

This is underscored by Paul when he contrasted the Mosaic covenant with the new covenant as heart/stone here:

3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

And contrasted them again as letter/Holy Spirit here:
6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-- not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?

Paul was referring to the New Covenant as predicted in the Old Testament in Jeremiah 31:31-34, Jeremiah 32:39-40, Ezekiel 11:19 and Ezekiel 36:26-27. This last passage is where God said:

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."


LDG

 

[Tertius]

...This cant be meaning what we call " the old testament".. because scripture wasnt organized and put together nicely in one book as we have today...

Hedgehog: Though it is a tangent from your topic, but as you mentioned it, I would argue that your statement boils down to who's history of the Bible and the canon that you want to believe. For example, a Hebrew Bible has three divisions: the books of the law (Torah), the books of the prophets (Nabhim), and the books of the psalms (Kethubim). Christ referenced the three-fold division of a Hebrew Bible here:

Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

 

[ImmortalAwakened]

The old testament is probably a reference to the law.

 

[ShirleyFord]

They were mis-interpretting the Scriptures incorrectly; which caused them to be looking for:

1) The wrong Messiah
(They wanted a governmental, political, reigning monach)

2) The wrong Kingdom
(They wanted a kingdom on this world to rule over the Gentiles)

3) The wrong path of Redemption
(They want Judaic rituals, sacrifices, and rules; instead of a perfect heavenly one-time sacrifice)

Luckily for us, we have the NT scripures, which give us the direct words of Christ Himself; showing where He rebutted their misunderstandings and denounced their false expectations; and told us, those who have eyes to see and ears to hear...the truth.

Hold fast to the truth that Christ taught, in a world of modern-day false teachings that abound in conflict with Christ's teachings, just like in the days of the Pharisees.

Amen!

 

[ddub85]

Hi Hedgehog,

What was "untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament" was the law. The confusion is caused by the fact that the law IS NOT the Old Covenant, the law was added to the Old Covenant. Once we clearly understand that fact, then we can better understand the verse.

The main point is that the law IS NOT the Old Covenant.

God Bless!