Introduction

Last year I was briefed by the MLB. TV app that I had watched or listened to over 130 hours of baseball in 2025. I wasn’t surprised. Major League Baseball is a sport that plays well without having to view the game on TV; one can also savor the radio feed. Yet, the listening quality of a baseball game depends on the expertise and sensitivity of the sports broadcaster.

As an NY Yankees fan, I took pleasure in the years I spent listening to the radio voices of John Sterling and Susan Waldman call the Bronx Bombers’ baseball games. Since I now live in Southern California, I also relished the broadcasting skills of LA Dodgers legendary announcer Vin Scully.

One of the skills of a crack baseball commentator is knowing when to stop talking and let the game breathe! Scully was a master at detecting the intensity of a game when the Dodgers were in a win-or-lose situation.

It’s the bottom of the ninth. The Blue Crew are down by one run with two outs and two eager runners on second and third. The opposing pitcher has a full count on the batter. The crowd is edgy, but silent.

What in the world would Scully say? Share a few recent stats on the perspiring pitcher’s record with men on base in the bottom half of the ninth inning? How about several fresh analytics on how the LA hitter performs in these situations?

Nope! Scully would remain silent.

Vin waited on the inhale of bated breath of the LA crowd, and the exhale of the next pitch, to call the game any further. His baseball broadcasting was priceless.

For expert broadcasters of America’s National pastime, a crowd’s intense silence at the bottom of the ninth needs no additional baseball banter. Instead, the hushed anticipation of baseball fans poised to see their team take the lead speaks louder than any barrage of statistics, analytics, and speculation. It is prime time to let the game breathe.

When the Hebrew Scriptures Need to Breathe

The same observation applies to how some pastors interact with the Jewish Scriptures, which Christians refer to as the Old Testament.

At times I perceive evangelical pulpiteers unnecessarily throttle the Hebrew Scriptures by carpeting the ancient text with Christian themes and far-fetched applications. These biblical orators feel the need to insert Christian theology into a text directed at ancient Israel and sidestep the message God originally steered towards the Jewish nation.

When this scenario occurs, the original application of a passage is lost. In other words, the pastor refuses to allow the Jewish Scriptures to breathe on their own. Instead, he flings an NT blanket to smother the words of the Hebrew text lest his non-Jewish Christian audience be confused by a passage that contains a present-day or future message to the Jewish people.

A recent example of a highly gifted pastor teaching through the prophet Zephaniah should suffice. This young clergyman presented an excellent survey of this three-chapter prophetic book. He pointed out Zephaniah’s message of harsh judgment against a rebellious nation for resisting the God of Israel. Nevertheless, Zephaniah’s audience needed hope and promise.

Let me add biblical scholar Merrill Unger’s bird’s-eye view of the overall message of Zephaniah from his New Unger’s Bible Dictionary:

Zephaniah deals with the coming invasion of Nebuchadnezzar as a figure of the Day of the Lord (1:1-2:3). He utters stern predictions of judgment on certain peoples (2:4-15). He outlines the moral state of Israel for which the captivity was to come as a punishment (3:1-7). He prophesies that the judgment of the nations is to be followed by kingdom blessing under the Messiah (3:8-20).“ZEPHANIAH, BOOK OF,” The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (2005) pg. 1385.

In Unger’s summarization of Zephaniah, the reader can see that throughout the book, God exhaled through the prophet warnings of the looming Babylonian Captivity of the southern kingdom. However, to refill the deflated lungs of the nation, the Lord provides Israel the life-giving fresh air of blessing under the reign of the coming Messiah over Jerusalem.

In Zephaniah 3:17, the Lord speaks through His prophet to lift His chosen nation, “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing (Zephaniah 3:17 ESV, bold formatting mine). What a message of hope for Israel!

Instead of emphasizing God’s love and devotion to Israel, the exuberant pastor focused on the fact that God exults over the present-day Christian with loud singing. Huh? Whatever happened to God’s message to encourage the southern kingdom of Judah? Sadly, this pastor failed to include Israel in his exposition of this delightful passage.

Despite their unfaithfulness, Israel needed to be lifted and reminded of God’s faithfulness to the Jewish nation. Not modern-day followers of Yeshua! Yet, in a mindset in which the Church replaces Israel, the hermeneutic (system of Bible interpretation) where the Church or Christians are interjected into texts addressed to Israel, this application becomes not only acceptable to evangelicals, but NORMALIZED.

Did you catch what I said? Evangelical Christian pastors have standardized what I  am tagging as “replacement hermeneutics,” as an every-Sunday way of inserting New Testament concepts into the Hebrew scriptures where they may not belong. At times these NT insertions might be valid, but only after the OT passage has been historically linked to the original audience, Israel.

With the “replacement hermeneutics” mindset, biblical academics can give the impression that the Hebrew text was written PRIMARILY to Christians, thereby erasing the existence of Israel from the text.

When the Hebrew Scriptures Νeed To Be Honored

Contemporary pastors can give the impression that the Hebrew Bible cannot stand on its own without pulling in a spiritual nugget from a New Covenant passage. These interpreters of God’s written word are essentially force-feeding the Hebrew Bible with Christian doctrine to “keep the Tenach alive and relevant” for their evangelical audience.

Please do not jump to any false conclusions about my position. I am NOT discounting cases where a pastor makes a legitimate connection between the two testaments. I maintain that the Jewish Scriptures point to the coming Messiah as revealed in the New Covenant. I am also convinced that the New Testament is made clearer by pointing back to the theology, history, and grammar of the Tenach.

Yet, there are long-term consequences when a Bible expositor regularly employs Replacement Hermeneutics in his pulpit skills. Below, I list three observations that aid the reader’s understanding of the lasting results of replacement hermeneutics (RH)

Consequently, this diminishing of the Jewish Bible categorizes the text as SECOND CLASS and is no longer honored as much as the NT.

1) Observation #1: Bible teachers give Gentile Christians the impression that many passages from the Tenach are relevant mainly to followers of Jesus. Not to the Jewish people! For instance, in the Abrahamic Covenant God promised the patriarch that from his loins would come forth his descendants, who would form a nation and would bless the nations of the world. See Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3, bold formatting mine, ESV). Then in Genesis 13:15 we observe the additional land promise to Abraham’s seed, “for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. (Genesis 13:15, bold formatting mine, ESV)

In the NT, this Abrahamic provision of blessings for the Gentile nations is repeated often. Take Acts 3:25 as an example: “You [the Jewish people] are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families [Gentiles] of the earth be blessed ‘” (Acts 3:25, bracketed comments mine, ESV). To the Gentiles, Paul writes in Galatians 3:8, “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed” (Galatians 3:8, bold formatting mine, ESV).

Because the Abrahamic promise of the land to Israel is NOT mentioned in the New Covenant, replacement theology advocates assume the land promise is no longer pertinent. In other words, God no longer promises the land to Israel or the other Abrahamic promises. Therefore, the provisions of the covenant made with the patriarch are now fulfilled in the Church, minus the land promises. In accordance with replacement hermeneutics, the Abrahamic promises ONLY apply to Christians and the land promises are spiritualized.

This hermeneutic amuses me. The interpreter assumes that because a promise to the Jewish people from the Jewish Bible is not repeated in the New Covenant Scriptures, God’s oath is NO LONGER valid. With this thinking, I imagine God’s commitment to Noah never to destroy the earth’s populace with a universal flood is defunct. In Genesis 9, we are reminded, “I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” (Genesis 9:11 ESV). Yet this promise is never repeated in the New Testament. Uh Oh. Better hold on to your umbrellas, folks!

2) Observation #2: The Old Testament scriptures need to be Christianized to be germane to modern evangelicals. The result is that the text of the Tenach serves only as a backdrop for New Covenant theology. The idea is then communicated that the Hebrew text CANNOT provide spiritual nourishment unless the interpreter can mine New Covenant truth out of the ancient text.

Promises that were made originally to the Jewish people end up on Christian placards and coffee mugs such as Jeremiah 29:11, minus their relevance to Israel.”For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV).

Jeremiah 29:11 is a wonderful passage that encourages a person with God’s commitment to bless His people. Yet the passage was initially written to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. God is comforting His Jewish people, assuring them of His commitment to the nation despite their condition in exile. The passage was NOT written to Christians, though followers of Yeshua are certainly comforted by the text. See my previous posts on Jeremiah 29:11

3) Observation #3: The Jewish background of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament is lost in this hermeneutical shuffle. No wonder evangelicals fail to see any connection to the Jewish roots of their faith. Modern-day Bible teachers are guilty of ripping the branches of the messianic faith from the Jewish tree via the questionable hermeneutical methodology they are practicing.

In Romans 11:18, Shaul wrote to Gentile Christians, “Do not be ARROGANT toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. (Romans 11:18, bold formatting mine, ESV). One form of arrogance or conceit is ignoring the Jewish roots of the messianic faith and acting as though the Christian faith has no Hebrew roots. The Apostle continues his cautionary language to Gentile believers, “Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.’” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear (Romans 11:19-20, bold formatting mine, ESV)

When the Hebrew Scriptures Support the New Covenant

Let me not be misunderstood. I am well aware that the New Covenant Scriptures cite OT passages throughout. Scholars estimate there are roughly 250-300 passages from the First Testament quoted in the New Testament. If one includes allusions and echoes from the Tenach, then estimates can jump into the thousands. The two testaments are tightly wound together. No argument here.

Consider the Book of Revelation and the myriad citations and references to events, persons, geography, and cryptic figures that we also see in the Hebrew Bible. The Apocalypse is chock-full of allusions and references, and citations from the Book of Psalms, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Without the background of the Jewish Scriptures, it is safe to say that the New Testament Book of Revelation would be extremely bewildering to understand.

The Benefits Given to the New Covenant by the Hebrew Scriptures

Yes, there are passages and theological arguments in the New Covenant that need the support of the Hebrew Bible for its teaching to make sense. The New Covenant reveals continuity with the Tenach, affirming its roots in the Jewish Bible.

Without the background of the Hebrew Bible permeating the New Testament, this document would be a pagan treatise divorced from its Hebrew roots. If so, why would the Jewish first disciples of Yeshua even be drawn to a faith not linked to the Hebrew prophetic passages? Since Yeshua is the Messiah of Israel, any record of His life, His teachings, and those of His followers should be soaking in the Jewish Scriptures.

The New Covenant stands on the shoulders of the Old Testament. Not the other way around. Surely, we can say that the Jewish Scriptures point us forward to look for a greater and necessary fulfillment. In this sense, the prophecies contained in the Tenach rely on the messianic writings of the New Covenant to show how these prophecies were fulfilled. The New Testament provides the follower of Yeshua the assurance that God has kept His word to Israel and the nations.

Look at how Simeon in the New Testament rejoices when he sees the Messiah child in the Temple:

“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32 ESV)

Simeon acknowledged the birth of Yeshua as a divine gift prepared by God to bring light to the Gentiles and glory for “your people Israel.” This righteous Jewish man was rejoicing that God had been faithful to Israel. In this sense, the fulfilled messianic prophecies found in the New Covenant reach back and affirm the messianic predictions found in the Tenach.

In addition, the angel Gabriel assured Miriam, the mother of Yeshua, that the child in her womb is the promised Messiah. He is the One who will fulfill the covenant God made with King David:

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33 ESV)

Here is another example of how the Hebrew text provides benefits to the Greek scriptures.

Without the messianic foretelling of the Tenach, the birth of Yeshua would not be noteworthy. The message was clear: Yeshua is born the Messiah-King of Israel, and His coming is in harmony with the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures.

Louis Lapides

The early followers of Yeshua looked to the Hebrew Scriptures as their PRIMARY source of divine truth. When the early messianic body of believers was launched, the written records demonstrate that these nascent members were continually consulting the Jewish Scriptures. To many Christians, it might be mind-blowing to know that the references to the Scriptures by the early believers referred to the Jewish Scriptures or the Tenach. The New Testament documents had not been written yet. or were in the composition process.

Check out these few examples of the importance of the Jewish Bible for early Jewish and Gentile disciples of Yeshua.

Romans 15:4: “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (bold formatting mine, ESV). Paul described the Jewish Scriptures as a source of instruction, encouragement, and hope. 2 Timothy 3:16 uses similar language to depict the Jewish Scriptures. Thus, the First Testament continued to be the source of biblical truth for the early messianic community.

1 Timothy 4:13: “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching” (bold formatting mine, ESV). The Apostle showed no indication that the Tenach had been replaced or that it served only as a source of messianic prophecy.

2 Timothy 2:15: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (bold formatting mine, ESV). Paul penned these words to encourage Timothy to be careful in understanding the Holy Scriptures–– the Old Testament. The Hebrew Bible is a source of spiritual truth that is still applied in the messianic age. Paul never spoke of a post-Israel era or the bygone days of the Jewish text.

2 Timothy 3:15, 16: “and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (bold formatting mine, ESV). Paul reminds Timothy of how significant the Jewish Scriptures have been to him throughout his life. He calls the Tenach “sacred”. “Sacred” or ἱερός speaks of items that are holy to God: the Temple, the priestly office or the sacrifices.

Paul continues to argue in vs. 16 that ALL of Scripture is God-breathed or inspired. Thus, ALL of Scripture is sacred and holy to God. NT writers offered no indication that the words and teachings of the Jewish Scripture were no longer applicable to followers of Messiah Yeshua.

2 Timothy 4:2: “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (bold formatting mine, ESV). Paul admonishes Timothy to proclaim the Word of God. This young spiritual leader is to employ the Jewish biblical text to teach, to rebuke, and to exhort.

Without the final New Covenant canon fully complete until the late first and early second centuries, the most accessible resource for the early messianic community was the Old Testament. Most of the books of the New Covenant were written 50-100 AD, but it wasn’t until the late 1st and 2nd centuries that churches were treating many of these books as authentic.

Yes, there is a fuller revelation found in the messianic faith. I get that. Yet the Hebrew Bible still speaks to hearts today, providing spiritual guidance and nourishment without needing later revelation to make the Hebrew text sing or become more sufficient.

The Dishonor Given to the Jewish Scriptures by Replacement Theology

Yes, when it comes to messianic prophecy, the New Covenant points to the completion of many prophetic texts, especially in the Gospel birth narratives. The New Covenant books also supply the believer with the essential doctrine of salvation by faith through the grace of God (2 Timothy 3:15). Paul’s letters challenge the misguided view that one can achieve salvation by keeping the Torah. Nevertheless, the revelation of the messianic faith never tosses out the moral guidance contained in the Five Books of Moses.

Here’s my biggest concern. What do we do with the sections of the Jewish Scriptures that don’t connect to further revelation found in the NT? The historical Books of Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. The Song of Solomon. The Book of Esther. Certain books of the Minor Prophets—many Psalms.

Do we discard these passages or chapters because they don’t fit with New Covenant theology? Some pastors do. Therefore, when they teach from the First Testament, they feel the need to rewire the Jewish scriptures, replace the Jewish motherboard of the Tenach with a New Testament circuit board.

I asked this question in Bible College. My professor advocated that the New Testament was like a strainer for the Old Testament. The only parts of the Tenach that were relevant to Christian treaching are those passages fulfilled in the New Testament and passed through the filter or strainer. I suggested my professor was advocating for a redacted or reduced Bible.

I argued that certain sections of the Hebrew Bible are not fulfilled in the New Covenant. These passages are still waiting for fulfillment. The prof retorted that those passages are to be spiritualized and Christians are to seek how these texts are fulfilled in Jesus.

I insisted that the passages that did not make it through his RT strainer have been reduced by his theological system to residue, as in a tea or coffee strainer. Instead of tossing his leftover tea leaves, he has redefined or spiritualized them. Nevertheless, he still strains out the ORIGINAL MESSAGE given by the biblical writers of the Tenach.

This college educator essentially eliminated most of God’s future promises to Israel of a literal messianic age and argued that those passages are fulfilled in the New Testament church. I insinuated that he was shrinking the overall volume of the Word of God down to New Testament fulfillments. Once he eliminated all the unfulfilled promises of a literal messianic kingdom in Jerusalem under the reign of Yeshua, his version of Scripture shrank to passages that replacement theologians feel apply to New Testament realities.

For example, Ezekiel 40-48 describes a future messianic temple in Israel that has never been constructed yet by the Jewish people. The real estate project of this Temple is still a future fulfillment. However, according to replacement hermeneutics, these passages have been reduced to a simple statement: Jesus is the true Temple (John 2:23).

Some argue the physical body of the Christian replaces the physical Temple: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV). Still other RT advocates maintain that the church is now the Temple of God: “in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:21-22, bold formatting mine, ESV). Consequently, there is no need for a millennial Temple in Jerusalem.

Are these nine chapters in Ezekiel now diminished to several paragraphs or a few NT verses? Did Ezekiel understand that the nine chapters of the revelation he was given would be shrink-wrapped down to one promise of a spiritual dwelling place for God’s Spirit?

In the process of demonstrating how the New Testament fulfills the Hebrew text, RT winds up dishonoring the First Testament by removing the literal promises God planted among the Jewish people. To inform the Jewish seeker that Yeshua came to fulfill messianic prophecies of the first coming of the Messiah, and then turn around to announce that the prophetic passages promising a future messianic kingdom are now fulfilled in the Church, sounds like a “bait and switch.”

The Connection Given Between the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures

Yes, there is a great deal of intertextuality or connectedness between the two testaments. For example, besides the obvious messianic prophetic texts cited in the New Testament, we observe many other non-messianic prophetic quotations. The New Testament includes 5-8 citations from Proverbs (Romans 12:20; Hebrews 12:5-6; James 4:6; I Peter 4:8; 5:5; 2 Peter 2:22). Bible teachers purport there are 60-70 citations from the Psalms in the Koine Greek Scriptures. There is no sense in either testament that quotations from one imply a lower value than the other.

Let us not forget the obvious spiritual parallels between the two testaments. The Apostle Saul uses Abraham’s faith as the trust New Covenant believers are to have in Yeshua. Check out Romans 4:2-3, “For if works justified Abraham, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:2-3 ESV). Here Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 to make his point that NT believers need faith to receive the gift of God’s righteousness.

In Genesis 15:6, Abraham is recorded as placing his confidence in the Lord God. But what was he believing? In Genesis 15: 5, God promised the patriarch that he would have his very own heir. In fact, the Lord told Abraham that his descendants would be like the stars in the sky. This promise to Abraham forms the threefold purpose of God in the Torah. This three-part purpose is outlined for us by John Sailhamer in the introduction of his excellent work, The Pentateuch as Narrative (pg. 6):

• Israel is heir to God’s covenant promises.
• God’s promises to Israel remain certain despite the nation’s failures,
• God’s relationship with Israel always has a future despite their disobedience.

Abraham put all his weight on God’s trustworthiness to bless his family, his descendants, and the nation to come forth from him. Included in this blessing is God’s promise to bless the nations of the earth through his seed. Therefore, Abraham’s faith in God at Genesis 15:6 was a trust in God’s redemption program for Israel and the Gentle nations. Unfortunately, a theology so bent on replacing Israel with the Church can overlook these truths.

One more powerful example. Through the Hebrew prophet Haggai, God sought to motivate the Jewish exiles to begin rebuilding the Second Temple. The prophet used future prophecies of God’s coming unshakeable kingdom to encourage the Israelites to resume construction of the Temple.

For sure, Haggai was not directly speaking to NT believers.

Yet the writer of the book of Hebrews feels free to quote from Haggai 2:6 to speak of the unshakeable nature of the kingdom of God in the New Covenant era: “For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land (Haggai 2:6 ESV). In this present age, this unshakeable kingdom is present among believers in Yeshua: “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe” (Hebrews 12:28 ESV).

The writer of Hebrews encouraged his Messianic Jewish readers not to grow weary in faith. He spurred them to press on in their faith by reminding them they have been given a steadfast kingdom.

I ask, “Does the quotation from Haggai, now applied to messianic believers, COMPLETELY fulfill God’s message He spoke to the ancient returnees from Persia?”

If one glances back at Haggai 2:7-9, the expositor can see there is more to Haggai’s words than the NT application made in Hebrews 12.

Check it out: “And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts’ (Haggai 2:7-9, bold formatting mine, ESV).

Because Haggai 2:7-9 is not quoted in the New Covenant, does that mean that the entire passage regarding the Temple is now fulfilled in some spiritualized perspective in the Church (see above discussion)?

Could it be that ONE aspect of Haggai 2:6 is applied to the New Covenant believers, but the rest of the passage is awaiting fulfillment for Israel once they turn to the Lord?

The replacement hermeneutic ends up eliminating the remaining prophetic promise of Haggai 2:7-9 because the writer of Hebrews did not quote that portion. The assumption is that these verses were not quoted because they are no longer true. The Church is the New Israel on a spiritual level. Thus, there is no need for the New Covenant body of believers to look forward to the building of the “latter house.”

This is another example of how RH can diminish a passage in the Tenach to fulfill NT theology and ignore the interconnectedness of theology with the Tanach.

The sacred text of the Tenach should be approached with objective scholarship that gives the Hebrew text room to breathe. In response, the Scriptures will exhale life-giving truths that point to a flourishing connection to God and a vibrant messianic mosaic throughout the Jewish Bible.

Conclusion

In foot racing, there is a technique known as the handoff or the baton pass. One runner passes a strike (baton) to the next runner. The goal is to keep running without dropping the pace or the baton. Once the baton is handed over, the former carrier drops out of the contest and allows the handoffee to keep running.

This is how most Christians view the relationship between the two testaments. The baton is the redemption story that runs through both volumes. The Old Testament, or first runner, hands off the redemption thread to the New Testament (second runner) and then drops out of the race. The job of the Tenach is done, according to most evangelicals.

Guess what? The Jewish Scriptures did not execute a handoff to the New Covenant. The Old Testament biblical runners didn’t drop out of the race once the story of redemption is handed off to the next runner [the New Covenant]. To be truthful, the runner attached to the Jewish Scriptures still speaks to us today.

In the biblical sense, BOTH TESTAMENTS grasp the baton of redemption and run the race together, hand in hand. The New Testament never superseded the Jewish Scriptures. NT writers never view the Tenach as outdated, discarded, or unnecessary.