The Old Testament Witness to Christ and His Kingdom, Mentor's Guide, MG09

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T H E O L D T E S T A M E N T W I T N E S S T O C H R I S T A N D H I S K I N G D O M

* When is the last time you heard a sermon on any of these character types or offices of Christ? What were the major points included? How did those insights influence and affect your study of these concepts here? * Do you know how to study characters in the Bible? If you were going to start, how would you proceed? * This kind of study of the OT forces you to look for clues about Messiah in the actual persons and characters in the text. Why is this such a good way to investigate the OT’s witness to Christ, i.e., looking for Christ in the very history of the lives of the people of God? Explain your answer. * How would you know that you have found a character that might be deemed as a character type of Christ? What kind of criteria would we need to look for and apply in order to have “pretty high confidence” that a character was a type of Christ, either directly (like Joseph) or by contrast (like Adam)? * This method of study (character types) also asks you to look “beyond the obvious” in the stories of the key characters in the OT, and to look specifically for possible linkages between their lives and the life of Christ. Would you say you are skilled at this? Why or why not? How would you suppose that someone would become more skilled at this kind of perspective and practice? * In such a spiritual exercise and study , what role does prayer and fasting play in this kind of study? * Does this kind of study “move you,” that is, what is your emotional reaction to seeing the life and ministry of Jesus so visibly portrayed in the lives and histories of different characters in the OT? What does this suggest to you about the nature of the Bible, and it focus on providing witness to the Son of God?

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Second Adam, a Life-Giving Spirit

In making connection between OT characters and the person of Christ, the role of theology becomes a major factor. For instance, the Jehovah’s Witnesses will admit, as they must, that the Bible makes an explicit connection between the person of Adam in the OT and Jesus in the New. Although they recognize the connection