The Old Testament and New Testament are two parts of the Bible. But what's the difference between these two parts? In this blog post "old testament vs new testament," we will explore some of the differences between these two books of the Holy Scripture.
What's the big difference between the Old and New Testaments?
The Old Testament (OT) is the first section, also known as the Hebrew Bible or the old covenant. While the New Testament (NT) is the second part of the bible, also called Christian Holy Scriptures or the new covenant. The difference between them is that the Old Testament deals with stories from before Jesus was born. While the New Testament tells about Jesus' life and death on Earth.
What is the Old Testament?
The Old Testament corresponds to the Tenach, the Jewish Bible, and is largely written in Hebrew. Therefore, it is sometimes also called Hebrew Bible. The Old Testament contains the Five Books of Moses, the Prophets, historical books, and the Psalms, a collection of prayers and songs.
The Old Testament contains stories from Noah's Ark to Moses' Ten Commandments. The most popular story in Christianity centers around Adam and Eve being banished from Eden. Because they disobeyed God and ate an apple from a tree. With that humanity was no longer innocent. Having lost paradise, they must now work to live and are no longer free from pain or death.
The Old Testament further tells about God's relationship with people. It includes commandments that should govern human behavior. It also tells the story of ancient Israelite civilization and how it was given divine laws through God with the help of angels like Gabriel or Michael.
What is the New Testament?
In short, the New Testament is a Christian dogma that was written by followers of Jesus. It tells about his life and teachings after he died on the cross for everyone's sins. Christians believe it replaced Jewish law with its own new covenant. So, The New Testament tells how Jesus Christ came onto Earth and died for our sins. It also relates stories from when he was on Earth before His death: his birth, teachings, miracles, crucifixion, and resurrection.
What event separates the old and new testament?
The old testament ends with the death of King David and the new testament starts with Jesus Christ's birth. OT is a pre-Christian record of God's relationship to Israel, as told through Moses, Aaron, and other prophets. Whereas the New Testament documents what happened after Jesus was born.
What Does the Old Testament Say About Jesus?
The old testament mentions several times that the Messiah will come. He is prophesized to be a descendant of King David. There are also prophecies from before his coming which was fulfilled by him. For further information please read our article Finding Jesus in the old testament.
What happened after Jesus was born?
The scripture of the Old Testament was fulfilled with the birth of Jesus Christ. The prophesied Messiah was born, and the old testament no longer held power. However it is still the fundament for the NT.
What happened to the old book of the Bible?
The old testament is still included and remains relevant, but it's no longer used as a guide for Christians. Because Jesus fulfilled all prophecies from that time period with his birth.
Does the NT contradict the OT?
There is no contradiction whatsoever because both coexist together hand in hand. Like two halves of the same coin. The New Testament is based on the Old Testament. You can say, the new testament is like a child in contrast to the old testament which is like an adult.
The old testament is full of prophecies that are fulfilled by Christ's coming. His life, death, resurrection, ascension into heaven, and his return to set up a Kingdom for all people on earth. One can have both scriptures together in harmony without contradiction. Because they were written at different moments in time.
What are the differences between the Old and New Testaments?
Jesus Christ said: "Love your enemies." If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the left. The old law of the Old Testament, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, lost its validity. It was not meant in the sense of revenge anyway but that one should not give back to the other over the measure of the other to get satisfaction.
There are many other differences between the two scriptures. The New Testament talks more about Jesus Christ's life while in comparison most sections in the old testament talk about other prophets' lives. The history in the Old testament centers on Israel while the New testament has more universal themes like salvation for all people. In the old book, there were prophets who predicted future events. In the new book, only John talks in his revelation about a future happening. He predicts that one day it will be just as difficult to get into heaven from Jerusalem as coming from any other place. Mainly because so many people had turned away from Christianity by then.
Do Christians follow the Old Testament?
Christians follow the new testament, but they only consider themselves Christian if they follow both testaments ("old" and "new") equally. The Bible, and especially the NT is the most important book in Christianity. It's a collection of letters, with Jesus Christ as its main character and God Himself as His father. However, the Christian bible is only complete with both books.
The New Testament is when Christ set up his church on Earth. During which time he taught a lot about how people should live their lives. From then on out while also promising Heaven (or eternal life) to all those who believe in him based down here on Earth. This was so they would have something to look forward to after death!
What religions use the Old Testament?
The Old Testament is where Christians (Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox churches) believe that Jesus' life and teachings are prophesied. It's often referred to as "the old law" or Jewish law in Christianity. Because it was written by Jews for use within Judaism until Jesus came along. Judaism and Jewish people still use the Old Testament for guidance and instruction as they still don't believe Jesus Christ is the prophesied Messiah.
Why the Bible is important?
The Bible is important because it's the word of God. Christians believe they need only one book for guidance: The Bible or the Christian bible (both old testament and new testament). There is nothing more sacred than following its message so that people will be saved eternally.
What bible verse gives you strength?
They are many bible verses that give strength in daily life. One of them is:
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:12 (New Testament).
For more inspiring bible verses please visit our blog post and learn how to live a better life with Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
The New Testament is a continuation of the Old Testament. They are not contradictory because both coexist together hand in hand like two halves of the same coin. It's impossible to know or understand one without knowing or understanding the other. We hope this post has helped clarify some confusion around these different texts by giving you some insight into their similarities and differences.
If you're interested in learning more about what happened after Jesus was born, how we can follow him today as Christians, and why he came into this world at all please see read our other topics on our website! Thank you for reading. God bless you.