They Didn't Make It Up

Two good friends and I were listening to this nine-minute Roger Campbell video:

It's in Chinese, so below I have made an English transcript. If you just want to skip to the conversation we had because of this video, scroll down to the end of the translation:

Jesus Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant. As I said before, the content of the Bible is split up into two main sections. The first is called the Old Covenant. The second is called the New Covenant. Whose new covenant is it? It is Jesus' new covenant.

Please turn to 1 Corinthians 11, page 240. 240.

Please notice, when Jesus himself was living on this earth he was a Jew. Let me say that again. Jesus lived on this earth as a Jew.

The Jews at that time were under the Old Covenant law, called the Law of Moses. Why was it called the Law of Moses?. Because in the time of the Old Covenant, God spoke through a man called Moses to give the Jews his law. So it was called the Law of Moses.

I want to bring up two more facts. First, in Taiwan people think, "Jesus is not suited to us Asians." Why? "He's a Westerner." Actually, in fact, Jesus is not a Westerner. "No, Jesus is a Westerner!" Actually, in fact, Jesus is not a Westerner.

Jesus was born in Bethleham. Where is Bethleham? From Jerusalem to Bethleham is about 8 miles. Jerusalem and Bethleham belong to present-day Palestine. Palestine is located in the Middle East. Jesus is an Easterner!

"But his religion is Western, so his religion doesn't suit us Asians." Jesus established his church in Jerusalem. His church started in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is in Palestine. Palestine is in the Middle East.

Actually, in God's sight, people are not split up into Easterners and Westerners, Northerners, Southerners. People are people!

But don't misunderstand - when Jesus lived on this earth he was not a Westerner. Even though later more people in the West accepted him, his religion was not reserved for the East or the West.

So because Jesus was a Jew while living on this earth, because the Old Covenant law, the Law of Moses, was still in effect, so when Jesus was living on this earth he followed the Old Covenant law. Jesus himself followed the Old Covenant law.

But he used his blood to establish the New Covenant. On the night he was betrayed, the night before he was crucified, when he was together with his apostles in Jerusalem, he started his supper, called the Lord's Supper. This is the bread we eat and the grape juice we drink on Sunday.

Let's look at 1 Corinthians 11:24-25.

24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the NEW COVENANT in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."

According to verse 25, the new covenant is established with Jesus' blood. So that's why it's called Jesus Christ's New Covenant.

Now all the people in the world are all under the teaching of Jesus. I just mentioned how Jesus told his disciples, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."

Please notice, the Old Covenant law, the Law of Moses, was given to the Israelites. But the teaching of the New Covenant is given to the people of the whole world.

But you say, "Mr. Campbell, it's not everybody that accepts it." We're not talking about whether they accept it or don't accept it. But God's plan, the will of God, is that everybody is under the teaching of Jesus.

So how do we know Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant? Please turn to Hebrews 8. Page 310. 310.

The author of Hebrews often compared the Old and New Covenants. What was the Old Covenant like, what is the New Covenant like. Let's notice Hebrews 8:6,7:

6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant ...

See, he is the mediator of a better covenant.

... which has been enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.

Please notice verse 7 mentions the first covenant and also mentions the second covenant. Now in the book of Hebrews, when the author of Hebrews mentions a first and second covenant, he's talking about the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.

So the author of Hebrews is constantly emphasizing that we have through Jesus a more beautiful [?], a better one. We have a better new covenant, better promises, a better mediator. According to verse 6, who is the mediator of the New Covenant? It's Jesus Christ. Please turn to Hebrews 9:15:

For this reason He ...

"He" is referring to Jesus.

For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

So this verse is very clear. Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant.

So brothers and sisters, friends, don't misunderstand. The Old Covenant law was a really great law. The law of Moses which God gave to the Israelites was a really great law. How do we know? Because it came from God, of course it was good. God knew what the Israelites needed in the time of the Old Covenant, so he gave them the Law of Moses.

But when Jesus came and established his church, God knew that the teaching his church needed and the teaching of the Old Covenant were two different things. So Jesus came to be the mediator of the New Covenant. And don't forget, when Jesus was crucified, he nailed the Old Covenant teachings to the cross.

From that point on, the Old Covenant law, the Old Covenant teachings, were no longer in effect. All people everywhere are now under the teaching of Christ's New Covenant.

About three-fourths of the way through, something in this video or our discussion prompted one of my friends to say:

"So all these rules were made up by men, Jesus's disciples writing down what he said AFTER he was gone, but the rules were really made up by his disciples, like Confucius' disciples writing everything down 100 years later."

"No!" I said, and showed them what Jesus said would happen after he left:

"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you." (John 14:16,17)

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." (John 14:26)

"When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning. (John 15:26-27)

"And especially this verse!" I told them, and we continued reading:

"But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.... But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you." (John 16:5,6,13-15)

Then I showed them how just before Jesus went back to heaven he told them to go back to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit:

The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.... (Acts 1:1-13)

Then we jumped to the day of Pentecost when ten days later the Holy Spirit came with a rushing wind and everybody could hear them speaking in their own language:

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language.

They were amazed and astonished, saying, "Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs -we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God." And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" But others were mocking and saying, "They are full of sweet wine."

But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: "Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: 'AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says, 'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy. AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME. AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.'

"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know - this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power...."
..................

Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?"

Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!"

So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. (Acts 2:1-24,37-43)

"So the apostles did miracles, too," my friend said.

I said, "Yes, to prove that their words came from God. When the last apostle died and the Bible was all finished, the miracles couldn't continue very long after. For instance, if you wanted to be able to do miracles, an apostle would have to come lay his hands on you. [Acts 8 - we'd discussed it before.] You could then do miracles but you could never pass on that ability. So when the last apostle died, and the last person who could do miracles died, the age of miracles stopped. Otherwise if I told you I had a new book to add to the Bible and I could back it up with an undeniable miracle that even atheists would accept, then we'd have to add that book to the Bible."

We went back to listening to the video, when I suddenly paused it again and said, "What the apostles wrote had to have come from God, because in the day of judgment he's going to have the Bible and the book of our life lying side by side and he's going to compare the two. (Rev. 20:12) If the apostles didn't get it straight, if it was only their own thinking, if they didn't have the Holy Spirit like Jesus said; how could God judge us in the day of judgment? 'God, what are you doing judging me when it was your apostles who got it all wrong. How dare you judge me.' How could Jesus say his words would judge us (John 12:48) if he couldn't even guarantee that his disciples would write them down correctly?"

And then we finished watching the video.

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Sorry for the video-audio lag, I would try to recut it, but ffmpeg doesn't seem to work on my present system (Sabayon Linux) and I can not find a website to walk me through how to get the avconv equivalent of "ffmpeg -i input.mov -ss 00:29:59.0 -t 00:09:14.0 -vcodec copy -acodec copy output.mov". Any pointers would be greatly appreciated in the comments.