Grig, The whole point of the curtain tearing was to symbolize the removal of the barrier between God and men. There was no priesthood of all believers in the OT, as you are very well aware.
Why post it if you are aware of this?
“Grig, The whole point of the curtain tearing was to symbolize the removal of the barrier between God and men.”
The law of Moses doesn’t bring men into the presence of God, the atonement of Christ does that, but it still doesn’t say that anyone has the priesthood just because they are a believer. You still have the apostles going around ordaining other apostles, elders and bishops etc.
“There was no priesthood of all believers in the OT, as you are very well aware.
Why post it if you are aware of this?”
Because the NT holds out Aaron as an example of how one becomes a holder of the priesthood authority, and so no priesthood of believers in the OT establishes that Aaron didn’t come to have the priesthood by that way, so Paul in holding out Aaron as the example establishes that the priesthood is not conferred by simply believing, but by being called by revelation and ordained by one in authority to do so.
Now by our practice, every worthy male of age is ordained to some office in the priesthood, so it’s presence is very widespread among the membership as many of the verses you cite imply, but even so, it is conferred is by ordination from those already having authority. Nobody and no group can simply assert they have it on the basis of having faith.