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To: Dr. Brian Kopp

Of course, but Christ’s death was on the cross.


1,436 posted on 07/21/2010 7:52:59 PM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: metmom

From Wikipedia:

Christian responses

The Binding of Isaac is mentioned in the New Testament Book of Hebrews among many acts of faith recorded in the Old Testament:
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. (Hebrews 11:17–19, NKJV)

The Author of Hebrews here considers Abraham’s faith in God to be of such a magnitude that he felt reassured that if God would allow him to perform the task which he’d requested, God would be able to resurrect the slain Isaac, in order that his prophecy (Genesis 21:12) might be fulfilled. Such faith in God’s word and in his promise lead this particular Old Testament passage to be regarded by many Christians as an incredibly significant (and exemplary) one.

Early Christian preaching sometimes simply received Jewish interpretations of the binding of Isaac without elaborating on them. For example Hippolytus of Rome says in his Commentary on the Song of Songs, “The blessed Isaac became desirous of the anointing and he wished to sacrifice himself for the sake of the world” (On the Song 2:15).[4] Since other Christians from the period saw Isaac as a type of the “Word of God” who prefigured Christ (Origen, Homilies on Genesis 11–13), it is easy to see how early Christian interpreters might have made sense of this Jewish tradition. The majority of Christian Biblical commentators hold this whole episode to be an archetype of the way that God works; this event is seen as prefiguring God’s plan to have his own Son, Jesus, die on the cross as a substitute for humanity, much like the ram God provided for Abraham. And Abraham’s willingness to give up his own son Isaac is seen, in this view, as foreshadowing the willingness of God the Father to sacrifice his Son; also contrasted is Isaac’s submission in the whole ordeal with Christ’s, the two choosing to lay down their own lives in order for the will of God to be accomplished, as no struggle is mentioned in the Genesis account. Indeed, both stories portray the participants carrying the wood for their own sacrifice up a mountain.

There has been speculation within Christianity whether the Binding occurred upon the Temple Mount or upon Calvary, the hill upon which Christ was crucified, which is in the vicinity. Genesis 22:2 states that it occurred “in the region of Moriah” and not necessarily upon the Temple Mount, specifically. Some Christians view Abraham’s statement in 22:14, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided,” as a prophecy that upon this spot God would provide the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ.

An alternate interpretation contains the proposition that Calvary was on a section of Mount Moriah, the temple mount, which has subsequently been divided from the main part for the purpose of defending Jerusalem. Following this and the unproven indication that the mountain of Isaac’s Sacrifice is the Temple Mount. As such the crucifixion would occur on the same mountain. Again this supports the prophetic nature of Genesis 22:14 and also Isaiah’s the New Testament writer’s Hebrews 10:5 comment “You did not desire sacrifice, but a body you prepared for me.” This is a strong reference to Abrahams sacrifice (which is a foreshadowing of Israel’s long awaited Messiah providing a permanent sacrifice and redemption first mentioned in Genesis 3:14-15) and alludes to Isaiah’s words in Isaiah 11:1-15. (15:34, 25 February 2010 (UTC))


1,502 posted on 07/22/2010 6:34:23 AM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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