05/02/24, Thursday

TOPIC OUTLINE

1. Salvation and Protoevangelium
   1. Salvation
   2. Protoevangelium (The First Gospel)
   3. “New” Adam and Eve
   4. Consequences of Adam’s Sin to Humanity
2. God’s Covenant
   1. God Establishes a Covenant Relationship with His People
   2. God’s Covenant with Abraham
   3. 3 Divine Activities in the Lives of the Patriarchs
      1. Abraham’s Blessings
      2. 3Ls of a Nation
3. Prefigurations and Stories
   1. Prefiguration
   2. Prefiguration Through the Story of Isaac
   3. Prefiguration Through the Story of Jacob
   4. God’s Power and Love
   5. God’s Revelation of His Name
   6. Plagues
   7. Prefiguration Through the Feast of the Passover
   8. The Ten Commandments as the Law of the Covenant
   9. Israelites and the Promised Land
   10. The Challenge Before Us

SALVATION HISTORY PART 1: PROTOEVANGELIUM

SALVATION

SALVATION AND PROTOEVANGELIUM

• Greek word “soteria,” meaning deliverance
• Hebrew word “yeshu’ah,” meaning God saves.
• Liberation from straitened circumstances or from other evils.
• Popularly defined as liberation from sin and its consequences.
• Old Testament
  • More related to physical salvation because of Moses’ parting of the Red Sea.
• New Testament
  • More related to spiritual salvation because of Jesus’ death on the cross and ressurrection.

PROTOEVANGELIUM (THE FIRST GOSPEL)

• The passaige in Genesis is about the first announcement of the Messiah, of a battle between the serpent and the Woman and of the victory of a descendant of hers. (CCC 410, GEN 3:15)
  • “I will put emnity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and

you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

• God did not abandon us to the power of death.

“NEW” ADAM AND EVE

• Jesus is seen as the New Adam and Mary as the New Eve because of their obedience. Christ claimed victory over sin by his sacrifice (death on the cross). (CCC 411)
• Comparison between Adam and Jesus
  • Adam’s transgression brought sin, affecting the world.
  • Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins brought salvation, also affecting the world.
• Comparison between Eve and Mary
  • Eve’s acceptance of the serpent became the way for sin to exist in this world.
  • Mary’s acceptance of the invitation through Angel Gabriel became the way for salvation to exist.
• The victory that Christ won over sin has given us greater blessings than those which sin had taken from us. (CCC 420)
  • “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” (Rom 5:20)

CONSEQUENCES OF ADAM’S SIN TO HUMANITY

• “For just as though the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be

made righteous.” (Romans 5:19)

• The whole human race is in Adam “as one body of one man.”
• By this “unity of the human race,” all men are implicated in Adam’s sin, as all are implicated in Christ’s justice. (CCC 404)

GOD’S COVENANT

GOD ESTABLISHES A COVENANT RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS PEAOPLE

• Covenant
  • A contract freely entered into by two parties which is binding, and each is expected to be faithful and assume responsibilities and enjoy privileges.
  • Evident in the story of the Patriarchs. (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob)
  • An offer of friendship and mutual commitment
  • An expression of how the two persons would rather die that to break an agreement between them.

GOD’S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM

• In Genesis 17, God formed a covenant with Abraham.
• As a sign of their covenant, God required Abram and his descendants to undergo the rite of circumcision.
  • Through the covenant ritual of circumcision, the blessing of Abraham was inherited by his descendants.
• Circumcision of the heart
  • The transformation of the person comes from within and is no longer physical.
  • Exclusively for Israelites
• Baptism
  • Transformation of the person from within, which is inclusive to all.
• Changing of Names
  • The changing of name signifies becoming a new person.
  • Before the covenant, Abraham was named Abram.

3 DIVINE ACTIVITIES IN THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS

• Before God initiated the convent with His chosen people, the person needs to go through these three activities.
• The story of the Patriarchs reflect the willingness of God to establish a relationship with a handful of selected people that later became a nation.

1. Election
   • The person was chosen by God to be his instrument.
2. Promise
   • Gives the chosen person the assurance that those promises will be fulfilled.
   • Does not come in an instant and takes time.
     • Ex. Abraham’s first two blessings did not come true until the time of Jacob.
3. Covenant
   • An ultimatum or ultimate act of God’s union with His chosen people.
   • Divinely initiated union between God and man.

• Abraham’s blessing (God’ promises to Abraham)
  1. A great nation
  2. A land which his nation will possess
  3. A great name and blessing to everyone
     • Through the covenant ritual of circumcision, these blessings of Abraham were inherited by his descendants.
• 3Ls a nation should have:
  • Law
    • The 10 commandments
  • Land
    • The promised land
  • Leader
    • King Saul

PREFIGURATIONS AND STORIES

PREFIGURATION

• Events and persons that give us a foretaste of a particular event that will happen in the New Testament.

PREFIGURATION THROUGH THE STORY OF ISAAC

• The story of Isaac prefigures the life and sacrifice of Jesus

PREFIGURATION THROUGH THE STORY OF JACOB

• The story of Jacob shows the beginning of a great nation.
  • Jacob was blessed with the name Israel after surviving a fight with God.
  • Jacob was blessed with 12 children that later became the 12 tribe leaders of the kingdom of Israel.
  • Jacob had a dream wherein God (in the form of an angel) was fighting with him. Jacob won.
  • Israel (“Someone who struggled or won against God”)

GOD’S POWER AND LOVE

• God’s power and love knows no boundaries
  • The story of Jacob’s descendants in Egypt shows the power of God to liberate his people from oppression.
  • God called Moses to liberate the Hebrews and lead them to the wilderness to receive the 10 commandments.
  • Exodus
    • “Outgoing”/”departure”

GOD’S REVELATION OF HIS NAME

• God revealed his name to Moses

YHWH

• • Remains umpronounced out of deep reverence and respect; read but not mentioned.
• “I am”
  • The name of God.
  • There is no direct translation from YHWH
  • The name of God can never be put into a certain name.
  • Tetragrammaton
    • Greek “Four-lettered,”
    • Hashem “The Name”
    • Adonai “Lord”

PLAGUES

• Signs and wonders of God’s power over Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
• Symbolic in a sense that the people considered this as God’s manifestation of greatness and power over the Pharaoh.
• The Death of the Eldest Son
  • Became the most instrumental plague

PREFIGURATION THROUGH THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER

• The Feast of the Passover prefigures the Last Supper of Jesus
  • Hebrew word “Pesach,” meaning “to pass over,” “protect/defend”
  • The sacrifice of the lamb
    • Saved the Israelites from the angel of death and liberated them from slavery.
    • Sacrificial lamb’s blood was painted on the doors of Israelites, and the angel of death “passed over” or skipped their houses, and the eldest sons survived the plague.
• Paschal Lamb
  • Jesus also celebrated the Passover with his disciples. He became the Paschal Lamb, offering his own body and blood for the forgiveness of sins.
  • Today, Jesus is the lamb of God.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AS THE LAW OF THE COVENANT

• The Ten Commandments
  • Greek word “Decalogue,” meaning “ten words.”
  • Became their code of conduct to live their lives morally as God’s chosen people.
  • Due to many translations, the 10 commandments became 613 or 614.
    • Because of this, the Jews were confused and did not know they were committing sins.
• Jesus’ teaching of the 2 greatest commandments
  • To prevent the believers from being pharisees, Jesus taught the true interpretation of the decalogue as the “Laws of Love,” the very heart of the law.
  • In the New Testament, Jesus preached the two greatest commandments of love:
    • The first three commandments were intended for the love of God.
    • The succeeding commandments were intended for the love of neighbor.

ISRAELITES AND THE PROMISED LAND

• Israelites enters the promised land after 40 years of travel.
• It was a long and tiring journey.
• Passing in the wilderness tested their faithfulness, obedience, courage, and perseverance

THE CHALLENGE BEFORE US

• The promise of God remains. He will fulfill all our aspirations, but it will take time. A little bit of patience and hope is important. We also have to be appreciative of the things happening around us, knowing that God will eventually fulfill His promises.