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Ministers must marry a virgin: Difference between revisions
→Restrictions on the marriage of priests in the Old Testament
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:''‘The priest who is the highest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes; 11 nor shall he approach any dead person, nor defile himself even for his father or his mother; 12 nor shall he go out of the sanctuary nor profane the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him; I am the LORD. 13 He shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by harlotry, these he may not take; but rather he is to marry a virgin of his own people, 15 so that he will not profane his offspring among his people; for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.’ ”<ref>New American Standard Bible, 1995 Edition: Paragraph Version (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Le 21:7–15.</reF> | :''‘The priest who is the highest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes; 11 nor shall he approach any dead person, nor defile himself even for his father or his mother; 12 nor shall he go out of the sanctuary nor profane the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him; I am the LORD. 13 He shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by harlotry, these he may not take; but rather he is to marry a virgin of his own people, 15 so that he will not profane his offspring among his people; for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.’ ”<ref>New American Standard Bible, 1995 Edition: Paragraph Version (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Le 21:7–15.</reF> | ||
==Do Levitical priests in the Old Testament equate to New Testament pastors?== | |||
There is nothing in the New Testament that would make priests under the old covenant equal to pastors or teachers in the new. There are three clear reasons for reaching this conclusion. | |||
First, the Levitical priesthood has been done away with: | |||
:''Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? For '''when the priesthood is changed''', of necessity there takes place '''a change of law also'''. For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life.<ref>New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Heb 7:11–16.</ref> | |||
Second, the priests, a group within the Levites, served as mediators between God and people, yet the New Testament teaches that there is only one mediator “between God and people, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2:5). For this reason it is deeply problematic when pastors are said to replace priests in the New Testament church. | |||
Third, such a teaching compromises the New Testament teaching on the priesthood of all believers (cf. Rom 12:1; Heb 10:22; 1 Pet 2:5, 9; Rev 5:10; 20:6).<ref>Andreas J. Köstenberger and David A. Croteau, “‘Will a Man Rob God?’ (Malachi 3:8): A Study of Tithing in the Old and New Testaments,” ed. Craig A. Evans, Bulletin for Biblical Research, Vol. 16, 2006, 65.</ref>: | |||
:''As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him — you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a '''holy priesthood''', offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 1 Pe 2:4–5.</ref> | |||
:''You have made them to be a kingdom and '''priests''' to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Re 5:10.</ref> | |||
:''The second death has no power over them, but they will be '''priests''' of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Re 20:6.</ref> | |||
=Quotes of William Branham= | =Quotes of William Branham= | ||