In this episode (original link), Nick Batzig and D.B. Cummings talk with Dr. Vern Poythress, a distinguished author and longtime professor at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA. The conversation centers around Dr. Poythress’s influential book, The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses, which explores the connections between the Old Testament law and the person of Christ. Dr. Poythress shares his journey of writing the book, emphasizing the importance of understanding the Old Testament as a precursor to the New Testament, and how it reveals the holiness of God and the need for redemption through Christ. He discusses the challenges many Christians face when reading the Old Testament, particularly the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, and offers insights on how to approach these texts with a Christ-centered perspective.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction
02:54 The Impact of ‘The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses’
08:40 Understanding the Old Testament’s Focus on Christ
15:03 Practical Approaches to Reading the Old Testament
20:09 The Symbolism of the Tabernacle and Sacrifices
36:31 God’s Holiness and Our Worship
39:12 The Tabernacle and the Garden of Eden
44:00 Understanding God’s Holiness and Justice
48:58 The Fulfillment of Justice in Christ
58:30 The Land, the Law, and Political Theology
01:03:25 Old Testament Laws and Their Modern Relevance
Resources
Dr. Vern Poythress
“Learning Christological Interpretion of the Bible Through Examples” (2004 WTS Lecture)
- The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses
- The Returning King: A Guide to the Book of Revelation
- Biblical Typology: How the Old Testament Points to Christ, His Church, and the Consummation
- Miracles of Jesus: How the Savior’s Mighty Acts Serve as Signs of Redemption
- Inerrancy and Worldview: Answering Modern Challenges to the Bible
- Reading the Word of God in the Presence of God
- “The Presence of God Qualifying Our Notions of Grammatical-Historical Interpretation: Genesis 3:15 as a Test Case” (Published in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society50/1 (2007) 87-103)