The Difference Between Moses, Prophets, Apostles

Eph 2:20

“The household of God having been built on the foundation of the apostles [NT] and prophets [O.T.], Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone”

A few weeks ago I awoke at 2 A.M. with this question:

1.) What is the difference between Moses and the prophets?

2.) What is the Difference Between Moses And The Apostles, and

3.) What is the Difference Between The Prophets And The Apostles.

While I lay there meditating, the Lord showed me where to find the differences between them in the Bible.

Pastor Ron Smith

The Bible says God’s church is also…

The Pillar And Ground Of The Truth

1Tim 3:15

The Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles are the foundation of the church and the church is the pillar that supports the superstructure. Christ is the chief cornerstone… not the Pope.

What Is The Function Of A Cornerstone?

The cornerstone lines up the foundation so the house is not crooked. This means that the Old and New Testaments must be interpreted in the light of Christ in order to be foursquare. Square means “honest.”

The Foundation Is Crucial

A house built on sand will not stand. It must go down deep or the foundation will move. We dare not be shallow.

The foundation of God’s house begins with the lawgiver, Moses.

And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself (Luke 24:27).

People like Jesus, but they don’t like Moses. But Jesus said, “If you liked Moses, you would like Me” ((John 5:46). People who don’t like Moses, do not really like Jesus. They like their own made-up Jesus. Therefore, they have no depth, no foundation.

To get into God’s kingdom, we must enter by …

The Gates Of The New Jerusalem

Those gates have the names of the 12 tribes of Israel written on them. The very entrance to God’s church is through Old Testament Israel. The Jew first, and also the Greek (Rom 2:10).

If we want to understand God’s revelation…

We Need To Understand The Differences In The Foundation Stones

1.)         The Difference Between Moses And The Prophets,

2.)         The Difference Between Moses And The Apostles,  

3.)         The Difference Between The Prophets And The Apostles.

We can’t just build with Moses alone like the Sadducees did. Nor can we build with just the prophets and end with John the Baptist. Nor can we start all over again and reject the Old Testament.

The Difference Between Moses And The Prophets: God spoke clearly to Moses and in the riddles of dreams and visions to the prophets

 “If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed. (Num 12 ESV)

The Difference Between Moses And The Apostles was that the apostles unveiled the mystery hidden for ages while Moses veiled it.

Since we [apostles] have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. (2 Corinthians 3:12–18 ESV)

The way to find the real Jesus is to unveil Moses. The only difference between the apostles & Jesus is the veil.

The Difference Between The Prophets And The Apostles

Acts 21:3–13

On his way back to Jerusalem, Paul landed at Tire and stayed there for seven days with the disciples.

And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem…. “Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.” 15 And after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem.”

God shows the prophets things to come, but they do not always know how to interpret what they see. They saw that Paul would be jailed, but did not understand that what they saw did not mean he should not go there. The apostle understood that. That is the difference between apostles and prophets.

Prophets Do Not Always Understand How To Interpret

What God’s Spirit Reveals

1 Peter 1:10-11 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating …

Conclusion

The difference between Moses and the prophets: Riddles & clearly. The difference between Moses and the apostles: The veil. The difference between the prophets and apostles: The interpretation.