One of the themes of...
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One of the themes of Revelation is that of "newness" and Bishop Fulton J. Sheen gives us an example of "newness" in Christ. When our Lord does come to use the word "qahal" -- the word used for God's people -- he calls it "my qahal": "I will found my church, my people." The bond that Christ establishes with this new qahal is not a bond of law, it is a bond of love. The very best moment for establishing this bond was a banquet where his 12 sat about him in love. Just as Moses often sprinkled blood upon the people as a sign of covenant, so he said that he would make a new covenant, a new pact, a new testament. And there was the sprinkling of the blood of goats and bullocks and sheep; he gave his own blood and said, "This is the blood of the new covenant" -- the new testament, the new pact. This is the bond that will unite all of my people together. Now do you see that the church is not an institution? -- Joseph
