God Unchanged: Understanding Old and New Testament Differences

Aug 31, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Scapegoat’s Freedom and the Lamb’s Sacrifice

The Old Testament’s rituals weren’t arbitrary—they pointed to Jesus. The scapegoat carried Israel’s confessed sins into the wilderness, while the unblemished ram took the penalty of death. This twofold act foreshadowed Christ’s work: He became both the sin-bearer and the perfect sacrifice. The cross reveals what the Law concealed—God’s plan to rescue humanity without compromising justice. Every bloody altar and wandering goat whispers the name of Jesus. [07:13]

“Then Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land.”
(Leviticus 16:21-22, NKJV)

Reflection: Where have you seen shadows of Jesus’ sacrifice in Old Testament stories? How does recognizing His presence in both goat and lamb deepen your awe for God’s plan?

Day 2: Mercy in Wrath—Cutting Cancer to Save the Body

God’s command to destroy wicked nations wasn’t cruelty—it was surgery. Like removing a cancerous limb to preserve life, He eradicated irredeemable evil to protect His redemptive mission. His mercy appears in the scalpel: judgment prevents sin’s metastasis. The cross proves He’d rather take the wound Himself than lose the world. His love operates in both restraint and radical intervention. [10:21]

“The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty.”
(Exodus 34:6-7, NKJV)

Reflection: When has God’s “no” to destruction in your life actually been a “yes” to your healing? How does His surgical precision comfort you amid life’s chaos?

Day 3: White-Horse Jesus—Judge with a Sword in His Mouth

Revelation’s Jesus isn’t a passive figure—He’s a warrior-king trampling evil. The same lips that said “Father, forgive them” will command armies. His robe drips with the blood of rebellion, not compromise. Final judgment isn’t a contradiction of His love but the fulfillment of it. Mercy’s window remains open, but justice demands closure. The Rider comes to finish what He started. [18:57]

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.”
(Revelation 19:11-13, NKJV)

Reflection: Does your view of Jesus include His warrior heart? How does His commitment to eradicate evil strengthen your trust in His leadership?

Day 4: Blue-Eyed Angels and Unnotched Protectors

Angels aren’t ethereal ideas—they’re active agents disguised as strangers, rescuers, or even ragged men. They guard believers, execute judgment, and amplify worship. Their presence proves God’s nearness in the mundane. Like Abraham’s visitors, they often arrive unannounced, testing our willingness to host holiness. Heaven’s messengers still walk among us—if we have eyes to see. [24:13]

“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.”
(Hebrews 13:2, NKJV)

Reflection: When did you last encounter “ordinary” kindness that might have carried divine fingerprints? How could expecting angelic assignments change your daily interactions?

Day 5: Chewing Tohu Bohu—Studying Over Reading

Bible engagement isn’t about speed but depth. Reading surveys the landscape; studying mines its riches. Like Joshua meditating on the Law or Timothy dissecting doctrine, growth comes through wrestling with words. The Holy Spirit rewards those who dig past surface meanings—whether tracing “baptize” through Scripture or probing why earth was “tohu wa bohu.” Truth thrives in the soil of holy curiosity. [44:29]

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night. Be strong and of good courage, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
(Joshua 1:8-9, NKJV)

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
(2 Timothy 2:15, NKJV)

Reflection: What Scripture phrase have you glossed over that might unlock deeper understanding if you studied its original context? How could setting aside “checklist reading” nourish your spiritual hunger?

Sermon Summary

God’s unchanging nature does not mean every command lands in the same covenant moment. God progressively revealed Himself to mankind, and the cross finally shows both the depth of His love and the seriousness of His judgment. Adam and Eve knew God loved them, but humanity could not fully see how far that love would go until Jesus, the spotless Lamb, was sacrificed in the place of sinners.

The Old Testament conceals what the New Testament reveals. The scapegoat pictures sinful people being released, while the spotless sacrifice pictures Christ bearing what sinners deserved. God’s mercy did not suddenly begin in the New Testament, because the Old Testament repeatedly calls Him merciful, gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness. God’s justice did not disappear in the New Testament either, because Christ will judge the churches, open the scrolls, strike the nations, and rule with a rod of iron.

The cross stands between humanity and immediate judgment in this present age. Christ took the wrath that sin deserved, but those who refuse that exchange remain accountable for their own sin. God’s patience is not passivity, and His mercy toward sin is not approval of ungodliness. The day of reckoning will come because the King of kings owns the place and runs the place, yet God delays judgment because He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Angels can physically interact with people according to Scripture, often appearing as ordinary men. Abraham and Lot encountered angels without initially seeing them as angels, and Hebrews warns believers that strangers may be entertained unaware. Angelic protection belongs around those who fear God, though angels must never be worshiped.

Replacement theology and fulfillment theology land in the same place when they claim Israel has lost its divine place and the church has replaced it. That claim remains false, even if a softer label gets put on it.

Bible reading and Bible study are not the same thing. The New Testament should ground new believers in the revealed Christ through the Gospels, Acts, and Romans before they spend most of their time in the concealed pictures of the Old Testament. A reading plan can help some people, but purpose matters more than order. Study digs deep by tracing a word or subject from Genesis to Revelation until the whole picture starts coming together.

Key Takeaways

1. The cross reveals God’s full heart The cross does not soften an angry God into a loving God. The cross reveals that God’s love and judgment work together, because Christ received the judgment sinners deserved. God’s love becomes clear in the cost He was willing to pay, and God’s judgment becomes clear in what that cost required. [05:18]
2. Mercy is not approval of sin God’s patience can be badly misunderstood when judgment does not come right away. Sinful people can mistake delayed consequences for divine endorsement, but stored-up wrath is still wrath. God gives time for repentance because He is merciful, not because holiness no longer matters. [15:50]
3. Jesus is both Savior and Judge Jesus came first to bear sin at the cross, but He will return to judge and make war in righteousness. The little-bitty Jesus in popular imagination cannot carry the weight of Revelation’s Christ, who rules with authority and settles every account. Christ’s gentleness toward repentant sinners does not cancel His final judgment against persistent rebellion. [18:57]
4. Study searches for the whole picture Reading Scripture meditates on God’s Word, while studying traces its words, themes, and connections across the whole Bible. A single word studied from Genesis through Revelation can show how God concealed and then revealed His purposes. Depth comes when Scripture is allowed to interpret Scripture instead of being handled as disconnected verses.

## [43:14]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[02:00] - Is God Different in Old and New Testaments?
[04:01] - God’s Love Revealed at the Cross
[06:34] - The Scapegoat and the Spotless Lamb
[08:33] - Judgment as Cutting Out Cancer
[11:02] - Old Testament Mercy and New Testament Wrath
[14:40] - Grace, Law, and Faith Through History
[17:24] - Jesus the Judge in Revelation
[23:47] - Can People Encounter Angels?
[30:09] - Guardian Angels and Angelic Protection
[35:14] - Replacement Theology and Fulfillment Theology
[36:14] - How to Read and Study the Bible
[44:55] - Why Some Books Were Kept Out

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Romans 2:4-5
“Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” [12:30]

Revelation 19:11-16
“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called

Sermon Clips

49s

#CrossRevealsLove

“They knew God loved them, but they did not know to what extent God would go to show his love for them. And I'm talking about humanity in general. So let's let's go it this way. You ready? It would take the work of the cross for mankind to really understand how much God loves them. Does that make sense? Without the work of the cross, the God loves you doesn't mean anything. But truthfully, the judgment of God was on the cross. So you can't really understand God's judgment until you understand the cross. And the cross and the judgment of God work together for us to comprehend how much God loves us. Does that make sense, everybody? Now I say that to say you don't get that in Genesis.”

43s

#FromLawToGrace

“Fast forward. From the law till the cross, fifteen hundred years. That do good, get good. Do bad, you get bad. From the cross to now, guess what God's back to? Faith and grace. God gives grace. He gives mercy. But that time period is going to end, and I believe very shortly. Here's the deal. The age old mistake, watch this, God's kindness, patience, and mercy during times of grace and faith, mercy towards sin has always been misunderstood as passivity and blessing ungodliness in the earth.”

64s

#RevelationJudgment

“The one entire book is dedicated to judgment. That is the revelation of Jesus Christ. I'm here to tell you, God will end this entire thing with judgment. Watch this. Revelation one to three, Jesus judges the churches. Revelation four and five, Jesus is worthy to open up the scrolls. In Revelation six through 16, this when all literally, it is breaking loose. The seals, the trumpets, and the bowls, what happens is natural disasters, economic turmoil, and plagues. Why? The wrath of God is being poured out on the earth. The first three and a half years of what is called the tribulation is the wrath of God. The second half of the tribulation is called the great wrath of God. One thirty of the earth is wiped out. One third of the living creatures are gone. There I mean, it gets bad, and people are gonna be like, oh my goodness. What's going on? Listen. I told you. God's wrath will be poured out. And guess who's doing it? Jesus.”

73s

#ConcealedThenRevealed

“It takes thousands of years for God to continually reveal himself before people get what God was really trying to say and do. Does that make sense, everybody? Okay. So here's my point. Old and New Testament. There's a difference between the Old and New Testament. Alright? Jesus is concealed in the Old Testament. Well, in in the New Testament, Jesus is revealed. Everything in the Old Testament is about concealing something. Everything in the New Testament is about revealing the very thing that was concealed in the Old Testament. Let me give it to you this way. In the Old Testament, they would take the nation of Israel. They would come in on the day of atonement, and they would take a lamb, and they would take and they would confess all their sins over that. It was actually a ram, but they would confess all their sins over the ram. And they would let that ram, listen to it, the one they confessed all their sins over, they would let go. And it was called the scapegoat. And then the one ram that they would, watch this, not speak any sins over, which was spotless, which was perfect. They would sacrifice it.”

26s

#DoNotWorshipAngels

“You go into the Bible and you read what angels can do. They're bad dudes, man. They can do a lot with God's power. No doubt about it. So does that make sense? Do I believe angels we can encounter angels? Absolutely. They're oftentimes, usually, they present themselves as men. Here's the difference, though. You ready? They should never be worshiped.”

51s

#SameGodDifferentRevelation

“In the New Testament, it's revealed. Watch this. God's purpose is concealed in the old in the Old Testament. But get this, God's purpose in the new is absolutely revealed. So I say all that just to make sure that we understand that the, Old Testament and the New Testament are one in the same book, but they're operating together. So get this. You ready? God is the same in the Old Testament as the New. And what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna show you Old Testament scriptures that deal with the mercy of God. And then I'm gonna show you New Testament scriptures that deal with the justice of God or the wrath of God. Then I'm gonna show you that I am of the opinion. You don't have to agree. I am of the opinion that the New Testament has more to do with judgment than the old.”

38s

#TohuBohuCuriosity

“Y'all hearing what I'm saying? Everybody's wired different. So for me, I just can't read over in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. I get to verse two. And the earth was without form and void. What? How come the earth is without void form and void? What's the word form and void? Bohu tohu in the Hebrew. What's bohu tohu mean? What's that mean? Oh, that's in Isaiah. Isaiah, the for the Lord did not make the earth bohu tohu. Well, that's interesting. ain't even got I I ain't got to three verses.”

27s

#JesusConfronts

“He goes, you won't pick a fight? Pick it with me. He comes back and sets the record straight, y'all. He it doesn't even come say he comes to make make peace. He didn't even come for that. He comes to pick a fight with everybody that's picked a fight for thousands of years. He do he's done with the fighting. You want a war? Let's bring it. Who's who's who's as powerful as I am? Nobody.”

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