Thursday, November 11, 2010

Bullinger's Title Pages

As was Bullinger’s usual practice in all his books, on the title page of De testamento Bullinger cited Matthew 17:5 in the following manner:

JESUS
This is my beloved son in whom
my soul is reconciled . Hear him!
Matthew 17:5

The particular significance of Matthew 17:5 for De testamento indicates that Bullinger believed that Jesus to be the goal or focus of the covenant, hence His name is printed in upper case. He also sought to underline the fact that God continues to speak to men and women throughout the ages by means of the biblical account of the covenant. Moreover, since the context of Matthew 17:5 is the transfiguration of Christ when Moses and Elijah appeared talking with Him, it is most probable that Bullinger had in the back of his mind the prophet to come referred to in Deuteronomy 18:15. Certainly Bullinger emphasized the significance of Acts 3:25 in De testamento. It is possible that Bullinger may well be indicating that Christ came to bring the new Torah (His Word which would be written on the hearts of men and women in fulfillment of Jeremiah 31) which would replace the Torah of the Old Testament. Thus, in his Answer to Burchard, Bullinger was insistent that one should listen to Christ alone. In citing Acts 26:22 in this work addressed to Burchard, Bullinger sought to demonstrate the sufficiency of Scripture and that traditions and councils were unnecessary.

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