I would like to now elaborate on the “necessary ages” of the OT that are absolutely in need of being historical in order to pave the way for the coming of Messiah.
Again, as I have pointed out, both St. Augustine and St. Methodious of Olympus speak of five ages of the Old Law. St. Augustine actually delineates what partitions them. Also, five kings of the beast are referenced as fallen in Revelation 17:9-11. St. Hypollytus suggests the kings of the beast are ages.
From this data, I am arguing that the five ages as outlined by St. Augustine are a primary key to unlocking what the Church would, of necessity, admit must be history in the OT as essential stages to prepare for Christ.
And, basing myself on the self same passage from Augustine, I wish to expand on known Catholic theology according to Augustine’s further classificaiton of the ages into the preeminent stages (the first two), and the remaining three that the Jews traversed, which Augustine calls a prophecy of the Gospel, hence implying that the three kings of the beast for the NT era are precisely the spiritual fulfillment of the three ages of the Jews.
Clearly, even apart from this data, the Old Testament Covenant given to the Jews is obviously an absolute necessity to prepare for Messiah. Why? Because, as the NT Cov is so utterly intricate and beyond reason, God would need to set up a great “foreshadowing” of the Laws and Doctrines of the NT in order for the NT Cov to be able to be accepted when it is given.
Also, remember, humanity progresses in stages. Hence, God cannot give the fullness of truth all at once. (Jack Nicholson: “You can’t HANDLE the truth!”) Therefore, the OT covenant with Abraham and Moses is an essential warm up preparation for the fullness.
For one, basic monotheism must be first driven in before the incomprehensibility of the Trinity is to be shewn, as well as the Incarnation.
All these reasons demand that the OT Cov with the type of Abraham and Moses be traversed and given prior to the NT.
Now, let us use logic: If God gave the OT to the whole of humanity, it would not work. Why?
Because of the law of the stubbornness of the fallen nature. Most of the Jews rejected the NT, and I would say this is because of the stubbornness of the human will to take things too literally, to take things that that are merely preparatory to be the end themselves, instead of only pointing to the final end.
For this reason, had God not given the OT to only a remnant nation, and rather to the whole world, then by the principle of the stubborness, when the fullness would come, the near whole world would reject, like the Jews. Which would therefore backfire.
Remember, God is guiding history and responding to the fallen nature in such a manner that He can, in the end, bring about the greatest possible spiritual good, which is the conversion to the fullness of truth of as many persons as possible.
Hence, the OT is given only to a small portion of humanity, so that when the fullness comes, even though most of the small porition shall reject it, nevertheless, the remainder of humanity that has wandered in darkness and not been able to find what it is looking for (like the Greeks’ myriads of philosophies), will be so hungry for the answer, they will rejoice when the full bug is thrown before them.
Note also, my theory from before, that once the cov with the type of Abraham is given, it necessarily follows the three stage path of the saint, and this is precisely why the ages of the Jews and Church are three.
Hence, we have seen the necessity of at least the three Jewish stages for the OT.
What about the first two?
Well, let us reason further: why didn’t God then immediately give the OT cov in the times of Noah, and wait until after Babel?
here is where i conjecture the necessity for God to let the preeminent stages come first, because remember, God must evolve the salvation and revelation only in so far as man is ready.
I argue that it would not make sense for God to have man initially divided in language and nations from the beginning without a just reason. After all, God desires peace for the world in so far as it possible.
Hence, the preservation of the oneness of human language must be permitted until the division of humanity can be brought into history in a mannner that is revelationally efficacious.
Now, before I present the main argument for the preeminent stages, remember that I associate them with the two horns of the false prophet, that, in effect, in as much as Solomon declared that there is nothing new under the sun, and that hence, all iniquity has already occurred in the times prior to Abraham, so then, the supreme forms of iniquity are aptly summarized in the first two preeminent ages, and that these ages are precisely tied to the antithesis of the two sacraments remaining in heresy, Baptism and Marriage, which also relates to how God responds or heals these forms of iniquity, both in these sacraments, and in the Divine Interventions that attended the preeminent stages.
Therefore, I am arguing this: because the lies that summarize all iniquity are two in number, so then, God had to first ALLOW humanity to fall for these two lies in succession, and respond in the historical sacramental sense to heal them, BEFORE bringing the Prefiguring Covenant.
Hence, I am arguing that the preeminent stages are NECESSARY to prepare the way for the prefiguring covenant that is to be traversed according to the three stages of the saint, and therefore of any People of a Primary Revelatory Covenant (Judaism/Catholicism).
The first two ages, then, come according to the supreme lies of iniquity, first, anti-Baptism, and then anti-Marriage.
The essence of the first stage is anti-Baptism, the negation of the Divine Truth and Will (wickedness), which was Noah’s day. And the Divine Response, or Redemption, is a HISTORICAL Baptism, the Flood.
The essence of the second stage is anti-Marriage, man’s spiritual fornication with the Creation at Babel, where the Creation and man’s selfish and arrogantly passionate ambition is exalted above the Creator, that is, just as man’s true end is to marry God, to be given and receieved in total self-donating love, so the counter part is the Whore, where man, turning from His calling to God, joins himself superficially with the world, that is the Creation, and makes it its final end, or utopia, that is, materialism.
And the Divine Response to this stage of iniquity is a spiritual, HISTORICAL Marriage, his betrothal to the Jewish People.
and note that allowing the human oneness of language and nation initially, in its self ambition, driving it towards the deception of a global cooperation towards utopia (but one divorced from God, and hence, inevitably futile because of the fallen nature that will eventually rip it asunder, man destorying himself), the response at Babel becomes the appropriate time for God to initially reveal to humanity the futility of attempting a materialistic utopia apart from a relationship and submitting to God, without which a lasting peace cannot be attained.
Hence, at Babel, God must forcefully (that is, through a positive Divine Intervention), divide humanity so as to firstly, afford Him the ability to choose a special nation to betroth Himself to (Abraham, the Jews), as well as postpone humanity’s tendency to attempt materialistic dominion in selfish ambition.
hence the spiriutal marraige after Babel to the Hebrew people is manifesting the solution: man does not NEED to be at war and divided, but only a COVENANT with God, His Truth Grace and Love, can form the true glue that is able to bring humanity together in love and peace that is to be lasting, that is, to last as long as humanity loves and God and neighbor.
Note, then, also, these two same lies, as Solomon alludes to, are the same lies that exist in any subsequent age of sin beyond the preeminent stages: Egypts pyramids harken back to the selfish ambition at Babel, as do the world empires of Babylon, Persia, and Greece, and finally Rome. The same wickedness of Noah’s day is practiced by the Greeks and Romans, the sin of turning from God’s truth in paganism and polytheism, the sins of flesh, murder, idolatry, materialism. The same selfish ambition that drove Bable is the same arrogant ambition that drives the lust for power and glory that feed the leaders of the ancient pagan kingdoms of antiqiuty.
hence, the two horns of the false prophet harken these two supreme lies, the summary of all iniquity: anti-Baptism, and anti-Marriage.
This is all I can share for now.
