By PETE PALMER

here is a correspondence between the way our brains work and the functioning of computers. Just as some of the main components of computers are its operating system, its application, and its memory which provide the computing power, so, there is an operating system for our minds, applications, and of course our memories.

The challenge is that when Adam and Eve downloaded the “sin” virus by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it corrupted their human central processing units (CPUs). Now, the human operating system does not process properly, we don’t reason well, our imaginations deflate us instead of inspiring us, and we have painful memories that trap us in cycles of harmful habits, negative behaviors, and addictions.

It is against this backdrop that God introduces the moral law and the ceremonial laws. God gives us the moral law as a recovery disk for our minds, hearts, and memories. God gives us the ceremonial laws as a way of reminding us that He will one day heal us and completely eradicate the sin virus.

SYSTEM RECOVERY UNDER THE 10 COMMANDMENTS

The moral law, often referred to as the Ten Commandments, is more than a series of what-not-to-do. It points in the direction of what our capabilities are and when we are functioning optimally, as opposed to when the sin virus is slowing us down and causing us to malfunction.

As an example of how the Ten Commandments, or the moral law, point to our native abilities, let’s consider the first commandment, “to have no other gods before Me” (See Exodus 20:3 and Deuteronomy 5:7).

The challenge with this commandment is that God is asking us to not put what we can see with our physical eyes before Him, whom we cannot see because He is invisible (See Col. 1:15 and 1 Timothy 1:17).

God is saying to humanity, “See with more than your physical eyesight, see Me with the eyes of your heart and mind.” Not only that, He also challenges us to prioritize what we see with the eyes of our heart and mind over what we see with our physical eyesight.

The question is, “How do you see an invisible God?”

And we find the answer in Romans 1:20 (NASB95):

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

Let’s take note of what the theologian Paul is teaching us. He says that when we observe creation and learn from creation, we can see God. We see His invisible attributes; we see His eternal power; and we see His divine nature. What Paul is teaching us is that we “see” God through our reason.

It is through our reason that we recognize this world could not have made itself. It is through our reason that we understand that accidents don’t create order but create chaos. It is through our reason that we believe that if we see a turtle sitting on a fence post, it didn’t get there by itself.

So, the first component of the human operating system is reason. And God says that our operating system malfunctions whenever we put other “gods” before Him. Therefore, the first component of our operating system that must be fixed by the recovery disk is that the moral law is our reason.

Maybe this is why God says to us in Isaiah 1:18 (NASB95):

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.”

God says to the children of Israel, and us by extension, that when He reasons with us, He is able to cleanse our sins. The first step in beating the sin virus is the restoration of our reason. When we are being honest with ourselves, we find that our harmful habits, our negative behaviors, and addictions don’t make sense. Truth be told, sin by its very nature is irrational. It is nonsensical. We find ourselves reviewing our lives and asking ourselves, “What was I thinking?”

And so, the Ten Commandments become a way of restoring not just our reason, but our entire human operating system. We find that reason, imagination, and judgement correlate closely with the first three commandments, and the 10 Commandments reinstall the applications of our hearts, which are the last six commandments. Through the fourth commandment God sets up a regular schedule for installing upgrades and maintenance of our memory.

HEALING PROPHESIED THROUGH THE CEREMONIAL LAWS

On the other hand, the ceremonial laws are broken up into the spring feasts and the fall feasts. The spring feasts (Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Shavuot, also known as Pentecost) point to the first advent of Jesus and His death, burial, and resurrection. This is why the theologian Paul says that Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us (See 1 Corinthians 5:7). Elsewhere, Paul refers to Jesus as first fruits (See 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23).

The fall feasts (Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles) point to the second advent of Jesus and feature prominently in the book of Revelation. The theme of trumpets appears in Revelation Chapters 8 and 9, and the latter part of 11, which ends with Revelation 11:19 (NASB95):

“And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.”

Note here how the passage says, “heaven was opened.” That alludes to the Day of Atonement. That was the only day when the temple was opened, and the priests entered the Holy of Holies. Throughout the book of Revelation, we find the themes and images from the Feast of Tabernacles (See for instance Revelation 21:3 and Revelation 7:15).

And so, in the ceremonial law we have God’s promise to eradicate the sin virus and in the moral law we have God’s recovery disk for restoring us to optimum functioning as human beings. Both are a framework for the restoration of humanity from the ravages of sin. The promise made to us in Revelation 21:4 (NASB95) “and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away,” is better understood through the moral law and the ceremonial law.

PETE PALMER has a Ph.D. in Discipleship in Lifespan Education and is a former educator, conference president and is currently serving as the Pastor of the Trinity Temple SDA Church in Newark, NJ.