Dr. John Bergsma

And Moses goes on to say, they will declare to you from that place the decision, you are to be careful to do everything that they direct you.

And if you don't do what the priest decides, you are put to death.

the same penalty for blasphemy.

So I don't have the time to go into all of the Hebrew here, but suffice it to say that the decision of the priest, according to Deuteronomy 17, in the interpretation of the law, is as binding as the divine law itself.

which implies a kind of infallibility right there.

So just as you're put to death for blasphemy or disobeying God's word, you're also put to death for disobeying the priest's interpretation of God's word.

So Moses left a continuing, living, organic, institutional voice

through time with succession, you know, these priests were replaced one after another in succession over time.

One generation passed and another took their place at the central sanctuary to interpret the word of God.

Moses never left the Old Testament people of God in a sola scriptura situation.

There's a parallel to it in the new covenant, Matt, which is Matthew 16, where our Lord says to Peter,

you're the rock, et cetera, I'm gonna give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

That's important, Matt, because the keys of the kingdom in the Old Testament were worn on the shoulder of the royal steward, who was the number two in the kingdom of David and had the authority to open or close the throne room and therefore to keep you out or to admit you to see the king.

That was such a great power that made him the number two in the kingdom.

So Jesus is making Peter the number two in his kingdom, which is his church, because the church is the kingdom of David.

And then he goes on to say to Peter personally, using the second masculine singular, like you in particular, Peter, whatever you bind on earth,

And I'm going to give you the literal translation.

Whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven.

And whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

Now, I studied this passage in Protestant seminary.