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The New Covenant

Who is Israel?

The New Covenant

Chapter 2

What in the World

Jan 21, 2025

He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. Heb. 8:6.

Introduction

When God entered into the covenant relationship with the Israelites at Mt. Sinai, the Israelites promised to keep the covenant. When Moses finished reading the terms and conditions of the covenant to them – “all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do” (Ex. 24:3). Within days they were having a pagan worship service, dancing around a golden calf, which the newly appointed High Priest said, “it just sprung out of the fire after I threw some gold in it” (see Ex. 32:1-24).

The reason why the Israelites fell so quickly, and fell so far, was because of their spiritual condition. The hard-hearted/stiff-necked condition of the people, was only ever sporadically overcome by individuals, never by the nation as a whole. Therefore, because the nation never fulfilled the purpose for which God created it – He decided to put it back into captivity. God did not send them into slavery without telling the people why He did it. Jeremiah sent a letter to the captives in Babylon. In the letter Jeremiah told them that it was God’s will that they live in Babylon and submit to the authority of Babylon, and this was all for the well-being of Israel, so that Israel might have a hope and a future:

Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day

Deuteronomy 29

1These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.

2And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;

3The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles:

4Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

5And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.

6Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God.

7And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them:

8And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.

9Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.

10Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel,

11Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water:

12That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day:

13That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

14Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath;

15But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day:

16(For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by;

17And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:)

18Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;

19And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:

20The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

21And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law:

22So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it;

23And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:

24Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?

25Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:

26For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them:

27And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:

28And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.

29The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.


King James Version (KJV)

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For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus

Illustration (Courtesy) http://versebyversebibleteaching.com

So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.


Galatians 3

1O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

2This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

3Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

4Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

5He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

6Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

7Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

8And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

9So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

10For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

11But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

12And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

13Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

14That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

15Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.

16Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

17And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

18For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

19Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

20Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

21Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

22But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

23But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

24Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

25But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

26For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

29And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.


King James Version (KJV)

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They have defiled the priesthood

Picture Above: http://www.sligochurch.org/images/gallery_photos/History/RememberWomenPastors.jpg

Web-site: http://www.sligochurch.org/sligo_story2.htm

Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites.

Nehemiah 13:29.

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The High Priest of a New Covenant

Hebrews 8

The High Priest of the Heavenly Sanctuary

1Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

2A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

3For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.

4For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:

5Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

A New Covenant

6But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

7For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

8For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

9Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

13In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

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New Covenant

(What is the new covenant?)

What does God say His covenant is today? Firstly he tells us through His holy word that the old or first covenant had a worldly Sanctuary [Hebrews 10:1]. But now He has a non-worldly Sanctuary in heaven He Himself made where Jesus is our great high Priest [Hebr.8:2,5; 9:11,24; Acts 7:24].
Q.: What does the sanctuary of GOD's covenant look like? A.: It consists of the holy and the most holy places. The latter contains GOD's throne consisting of His mercy seat above the ark with His 10 Commandments.

The old covenant here on earth demonstrated the gospel message by sacrificing the innocent lamb representing Christ dying for us, the guilty race. This forgave sin, but the record remained till judgment day when it was removed by the cleansing of the Sanctuary. Now today under the new covenant, we must enter above into God's holiest by faith alone and the blood of Jesus.

Just like the New Testament, the New Covenant is a direct continuation of the old. The superiority of the New over the Old is the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son over the blood of animal sacrifices. The earthly Sanctuary/Temple is inferior to the far superior Temple in heaven under the New Covenant/Testament.
How many people do you find that have an understanding of this and even among those who call themselves covenant churches?

Jesus sets us free from sin by the miracle of conversion. He does this when we come to Him for forgiveness and he then puts His holy moral law inside us and writes them into our hearts and minds (Hebr.8:10-12 ; 10:16-26). With our hearts we love and with our minds agree that the holy law is just and good soon as God Himself performs the miracle. Unfortunately many Protestants have started to deny this.
Ask yourselves, if the old and new covenants have an ark of the covenant, see Hebrews 9:4 and seen opened in the apocalypse on judgment day containing all of the Ten Commandments (Revelation 11:18,19; 1.King8:9) and we are all to be judged by these Ten (James 2:8-12), shouldn't we all keep them holy to avoid condemnation?

The New Israel
Just as the Bible presents an old covenant and a new covenant, so it presents an old Israel and a new Israel, The old Israel was constituted under the twelve tribes named after the twelve sons of Jacob. When Jesus chose twelve apostles, He was taking steps to constitute the Christian church and the new covenant.
The word covenant in the margin is the same as testament and is therefore interchangeable.

The New Testament comprises of Jews and Gentiles that it is now addressed also as the twelve tribes scattered abroad in Christianity, the new nation and the new Israel (James 1:1).

When Jesus died on the cross national distinction was ended and the middle wall of partition broken down (Eph.2:12-14). All the Old Testament promises to Israel are now inherited to us on the condition, that we are also fulfil the responsibility and conditions.

With the stoning of Stephen and persecution [Acts 7], the final week of the 490 year prophecy [Dan.9:24] ended in 34 A.D. and the new covenant promises [Jer.31:31-34] went to the church [Hebr.8:6-13; 10:15-20], which---composed of Jews [the natural branches] and now the Gentiles,[ the wild olive branch]---became an extension of Israel [Rom. 11:17-21] and continued with the work of teaching the world about the true GOD, the Creator and Redeemer.

The ark of the testament/covenant was seen by John in heaven [Revel.11:19; 15:5] containing the 10 Commandments, and if they are in heaven, they cannot be abolished or changed here on earth.

Since physical Israel rejected Christ as a Nation, God has a new Nation called spiritual Israel or Christianity. The word Israel means overcommer as a prince with God. Jacob wrestled with an angel in prayer and succeeded. God changed his name from Jacob to Israel and every Jew was allowed to call himself by that titled if he thought himself spiritual enough.

Some Protestants still attach significance to the old prophecies and are looking to the earthly Temple to be rebuilt instead of looking to rebuilt faith in the heavenly that was destroyed by the abomination of desolation (Anti-Christ). Three times now have the prediction of modern day Prophet Hal Lindsey (Protestant) failed. Yet I have not heard anybody call him the false prophet.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE OLD AND THE NEW

The old covenant written on cold stone, but the new is written into our hearts and minds! The former was a hard copy of the heavenly and termed the shadowy. The new is a spiritual (Romans 7:7,12,14). The word covenant is synonymous with testament which cannot be changed after the Testator (Jesus Christ) has died ( Hebr.9:16-18) and it is directly coupled with the forgiveness of sins (Hebrew 8::10-12) And all sins against the 10 Commandments are of equal gravity and consequence with God ( James 2:8-12).

Christ’s Sabbath is part of it, because Christ’s seventh day Sabbath is the most hated of the Ten, it is most spoken against, and especially by the Protestant Christians. Several Clergymen have told me that Christ’s Sabbath is trivial and Jewish. God sees it differently and put the death penalty on it in the old Testament. The new also says that the penalty for sin is death and the wages of sin is death. It is not Jewish either because it was given to Adam and Eve 2500 years before the first Jew was born. Roman Emperor Constantine the great also thought his pagan Sunday law so important as to put the death penalty on it for its transgression in 325 A.D.

If we Christians are to keep Christ' Sabbath in heaven (Isa.66:22,23) then we ought to start keeping it here on earth (see Mark 2:27,28). And it cannot mean every day because God says that we should labour six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God, in it shall thou do no work (Ex.20:8) not only because I brought you out of Egypt which stands for the slavery of sin (see Rev.11:8) but because I sanctified it in Genesis 2:1-3, the beginning and made it a sign or seal of sanctification (Eze.20:20;Ex.31:17).

The old covenant had seven Jewish Sabbath days that were fulfilled in Jesus.

1. The Passover Sabbath is escape from the slavery of sin and GOD's miraculous provisions for the escape route. They had to leave Egypt in a great hurry, and so do we the slavery of sin through JESUS.

2. GOD gave them 7 Sabbaths for the sheaf and wave offerings and even the land has a Sabbath [Lev.26:34].

3. Besides the Sabbath of the Lord, there shall be extra Sabbaths [rest days] Lev.23:39,39] The first of each month shall you have a Sabbath [Ex.16:24,39] etc., they were pointing to CHRIST the Messiah, in fact they were actually called such: "the 7 festivals of the Messiah". So here we have the Jewish Sabbath days that were nailed to the cross [Col.2:14,16] and are therefore no longer applicable to us today and they are not part of the new covenant because they were never placed into the ark of the covenant in the first place.

JESUS is the very embodiment of the 10 Commandment law and was the only one who ever kept them perfectly, therefore we also must follow this sinless CHRIST.

Source: http://www.come2jesus.info/newcovenant.htm