Israel and the New Covenant

The Book of Hebrews explains a great deal about the New Covenant. It takes snap shot of Old Testament references, then expounds on them in a New Testament setting. The scriptures quoted in Hebrews are prophecies given to Israel and Judah in the context of the end of the Tribulation and their national salvation. Hebrews isn’t alone when quoting from these magnificent prophetic scriptures, Romans too goes into great detail for us. The New Covenant didn’t begin in Matthew 1, or Luke 1, or Mark 1, or John 1. The New Covenant wasn’t inaugurated until the Holy Spirit was given as Jesus breathed on His disciples in John 20:22 and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Without the Holy Spirit’s indwelling there is no salvation. (Romans 8:9) The Old Testament references mentioning the New Covenant also mention the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit’s indwelling we do not partake of the New Covenant. The two cannot be separated. Understanding this is necessary in understanding the scriptures we are going to look at in this blog. The scriptures will deal with the promise of God to Israel concerning the New Covenant. What is the make up of this New Covenant, when does Israel receive it (since God says ALL Israel will be saved), and finally what’s after their national salvation?

Recently I heard a message where the speaker used Ezekiel 36 when talking about the Christian receiving the Holy Spirit’s indwelling at salvation. It works, but there is far more going on in Ezekiel 36’s mention of New Covenant. Let’s take a deep dive into Romans 11, Jeremiah 31, and Ezekiel 36 regarding Israel and the New Covenant, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the timing of Israel’s national salvation. But first we’ll take the scenic route passing through Daniel 9:24-27 on our way to Romans, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.

In Daniel we find a most significant prophecy concerning God’s plan for the nation of Israel. Daniel 9:24-27 is the only Bible prophecy that presents Jesus’ first and second coming, His sacrificial death, the restoration of Jerusalem and its temple (536 BC), and also the temple in Jerusalem’s destruction (AD 70). It also describes the temple in the Great Tribulation with the Antichrist’s abomination resulting in desolations. It concludes with the final judgment on the Antichrist, the national salvation of the Jews, and “to anoint the Most Holy Place.” This prophecy begins in Daniel 9:24: “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness…” This prophecy outlines with precision the major events of “your people and your holy city,” namely the Jews and Jerusalem. The 70-weeks prophecy’s clock begins with a decree from Artaxerxes (“So you are to know and discern [that] from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince [there will be] seven weeks and sixty-two weeks). Artaxerxes gave Nehemiah permission, safe passage, and supplies to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Jerusalem and its walls in 445 BC. (Nehemiah 2:1-8) From Artaxerxes’ decree to Jesus’ coming into Jerusalem was 7 weeks + 62 weeks totaling 69 weeks or 484 years EXACTLY. (Sir Robert Anderson: The Coming Prince) Artaxerxes’ decree was the only one that fits the requirement of this prophecy. This prophecy is so profoundly accurate that some “scholars” conclude it must have been written post factum.

When we juxtapose Daniel’s 70-week prophecy next to scriptures such as Romans 9-11; Deuteronomy 4:25-31, 12:10; Isaiah 4:3, 6:8-13, 10:20-21, 60:18-21, 63:17; Jeremiah 30-32, 50:19-20; Ezekiel 6:8, 20:33-40, 37-39; Daniel 12:1, 12:7; Zechariah 13:8-9, 12:10; and Zephaniah 3:11-13 (only few of many) we see that God presents a beautifully detailed picture of the end-times and Israel’s part in it. I’m going to focus on Romans 11, Daniel 9:24-27, Jeremiah 31, and Ezekiel 36. In other blogs I’ll pick up the others.

As we peruse these passages we’ll look for the following cohesive points:

• Israel receiving her Messiah leading to national salvation.
• Israel entering the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit, and the imputed comprehensive righteousness accompanying it.
• The clear timing of Israel entering the New Covenant and why it matters.
• The eschatological focus on the land of Israel.

In my next blog I’ll focus on:

• What world events surround this time? (Jacob’s Trouble)
• What leads Israel to finally receive her Messiah?

Beginning in the New Testament with Romans 9-11, we’ll start to map out the parameters of Israel’s national salvation. As a preview, Paul goes into great detail discussing the predetermined purpose of God for Israel. She was supposed to reveal what God was like to the world. However, due to rampant sin (aka unbelief) Israel was temporarily broken off and Gentiles were grafted in. God, through Paul, magnifies faith in Jesus Christ as the only means through which both Jew and Gentile become righteous before God:

9… that if you confess with your mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” 12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same [Lord] is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

Christians quote these scriptures often not giving thought to their context. Yes, it is salvation for anyone who will call on Jesus, but the context is Israel’s rejection, leading to Gentiles’ grafting in, leading to Israel’s national salvation. Israel’s re-grafting begins to be emphasizes in Romans 11:23 wrapping up with some thoroughly radical statements in 11:25-27:

25For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery– so that you will not be wise in your own estimation– that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB." 27"THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS."

Here we see that Israel’s hardening (eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear (:8)) only lasts until the last Gentile receives Jesus. Most assuredly people are becoming Christians throughout the Tribulation, Jews and Gentiles alike. The last Gentile to receive Christ marks the fullness of the Gentiles. When the last person receives Jesus during the Tribulation, the rapture takes place. Directly subsequent to the rapture is the national salvation of Israel. (All remaining Jews who do not worship the Beast or take his mark receive Jesus Christ (ALL Israel will be saved) and enter the Millennial Age with natural bodies. We know this since they all receive Jesus after the rapture where we meet the Lord in the air and receive new bodies. (1 Corinthians 15)) If it was before the rapture they too would be raptured and receive new bodies. However, a vast number of eschatological prophecies concerning Israel reveal that they enter the Millennial Age with natural bodies. The last Gentile to receive Jesus Christ is the absolute prerequisite leading to Israel’s national salvation. Furthermore, Romans 11 quotes from Isaiah 59 – another eschatological chapter speaking of Israel’s national salvation at the end of the Tribulation, Israel’s blindness, their sin, the Day of God’s vengeance, and the giving of the Holy Spirit. Romans 11 slides Israel’s national salvation right to the end of Daniel’s 70-week prophecy. Furthermore, when juxtaposing this next to Daniel’s 70-week prophecy “to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness…” we see this is the exact plan of God for Israel.

For years Jeremiah 31’s prophecy about the New Covenant confused me. Even though it is brought into the New Testament in Hebrews 8 and 10, I still saw that it was written to Hebrews. I’m a Gentile and so are most Christians I know. I didn’t understand this prophecy in the context in which it was written in the Old Testament. It is clearly eschatological. Plus I didn’t understand Israel’s part in the end-times or in the New Covenant. Over the centuries scriptures concerning Israel in the end-times have led many to adopt a replacement theology (the church replaces and fulfills the promises God previously made to Israel) and/or an Amillennial view of eschatology. During the years Israel was not on the map, theologians and commoners alike filled in for the absentees with theology that made sense to them. Circumstances led their theology. But God had His plan written long ago. All they/we have to do is believe what He has written. So let’s look at Jeremiah 31:31-34. In its context, it reads:

31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. 33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34

God says at the time this prophecy is fulfilled, because of His forgiveness, ALL Israel will know Him: “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah … for they will all know Me… for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” This means ALL Israel will enter the New Covenant at that time. Israel’s salvation is the culmination of Daniel’s 70-week prophecy: Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy [place] (literally, to anoint the Holy of Holies). This entering in of the New Covenant by Israel is the fulfillment of Daniel’s 70-week prophecy.

We will back-peddle a little by looking into what comes before Jeremiah 31, and then look to what comes after. There we see the context for Israel’s entrance into the New Covenant—that it deposited in the midst of strong eschatological scriptures.

Jeremiah 30 begins with a new word from the LORD. 30:3 “For behold, days are coming,' declares the LORD, when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.' The LORD says, I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they shall possess it.”The phrase “For behold, days are coming” is an alert that this is likely eschatological. Furthermore, “I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they shall possess it” is not a promise about the strip of land presently called Israel. It is the future fulfillment of the land God promised to Abram (Abraham) in Genesis 15:18: On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates…” People interpret the exact boundaries differently, but suffice it to say that the land God gave to Israel through Abram, which He says they will possess in Jeremiah 30:3, is much much larger than they have ever possessed. This prophecy is yet to be fulfilled. Furthermore, many eschatological scriptures tie Israel finally inheriting their promised land with the end of the Tribulation.

Chapter 30 continues to prophesy about “Jacob’s Trouble,” a term widely considered a synonym for the Great Tribulation. Also here in Jeremiah God says there is not another day like it, but Jacob (Israel) will be saved from it: 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob's distress (NKJV: trouble), But he will be saved from it. Men are seen grasping their loins as though they are in labor, depicting great pain and terror; the breaking of “his” yoke in verse 8 is a reference to the Antichrist. The term is masculine singular – referring to the Antichrist: aka the Assyrian, the cruel one (:14). Then Israel is set freed from slavery and they will serve the LORD. Verse 10 weighs in on their rescue from the nations and their fearless condition. At present Israel is surrounded by hostiles. God continues to say that He will COMPLETELY destroy the nations where Israel had been held captive. Babylon was not completely destroyed during Israel’s Babylonian captivity, the time at which this was written. In fact God, in Daniel 7:12, says that the four beasts (Babylon being one of them) were allowed to live for a time, meaning these four beasts didn’t cease to exist even when they became conquered nations. All this reveals Jeremiah 30 cannot be referring to the Babylonian captivity under Nebuchadnezzar, but is pointing to the end of this age—the time of the Great Tribulation. Keep all this in mind as we continue to look at the meaning of Jeremiah 31 and the New Covenant.

Jeremiah 30:11-17 contains an eschatological reoccurring theme. Israel is “deathly sick” – incurable, God disciplines her by means of other nations more wicked than she is (During the Tribulation this will be the Beast nations.), God judges the wicked nations, and brings salvation to the few survivors (the remnant) of Israel. (Zechariah 12:9-10, 13:8) Jeremiah 30:18-22 peers into the Millennial Age where we see the survivors of Israel, who entered into the New Covenant, entering the Millennial Age with natural bodies. Another reoccurring theme. This prophecy continues on to speak about the Day of Vengeance (the Tribulation) and ends with: The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has performed and until He has accomplished the intent of His heart; In the latter days you will understand this. Again undeniably eschatological. Keep in mind we are looking for the timing of the New Covenant to Israel when: “they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

Beyond any doubt Jeremiah 30 is all eschatological; it speaks of the end of this age and even glances into the Millennial Age¹. Jeremiah 31 continues in the same thought, it begins: “At that time," declares the LORD, "I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.” “At that time” flows from the eschatological context of Jeremiah 30. God again reiterates that at that time He will be God of ALL Israel and they will be His people. Jeremiah 31 begins by dancing though Millennial days; verse 6 walks hand-in-hand with Zechariah 14:16. In Zechariah 14:16 millennial-natural-bodied-people are going to worship King Jesus in Jerusalem. (Zechariah 14 largely runs parallel with Jeremiah 30-31, as do many parts of Isaiah; Isaiah 24-27 for example.) Jeremiah 31:11 is regarding the deliverance of Israel from the Antichrist by God: For the LORD has ransomed Jacob And redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he. Preceding verse 11 are scriptures of joy and rejoicing, then a transition at verse 15. Verse 15 was quoted concerning the slaughter of the boys near Jesus’ birth by Herod (Matthew 2:18) and may have a yet-to-be futuristic fulfillment. (Many prophetic scriptures bunch together Jesus’ first coming and His return, spanning over 2000 years. For example Isaiah 61:2: The favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God are 2000 years apart.) Verses 31:16-22 speak both near and far fulfillment. This means the prophecy had meaning for they days of Israel’s captivity in Babylon, and yet they also reach forward for a greater fulfillment at the end of this age. Beginning in 31:23 full eschatological acceleration begins. God again speaks directly to Judah about the restoration of her fortunes and her new reputation as: ‘O abode of righteousness, O holy hill!' Judah is not known for righteousness; quite the opposite. Their complete rejection of their Messiah controls them. Righteousness comes through Jesus Christ and Him alone. If she is going to be known as the abode of righteousness, O holy hill, then a major transformation must take place—the salvation of Israel.

With this as our backdrop let’s move on to Jeremiah 31’s prophecy concerning the New Covenant.

31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. 33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34

Jeremiah 31:31-32 is pretty straightforward. God and Israel made a covenant after they came out of Egypt. Moses said this is what the LORD commands, will you obey Him? Israel responded with a “We will.” (Exodus 24:7-8)

Jeremiah 31:33-34 is undoubtedly the national salvation of Israel. These scriptures contain:

• God’s New Covenant with Israel (after those days),
• God will write His law within Israel and on their hearts,
• God will be their God,
• They shall be His people,
• They will ALL know Him,
• Forgiveness of iniquity, and
• Their sin will be remembered no more.

In verse 33 there is a little phrase “after those days” We should consider what days He is talking about. I believe it is the days of the Tribulation we just talked about in Jeremiah 30-31, but it isn’t clear. The two major points are 1. God makes a New Covenant with ALL Israel. 2. The Covenant takes away ALL Israel’s sin and iniquity. Only the Blood of Jesus Christ can do that.

God goes on through the end of the chapter to affirm that He can be taken at His word and He will not go back on His promises to Israel. Think about it – if God would break His promises to Israel, what confidence would we have that He wouldn’t break His promises to us? God doesn’t break His promises. Israel will enter into the New Covenant by receiving their Messiah, Jesus, most certainly at the end of the Tribulation.

On into Ezekiel 36. As we read through the Bible, especially the obvious prophetic scriptures, we should pay attention to anchor words. What I means is there are numerous verses where God uses words such as “all” or “never again.” As Bible students we must understand these scriptures as God gave them to us—His “all” means all; His “never again” means never again, and so forth. With this in mind let’s skip ahead to the end of this chapter where we read: 38“Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the city will be rebuilt for the LORD… 40“And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes (see Ezekiel 39:11-16), and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the LORD; it will not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever." Jerusalem will be rebuilt for King Jesus. The Lion of the Tribe of Judah will sit on the Throne of David and rule from Jerusalem throughout the Millennial Age. Zechariah 14 also discusses much of Jeremiah 31:38-40 bringing in further details on the tribulation, the Antichrist and his army, the holiness of Jerusalem, the reign of King Jesus, and the Millennium.

Furthermore, in numerous eschatological passages mountains and hill are repeatedly mentioned (Zechariah 14 for example). Often the enemies of God and of Israel are trying to possess them. This is the case in Ezekiel 36:1-12. Further in Ezekiel 38-39 the Antichrist and his armies are drawn by God to the mountains of Israel, where Israel is dwelling safely. It is here it appears the Antichrist decides to invade Jerusalem. Ultimately, on these mountains God rains down judgment on the Antichrist’s kingdom (38:21-23) saying, “I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the LORD.” In the end Israel possesses these mountains fulfilling God’s promise He gave them in Genesis 15.

God explains in 36:16-21 the reason why He “poured out My wrath on them [Israel].” Yes, God pours out His wrath on Israel so that they would turn to Messiah Jesus. A few of many scriptures about this are: Deuteronomy 4:26-31, 30:1-10, 31:29, 32 (:35-36 is intense!), and Isaiah 24-27.

Ezekiel 36:23 also rolls out the timing of the New Covenant given to Israel:

23"I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD," declares the Lord GOD, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. 24"For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. 25“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27"I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. 28"You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God. 29"Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you. 30"I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31"Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations. 32"I am not doing [this] for your sake," declares the Lord GOD, "let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel!" Ezekiel 36:23-32

Ezekiel 36 ends full throttle in the Millennial Age.

To conclude we’ll circle back around to Daniel. Daniel 11 describes the thoughts of the Antichrist and his invasion of Israel and Jerusalem. It ends with his demise. Daniel 12 picks up:

1"Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands [guard] over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued… 5Then I, Daniel, looked and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the river and the other on that bank of the river. 6And one said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, "How long [will it be] until the end of [these] wonders?" 7I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half [a [time]; and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these [events] will be completed. Daniel 12:1-7

Daniel 12 mentions the Antichrist and his army shattering the power of holy people as the end of a time, times, and a half of a time or 3-1/2 years or 1260-days. This is the exact length of the last half of the Tribulation known as the Great Tribulation. The Antichrist sets up the Abomination of Desolation at the mid-point of the Tribulation leading to “great tribulation.” (Matthew 24:15-24) Because of Jesus’ statement many have named the last half of the Tribulation “the Great Tribulation.”

As we perused through Daniel, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel we found that the timing of Israel entering the New Covenant is the end of the Tribulation. Because of the Antichrist’s destructive pursuit of Israel, Israel will come to the end of her strength, look upon the One they pierced, and mourn. This leads them to receive Jesus their Messiah and enter into the New Covenant. This is right after the rapture of the Church. Israel enters the Millennium with natural bodies, they serve their King Jesus, as He creates an Eden-like Earth flowing out from Jerusalem.

 

¹ An explanation about the Millennial Age, aka Millennium. The Millennium is a 1000-year period of time after the Tribulation. Revelation 20 explains this time best, though many other scriptures discuss it. During the Millennial Age all tears and pain have not yet been wiped away. Natural-bodied people are born, die, and receive or reject King Jesus’ rule. Death is the final enemy to be destroyed at the end of the Millennium. This is after Satan’s final rebellion. Satan is then thrown into the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 20:3, 20:7-10, 20:14-15, 1 Corinthians 15:26) Most Christians believe that Heaven is all there is after we take our last breath, but this isn’t so. Many dynamics are still on the Earth. In the Millennium there are those who:

• live in New Jerusalem—the City of the Great King (an interesting study),
• have glorified bodies, who were either raptured or part of the first resurrection,
• are Gentiles who enter the Millennium with natural bodies not having received the mark of the Beast nor Jesus (all who receive the mark will be killed by Jesus when He returns), and
• Jews who enter the Millennium as Christians who serve the Lord Jesus in the Millennial Temple and/or live in their inherited land.