TheShiningLight

The Covenants

30 May 2007
 
 
THE MOSAIC COVENANT

The Mosaic Covenant was a marriage agreement between God and the descendants of Jacob Jer 3:14, Isaiah 54:5.  Like all marriages, this covenant would remain until the death of one of the parties Rom 7:2-3.

The being who became Jesus Christ was the God who married Israel 1 Cor 10:4.  All things were created by Jesus Christ Eph 3:9.  He was later made flesh and dwelt among men Joh 1:14,  giving up the glory that He had with God before the world began Joh 17:5.

THEN HE DIED, thus ending the marriage covenant with Israel.  The Mosaic Covenant has been annuled by the death of one of the parties.  It no longer exists.  Neither Israel nor Judah are in a covenant of marriage with God any longer.

MOSES SEAT

Jesus said that the Pharisees sit in Moses seat Mat 23:2.  It should not be overlooked however,  that Jesus said this,  while still in the flesh.  The moment that Christ died, the Mosaic covenant died with Him.  The seat of Moses, through which the Pharisees administered the Mosaic covenant,  immediately became IRRELEVANT,  for they had suddenly become administrators of a nonexistent agreement.  When Christ was raised, His sacrifice was accepted by God and He became the administrator of a better covenant,  with a better sacrifice and a better hope.  Christ became the only mediator between man and God Heb 8:6 and 1 Ti 2:5.  JESUS CHRIST is now our high priest for the Levitical priesthood has been replaced by a new and more efficacious priesthood. Heb 3:1.  Now, Christ gave the law to Israel, it was NOT given by MOSES!  Moses was only the mediator of the old covenant, the law was given by the husband.  The marriage was between God and Israel, to which Israel agreed by declaring: Everything that the Eternal has said, WE WILL DO Ex 24:3, and the Law was God's law.  The marriage covenant obligated Israel to obey her husband.  The husband gave His law.  The old covenant was simply an agreement to obey in return for certain blessings.  The law was NOT part of the old covenant, which was a simple marriage agreement.  The law was a list of the desires and expectations of the husband, who the wife had pledged to obey.  Therefore the desires of the husband as reflected by the law did not end when the Mosaic marriage ended!!  The new covenant is the same as the old, a marriage agreement to obey our husband, but with a BETTER SACRIFICE AND BETTER PROMISES!!

When a man and woman marry, they agree that he will take care of and love her and that she will love and obey him.  We call this, our marriage vows.  At the marriage, we do not spell out everything that we desire, because the agreement to love, care for and obey covers all else.  Even so, the marriage covenant between God and Israel was about  the obedience of Israel and the blessings of God.  The law of God was the expression of God's will, His expectations of His new wife.  What He expected of His wife in the past, He will also expect of His wife in future, for,  I change not, saith the Eternal Mal 3:6.  If we desire to be part of His church, His collective bride,  we must fulfill our obligations as a wife and seek to please and obey our espoused husband.  Doing His will and keeping His commandments!

The covenant, whether old or new, is not a detailed list of things that we agree to do.  It is an agreement to do EVERYTHING that our Lord may require.  It is a marriage agreement to obey our husband in ALL things.  The law is the list of the things that our Lord requires of us.  Since the Eternal does NOT CHANGE Mal 3:6, and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever Heb 13:8,  He will expect and require of us, the same things that He has ALWAYS required of His people.
When Christ died, it was the agreement, that the Eternal would be their God and Israel would be His people, which ended.  The desire of God for a faithful, obedient, loving, caring wife, did not end.  God's nature, as reflected by His commandments, did not end.  God's will, as expressed by His commandments, did not end.  NOTHING about God changed, only His relationship with Israel changed! 

NOTHING about God's commandments changed.  NOTHING was done away.  Even the sacrificial system was not done away!  It was FULFILLED BY CHRIST!  He was the perfect and complete sacrifice,  ALL other sacrifices were merely prophetic shadows of His TRIUMPH.  Being perfect and complete, it need never be made again.  Yet, we weak persons still sin,  so that perfect sacrifice needs to be constantly re applied.  His sacrifice, only applied to sins committed before He died, it could never be applied in advance, for this would be a true license to sin.  His sacrifice could only be applied to sins REPENTED of and NOT to anticipated sin.  Now, each time sin is committed and repented of Acts 2:38, Luk 3:3, 

Christ applies His sacrifice, atoning for us.  If the law of sacrifice were done away, there would no longer be a legal framework, for the atonement of todays sins!  Christ's sacrifice has fulfilled the entire law of sacrifice and it is that law that allows for atonement for ALL REPENTANT SINNERS.  That is why the law of sacrifice is hated and despised by satan and his world!

When entering into the new covenant, we promised to obey our espoused husband Jesus Christ.  Tell me, you who say that the Pharisees are in authority over various things;  How can you obey both the Pharisees and Christ, when the Pharisees rejected Christ?

Indeed, those who claim that the Rabbins of today are the heirs of the Pharisees of Christ's day have forgotten that those Pharisees of Judea were wiped out by the destruction of Judea in the first century! 

They were replaced by the Hellenic Pharisees, who unlike the Mosaic Pharisees, held the Babylonian Talmud as having greater authority than the Torah of Moses.  Modern Rabbins, who exalt Talmud over Torah, are nothing more than another branch of the Babylonian Mysteries!  In the Babylonian captivity, a small number repented and returned to Judea, where they eventually became so self-righteous that God destroyed them, the majority remained in Babylon, absorbed Babylonian traditions and were later called Hellenic Pharisees, eventually dispersing to Greece, Egypt and Rome.  The modern Rabbins are NOT the heirs of the Mosaic Pharisees of Christ's day,  they are the heirs of the Hellenic Babylonian Pharisees!  Therefore they do NOT and have NEVER sat in Moses seat!

THE NEW COVENANT

I will put my laws into their minds and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people Heb 8:9-10.  I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them  Heb 10:16.  Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant  Jer 31:31 and  Jer 32:37-41.  And it shall come about afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon ALL FLESH Joel 2:28.  This was done, in part only,  on the Feast of Firstfruits, with the holy spirit being poured out publicly upon a kind of firstfruits of the new covenant Acts 2 and Jas 1:18.  The very word FIRSTfruits reveals that other fruits of the same type are expected! This prophecy will be fulfilled in full by the outpouring of the holy spirit upon all flesh,  on the Feast of Firstfruits,  establishing  the Kingdom of God!  As Israel was a Theocracy, a Kingdom of God,  established by a marriage covenant at Sinai on Pentecost. So A New Kingdom established with a New Covenant, made with ALL FLESH shall begin on the Feast of Pentecost, when our Lord and King comes with His saints.  At that time all people will live lives espoused to and preparing for their future union with Christ, just as those called out ones are doing today!  See our articles on the holydays.

The new covenant, like the Mosaic, is a marriage covenant. During our physical lives, we are in a period of engagement, where our fitness to marry the Great King is being assessed 1 Pet 4:17.  At the resurrection, when the Bridegroom comes to take His Bride,  the wedding will take place and the new covenant will begin Mat 25:1-13.

Like all marriages, this new covenant bestows certain obligations upon it's participants.  The bride must fulfill all the duties of a wife; to submit, obey, love and please her husband in every way.  While the husband undertakes to; love, care for, protect, provide for and nurture his bride.  The presence of God's spirit within the bride will enable her to fulfill her obligations.  Those who seek to be united with Christ for all eternity,  must prepare themselves NOW,  by learning FAITHFUL SUBMISSION and LOYALTY to their Lord.  He is not willing to enter such a covenant with a person that He cannot TRUST,  who may at some future time rebel,  causing immense damage and suffering,  therefore a trial and learning period in this life is necessary.

A marriage covenant is an agreement between two parties, to be kept as long as they shall live.  Physical marriage is a reflection of the spiritual relationship between Christ and His people Eph 5:21-33, especially verse 32.  Because of this, satan does all he can to pervert and damage physical marriage, in order to obscure the spiritual reality, of God's intentions.  Right now, some humans are being given a token amount of God's spirit so that they can  prepare for that spiritual union at the resurrection of the dead.  They are being tested and judged now, to determine their worthiness for this honour.  The wedding and wedding feast will take place immediately after the resurrection. Shortly after this, God's spirit will be poured out upon all flesh Joel 2:28,  making a New Covenant with ALL MANKIND, ushering in a millennium of peace, a sabbath of rest,  with all men living in the presence of their CREATOR Rev 20:2 and 4.  For it is written; I will make a NEW COVENANT with the HOUSE OF ISRAEL Heb 8:8-10, writing my laws upon their hearts,  that is, giving them the HOLY SPIRIT!  At that time ALL MANKIND will be graffed into the natural olive tree, the family of Israel Romans 11. 

YES, the NEW COVENANT, WILL be established with the whole house of Israel and all those who agree to keep the commandments of God.  For it is written that any stranger who agrees to be circumcised, in the flesh and to keep the commandments and the Passover, shall be considered as an Israelite Ex 12:48.  IF this be true of the Mosaic Covenant, it is also true of the New Covenant to be made with Israel.  Any stranger who agrees to keep the commandments of God and the Passover and is circumcised in the SPIRIT shall be counted as an Israelite, a participant in the New Covenant! A part of SPIRITUAL ISRAEL!  

The New Covenant IS the writing of God's laws upon the hearts and in the minds of people.  God IS going to do this with ALL FLESH.  HE SAID SO!  He WILL do this at the return of Christ to establish the Kingdom of God!  As the Theocratic relationship between God and Israel was established by a covenant, so the Kingdom of God will be established by a New Covenant!  As a token of the Holy Spirit was given to the called out ones throughout history, God demonstrated at Pentecost, that the same token shall be given to all flesh at the Return of Christ, on the same day of Pentecost (see SPRING FESTIVALS page), as all flesh are then called into His kingdom.

When the called of this age have been chosen and changed, they shall then fully enter this New Covenant of Marriage with Christ.  Even so, when God's Kingdom is established on this world, this opportunity to be espoused to God will be extended to all persons living at that time, for God's Spirit will be poured out upon ALL FLESH Joel 2:28 and at their final choosing and change into spirit, they shall also enter into the fullness of the New Covenant of Marriage with Christ. Later, He WILL perform the same process with all of the main harvest, after their resurrection to flesh, during the Ingathering of All Nations!                          

The New Covenant WILL be extended to ALL FLESH Joel 2:28.  GOD SAID SO!  What a Hope! What a Joy to understand.  The FIRSTfruits are only the FIRST of many more to come!   It is time to reacquaint ourselves with the letter to the HEBREWS.