“AFTER THOSE DAYS I WILL MAKE A NEW COVENANT”

In Jeremiah 31:33 we read, “After those days,” as setting a date for the New Covenant.

Why is this? And what “days” must precede the making of the New Covenant?

God foretold that if Israel would be faithful he would bless them in every sense of the word, but that if they would walk contrary to him, he would walk contrary to them and chastise them “seven times for their sins.” (Lev. 26:28) This expression in this connection is, with variations, repeated three times. In one instance the word “MORE” is used. “I will chastise you seven times more for your sins.” The Hebrew word rendered more, according to Strong’s translation, would properly be rendered “continuously.”

This threat of punishment we interpret to mean, not that the Lord would give Israel seven times as much punishment as they should have, but that he would punish them seven times (seven years) more (continuously) for their sins. These seven times or seven years were not literal years surely, for they received more punishment than that on numerous occasions. The seven times we interpret as symbolical years, in harmony with other Scriptures–a day for a year, on the basis of three hundred and sixty days to a year. Thus the seven times would mean 7 x 360, which equals 2520 literal years. And the word more or continuously would signify that this period of 2520 years would not be the sum of all their various years of chastisement at various “times,” but this experience of 2520 years of national chastisement would be one continuous period.

Next we should ask,

Has there been such a continuous period of disfavor in Israel’s national history?

The answer is, yes. In the days of Zedekiah, the last king to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord, the Word of the Lord concerning the matter was, “O, thou profane and wicked prince, whose time has come that iniquity should have an end: Take off the diadem! Remove the crown! I will overturn, overturn, overturn it [the crown, the kingdom] until he comes whose right it is, and I will give it unto him.” (Ezek. 21:25-27) This period of 2520 years, or seven symbolic times, expired, according to our reckoning in October, 1914. In other words, the period of Gentile times, of Gentile supremacy in the world is the exact parallel to the period of Israel’s loss of the kingdom and waiting for it at the hands of Messiah.

See “The Times of the Gentiles” Parts 3 and 4 for a more through look at the “Seven Times” or 2520 years.

Messiah at his First Advent found Israel unready as a nation to be his bride, to share with him as the Spiritual Seed of Abraham, and it has required, as God foreknew and foretold, all of this intervening period to select Spiritual Israel, the royal priesthood, the “holy nation,” the “peculiar people,” the Body of Christ, the Body of the Mediator between God and mankind.

These are the “DAYS” referred to in Jeremiah’s prophecy respecting the New Covenant, “after those days“–after the “seven times” of Israel’s chastisement will come the time of God’s favor under the New Covenant, with its better Mediator–the great prophet, Priest, Mediator, Judge and King– Jesus the Head and the Church his Body, Jesus the Bridegroom, and the Church his Bride and joint-heir.

Note how this corresponds to a nicety with St. Paul’s explanation in Romans Chapter 11. He points to the fact that all of God’s blessings were in the Abrahamic Covenant, which as a root had developed Israel as a nation—the seed of Abraham according to the flesh. The living Israelite’s were branches of that olive tree (Verses 16-21).

Had they been in the right heart condition, “Israelite’s indeed,” they would as a whole have been accepted by Christ as his members–allowed to remain members or branches in the olive tree, which represented Abraham’s Spiritual Seed. But they were not ready, and hence all except the few who became Spiritual Israelite’s were broken off, because of unbelief. During this Gospel Age the places of the broken off branches have been filled by called and chosen ones of every nation, people, kindred and tongue. Thus Spiritual Israel has become the “holy nation” or kingdom class, under the headship of Messiah, as his prospective Bride or Body or Royal Priesthood.

The Apostle reminds us (Verses 25-29) that Israel’s rejection from Divine favor is not perpetual, but merely in respect to this High Calling to membership in the Spiritual Seed of Abraham, membership in the Body of Messiah, the great antitypical Prophet, Priest, Mediator, King, who, when complete in the end of this age, will begin the great work of blessing all the families of the earth. The Apostle assures us that in the Divine Plan Israel will have a share in that work of blessing the world, but on a lower plane than that of the Spiritual Seed.

They, as the natural seed of Abraham, will be the first to receive blessings from the glorified Mediator under the New Covenant which will be made directly with THAT nation, as foretold by the Prophet Jeremiah (31:31)–“after those days” of the sealing of that Covenant by the great Mediator with his blood.

St. Paul refers directly to this New Covenant to be made with Israel at the end of this age (Verse. 27), saying, “This is my Covenant (the New Covenant) unto them (natural Israel), when I shall take away their sins.” (Rom. 11:27) The taking away of their sins is a necessity for them, before they can receive this New Covenant, because God makes no Covenant with sinners. Israel’s sins were not cancelled by our Lord when he ascended up on high and appeared in the presence of God for us— according to the type sprinkling the blood on the Mercy Seat for the sins of those for whom it was applied—us, “the household of faith“–not them, not Israel in the flesh, or any others, than “us.”

According to the type a second sin-offering was to be made; “the Lord’s goat” was also to be sacrificed by the Priest and its blood sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat, NOT for the household of faith, but “for all the people.” That Lord’s goat, as we have seen (See “The Great Day of Atonement”), typified the Church, the Body of Christ, made acceptable for sacrifice through the merit of Christ’s blood and sacrificed by our High Priest throughout this Gospel Age. We delight in this sacrifice and “present our bodies living sacrifices, holy, acceptable to God, and our reasonable service,” because we are assured that if we suffer with him, and be dead with him in his sacrificial death, we shall also live with him and reign with him in his Medeatorial Kingdom, which will bless Israel and the world.–Rom. 12:1.

Continued with next post.