Kingdom Come

“I am the LORD, I change not…Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. ” (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8-9) “For 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.” (Hebrews 8:7-8)

Whoa! Sure sounds like a contradiction here! Remember, any apparent contradiction is the best clue to the truth. Let’s follow this.

“For finding fault with them…because they continued not in my covenant.” (Hebrews 8:8-9)

Aha! As detailed in the post on covenants vs contracts, whenever a party to a covenant fails to uphold the covenant, the covenant is not ended as in a contract. The stronger party to the covenant maintains the covenant by contributing more to ensure the perpetuation of the covenant.

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” (Hebrews 8:12-13)

The legal way a covenant ends is when a human party to the covenant fulfills it, for instance, by paying a debt in full or achieving its requirements, such as age or accomplishments. In this case, the debt paid was death for the sin nature of all humanity passed down through the Adams, and the accomplishment was the destruction of sin and death by a sinless Seed of the Woman.

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil…Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-19)

“If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth…If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1)

This is straight out of the original covenant.

“I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised…turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented…For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:17-18, 34)

YHVH’s Savior / Jesus is only recognizable through the law of Moses and the Old Testament prophecies of salvation,

“Ought not Christ / the Promised One to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:26-27)

“I will keep the Passover…with my disciples…The Son of man / Seed of the Woman goeth as it is written of him [to crush the serpent’s head]…And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament / covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:19-28)

“Christ…through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God…is the mediator of the new testament / covenant, that by means of death [life for life] for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.” (Hebrews 9)

“This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses…Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ…Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” (Acts 2:32-39)

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12).

If you take this statement at face value, then it must logically follow that faith in Jesus is the means of salvation throughout the Old as well as the New Testament.

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith [started on the day the Adams were promised redemption from sin and death]…ye [believers in Jesus the Christ] are come unto the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.” (Hebrews 12:2, 23)

This is passage written to Hebrews, i.e. the followers of Eber, i.e. believers in YHVH found scattered throughout nations and cultures and languages, generally understood as Gentiles and including far more than the generally recognized dichotomy of Christians and Jews. This becomes more clear when we use the Hebrew translation “YHVH’s Savior” instead of the Greek translation “Jesus” which, because in our English Bible translations it is applied to one single person in time and used only in the New Testament, skews our understanding of his role in history. While we believe on his actions in time and place, the individual carrying out those actions transcends time and space.

“God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling [to share dominion over creation] according to his own purpose and grace,

• which was given us in Christ Jesus / YHVH’s Designated Seed of the Woman Savior from sin and death before the world began, 
• But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ / YHVH’s Chosen Savior

who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel / good news. (II Timothy 1:8-10)

“the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly….

1. 1. according to my gospel,
   2. and [according to] the preaching of Jesus Christ,
   3. [and] according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began [when the bruising of Satan was first announced], But now is made manifest
   4. and by the scriptures of the [Old Testament] prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: ” (Romans 16:20-26)

Jesus’ message about himself before Pentecost and the apostle’s doctrine of the New Testament Church after Pentecost validate everything they preach by referencing back to the Old Testament promises to Israel: “Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” (Isaiah 55:3)

“And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:44-48)

“…they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. 

• The God of this people of Israel…raised up unto them David to be their king…Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus…
• we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus…from the dead…he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption…
• Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things...
• Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.” (Acts 13:14-43)

Is this grace of God, as claimed, a new way of salvation distinct from the Mosaic law of the Old Covenant? Not according to the Bible.

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us [the essential Mosaic law] that,

• denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world…
• and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.“(Titus 2:11-14)

Grace is the fundamental covenant made with the first two humans by God himself to the parents of the entire human race promising to save them and their children from sin and death.

“verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service…went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: Which was a figure for the time then present…

But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come…by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

• • For if the blood of bulls and of goats [in fact] sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
    • How much more shall the blood of Christ / the Chosen One, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God,
  • purge [by the LORD’s forgiveness of iniquity and no longer remembering our sin] your conscience
    • [allowing diversion of resources from engaging in] from dead works to [instead present our bodies a living sacrifice to] serve the living God?

And for this cause [serving the living God] he is the mediator of the new testament [with humanity], that by means of [his] death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” (Hebrews 9)