what is a covenant?

January 2005 - Volume 55 - Number 1

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What is a Covenant?

New Covenant TheologyNew Covenant Theologyand The Everlasting Gospeland The Everlasting Gospel

Advocating Christ The Savior 19

ratification. Characteristically this transactioncenters in the swearing of an oath. Clearly acovenant is a legal kind of arrangement, a for-mal disposition of a binding nature. At theheart of a covenant contract is an act of com-mitment and the customary oath-form of thiscommitment reveals the religious nature of thetransaction.

Oath-commitment was so definitive ofthe covenant that the act of making a covenantwas denoted by the imagery of the oath ritualperformed when ratifying a covenant. In thecase of Abraham, the characteristic ratificationrite was one of slaying and cutting up animalsto symbolize the curse that would befall thebreaker of the oath. “Cut a covenant” hasbecome the idiom for this transaction.

Whatever the etymology of berith(covenant), the proper meaning of the wordused to translate it in the New Testament isclear. Diatheke means a disposition, especiallya testament. Its use as a rendering for berithpoints to an understanding of the latter as asolemnly transacted commitment.

ConclusionIt is imperative that we understand the

elements that make up covenants relationships,but we must not confuse the elements with theactual covenant itself. This is an easy mistaketo make and churches have been doing itthroughout history. By not understanding theinter-relationships of the covenants and thereelements, they have come up with false conclu-sions. These false conclusions are what arereferred to as dispensationalism. The basiccovenant relationship from the time of creationuntil now has not changed. It has always been“I will be your God and you will be Mypeople.” This is the everlasting covenant Godhas established with man.

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18 January 2005 ACTS

judge dispensing divine judgment upon thenation for violating the covenant and thus issuesa lawsuit, which requires a penalty derived frompunitive damages issued by God’s own priest-hood. (Is. 58-25) Unless a descendent ofDavid will be raised to judge the weak withintegrity and to give fair sentence for the hum-blest in the land, the nation would lie in ruinsand this descendent of David, known as theMessiah’s victory, would be the basis for theNew Covenant. Consider the counsel of Isaiah40, “’Console my people, console them’, says your God.‘Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and cry to her that herperiod of service is ended, that her guilt has been atonedfor, that from the hand of Yahweh, she has received dou-ble punishment for all her sins’”. (Is. 40:1-2)

A Need for a Better CovenantExtra-Biblical material such as the Dead

Sea Scrolls from Qumran also looked for a“Teacher of Righteousness” who would issue acurse reversal to throw off the yoke of evilinvaders contained in the final conflict betweenthe Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness.(See the War Scroll) The 26 foot longHabakkuk scroll does not mention Jesus or anyNew Testament apostle by name, but the con-cepts contained therein are unmistakably similarto our New Testament. The Law of Moses wasratified at Sinai on tables of stone. The NewCovenant from Jer. 31:31 would be written onthe tablets of men’s hearts and therefore, wouldalso contain better promises that would not sim-ply pertain to the nation of Israel but wouldapply to the entire human race and would haveeschatological implications for the entire uni-verse. By virtue of the sacrifice of the Son ofGod, the atonement and the enactment of sal-vation history would be possible. This theme isamplified in Philippians, Chapter 2 where Godemptied Himself taking the form of a slave bybecoming as human beings are. (Phil. 2:7) “Andfor this God raised him high, and gave him the namewhich is above all other names; so that all beings in theheavens, on earth and in the underworld should bend theknee at the name of Jesus”. (Phil. 2:9-10) Thedivinity of God’s personhood lived in the Sonof God, and to lesser extant, God’s sonship lives

in His children today. It is due to this realitythat the angel of Rev. 14:6 is commanded topreach the everlasting gospel unto every nation,kindred and people. The first angel’s messageis to preach the gospel of the eternity. The sec-ond angel’s message was for the saints to callthe people of God to come out of Babylon(Rev. 18:4). The third angel instructs God’speople not to take part in the alliance of thechurch and state covenant, which promotesfalse religion, false worship, and a false trinity.(See Dr. Desmond Ford, Crisis, Vol. 1, 2 and 3)“For if they do, they will be made to drink the wine ofGod’s fury.” (Rev. 14:10) This covenantal curseresults in God’s final lawsuit issued to His peo-ple who do not heed the message of the angels.Just as the tabernacle of Moses in Ex. 25 pic-tured fellowship between man and God and thereality in the heavens (Heb. 8:1-5), the NewCovenant takes the promises of the future andplaces the believer with the powers of the age tocome in this present world. (See The ComingKingdom, the Presence of the Future by Dr.Dale Ritterbaus) This covenant is issued so theSon of God could lead His people to spiritualvictory by overcoming the evil powers with theblood of the Lamb, so we could rule over thenations with Him because He has declared thatwe are a kingdom of priests and we shall ruleon the earth. “. . . because you were sacrificed, andwith your blood you bought people for God of every race,language, people and nation and made them a line ofkings and priests for God, to rule the world.” (Rev. 5:9-10) All of creation will sing a victory song in thehallelujah chorus and the coronation ceremonywill begin at the sound of the seventh trumpet.We shall receive our new name (Rev. 3:12) andfollow our King to victory and set with Him onMt. Zion at the wedding supper. As a result ofthis everlasting covenant being written on men’shearts, God’s walk with man will ultimately berestored. “Behold the tabernacle of God is with men”(Rev. 21: 1-3) and never again will His presencewithdraw from His people, as the Shikenahglory once did. This everlasting covenant willbe permanent and there will be no need for anycurse reversal for the sacrifice of praise fromGod’s creation will be permanent for all eternity.

3Advocating Christ The Savior

Dispensationalism vs.the Everlasting

CovenantDispensationalism seeks to address the

apparent contradictions in doctrine and practicethat arise from viewing the Old Testament andthe New Testament as separate; thus dividingup scripture into what is often referred to as theold and the new covenant. The distinction doesnot stop there. Dispensationalists break upsacred history into several more different dis-pensations or time periods, which mark sepa-rate covenants God is thought to have madewith humanity. The main points of dispensa-tionalism are: 1) The recognition of a distinctionbetween Israel and the Church; 2) A consistent-ly literal principle of interpretation, particularlythe literal chronological order of the propheciesin Revelation; 3) A basic working and concep-tion of the purposes of God, through separatecovenants, almost totally unrelated to eachother, but for His glory rather than a single pur-pose of one Everlasting Covenant through all ofthe scriptures.

This system of dispensational teaching,including the concept of the pre-tribulation rap-ture was first developed among the Plymouth

Brethren in the early 19th century in Englandand Ireland. John N. Darby, in particular, iscredited with forming much of this theology.Dispensational theology was popularized morewidely in evangelical and fundamentalist circlesin North America through a series of BibleConferences beginning in the late 1870’s. By

the early 20th century, dispensationalismbecame the most popular prophetic theology infundamentalist colleges in America.

I want to discuss each of the three mainpoints of dispensationalism and compare itsteachings with the one covenant, the EverlastingCovenant. Dispensationalism teaches the dis-tinction between “Old testament, Israel” and“New Testament, Church. Most dispensational-ists deny practicing what is called replacementtheology (where the church replaces Israel) orsuper-secessionism (where the church has a

higher calling than Israel). But in a sense, theypractice this kind of thinking by what I havecoined “bi-ekklesia,” (two churches) meaningthat there are and always will be two separatebodies of believers, Israel and the Church. TheBible is very clear that there is but one bodyand that body is Israel, referred to as the rem-nant of Israel. All who will be saved whenJesus comes the second time will be part ofIsrael. They will be keeping the command-ments of God and have the faith of Jesus.

The second point of discussion is that ofprophetic interpretation. Dispensationalists tendto view the prophecies in the book ofRevelation as being in chronological order witha literal interpretation with little or no symbol-ism. Most scholars disagree with this concept.Prophecies are often repeated to give emphasison important sections from a slightly differentviewpoint. From their literal chronological view,Jesus would have more than one second com-ing. Through out the book of Revelation sym-bolism is used to represent something that is lit-eral.

The third point has to do with what thisissue of the ACTS magazine goes to great lengthto explain. Dispensationalists teach that Godhad separate, virtually unrelated, covenants thatchanged as God seemed to change His mind.All of these for the most part were temporal,until they come to the “new covenant.”However, the new covenant was not new at all.In actuality, the new covenant was theEverlasting Covenant that began before cre-ation. It was God’s plan to be our God and wewould be His people and that His people woulddwell with Him forever. All of the covenants,including what is called the “new covenant” areall part of the Everlasting Covenant. It is sadthat man has divided the scripture into old andnew covenant. God has been consistent in Hisplan to be reunited with His creation, whetherold or new covenant. God does not changeand His purpose and pledge to humankind hasbeen consistent through out the Bible. As youread the following pages, think about a Mighty,all-powerful God, who only wants to come anddwell with His creation for eternity.

Gary Amick, Editor

4 January 2005 ACTS

Historically, scholars recognized the diffi-culty in adequately defining the term“covenant” due to its possible complex anddivergent meaning. This has resulted in manytheories being put forward. A covenant is alegal agreement, a contract between two ormore parties. The English word “covenant” istranslated from the Hebrew word “berith,”which was translated by New Testament writersas the Greek word “diatheke.” In the NewTestament there are actually two Greek wordsused; “diatheke” and “suntheke.” “Diathekecomprised of a covenant made by one partywith plenary power, being established on thebasis of that party’s love and affection towardanother, without necessarily being dependenton the other party’s acceptance of the covenantfor it to be initially established, yet dependenton the second party’s faithfulness to thecovenant for its benefits to be able to be trans-ferred from the giver to the second party. Bycontrast, “suntheke” was to place together as atwo-way arrangement or coming together inagreement. Every Biblical covenant was bynature a diatheke, being unilaterally institutedby God toward humanity. God always acted asthe initiator, declaring His will for His people.God presented each covenant contract tohumankind who was allowed to exercise freewill to either accept or reject God’s covenantpromise.

Because the subject of Biblicalcovenants and ancient treaties has been underintensive investigation and lively dispute, someintroductory observations about the nature ofthose arrangements we call “covenants” are inorder here. There are certain requirements nec-essary in order to achieve the ultimate fruitionof the covenant relationship. The following is aseries of questions that must be answered byevery covenant contract whether business orpersonal covenant or a Biblical covenant.

Who are the parties to the covenant?

What are the specific territories orareas of concern represented in thecovenant?

What is the purpose of the covenant’sexistence?

What are the rules and obligations tothe covenant?

What are the benefits for keeping thecovenant and what are the penaltiesfor breaking it?

Whose signature, witnesses and sealare on the covenant?

Who are the parties to thecovenant?

The kind of legal disposition calledberith (covenant) consists in a divinely sanc-tioned commitment. This commitment orcovenant is made between two or more con-senting parties bound by the content of theagreement. In the case of divine-humancovenants the divine sanctioning is entailed inGod’s participation either as the one to whomHe makes the commitment or as the divine wit-ness of the human commitment made in Hisname and presence.

The Biblical history of the covenantsbetween God and humans suggests a trendfrom hierarchical to fully covenantal relationsbetween God and man. At first, God takes thelead in initiating His covenants, establishing Hiscovenant with the patriarchs such as Adam, andcertainly Noah and Abraham. It is clear fromthe Biblical account that Abraham’s role as

What is a Covenant?


The Covenant of Abraham inPerpetuity of the Promises

In the Abramic covenant, Abrahamreceives a new name to show his divine com-mission. Once again the land and inheritancewas an issue, because in every ancientcovenant, land had to be included with thepromise of inheritance. This covenant includedmany of the nations of men, Jew and Gentile,the land of Canaan and the sign of thecovenant in perpetuity, which is the circumci-sion. (Genesis. 17) This covenant formulaentailed a divine commissioning of thespokesman and a blessing upon his posterity, acovenantal sign showing the sanctification of thenation through circumcision and a call to holi-ness, an inheritance of the land of many nationsand that God would be Abraham’s God and theGod of his descendents after him. Notice thetranscendence contained in this covenant andthat there is no curse formula ordered, due tothe fact Abraham’s account was consideredrighteous (Gen. 15:6). Sometimes covenantalformulas employ the words, “If you will, I will . ..” These conditional clauses point out where acovenantal agreement is in violation, there maybe a covenantal curse issued, followed later bya curse reversal so the people may be restoredto their land and to regain their right relation-ship to their Creator and to dispense divine jus-tice to His people. Ezekiel 30 through 33advances this notion when the curse unto thetenth generation, as stipulated in the Law ofMoses, was cancelled or reversed. So God’scovenantal blessing could again be restored.(See also Jer. 30: 18-24 especially v. 22)

The Life and Death PropositionJust as the Edenic covenant teaches that

man lost the right to eternal life when he lostthe right to dwell in the land of Eden, thePalestinian covenant of Deut. 30 employs lifeand death formulas as well as a blessing andcursing stipulation. (Deut 30:1 and 15-16)Walter Breuggerman suggests that without theblessing of land, there is no life to be inherited.Notice the outcome: The people would be

gathered back to the land and be made moreprosperous and numerous than their ancestors ifthese promises were upheld. (Deut. 30:1-5)This return to the land was always synonymouswith repentance/curse reversal so that Godcould indeed dwell with His people.

The Tabernacle of Moses in theWilderness

Modern readers of scripture sometimesfail to grasp the significance of temples and tab-ernacles and the sacrificial priestly system.Tabernacles and temples were viewed as anearthly replica of what is to be found in theheavenly realities. Scholar, Hugh Nibley, hasobserved that temples in the ancient world werea cosmic time clock by which the eternal escha-tological outcome of this age was measured.Unless there was a temple, there would be nopriesthood and no salvation in the world tocome. In Exodus 25:8, God requires that thetabernacle be built so that He could resideamong the people. (Also Ex. 29:46) The perpe-tuity of this covenant was based on what was inthe Ark of the Covenant, which was to containan eternal perspective and the laws and stipula-tions, which were outside the Ark were only invogue while the Law of Moses was in full effect.(See Forgotten Day, by Dr. Desmond Ford)Many other covenant types are contained inBiblical literature as well. One of these is calleda Vassal Treaty.

The vassal was the servant who wassubordinate to the king (See Avaram Gileadi’sLiterary Message of Isaiah). In this case Isaiahrecords, God acts as the vassal creating acovenant with the people that only He can fulfillin them by making them servants of His divinewill as they proceed forward in His righteous-ness. “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I havechosen, descendant of Abraham my friend, whom I havetaken to myself, from the remotest parts of the earth andsummoned from countries far away, to whom I havesaid, ‘You are my servant, I have chosen you, I have notrejected you,’ do not be afraid, for I am with you; do notbe alarmed, for I am your God.” (Is. 41:8-10) In thiscovenant treaty, the curse formula is calledGod’s covenant lawsuit where God becomes a


By Dr. Tom Roberts

Understanding CovenantApplication

A covenant was an agreement whichwas ratified between two parties usually consist-ing of a blood oath or anointing, a sacrifice of aliving animal, a journey between the parts ofthe sacrifice, receipt of a new name, a blessingand a cursing formula, and the propitiation orthe enactment of the covenant. Each covenantwas to be understood in the light of its applica-tion, which comes from its own legal require-ments as found in its own casebook of law suchas household, holiness, priestly and codes. (See:Alden Thompson’s work Inspiration, ACasebook of Biblical Interpretation) These tem-poral applications were to be dissolved with thepassing of the covenant itself or when the con-ditions of any given covenant could no longerbe enacted, but each of these covenants instructthe people of God about His eternal plan forsalvation and this is the great central truth thatis the overarching revelation of God that Hegives continuously to His people. It is this eter-nal thread that connects these covenants togeth-er in forming the Everlasting Gospel containedin Gen. 2:15 to the last chapter in the Book ofRevelation.

The Edenic Covenant

From the meridian of time, it has beenGod’s desire to have a covenantal relationshipwith man. This desire has been expressed dur-ing various ages through different covenants.While the mitigating circumstances may change,the overall responsibility of man to respond tohis Creator remains the same. Many dispensa-tional commentators, such as Darby andScofield, have advanced the notion of differingrequirements due to the fact that each covenantcontained in the Old Testament literatureemployed various standards and techniqueswhich wer used by God in different dispensa-tions. However, this theological assumption cre-ates just as many theological problems as itattempts to solve due to the fact that it robs theBiblical text of progressive theological consisten-cy. For example, the Edenic Covenant con-tained in Genesis 2:15 through 3:24, showsGod walking with Adam in paradise until sinentered the picture and a covenantal cursewhich affected man and his environment wasordered. (Gen 3:16-19) Notice the themes oflife, birth, pain of childbearing, cursed be theground, the bruising of the serpent, and thefinal casting out of paradise. These themes runconsistently through salvation history and arerevealed throughout Biblical revelation. Itshould be noted that there are eternal dimen-sions that are a part of the goal of eachcovenant issued between the two parties.

New Covenant TheologyNew Covenant Theologyandand

The Everlasting GospelThe Everlasting Gospel


father of multitudes includes Israelites and oth-ers, for example, the Ishmaelites, who descend-ed from his son by Hagar. However, the Biblevery carefully distinguishes between the berith(covenant) that Isaac is to reaffirm and continuethrough Jacob (Israel), and the brakhah (bless-ing) that God through Abraham conferred onIshmael and the other peoples who descendedfrom him. Here we find a difference betweencovenant and blessing. A covenant relationshipencompasses blessings, but blessings do notnecessarily create covenants. The blessing uponIshmael was not a two party contractual agree-ment, but was based totally on the grace of Godand required no participation on the part ofIshmael or his descendants.

What are the specific territoriesor areas of concern representedin the covenant?

For a covenant to be a binding contractthere had to be specific territories or areas ofconcern spelled out in the agreement. In thecase of the Noahic covenant, the area of con-cern was that God would never again destroythe whole earth with a flood. The rainbow con-firmed the promise of this. With Abraham,God’s concern was with Abraham becoming thefather of many nations. With Moses, God’sconcern was to prepare the Israelites to go intoa specific territory referred to as the PromiseLand. In the Edenic covenant, God’s contractwas that Adam would have dominion over theearth and replenish the earth. There are alwaysspecific territories or areas of concerns repre-sented in a covenant relationship.

What is the purpose of thecovenant’s existence?

Every covenant relationship has a pur-pose for its existence. Every covenant that Godmade with His people demonstrated His graceand mercy, each one being unique and all beinginterrelated, being progressively revealed andpointing toward the Messianic covenant, whichfulfilled all of the earlier covenants and itselfconfirmed once and for all the great everlasting

covenant. The purpose of all of the covenantswas to forever bind God to His people. For thisreason, the covenants of God relate organicallyto one another. From Adam to Christ and thento the New Heaven and Earth, a unity ofcovenantal administration demonstrate the pur-pose of the covenants’ existence as God dealswith His people. It was through these divinecovenants, that God expressed His will and pur-pose for humankind and it was the effectivemeans by which His will and purpose was ful-filled and the most comprehensive expression ofGod’s creative and redemptive purposes forman.

What are the rules and obliga-tions of the covenant?

The critical prime element of covenantalpartnerships is that covenants establish justicethrough mutual obligations or systems of mutualobligations that derive the partners’ rights.Under the covenantal system there are no rightsthat are not derived from obligations. The pri-mary covenantal obligations are to God to beholy and just. Those obligations are what todaywe would define as rights. However, covenantsalso keep rights conditional on one’s maintain-ing covenant with God which establishes basicmorality, justice and law, and at the very least,transforming natural justice into law. As youcan see obligations transform into rights, thenjustice and finally a moral law, which defines theconditions of the covenantal relationship. Forexample, when God gave the TenCommandments, He was confirming acovenantal relationship with His people. Thecovenantal relationship was not theCommandments, but was God declaring that “Iam the Lord thy God.” The covenant was theeverlasting covenant of “I am your God andyou are my people.” Note: the TenCommandments were not the covenant, butwere the rules and obligations of the covenant.One cannot separate the law from the covenanteven though the law was not the covenant.Remember that a covenant is an agreementbetween two or more parties, God on one handand “thy” (YOU) on the other. All legal and


binding covenants must have rules, provisionsand conditions in order to be valid.

Finally, the Bible sets forth a compre-hensive covenantal system, establishing aframework for both justice and rights in thisworld, one that offers the civil and social protec-tions of these rights. It does so by providingconstitutional means for guaranteeing rights andcontrolling the demand for rights by typingthem to obligations. The fundamental constitu-tion is the Torah, which defines a person’s obli-gation to God, one’s neighbors, and those inneed special consideration, such as widows andorphans, aliens, strangers, and many others.The “rights” of those parties do not exist excathedra (out side of the law), but flow from theobligations of those who are part of thecovenantal contract with God and to them as aresult of their obligations to God. A doubleguarantee, one from God and one from man,reinforces the covenantal agreement with itsrights.

If the Ten Commandments become thecovenant itself, first of all, they will not meet thecriteria of a valid covenant and second, theywould become temporal and easily disposed ofas many Christians proclaim when they say theywere nailed to the cross. The validity of thecovenant, “I am the Lord thy God” establishesthe Ten Commandments validity as long as theLord is “YOUR” God. If God ceases to be“YOUR” Lord, then the Ten Commandmentscease to be an obligation to you. Thecovenant is based upon your relationshipwith God and not your obedience to thelaw. Let me say it another way: Keeping theTen Commandments will not establish acovenant with God, but establishing God asyour Lord in a covenantal relationship will obli-gate you to keep the conditions of thecovenant, which is obedience to the TenCommandments. The bottom line is the “ever-lasting covenant” that says, “I am your Godand you are my people.” The covenant isnot between you and the TenCommandments, but between you andGod.

What are the benefits for keeping

the covenant and what are thepenalties for breaking it?

Every covenant relationship must haveincluded in it both benefits for keeping it andpenalties for breaking it. In religious terms, thecovenant was, and is, seen as the foundationfor a community. Each of the individuals thatmake up that community is responsible forabiding by its rules and obligations. The bless-ings of abiding by the covenant are both com-munal and individual, while the penalty forbreaking the covenant is potentially communal,because the covenant community is bound toforcibly reject an individual who breaks thecovenant. The covenant-breaker is seen ascursed. He stands outside the communitybecause of his failure. Thus he is potentially adangerous enemy, a looming threat to thecovenant community and becomes a figure offear and revulsion.

The idea of humanity having acovenant with God is a theme that is returnedto again and again in the Bible. The firstcovenant is that which was established withAdam and Eve, who for their obedience arepromised dominion over the earth, but just assurely their disobedience would bring deathupon themselves and all posterity to follow.The covenant with Abraham established thesign of circumcision. The punishment for refus-ing to circumcised is called in Hebrew “karet,”the “cutting off” of the soul from the Jewishpeople. By far the most significant in the OldTestament is the Mosaic covenant, the foundingcovenant of the community. The TenCommandments stipulate the rules and obliga-tions of the covenant, that is, the behaviorexpected of those assenting to it. There werespecific blessings for obedience and curses fordisobedience.

Whose signature, witnesses andseal are on the covenant?

Repeatedly, we read in the Bible of acovenant being “made.” The covenant makingis accomplished through a solemn process of

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Earth. Before the cross, the EverlastingCovenant was reckoned, meaning God’s planthat He would dwell with man was enactedwhen Adam sinned and separated Himself fromGod. When Jesus shed His blood on the crossat Calvary, He confirmed the Everlasting

Covenant. Satan was defeated at the cross,never to have dominion over the earth again.In the New Heaven and the New Earth, God’sEverlasting Covenant will be established foreternity. God will dwell with His people in HisKingdom forever. Gary Amick


a sign between me and them, that they might knowthat I am the LORD that sanctify them . . . And hallowmy Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me andyou, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.”(Ezekiel 20:12 & 20)

ConclusionWhether Jew or Gentile, every believer

in the God of Israel, should pay special atten-tion to the Everlasting Covenant. TheEverlasting Covenant is everlasting from beforecreation until the New Heaven and the New


Prior to the foundation of the world, God had an “eternal purpose” for man. His purposewas to forever dwell with man and be his God. The Everlasting Covenant was made by God andwould encompass all other covenants. “Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; andI will make an Everlasting Covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” (Isaiah 55:3) God was the ini-tiator of the covenant and man was the recipient. Because man sinned, in His infinite wisdom andmercy, God devised a system of interrelated covenants, which progressively pointed toward thefinal establishment of the Everlasting Covenant. This contract will last for all time, age after age,for eternity. God is a covenant keeping God, promising that as long as the sun continued to ruleover the day and the moon over the night God’s relationship with man would continue. “Thus saiththe LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be dayand night in their season; Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have ason to reign upon his throne…” (Jeremiah 33:20, 21) God promised not to forget His covenants to Hispeople. “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and withJacob.” (Exodus 2:24) He openly revealed and declared the promises and terms of each covenantto humanity, ensuring that humanity understood the possibility of such a relationship. “The secret ofthe LORD is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.” (Psalms 25:14) Not only didGod make, keep, and reveal His covenant to humanity, but He also enabled man to fulfill his partof the covenant through God’s grace. It is, therefore, of utmost importance to every believer inGod to learn about this covenant.

Inter-relationship of the covenantsEvery covenant that God made with His people demonstrated His grace and mercy, each

one being unique and all being interrelated, progressively revealed and pointing toward theMessianic covenant which confirmed all of the earlier covenants and itself equating to the greatEverlasting Covenant. The covenant structure in the Bible manifested a marvelous unity. God, inbinding a people to Himself, never changed. For this reason, the covenants of God relate organi-cally to one another. From Adam to Christ, a unity of covenantal administration characterized thehistory of God dealing with His people. It was through these divine covenants, that God expressedHis will and purpose for humankind. The inter-relationship of these covenants was an effectivemeans by which His will and purpose is being fulfilled as the Everlasting Covenant and becomesthe most comprehensive expression of God’s creative and redemptive purposes for man.

The promise from God is that every person who partook in this Everlasting Covenantwould be entitled to everlasting life; to gain immorality, righteousness, mercy, strength, and ever-lasting joy. By contrast, the curses of such a covenant were fulfilled at each point in time from allof the earthly covenants that had been made. The ultimate curse was being banished from thepresence of God into the lake of fire and brimstone.

The Spirit of God was to be the sign, seal and token of the covenant. The Holy Spirit wasconsidered the executor of the covenant. The Spirit of God was to be the completeness of the sealand work, which takes place upon the entrance into the Everlasting Covenant.

To better understand the inter-relationship of the covenants and how they relate to theEverlasting Covenant, we will examine each one progressively as they are given in the Scriptures.

8 January 2005 ACTS

Edenic CovenantMan was created in God’s image and

likeness specifically to enable a relationshipbetween God and humanity. The EdenicCovenant was the covenant God made withAdam and Eve in the Garden of Eden prior tothe entrance of sin. It was God’s plan to walkand talk with Adam for eternity. “They heard thevoice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the coolof the day . . . And the LORD God called unto Adam,and said unto him, Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:8 &9) It was the first expression on earth of thepre-existent Everlasting Covenant. This firstcovenant placed humanity as the focal point ofGod’s creation, signifying God’s purpose forthem. “I will be your God and you will be mypeople,” expresses the Everlasting Covenant.

Humanity was the recipient, not theoriginator, of this covenant, illustrating God’sdesire that every person be in a covenantal rela-tionship. Without such a covenant in place,humanity could not have a relationship withGod. The Edenic covenant required Adam’sparticipation. It consisted of a covenantbetween God and Adam, in which Adam waspromised life on the condition of obedience.

The Edenic covenant demonstratedGod’s creative purpose for man including Hisdesire to be in a covenantal relationship withman and for man to have character, dominion,fruitfulness, eternal life, and most of all, for God

to dwell with man. Due to Adam’s failure tokeep this covenant there was no possible wayother than by the shedding of blood in order torestore humanity back to God. The EverlastingCovenant was reckoned by the shedding of theblood of calves and goats, and later confirmedby the shed blood of the Messiah, once for all.“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his(Jesus) own blood he entered in once into the holy place,having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (Hebrews9:12)

Adamic CovenantThe Adamic covenant was a prophetic

covenant, which God made with Adam and Evein the Garden of Eden, detailing His futurepromise of redemption at the end of theEverlasting Covenant. Adam’s unbelief and dis-obedience resulted in the failure of the Edeniccovenant, which resulted in death being passedupon all men and the need for the Messiah tocome.

Even though this time would had tohave been one of the most sobering times inhuman history, it demonstrates that God’sabounding grace was present. The curse wasfirst placed on the serpent, followed by the initi-ating of God’s covenant with Adam. There isan inseparable connection of the covenant ofAdam with the Everlasting Covenant pointingdown to the end of time where there is eternalredemption.


Israelites and thousands of believing foreigners.These rules, God’s law, were actually spoken byGod Himself when He descended on MountSinai in the desert of Arabia. Everyone presentheard His voice as He delivered His law. TheTen Commandments were not only spoken outloud to the people but was then written onstone tablets with His own finger. Other com-mandments were spoken by God which laterMoses wrote in a book.

The Ten Commandments were thenplaced inside a specially prepared box call theArk of the Covenant. The cover of this box wascalled the mercy seat. The Ark of the Covenantwas a scaled-down model of God’s throne andHis government, which is based on His holy lawand infinite mercy. The Bible says that any per-son, Jew or Gentile, who accepts the EverlastingCovenant, “I am the Lord thy God” or statedanother way, “I will be your God and you willbe my people,” is classified by God as one ofHis “peculiar people,” and is among those thatare more precious to Him than all others. “Nowtherefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep mycovenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto meabove all people: for all the earth is mine.” (Exodus19:5). “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priest-hood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye shouldshow forth the praises of him who hath called out ofdarkness into his marvelous light. Which in time pastwere not a people, but are now the people of God: whichhad not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”(1 Peter 2:9,10)

The Benefits of Keeping the EverlastingCovenant & the Penalties for Breaking it

Everyone who elects to become part ofthe Everlasting Covenant has benefits for keepthe relationship with God. “The LORD shall estab-lish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath swornunto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of theLORD thy God, and walk in his ways. And all people ofthe earth shall see that thou art called by the name ofthe LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee. And theLORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit ofthy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruitof thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware untothy fathers to give thee. The LORD shall open unto theehis good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thyland in his season, and to bless all the work of thinehand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thoushalt not borrow. And the LORD shall make thee thehead, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only,

and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken untothe commandments of the LORD thy God, which I com-mand thee this day, to observe and to do [them]:”(Deuteronomy 28:9-13) “And I heard a great voiceout of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is]with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shallbe his people, and God himself shall be with them, [andbe] their God. And God shall wipe away all tears fromtheir eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sor-row, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: forthe former things are passed away. He that overcomethshall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and heshall be my son.” (Revelation 21:3,4,7) Thepromise from God is that every person whopartakes in the Everlasting Covenant is entitledto everlasting life, to gain immorality, righteous-ness, mercy, strength and everlasting joy. Whata promise of blessings God has for those whoare part of the Everlasting Covenant.

There are penalties for breaking theEverlasting Covenant. When God ceases to beyour one and only God, than there are resultingpenalties. “Lest there should be among you man, orwoman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth awaythis day from the LORD our God, to go [and] serve theGods of these nations; . . . The LORD will not sparehim, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousyshall smoke against that man, and all the curses thatare written in this book shall lie upon him, and theLORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.”(Deuteronomy 29:18,20) The ultimate curse ofbreaking the Everlasting Covenant is being ban-ished from the presence of God into the lake offire and literally burned up. (Matthew 18:8;Revelation 14:10,11; 19:20; 20:14,15; 21:8).

The Signature, Witnesses, and Seal on theEverlasting CovenantThe Sabbath is God’s sign or signature of theEverlasting Covenant. It is God’s badge ofownership on the true believer’s mind; a memo-rial symbol that the God of Israel is setting thatperson apart for Himself. Sabbath observanceidentifies the remnant of Israel. The Sabbath isthe everlasting sign of the Everlasting Covenant.It will be kept throughout eternity by theredeemed host. “Wherefore the children of Israel shallkeep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughouttheir generations, [for] a perpetual covenant. It is a signbetween me and the children of Israel for ever: for in sixdays the LORD mad heaven and earth, and on the sev-enth day he rested, and was refreshed.” (Exodus 31:16& 17) “Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be

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“Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall treadshall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, fromthe great river, the river Euphrates, even unto the utter-most sea shall your coast be.” (Deuteronomy 11:24)“For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world,was not to Abraham, or to his, through the law, butthrough the righteousness of faith.” (Romans 4:13)

The Purpose of the Everlasting CovenantGod’s ultimate objective in designing

the Everlasting Covenant is so that He cancome down and dwell with His people. “And Iheard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, thetabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell withthem, and they shall be his people, and God himselfshall be with them, and be their God.” (Revelation21:3) It is currently not possible for the MostHigh, the holy, sinless God to dwell withmankind. His followers must be absolutely per-fect as He is perfect. “Be ye therefore perfect, even asyour Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew5:48) We are sinful; and a holy God cannotabide where sin is anywhere near Him. Wemust first be cleansed, totally cleansed, fromevery vestige of sin before we can ever hope tocome and dwell in God’s holy presence.

The whole plan of salvation is simply ameans to an end; that God may come anddwell with His people for eternity. The purposeof the Everlasting Covenant is that His peoplewill be in a state of absolute perfection in orderthat we may live with a perfect and holy Godforever. That does not give any of us muchhope, because the Bible says, “If we say that wehave no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not inus…If we say that we have not sinned, we make him aliar, and his word is not in us.” (I John 1: 8 & 10)In light of these scriptures, we have no hope ofdwelling with God! In the infinite wisdom ofGod, He made provision for that very problem.He sent His only son in the form of humanity tothis earth. Though tempted in all ways to sinlike we are, Jesus was without sin. “For we havenot an high priest which cannot be touched with the feel-ing of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted likeas we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)Through Jesus’ perfect life and shed blood, wecan be cleansed from all unrighteous. “But if wewalk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellow-ship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ hisSon cleanseth us from all sin…If we confess our sins, heis faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanseus from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1: 7,9) We

are cleansed by the blood of Jesus and thusappear before God as righteous, holy and per-fect. Jesus took the death that we deserve, thatwe might have the life that He deserved.Because of God’s love for those who are in Hiscovenant, He made provisions within thecovenant to accommodate the sin problem.This does not give carte blanche for the believerto continue in sin. “No one who lives in him keeps

onsinning. No one who continues to sin has either seenhim or known him…No one who is born of God willcontinue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; hecannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.”(1 John 3:6,9 NIV) (Note: NIV translation isused because the tense of the verb, “sinning,” isclosest to the original Greek language.) Godnot only establishes an Everlasting Covenantwith His people, but by His grace He also pro-vides the way to keep all of the rules and obli-gations set forth within it.

The Rules and Obligations of theEverlasting Covenant

Every covenant has conditional clausesand rules which the parties involved agreeupon. It is not possible to find a covenant any-where on earth which doesn’t contain rules andobligations. The Everlasting Covenant is noexception. It also has rules. The rules and obli-gations in the Everlasting Covenant weredesigned and delivered by God Himself in thepresence of billions of angels, millions of


Noahic CovenantGod originated, established, and initiat-

ed the Noahic covenant with Noah, his family,all future generations, and creation after the

flood. Out of all of humanity, Noah was theonly one who found favor in the sight of theLord. God’s instruction for Noah to enter theark did not initiate the covenant: rather it wasafter the flood that God established thiscovenant. God came to His people in judgmentmode, sovereignly centering His grace on a sin-gle family, saving them from the destructivejudgment of the flood. The Noahic covenant,like the Edenic, saw the re-establishment andaddition of principles. Noah and his sons weretold to be fruitful and multiply; they would ruleover the animals and finally, that never againwould a universal flood occur. The seal ofGod’s promise came by the sign of the rainbow,His promise to never flood the entire earthagain.

Abramic CovenantThe Abramic covenant involved a relationshipbetween God, on one hand and Abraham andhis descendants, on the other. It crystallized anaspect of obedience on which the integrity ofthat relationship depended. God made thiscovenant with Abraham and re-established itwith Isaac and Jacob, which not only includedthe promises of the previous covenants of Eden,Adam, and Noah, but also expanded uponthem.

God assured Abraham of His covenantby His instructions to present certain animals ina particular form to God. As Abraham slept,the Lord came as a “blazing torch;” passed inbetween the animals and established acovenant that could never be annulled. This actsymbolized that each of the participants pledgedto the other, total commitment and that if it wasto be broken, “they were asking that their ownbodies be torn in pieces just as the animals hadbeen divided ceremonially.”

The seal that arose from the covenantwas circumcision, which symbolizing purificationbetween “a holy God and an unholy people.”This external expression of the seal became aninternal and spiritual seal of circumcision of theheart. The covenant did not change, only theseal of the covenant changed.

The covenant that was cut withAbraham, like other covenants, included bothblessings and curses. God promised varioustypes of blessings, those personal to Abraham,“And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will agreat nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy namegreat; and thou shalt be a blessing,” (Genesis 12:2);blessings to those who blessed Abraham, “And Iwill bless them that bless thee, and curse him thatcurseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth beblessed,” (Genesis 12:3); that Abraham’s seedwould multiply, “And I will make thee exceeding fruit-ful,

and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall comeout of thee,” (Genesis 17:6), and also thatAbraham was to be a part of the Messianic line.Out of all of the blessings that were promised to


Abraham, one curse existed, where God prom-ised “and curse him that curseth thee.”

The Abramic covenant revealed God’spurpose to fulfill through Abraham His programfor Israel and to provide in Christ the confirma-tion of the Everlasting Covenant.

Mosaic CovenantGod and the nation of Israel entered

into the Mosaic covenant. The Mosaiccovenant did not annul the Abramic covenant;rather the Abramic covenant was eternal andirrevocable, while the Mosaic covenant wasadded to the Abramic covenant because ofIsrael’s transgressions. This covenant is a non-revocable covenant that spells out the rules that

govern the Everlasting Covenant, where God isto ever be the God of His people. “I am theLORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the landof Egypt, out of the house of bandage.” (Exodus 20:2)The Mosaic Covenant was not the TenCommandments. The TenCommandments were the rules and obli-gations necessary to maintain thecovenant relationship with God. Theserules and obligations extend to the very end oftime as long as God is your God. If God ceasesto be your God than the covenant is brokenand these rules and obligations are no longerapplicable to you. Do not let “worldly” church-es deceive you when they say that the TenCommandments were temporary and only in

place until the time of Christ. This teaching isabsolutely wrong! “Think not that I am come todestroy the law, or the prophets: II aamm nnoott ccoommee ttooddeessttrrooyy,, bbuutt ttoo ffuullffiillll.. For verily I say unto you, Tillheaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” (Matthew5:17) Has the heaven and earth passed away?As Paul would say, “God forbid!” The administra-tion of the law changed from the external to theinternal. “But this [shall be] the covenant that I willmake with the house of Israel; After those days, saiththe LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, andwrite it in their hearts; and will be their God, and theyshall be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:33) How muchclearer can the Scriptures be! This is part of theEverlasting Covenant, where He will be theirGod, and they shall be His people. Man in hishumanistic thinking says, “Since I am havingtrouble keeping the law, it must not be meant tobe kept.” “There is a way that seemeth right unto aman, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.”(Proverbs 16:25) Again God in His infinite wis-dom and mercy made provision for such aproblem. Part of the provision was to provide aperfect blood sacrifice for the sin of breaking thelaw. “Sin is the transgression of the Law.” (I John3:4) “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) “Forthe life of the flesh [is] in the blood: and I have given itto you upon the altar to make an atonement for yoursouls: for it [is] the blood [that] maketh an atonementfor the soul.” (Leviticus 17:11) This was the pro-vision for sin that God make as part of Hiscovenant, but it was not the covenant. This wasa provision God had provided because of Hislove and grace for His people, who make thiscovenant commitment to Him. “And almost allthings are by the law purged with blood; and withoutshedding of blood is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22)At the cross Jesus shed his blood as a provisionof the Everlasting Covenant. “Neither by the bloodof goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered inonce into the holy place having obtained eternal redemp-tion for us.” (Hebrews 9:12) “So Christ was onceoffered to bear the sins of many…” (Hebrews 9:28)The provision of the Everlasting Covenantchanged from the blood of goats and calves tothe blood of the Savior. It did not changecovenant; it did not change or do away with theTen Commandments; it only changed the provi-sions of God grace.


Davidic CovenantThe covenant that God made with

David was not just a confirmation and extensionof the covenant He made with Moses, but italso promised the establishment of a rulingdynasty. The Everlasting Covenant could also

be found in the Davidic covenant because themajor promise of kingship of the line of Davidfinds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, in that Hewill be “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”

Under the Davidic covenant, David wasinstructed to take up the rest of the land thathad been promised to Israel in the Abramiccovenant, being assured victory over his ene-mies. Not only were these victories geographi-cal, but they represented “the spiritual victoriesof Christ.” Finally, God promised to establishDavid’s dynasty, which would rule all of earthforever. Christ Himself will be the ultimate ful-fillment of the Davidic covenant and the confir-mation of the Everlasting Covenant.

Elements of the EverlastingCovenant

The Everlasting Covenant has all of theelements required to make a contract binding.The elements are as follows: Parties to thecovenant; specified territories and areas of con-cern; its rules and obligations; the blessings andthe cursings; and finally, the signatures, witness-es, and seal. Parties to the Everlasting Covenant

The parties to the Everlasting Covenantare as follows:

1. The Almighty God of Israel “II aamm tthhee LLOORRDDtthhyy GGoodd, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt,from the house of bondage.” (Deuteronomy 5:6)“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I willmake a new covenant with the house of Israel, and withthe house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that Imade with their fathers in the day that I took them bythe hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; whichmy covenant they brake, although I was an husbandunto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be thecovenant that I will make with the house of Israel; Afterthose days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in theirinward parts, and write it in their hearts; and wwiillll bbeetthheeiirr GGoodd,, aanndd tthheeyy sshhaallll bbee mmyy ppeeooppllee.. And they shallteach no more every man his neighbour, and every manhis brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall allknow me, from the least of them unto the greatest ofthem, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity,and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah31:31-34)

2. And all true believers who choose to acceptHim as the “LORD thy God” and have put theirfaith in Messiah, the Lamb of God. “And if ye beChrist’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and hears accord-ing to the promise.” (Galatians 3:29) “For he is nota Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumci-sion, which is outward in the flesh: But be is a Jew,which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of theheart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise isnot of men but of God.” (Romans 2:28,29) “For ifthe first fruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if theroot be holy, so are the branches. And if some of thebranches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree,wert grafted in among them, and with them partakestof the root and fatness of the olive tree.” (Romans11:16,17)

The Territory of the Everlasting CovenantThe land promised to Abraham and his

“seed” was actually much larger than that whichis currently held by the nation of Israel. Godpromised Israel a territory stretching from theMediterranean to the river Euphrates and theuttermost sea! In other words, God promisedthe whole earth to true believers in Abraham’sseed, the Messiah. “In the same day the LORDmade a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seedhave I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto thegreat river, the river Euphrates.” (Genesis 15:18)

what is a covenant?

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