The New Testament Covenant
Before looking at God’s 2nd marriage, we should take time to see the details of His 1st marriage. We also need to know why there was a need for another marriage. What happened?
God’s 1st Marriage Covenant with Israel – divorce and death
In God’s 1st Marriage Covenant with Israel, God the Father chose Abram and all of Abram’s descendants (national Israel) to be His bride. These were both believers in God and unbelievers. The Israelites thought they could obey the Mosaic law of the marriage covenant, but soon played the harlot by worshipping other gods (idols).
God temporarily divorced the northern kingdom of Israel, but not Judah
Due to Israel’s unfaithfulness, God temporarily divorced the northern kingdom of Israel (comprised of 10 tribes). However, He did not divorce the southern kingdom of Judah (the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin), as the promised Messiah would come from the Tribe of Judah.
Judah’s last King is Jesus, and He is King forever
Judah fulfilled the line of the Seed through King David and his descendants all the way to Jesus’ birth. Jesus (the Seed) is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He paid the price for the sins of Judah, Israel and all mankind. Jesus had no sin, yet died for our sins. His battered body and shed blood was a one time sacrifice to atone for all our sins (past, present and future) forever.
For remarriage, either a death or a divorce must take place. In this case, God was temporarily divorced from Israel. Due to Messiah’s crucifixion, the resurrected Messiah was free to enter into a new and better marriage covenant with those who have faith in Him.
God is faithful
Isaiah 54:5-8 (NIV) For your Maker is your husband—the Lord Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—a wife who married young, only to be rejected,” says your God. “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord your Redeemer.
The Old Testament/Covenant speaks of a New Covenant God will make with His chosen people.
Jeremiah 31:31-32 (NIV) “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them” declares the Lord.
God’s 2nd Marriage Covenant with Israel – permanent with better promises
Prophecy:
Jeremiah 31:33-34 (NIV) “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” What “time” is the Lord referring to here? This new covenant will be made with Israel (individual spiritual believing Jews) – that final remnant who recognize Jesus as their promised Messiah when He returns at the end of the 7 year tribulation. In the meantime, Jesus made this possible by fulfilling prophecy.
Fulfilled Prophecy: 
Hebrews 9:12 (NLT) With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.
Hebrews 8:6 (AMP) But as it is, Christ has acquired a [priestly] ministry which is more excellent [than the old Levitical priestly ministry], for He is the Mediator (Arbiter) of a better covenant [uniting God and man], which has been enacted and rests on better promises.
God has “called out” a Gentile group of people
We know God called out Abram and his Jewish descendants who hopefully would follow God. But, did you know God has also called out a Gentile group of people who in His foreknowledge He knew would follow Him? This group of believers is known as the church and includes not only Gentiles, but Jews who believe in Jesus. In fact, it was Jewish followers of Jesus who initially comprised the church. The church is the bride of Christ (the resurrected Messiah) in God’s 2nd Marriage Covenant.
Acts 15:14-18 (NLT) Peter has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for himself. And this conversion of Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted. As it is written: ‘Afterward I will return and restore the fallen house of David. I will rebuild its ruins and restore it, so that the rest of humanity might seek the Lord, including the Gentiles—all those I have called to be mine. The Lord has spoken—he who made these things known so long ago.’
As in God’s 1st marriage, the Bridegroom’s Father chooses the bride. In His foreknowledge, God knows which Jews and Gentiles will accept His offer of salvation by faith in Messiah/Christ. Romans 8:29-30 (NIV) For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Hebrews 9:15 (NIV) For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
Gentile believers (Christians) are “grafted into” the church.
Even though the church began with Jews who believed Jesus was the promised Messiah, God made it possible for Gentile believers (those who are in Christ) to be “grafted into” the church by faith. God speaks of Israel as a cultivated olive tree. Messiah/Christ is the root of this olive tree nourishing and giving everlasting life sustenance to its branches. But due to Israel’s rejection of the Messiah, God cut off the worthless branches (unbelieving Jews). He then grafted in wild olive tree branches (Gentile believers). This “grafting in” began at Christ’s death when He became The Way for all to be saved. Cultivated olive tree branches will be grafted in when the final Jewish remnant of believers come to faith in their Messiah at the end of the tribulation. Within the church, there is no longer a distinction between Jew and Gentile.
Read more about “Ingrafted Branches” in Romans 11:11-24.
During the church age, believers are benefiting from the blessings obtained through the Abrahamic Covenant. Believers are spiritual heirs of Abraham through faith in Messiah/Christ who paid the price for our sins by His death, burial and resurrection.
Genesis 22:18 (NLT) And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”
Galatians 3:29 (AMP) And if you belong to Christ [if you are in Him], then you are Abraham’s descendants, and [spiritual] heirs according to [God’s] promise.
God’s prophetic timeline:
( Church Age ) – Rapture – 7 Year Tribulation – Jesus’ 2nd Coming – Millennial Kingdom – Eternity Future
The first four prophetic events listed above must take place before Christ’s millennial (1,000 year) reign on earth takes place. Believers have been living in the church age for approximately 2,000 years. The church will be raptured (caught up to meet Jesus in the air) and be taken up to heaven. After the rapture occurs, God will pour out His wrath on unbelievers and on Israel for their disbelief, disobedience and for following other gods. God’s wrath will continue for 7 years on earth in what is called the tribulation. (Once saved, believers are not under God’s wrath or condemnation and will not endure the tribulation. That is one reason it is believed the church will be raptured before the tribulation begins.)
Jesus will then return to earth (His 2nd coming) with the church and His angels. From the place where Jesus left this earth (Mount of Olives in Jerusalem), all people will see Him return. Zechariah 14:4 (NIV) On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. At Jesus’ 2nd coming, He will end The Battle of Armageddon by destroying the evil nations with the Sword of His Mouth.
Many will come to faith in Jesus during the tribulation
During the tribulation, many Jews (and Gentiles) will come to faith in Jesus as their promised Messiah. This will be due to the 144,000 sealed Jews who spread the Gospel of the Kingdom. Also, God will send to earth two witnesses who will testify of Jesus the Messiah/Christ as God – the Son of God.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God (or Kingdom of Heaven)
At Jesus’ 1st coming to earth, He preached The Gospel of the Kingdom. He proved He was God – the Son of God – by the miracles He performed. This Gospel of the Kingdom is the message of repentance, redemption, and restoration offered by God to all who receive Messiah/Christ Jesus. Those who accept this offer become part of His eternal kingdom. Jesus preached that His kingdom would soon be coming to earth.
[The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the message stating God sent His Son Jesus to earth to save all mankind from their sins through His death, burial and resurrection. If we claim Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior with faith in Him, our sins are forgiven and we have eternal life. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is being preached during this current church age. This is a parenthetical period of time God inserted into His prophetic timeline.]
Once the church is raptured to heaven, The Gospel of the Kingdom will once again be preached for 7 years during the tribulation. Jesus the King will then come a 2nd time to earth and this time set up His kingdom. He will reign from Jerusalem in Israel.
Matthew 4:17 (KJV) From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matthew 24:14 (AMP) This good news of the kingdom [the gospel] will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end [of the age] will come.
All Israel will recognize Jesus as the One they pierced and crucified.
At Jesus’ 2nd coming which ends the tribulation, all Israel will recognize Him as their true Messiah and be saved. This will be the end of the age.
Zechariah 12:10 (NKJV) “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
Romans 11:26-27 (NKJV) And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”
God will betroth Himself permanently to spiritual Israel.
This is the time when all Israel (the final remnant of Jewish believers) will be saved and united with the resurrected Messiah – the fulfillment of the New Testament/Covenant marriage.
Hosea 2:19-20 (NIV) I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.
Jeremiah 50:4-5 (NKJV) “In those days and in that time,” says the Lord, “The children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; with continual weeping they shall come, and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion, with their faces toward it, saying, ‘Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that will not be forgotten.’
Ezekiel 16:60 (NKJV) “Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.
Celebration of King Jesus’ reign in His kingdom on earth
This celebratory feast will take place in the millennium. Isaiah 25:6 (AMP) On this mountain [Zion] the Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples [to welcome His reign on earth], A banquet of aged wines—choice pieces [flavored] with marrow, Of refined, aged wines. Could this be a description of The Feast of Tabernacles when finally both Jews and Gentiles join together and participate in God’s divine blessings of peace and prosperity?
Communion – instituted by Jesus and fulfilled by Him
Luke 22:17-20 (AMP) And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” And when He had taken bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant [ratified] in My blood.
At The Last Supper during Passover, Messiah/Christ Jesus instituted communion in relation with the New Covenant soon to be ratified in His blood. Communion, the sharing of bread and wine, is a common union (you in me, and I in you). Once saved by faith in Jesus through His shed blood, you are in Jesus, and He is in you – living in your spirit. In Jesus’ millennial kingdom on earth, He will once again commune with believers. We will drink the cup of blessing with Him in person!
NOTE: The Jewish Feast of Passover commemorates the time when God spared the Israelites from the plague of physical death and brought them out of Egyptian slavery. Jesus fulfilled Passover as He was the final sacrificial Lamb of God who saves us from spiritual death (eternal torment) and the bondage of sin.
The Feast of Tabernacles
The Feast of Tabernacles will be celebrated yearly in the millennium when the resurrected Messiah, King Jesus, truly dwells (tabernacles) with us on earth. Zechariah 14:16 (NKJV) And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
Who will attend these feasts in the millennium?
The Old Testament saints and tribulation saints will be resurrected at the end of the tribulation. So these people who died believing in God, along with the resurrected and raptured church age saints, will be present in glorified bodies. Those believers who survive the tribulation – the Jewish remnant and Gentiles (both groups in natural, earthly bodies) will be present. The resurrected Messiah – Jesus Christ the King – will be the focus of these celebrations in His Kingdom on earth throughout the millennium.
Visit Feast of Tabernacles to learn more about this seven day festival. The eighth day of the celebration is The Last and Great Day which points to the new heavens and new earth following the millennium.
The God/man Jesus – Messiah/Christ
Who protected the Israelites when they miraculously escaped bondage in Egypt? Who led them through the wilderness in the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night? Who fed them and dwelt with them when they were in tents on their journey? Who met with their leader, Moses, and talked with him? Who was the husband of Israel in the 1st Covenant Marriage? It was none other than the second person of the trinity – the Son of God – the pre-incarnate Messiah. This is the same incarnate Messiah who was born into our world some 2,000 years ago – the God/man Jesus. And, He is the same living God, the resurrected Messiah – the Bridegroom of God’s 2nd Covenant Marriage who will one day soon unite with His bride, the church at the time of the rapture. He is the great I Am who has no beginning nor end!
Have you come to know the promised Messiah who came to earth as the God/Man Jesus? Are you enjoying God’s grace and blessings through the New Covenant blood shed by Jesus on the cross (altar) for the remission of sins? If not, start by visiting SIN – Who Cares?
To learn more about God’s 1st marriage, visit God’s 1st Marriage – Divorce & Death
Visit Comparing God’s Two Marriages to see the difference between the Old and New Covenants.
| Bible Versions: AMP (Amplified Bible), ESV (English Standard Version), KJV (King James Version), MSG (The Message), NOG (Names of God Bible), NCV (New Century Version), NET (New English Translation), NIV (New International Version), NKJV (New King James Version), NLV (New Life Version), NLT (New Living Translation), RGT (Revised Geneva Translation), RSV (Revised Standard Version), TLB (Living Bible), TLV (Tree of Life Version), YLT (Young's Literal Translation) |
