From Law to Grace
Two marriages?
See how, where, and with whom each marriage has or will be consummated. Discover which person of the Godhead trinity is the husband or bridegroom of these two marriages. Let’s start with God’s first marriage covenant.
God’s 1st Covenant Marriage (The Old Testament):
| Covenant | Made with Israel |
| Basis | Keeping "The Law" |
| Husband | Pre-incarnate Messiah (God) |
| Wife | Physical national Israel (Jews) - believers and unbelievers (began with Abram) |
| His Father | God the Father |
| Her Adopted Father | Pharaoh |
| Event Place | Mount Sinai |
| Event Date | Pentecost when "The Law" was given by God through Moses |
| Ratification | Blood of bulls sprinkled on the altar and the people |
| Salvation | Faith in the promised Messiah (Son of God) |
| No one could keep "The Law" perfectly. |
| Continual animal sacrifices were needed to cover sins. |
| Trying to keep "The Law" produces a works based self-righteousness - "Do, Do, Do" mentality. |
| Rituals lead to religion based on fear and guilt. |
| The Nation of Israel continually broke "The Law" by straying from her Husband and worshipping other gods (idols). |
| God temporarily divorced the Northern Kingdom (Israel) containing 10 tribes. |
| God did not divorce the Southern Kingdom (Judah) containing the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin because the Messiah would be born of the Tribe of Judah. |
| A better marriage covenant was to come through the promised Messiah. |
| Messiah & the Kingdom of Israel were free to remarry after a temporary divorce. |
| Messiah & the Kingdom of Judah were free to remarry after the death of Messiah and His resurrection. |
| The sinless Messiah came into the world and fulfilled "The Law" by keeping it perfectly. |
| The crucifixion of the Messiah was the one time sacrifice for all sins, for all people forever. |
| Accepting God's grace (free gift of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus) produces a "Done" mentality. |
| A thankful heart/spirit leads to a relationship with Jesus our Savior (Messiah/Christ). |
| The Jews would embrace their Messiah with faith in Him as God - The Son of God. |
| The Jews would spread "The Gospel of the Kingdom" to the whole world. |
| After Israel's rejection of their Messiah, God turned to the Gentiles. |
| Gentiles have been embracing Messiah with faith in Him for approximately 2,000 years (the church age). |
God’s 2nd Covenant Marriage (The New Testament):
| Covenant | Made with Israel - began with Jesus the Messiah/Christ ("the greater Moses") |
| Basis | God's grace - free gift of forgiveness and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ |
| Groom | Resurrected Messiah (God) - Jesus |
| Bride | The Church - individual spiritual Jews (believers) & individual Gentile Christians (believers) Gentiles, by faith, are in Christ and "grafted into" the church, receiving God's blessings. |
| His Father | God the Father |
| Her Adopted Father | Satan - the prince of this world |
| Event Place | Mount Zion (Jerusalem) |
| Event Date | Crucifixion - death of Messiah/Christ |
| Ratification | Blood of Jesus shed on the cross (altar) |
| Salvation | Faith in the resurrected Messiah/Christ (Son of God) |
| Wedding Feast | The spiritual consummation of the wedding and the Marriage Supper of The Lamb will take place in the Father's house in heaven (during the 7 year tribulation on earth). |
Prophecies yet to be fulfilled:
| The Rapture | "The Church" (Jew and Gentile believers in Christ during the 2,000 year church age - dead or alive) will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air and be taken to heaven. |
| The Tribulation | For 7 years, God will pour our His wrath on unbelievers and on Israel for their disbelief, disobedience and for worshipping other gods (idols). |
| Jesus' 2nd Coming | All Israel will be saved when they recognize the One they pierced - Jesus their true Messiah. Jesus will betroth Himself to this final believing Jewish remnant - a fulfillment of the 2nd marriage covenant. He will slay all unbelievers with the Sword (Word) of His mouth. |
| The Millennium | Tribulation survivors (believing Jewish remnant and Gentile believers), in natural bodies, will live in Jesus’ Kingdom on earth (without Satan) for 1,000 years. Resurrected Old Testament and tribulation saints, as well as resurrected and raptured church age saints, will be part of the millennium. The Feast of Tabernacles will be observed yearly in Jerusalem to celebrate King Jesus the Messiah dwelling with us. |
| Eternity Future | Messiah (Christ) will create new heavens, a new earth, and a New Jerusalem. All believers will dwell with Him forever in this perfect creation. |
Old Covenant/Testament vs. New Covenant/Testament
John 1:17 (AMP) For the Law was given through Moses, but grace [the unearned, undeserved favor of God] and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 10:11-18 (RSV) And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, then to wait until his enemies should be made a stool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their misdeeds no more.” Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
In the beginning of King Jesus’ 1,000 year millennial kingdom on earth, all people (Jews and Gentiles) will be saved. They will have no need to evangelize and spread the good news of Jesus to each other. Being in covenant (the new covenant) with Jesus, means God’s laws are ever present in our hearts and minds. Our sins are forgiven, and God chooses not to remember them. No longer are sin offerings needed as Jesus our Savior was the final sacrificial Lamb of God. He obtained everything we could ever need or want (including entrance into heaven) with His death, burial and resurrection.
The two covenants are incompatible, but not contradictory to each other.
The Old Covenant/Testament was based on the law. The New Covenant/Testament is based on grace. Do not mix them together. Did you know the Book of Hebrews was written to transition believing Jews from the law to grace? We are no longer under the law. Embrace the freedom God’s grace provides – freedom from the penalty of sin. That price has been paid by Christ. Will we still sin? Yes, but focusing on Jesus and the scriptures (God’s Word) will help us sin less.
Romans 8:1 (AMP) Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior].
For an in-depth understanding, visit God’s Marriages with Israel.
See how ancient Galilean weddings foreshadowed Jesus’ betrothal to the church, the rapture, and other prophetic events yet to be fulfilled. When Jesus spoke in terms of a wedding, His disciples knew the details of what He was talking about. They just didn’t know when these events would take place.
Visit Ancient Weddings & the Rapture to discover what the disciples believed would soon take place.
| 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) |
