02-22-2010, 06:29 PM
If you read the terms of the New Covenant, as they were set out at Jeremiah 31:31-34, you will see that it never promised a resurrection to heavenly life. And if such a thing were part of this sacred contract, it surely had to be included somewhere. So, as the promise of the Old Law Covenant with Israel was that they would become an earthly nation of kings and priests, the same thing is implied in the Second, because, no changes are suggested in Jeremiah… or by anyone else for that matter.
At Jeremiah 31:33, 34, we read: ‘This is my Sacred Agreement, which I will arrange with Israel in those days,’ says Jehovah: ‘I will write My Laws in their minds and their hearts. To them I’ll be their God, and they will be a people to Me. There’s no way that each will teach his neighbor and brother, and tell them that they should know Jehovah! For, all will know Me from the small to the great, and I’ll be kind toward their errors and sins… no way will I remember [their sins] anymore.’
So, according to this scripture, the key differences are:
· The Law of the New Covenant will be written on hearts, not on stone or paper
· Those who are involved in the New Covenant will enjoy a special relationship with God and have a personal knowledge of Jehovah
· Their sins will be forgiven.
(That's ALL).
However, sometime after initiating the New Covenant, Jesus made a promise that did speak of the hope of being taken to heaven, and this promise was only offered to a select few. This wasn’t an addendum to the New Covenant, it was just a promise that he made with those who he said, ‘stuck with me during my trials.’
This added agreement was ‘for a Kingdom,’ which he offered to his eleven faithful Apostles on the eve of his death, and perhaps on another occasion (see Matthew 19:28). We read of this at Luke 22:28-30, where Jesus said, ‘However, you are the ones who stuck with me during my trials, so I’m making a promise to you, just as my Father made a promise to me, for a Kingdom… that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom and sit on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.’
Notice that this promise, which Jesus made with his Apostles, is the only one that promised life in heaven. That it was a promise of life in heaven is indicated by the words, ‘that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom and sit on thrones.’
Also notice that these words (that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom and sit on thrones) carry even greater significance, for if you look at the methods of the rulership of ancient Hebrew Kings, such as David and Solomon, you’ll see that those who were invited to sit at the king’s table were not only his closest friends and advisors, they were also his primary governors. And the king had them sit and eat with him at his table, because he always wanted them to be close to him.
Thus, it appears as though; when Jesus told his Apostles that they would eat and drink at his (the king’s) table, he was saying that they would be where he was, in heaven with his Father Jehovah.
In addition, when Jesus promised his eleven faithful Apostles that they would ‘sit on thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel,’ he was saying that they were to judge those who comprise the rest of the arrangement for serving God... those who are also under the New Covenant, but who were not offered life in heaven, as were Jesus' friends. For more information about what judging the twelve tribes of Israel means, see the document, Jerusalem and the Israel of God.’
At Jeremiah 31:33, 34, we read: ‘This is my Sacred Agreement, which I will arrange with Israel in those days,’ says Jehovah: ‘I will write My Laws in their minds and their hearts. To them I’ll be their God, and they will be a people to Me. There’s no way that each will teach his neighbor and brother, and tell them that they should know Jehovah! For, all will know Me from the small to the great, and I’ll be kind toward their errors and sins… no way will I remember [their sins] anymore.’
So, according to this scripture, the key differences are:
· The Law of the New Covenant will be written on hearts, not on stone or paper
· Those who are involved in the New Covenant will enjoy a special relationship with God and have a personal knowledge of Jehovah
· Their sins will be forgiven.
(That's ALL).
However, sometime after initiating the New Covenant, Jesus made a promise that did speak of the hope of being taken to heaven, and this promise was only offered to a select few. This wasn’t an addendum to the New Covenant, it was just a promise that he made with those who he said, ‘stuck with me during my trials.’
This added agreement was ‘for a Kingdom,’ which he offered to his eleven faithful Apostles on the eve of his death, and perhaps on another occasion (see Matthew 19:28). We read of this at Luke 22:28-30, where Jesus said, ‘However, you are the ones who stuck with me during my trials, so I’m making a promise to you, just as my Father made a promise to me, for a Kingdom… that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom and sit on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.’
Notice that this promise, which Jesus made with his Apostles, is the only one that promised life in heaven. That it was a promise of life in heaven is indicated by the words, ‘that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom and sit on thrones.’
Also notice that these words (that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom and sit on thrones) carry even greater significance, for if you look at the methods of the rulership of ancient Hebrew Kings, such as David and Solomon, you’ll see that those who were invited to sit at the king’s table were not only his closest friends and advisors, they were also his primary governors. And the king had them sit and eat with him at his table, because he always wanted them to be close to him.
Thus, it appears as though; when Jesus told his Apostles that they would eat and drink at his (the king’s) table, he was saying that they would be where he was, in heaven with his Father Jehovah.
In addition, when Jesus promised his eleven faithful Apostles that they would ‘sit on thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel,’ he was saying that they were to judge those who comprise the rest of the arrangement for serving God... those who are also under the New Covenant, but who were not offered life in heaven, as were Jesus' friends. For more information about what judging the twelve tribes of Israel means, see the document, Jerusalem and the Israel of God.’