Replacement Theology

What is Replacement Theology? Also known as Supersessionism, it basically refers to the belief that the Jews are rejected by Jehovah, and that Christians replace them as His chosen people. And that the covenant that Christ made with his followers replaces the covenant that Jehovah made with Abraham and his offspring (Israel).

JW's believe that they have replaced the Jews as God's chosen people.

Most churches of Christendom also indulge in replacement theology and also claim to have replaced the Jews as God's chosen people.

Does the Bible back up this idea?

What is the old covenant?

What is the new covenant?

Old Covenant

Let's first look at that original covenant that Jehovah made with Abraham.

(Genesis 12:1-3) And Jehovah said to Aʹbram: “Go out from your land and away from your relatives and from the house of your father to the land that I will show you. ² I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and you will become a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who calls down evil on you, and all the families of the ground will certainly be blessed by means of you.”

(Genesis 12:7) Jehovah then appeared to Aʹbram and said: “To your offspring I am going to give this land.” So he built an altar there to Jehovah, who had appeared to him.

(Genesis 13:14-15) Jehovah said to Aʹbram, after Lot had separated from him: “Raise your eyes, please, and look from the place where you are, to the north and south, east and west, ¹⁵ because all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring as a lasting possession.

("lasting" - Hebrew "olam" = forever, everlasting)

(Genesis 17:1-8) When Aʹbram was 99 years old, Jehovah appeared to Aʹbram and said to him: “I am God Almighty. Walk before me and prove yourself faultless. ² I will establish my covenant between me and you, and I will multiply you very, very much.”

³ At this Aʹbram fell facedown, and God continued to speak with him, saying: ⁴ “As for me, look! my covenant is with you, and you will certainly become a father of many nations. ⁵ Your name will no longer be Aʹbram; your name will become Abraham, for I will make you a father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you very, very fruitful and will make you become nations, and kings will come from you.

⁷ “And I will keep my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. ⁸ And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land in which you lived as a foreigner—the entire land of Caʹnaan—for a lasting possession, and I will be their God.”

("everlasting" and "lasting" are both from the original Hebrew word "olam" = forever, everlasting)

(Genesis 17:19) To this God said: “Your wife Sarah will definitely bear you a son, and you must name him Isaac. And I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant to his offspring after him.

(Genesis 26:2-6) Then Jehovah appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt. Dwell in the land that I designate to you. ³ Reside as a foreigner in this land, and I will continue with you and bless you because to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will carry out the oath that I swore to your father Abraham: ⁴ ‘I will multiply your offspring like the stars of the heavens; and I will give to your offspring all these lands; and by means of your offspring, all nations of the earth will obtain a blessing for themselves,’ ⁵ on account of the fact that Abraham listened to my voice and continued to keep my requirements, my commands, my statutes, and my laws.” ⁶ So Isaac continued to dwell in Geʹrar.

(Genesis 28:13-15) “I am Jehovah the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are lying, to you I am going to give it and to your offspring. ¹⁴ And your offspring will certainly become like the dust particles of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and by means of you and by means of your offspring all the families of the ground will certainly be blessed. ¹⁵ I am with you, and I will safeguard you wherever you go, and I will return you to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

(Exodus 6:2-5) Then God said to Moses: “I am Jehovah. ³ And I used to appear to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but with regard to my name Jehovah I did not make myself known to them. ⁴ I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Caʹnaan, the land in which they lived as foreigners. ⁵ Now I myself have heard the groaning of the people of Israel, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I remember my covenant.

When Jehovah said forever or everlasting did He not mean it? He "swore" an "oath" to Abraham. (Ge 26:3) Was He lying? Did He break His oath? Jehovah's name means "He causes to become." Was He unable to "cause" the outcome He predicted? Is Jehovah a failure?

No. Of course not. When Jehovah makes a promise He keeps it. And when He says something will happen, it happens. He is always successful in His endeavors. (Isa 14:24; 46:10; 48:3; 55:11 - see page 8 for scripture quotes)

Some say that because the Jews did not accept Jesus that they were unfaithful to Jehovah, therefore He rejected them. But that simply is not the case:

(2 Timothy 2:13) if we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

Replacement Theology requires God to be dishonest and break His oath to Abraham. Do these other scriptures on the topic suggest that He would do that?

(2 Chronicles 7:16) And now I have chosen and sanctified this house so that my name may be there permanently, and my eyes and my heart will always be there.

(Psalm 132:13) For Jehovah has chosen Zion; He has desired it for his dwelling place:

(Jeremiah 31:35, 36) This is what Jehovah says, Who gives the sun for light by day, The laws of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea and makes its waves boisterous, Whose name is Jehovah of armies: ³⁶ “‘If these regulations should ever fail,’ declares Jehovah, ‘Only then would the offspring of Israel cease as a nation before me always.’”

(Isaiah 11:11, 12) In that day Jehovah will again offer his hand, a second time, to reclaim the remnant of his people who are left from As·syrʹi·a, from Egypt, from Pathʹros, from Cush, from Eʹlam, from Shiʹnar, from Haʹmath, and from the islands of the sea. ¹² He will raise up a signal for the nations and gather the dispersed ones of Israel, and he will gather together the scattered ones of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

(Isaiah 40:1) “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.

(Isaiah 43:1) Now this is what Jehovah says, Your Creator, O Jacob, the One who formed you, O Israel: “Do not be afraid, for I have repurchased you. I have called you by your name. You belong to me.

(Isaiah 43:21) The people whom I formed for myself So that they might declare my praise.

(Ezekiel 37:14) ‘I will put my spirit in you and you will come to life, and I will settle you on your land; and you will have to know that I myself, Jehovah, have spoken and I have done it,’ declares Jehovah.”

(Joel 3:1, 2) “For look! in those days and in that time, When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,  ² I will also gather together all the nations And bring them down to the Valley of Je·hoshʹa·phat. I will enter into judgment with them there In behalf of my people and my inheritance Israel, For they scattered them among the nations, And they divided up my land among themselves.

That is the original covenant that Jehovah made with "His people". What is the "new covenant" that will replace it?

New Covenant

Here are scriptures that tell us of God's promises for the future of His chosen people:

(Jeremiah 31:31-34) “Look! The days are coming,” declares Jehovah, “when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant. ³² It will not be like the covenant that I made with their forefathers on the day I took hold of their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, ‘my covenant that they broke, although I was their true master,’ declares Jehovah.”

³³ “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Jehovah. “I will put my law within them, and in their heart I will write it. And I will become their God, and they will become my people.”

³⁴ “And they will no longer teach each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know Jehovah!’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them,” declares Jehovah. “For I will forgive their error, and I will no longer remember their sin.”

(Ezekiel 11:17-20) “Therefore say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “I will also collect you from the peoples and gather you from the lands to which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. ¹⁸ And they will return there and remove from it all its disgusting things and detestable practices. ¹⁹ And I will give them a unified heart, and I will put a new spirit in them; and I will remove the heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh, ²⁰ in order that they may walk in my statutes and observe my judgments and obey them. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.”’

(Ezekiel 39:1-29) ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “I am against you, Gog, head chieftain of Meʹshech and Tuʹbal. ² I will turn you around and lead you and make you come up from the remotest parts of the north and bring you in upon the mountains of Israel. ³ I will knock your bow out of your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand. ⁴ On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the peoples who will be with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of birds of prey and the wild beasts of the field.”’

⁵ “‘You will fall on the open field, for I myself have spoken,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

⁶ “‘And I will send fire against Maʹgog and against those who are inhabiting the islands in security, and they will have to know that I am Jehovah. ⁷ I will make my holy name known among my people Israel, and I will not allow my holy name to be profaned any longer; and the nations will have to know that I am Jehovah, the Holy One in Israel.’

⁸ “‘Yes, this is coming, and it will be done,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ‘This is the day I have spoken about. ⁹ The inhabitants of the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons—the bucklers and shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and lances. And they will use them to light fires for seven years. ¹⁰ They will not need to take wood from the field or gather firewood from the forests because they will use the weapons to light fires.’

“‘They will take spoil from those who despoiled them and plunder from those who had been plundering them,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

¹¹ “‘On that day I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east of the sea, and it will block the path of those passing through. That is where they will bury Gog and all his hordes, and they will call it the Valley of Hamon-Gog. ¹² The house of Israel will spend seven months burying them in order to cleanse the land. ¹³ All the people of the land will work at burying them, and this will bring them fame in the day that I glorify myself,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

¹⁴ “‘Men will be assigned to pass through the land constantly and bury the bodies left remaining on the surface of the earth, in order to cleanse it. They will continue the search for seven months. ¹⁵ When those who pass through the land see a human bone, they will set up a marker beside it. Then those assigned to do the burying will bury it in the Valley of Hamon-Gog. ¹⁶ And there will also be a city there named Ha·moʹnah. And they will cleanse the land.’

¹⁷ “As for you, son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘Say to every sort of bird and to all the wild beasts of the field, “Gather yourselves together and come. Gather all around my sacrifice that I am preparing for you, a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. You will eat flesh and drink blood. ¹⁸ You will eat the flesh of mighty ones and drink the blood of the chieftains of the earth—the rams, lambs, goats, and bulls—all the fattened animals of Baʹshan. ¹⁹ You will gorge yourselves on fat and drink blood until you are drunk from the sacrifice that I prepare for you.”’

²⁰ “‘At my table you will be filled up with horses and charioteers, mighty ones and all sorts of warriors,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

²¹ “‘I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the judgment that I have executed and the power that I have demonstrated among them. ²² From that day on the house of Israel will have to know that I am Jehovah their God. ²³ And the nations will have to know that the house of Israel went into exile because of their own error, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. ²⁴ I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and I hid my face from them.’

²⁵ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘I will restore the captives of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will zealously defend my holy name. ²⁶ After they have been humiliated for all their unfaithfulness toward me, they will dwell securely on their land, with no one to make them afraid. ²⁷ When I bring them back from the peoples and collect them together from the lands of their enemies, I will also sanctify myself among them before the eyes of many nations.’

²⁸ “‘They will have to know that I am Jehovah their God when I send them into exile among the nations and then gather them back to their land, not leaving any of them behind. ²⁹ I will not hide my face from them any longer, for I will pour out my spirit on the house of Israel,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

(Joel 3:1-21) “For look! in those days and in that time,

When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,

 ² I will also gather together all the nations

And bring them down to the Valley of Je·hoshʹa·phat.

I will enter into judgment with them there

In behalf of my people and my inheritance Israel,

For they scattered them among the nations,

And they divided up my land among themselves.

 ⁶ And the people of Judah and Jerusalem you have sold to the Greeks,

In order to remove them far from their territory;

 ⁷ Here I am rousing them to come from the place where you sold them,

And I will bring your repayment on your heads.

 ⁸ I will sell your sons and daughters into the hand of the people of Judah,

And they will sell them to the men of Sheʹba, to a nation far away;

For Jehovah himself has spoken it.

¹² “Let the nations be roused and come up to the Valley of Je·hoshʹa·phat;

For there I will sit in order to judge all the surrounding nations.

¹⁶ And Jehovah will roar out of Zion,

Out of Jerusalem he will raise his voice.

And heaven and earth will rock;

But Jehovah will be a refuge for his people,

A fortress for the people of Israel.

¹⁷ And you will have to know that I am Jehovah your God, residing in Zion, my holy mountain.

Jerusalem will become a holy place,

And strangers will pass through her no more.

¹⁸ In that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine,

The hills will flow with milk,

And the streams of Judah will all flow with water.

Out of the house of Jehovah a spring will flow,

And it will irrigate the Valley of the Acacia Trees.

¹⁹ But Egypt will become desolate,

And Eʹdom will be a desolate wilderness,

Because of the violence done to the people of Judah,

In whose land they shed innocent blood.

²⁰ But Judah will always be inhabited,

And Jerusalem to generation after generation.

²¹ I will consider innocent their blood that I had not considered innocent;

And Jehovah will reside in Zion.”

(Amos 9:9-15) ‘For look! I am giving the command, And I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations, Just as one shakes a sieve, And not a pebble falls to the ground. ¹⁰ They will die by the sword, all the sinners of my people, Those who are saying, “The calamity will not come near us or reach us.”’ ¹¹ ‘In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen, I will repair the breaches, And I will restore its ruins; I will rebuild it as in the days of long ago, ¹² So that they may take possession of what is remaining of Eʹdom, And all the nations on whom my name has been called,’ declares Jehovah, who is doing this. ¹³ ‘Look! The days are coming,’ declares Jehovah, ‘When the plowman will overtake the harvester, And the treader of grapes, the one carrying seed; And the mountains will drip with sweet wine, And all the hills will flow with it. ¹⁴ I will gather back the captives of my people Israel, And they will rebuild the desolated cities and inhabit them; They will plant vineyards and drink their wine, And make gardens and eat their fruit.’ ¹⁵ ‘I will plant them on their land, And they will never again be uprooted From their land that I have given them,’ says Jehovah your God.”

(Romans 11:25-27) For I do not want you to be unaware of this sacred secret, brothers, so that you do not become wise in your own eyes: A partial dulling of senses has come upon Israel until the full number of people of the nations has come in, ²⁶ and in this manner all Israel will be saved. Just as it is written: “The deliverer will come out of Zion and turn away ungodly practices from Jacob. ²⁷ And this is my covenant with them, when I take their sins away.”

Christ himself even told us that Jerusalem would be trampled "until the appointed times of the nations are fulfilled."

(Luke 21:24) And they will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the nations until the appointed times of the nations are fulfilled.

We know that the trampling of Jerusalem ended with WWI (See my articles "End-Time Kings - comments" and "The Prophecy of Joel"), showing that Jerusalem below is still very much part of fulfilling prophecy. (Ga 4:25-26)

As you can see Jehovah has made many promises and prophecies regarding the Jews and the land that He has given them. Do not doubt that He will keep His promises and that He will cause those prophecies to be fulfilled. (Ps 135:6; Pr 19:21)

(Psalm 33:11) But the decisions of Jehovah will stand forever; The thoughts of his heart are from generation to generation.

(Isaiah 14:24) Jehovah of armies has sworn: “Just as I have intended, so it will occur, And just as I have decided, that is what will come true.

(Isaiah 46:10) From the beginning I foretell the outcome, And from long ago the things that have not yet been done. I say, ‘My decision will stand, And I will do whatever I please.’

(Isaiah 48:3) “The former things I told you long ago. From my own mouth they went out, And I made them known. Suddenly I took action, and they came about.

(Isaiah 55:11) So my word that goes out of my mouth will be. It will not return to me without results, But it will certainly accomplish whatever is my delight, And it will have sure success in what I send it to do.

Jesus knew that everything that Jehovah promised will come true.

(Matthew 5:18) Truly I say to you that sooner would heaven and earth pass away than for one smallest letter or one stroke of a letter to pass away from the Law until all things take place.

(Luke 16:17) Indeed, it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to go unfulfilled.

And if Jehovah chooses not to allow something to happen, it won't.

(Acts 18:21) but said good-bye and told them: “I will return to you again, if Jehovah is willing.” And he put out to sea from Ephʹe·sus

(Hebrews 6:3) And this we will do, if God indeed permits.

(James 4:15) Instead, you should say: “If Jehovah wills, we will live and do this or that.”

Christ's Covenant

So if there is an old covenant and a replacement new covenant between God and Abraham's descendents, what of Christ's covenant with "his chosen ones"? (Mt 24:31; Lu 22:20; 1Co 11:25)

(Luke 22:28-30) “However, you are the ones who have stuck with me in my trials; ²⁹ and I make a covenant with you, just as my Father has made a covenant with me, for a kingdom, ³⁰ so that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom, and sit on thrones to judge the 12 tribes of Israel.

(Revelation 3:21) To the one who conquers I will grant to sit down with me on my throne, just as I conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

(Revelation 1:5, 6) and from Jesus Christ, “the Faithful Witness,” “the firstborn from the dead,” and “the Ruler of the kings of the earth.” To him who loves us and who set us free from our sins by means of his own blood— ⁶ and he made us to be a kingdom, priests to his God and Father—yes, to him be the glory and the might forever. Amen.

(Revelation 5:9, 10) And they sing a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals, for you were slaughtered and with your blood you bought people for God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, ¹⁰ and you made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they are to rule as kings over the earth.”

(Revelation 20:6) Happy and holy is anyone having part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of the Christ, and they will rule as kings with him for the 1,000 years.

Christ made a covenant between himself and his "chosen" followers. (Mt 24:31) It does not replace the original covenant that Jehovah made with Abraham, and it bears no resemblance to the new covenant that Jehovah promised to one day replace His old covenant with. (Jer 31:31) This is a different covenant with a different outcome. That one is an earthly covenant between Jehovah and Abraham's offspring. This one is a heavenly covenant between Christ and "his chosen ones". (Mt 24:31)

Christendom's belief in the Trinity no doubt fuels their belief in Replacement Theology since they believe that Jehovah and Christ are the same person, therefore the new covenant that God makes must also be the same covenant that His Son makes. But we know better. :^)

Note that Christ never calls the covenant he made with "his chosen ones" for a shared rulership in heaven a "new covenant". That's because it does not replace any previous or existing covenant the way God's new covenant will.

Paul quotes the "new covenant" that Jehovah promised to make with Abraham's offspring:

(Hebrews 8:8-12) “Look! The days are coming,’ says Jehovah, ‘when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant. ⁹ It will not be like the covenant that I made with their forefathers on the day I took hold of their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not remain in my covenant, so I stopped caring for them,’ says Jehovah.

¹⁰ “‘For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ says Jehovah. ‘I will put my laws in their mind, and in their hearts I will write them. And I will become their God, and they will become my people.

¹¹ “‘And they will no longer teach each one his fellow citizen and each one his brother, saying: “Know Jehovah!” For they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them. ¹² For I will be merciful toward their unrighteous deeds, and I will no longer call their sins to mind.’”

And when will that new covenant replace the old one that Jehovah made with the descendants of Abraham? Paul tells us in the next verse.

(Hebrews 8:13) In his saying “a new covenant,” he has made the former one obsolete. Now what is obsolete and growing old is near to vanishing away.

The Greek word translated as "obsolete" means that it is old and outdated like an antique car. It does not mean that it is no longer being used. Paul says that the Mosaic Law is "growing old" and "is near to vanishing away" showing that it was still being used well after Jesus' death, only not for much longer. Why did he say that? Because Paul mistakenly thought that Armageddon was about to occur, as did John and Peter:

(Hebrews 9:26) Otherwise, he would have to suffer often from the founding of the world. But now he has manifested himself once for all time at the conclusion of the systems of things to do away with sin through the sacrifice of himself.

(1 John 2:18) Young children, it is the last hour, and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared, from which fact we know that it is the last hour.

(1 Peter 4:7) But the end of all things has drawn close. Therefore, be sound in mind, and be vigilant with a view to prayers.

(1 Corinthians 15:51) Look! I tell you a sacred secret: We will not all fall asleep in death, but we will all be changed,

Since Paul thought that Armageddon was "near" (as did many others Lu 19:11; Ac 1:6), and knowing that the new covenant came along with Armageddon, he thought that the end of the old covenant was also "near". Yes Paul knew that it was at Armageddon that the old covenant would be replaced by the new covenant between God and "the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. (He 8:8) That is when God will put His laws "in their minds" and write them "in their hearts" and He will "no longer call their sins to mind." (He 8:10, 12)

But can both covenants exist at the same time? Yes, they can. (Mr 2:21, 22; Lu 5:36-38)

(Matthew 9:17) Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins. If they do, then the wineskins burst and the wine spills out and the wineskins are ruined. But people put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.

They are both preserved. There are many similarities (Mr 10:19), but like new wine and old wineskins, the Christian way and the Jewish way are not quite compatible, so they are kept separate. And although Christ condemned the Jewish leader's distorted application of the law, he did not condemn the law itself:

(Luke 14:3-6) So in response Jesus asked those versed in the Law and the Pharisees: “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath or not?” ⁴ But they kept silent. With that he took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away. ⁵ Then he said to them: “Who of you, if his son or bull falls into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” ⁶ And they were not able to reply to this.

Christ wanted his followers to follow a slightly different set of rules, ones that conflict with the Mosaic law, but the Jews were not a rejected people.

(Romans 11:1, 2) I ask, then, God did not reject his people, did he? By no means! For I too am an Israelite, of the offspring of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. ² God did not reject his people, whom he first recognized.

(Isaiah 45:17) But Israel will be saved by Jehovah with an everlasting salvation. You will not be put to shame or disgraced for all eternity.

So the first covenant was between Jehovah and Abraham (and his offspring). And it will be replaced by a new covenant at Armageddon. (Ge 17:2, 7)

The third covenant is between Christ and "his chosen ones". (Mt 24:31; Lu 22:29; Re 3:21)

But what about the rest of us who are not Jews, and who are Christians but are not chosen ones? Not to worry. There is a fourth covenant for us.

Fourth Covenant

This fourth covenant is a "new covenant" between Jehovah and mankind as a whole.

(Luke 22:20) Also, he did the same with the cup after they had the evening meal, saying: “This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf.

(1 Corinthians 11:25) He did the same with the cup also, after they had the evening meal, saying: “This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood. Keep doing this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

(2 Corinthians 3:6) who has indeed adequately qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, not of a written code, but of spirit; for the written code condemns to death, but the spirit makes alive.

(Hebrews 9:15) That is why he is a mediator of a new covenant, in order that because a death has occurred for their release by ransom from the transgressions under the former covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the everlasting inheritance.

(Hebrews 12:24) and Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood, which speaks in a better way than Abel’s blood.

This fourth covenant is for the forgiveness of sin for all mankind. Jesus paved the way for this covenant with his life. It will take effect after Armageddon when mankind is given the opportunity for everlasting life. This covenant covers all mankind, including us.

(Matthew 26:28) for this means my ‘blood of the covenant,’ which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins.

(John 1:29) The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and he said: “See, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

(1 Peter 2:24) He himself bore our sins in his own body on the stake, so that we might die to sins and live to righteousness. And “by his wounds you were healed.”

(Romans 8:20, 21) For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but through the one who subjected it, on the basis of hope ²¹ that the creation itself will also be set free from enslavement to corruption and have the glorious freedom of the children of God.

(Revelation 7:9) After this I saw, and look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in their hands.

(Revelation 7:15-17) That is why they are before the throne of God, and they are rendering him sacred service day and night in his temple; and the One seated on the throne will spread his tent over them. ¹⁶ They will hunger no more nor thirst anymore, neither will the sun beat down on them nor any scorching heat, ¹⁷ because the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them and will guide them to springs of waters of life. And God will wipe out every tear from their eyes.”

(Revelation 21:2-4) I also saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them. ⁴ And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”

(Revelation 22:17) And the spirit and the bride keep on saying, “Come!” and let anyone hearing say, “Come!” and let anyone thirsting come; let anyone who wishes take life’s water free.

How is this a "new" covenant? Does it replace an existing covenant? Yes. This covenant is new because it replaces the covenant of death brought to us by Adam's sin. (Ge 2:17; He 12:24) And this fourth covenant is unique in that it has Jesus as mediator.

(Hebrews 8:6) But now Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry because he is also the mediator of a correspondingly better covenant, which has been legally established on better promises.

(Hebrews 9:15-17) That is why he is a mediator of a new covenant, in order that because a death has occurred for their release by ransom from the transgressions under the former covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the everlasting inheritance. ¹⁶ For where there is a covenant, the death of the human covenanter needs to be established, ¹⁷ because a covenant is valid at death, since it is not in force as long as the human covenanter is living.

(Hebrews 12:24) and Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood, which speaks in a better way than Abel’s blood.

So the Bible speaks of four separate covenants: Two for Abraham and his offspring (old and new), another for his chosen ones, and a fourth for all mankind who live through Armageddon.

Jehovah's covenant with the Jews does not use Christ as mediator. (Ga 3:20) And Christ's covenant with his chosen ones uses no mediator. But Jehovah's covenant with mankind does use Christ as mediator. (1Ti 2:5)

Do you ask? If the Jews are God's people, why are the Christians called the chosen ones at Matthew 24:22?

Are they?

Lets' look into that.

Chosen Ones

(Matthew 24:22) In fact, unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but on account of the chosen ones those days will be cut short.

(Mark 13:20) In fact, unless Jehovah had cut short the days, no flesh would be saved. But on account of the chosen ones whom he has chosen, he has cut short the days.

It says that the days were "cut short", otherwise no flesh would have been saved. Current JW teaching is that the "brief respite" between when the Romans withdrew and then returned is what the cutting short of the days refers to. But cutting short refers to ending, not pausing and then restarting again.

When the Romans were driven off♦ from their first attack on Jerusalem, there was not a lot of "tribulation" going on in Jerusalem at the time. "The soldiers quickly entered the suburbs of Jerusalem, and the Jewish rebels retreated to the safety of the temple fortress. Next, the Roman soldiers started to undermine the outer wall of the temple area!" [w15 7/15 p. 14]

♦ A footnote on this topic: Although JW publications say that the Romans inexplicably left during their first attack of Jerusalem, i think that the Romans were driven off by the Jews from the surrounding cities who came to the aid of their capital city, Jerusalem, which is why upon their return the next year the Romans spent a couple of years conquering the surrounding cities of Judea before they laid siege to Jerusalem.

It makes sense that when Gallus attacked Jerusalem the first time that the occupants of the surrounding cities would have gathered and waited to see if God would step in and protect His holy city Jerusalem. Then, when they saw that the outer wall of the temple area was about to be breached, they would have taken matters into their own hands (probably assuming that Jehovah was using them to protect Jerusalem) and attacked Gallus and his men from behind with their greater numbers. The historian Josephus said that the Jews even chased the Romans for a distance of 30 miles, continuing to attack and kill them as they retreated.

Since it took Vespasian and his son Titus a couple of years to clear out the resistance in the surrounding cities of Judea with 4 times as many men as Gallus had in his initial attack of Jerusalem (which is why Matthew 24:16 tells those in "Judea" to flee, not just those in Jerusalem), there must have been plenty of men available in those surrounding cities to chase off the much smaller number of Romans in that first attack of Jerusalem. (end of footnote)

No, the initial Roman attack did not cause great tribulation in the city which needed to be "cut short" or else all would have died. It was the second attack and siege on Jerusalem that caused great tribulation in the city. About 90% (over a million) of the Jews were killed, and if the Romans hadn't stopped their attack, they would have left no survivors. (Mr 13:20)

[w16/7 p. 15] "... the Roman forces were able to take possession of the Tower of Antonia, adjoining the city wall of Jerusalem, because the guards at the gates were asleep! From there, the Romans rushed the temple and set fire to it, resulting in the finale of the greatest tribulation that Jerusalem and the Jewish nation had ever experienced."

Matthew 24:22 says "unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved." What days are being referred to here? The days of "great tribulation." (Mt 24:21) And when were those days? They were during the second attack on Jerusalem, at which point in time the Christians were long gone from the city, safe in Pella east of the Jordan River.

Matthew 24:16 does not say that when there is great tribulation to then run away. It would be too late then. That verse says: "when you catch sight of the disgusting thing that causes desolation,... standing in a holy place, then let those in Judeʹa begin fleeing to the mountains." (Mt 24:15-16) The days of tribulation came after the Christians had already left the city.

So if the days of tribulation needed to be cut short "on account of the chosen ones", the chosen ones therefore must have been affected by that tribulation. Which means it must be talking about those who were still in the city when the Romans returned. Therefore "chosen ones" at Matthew 24:22 and Mark 13:20 is not referring to Christians, but is referring to the Jews who were still in the city, who's numbers were rapidly dwindling as they faced the impending outcome of them all being killed if those days were not cut short.

So Matthew 24:22 refers to the Jews as the chosen ones. Do other scriptures do the same?

(1 Chronicles 16:13) You offspring of Israel his servant, You sons of Jacob, his (Jehovah's) chosen ones.

(Psalm 105:6) You offspring of Abraham his servant, You sons of Jacob, his (Jehovah's) chosen ones.

(Psalm 105:43) So he brought out his people with exultation, His (Jehovah's) chosen ones with a joyful cry.

(Psalm 106:4, 5) Remember me, O Jehovah, when you show favor toward your people. Take care of me with your acts of salvation,  ⁵ So that I may enjoy the goodness you show your (Jehovah's) chosen ones, That I may rejoice along with your nation, That I may proudly praise you along with your inheritance.

(Isaiah 65:9) I will bring out of Jacob an offspring And out of Judah the one to inherit my mountains; My (Jehovah's) chosen ones will take possession of it, And my servants will reside there.

(Isaiah 65:14, 15) Look! My servants will shout joyfully because of the good condition of the heart, But you will cry out because of the pain of heart And you will wail because of a broken spirit. ¹⁵ You will leave behind a name that my (Jehovah's) chosen ones will use as a curse, And the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will put each of you to death, But his own servants he will call by another name;

(Isaiah 65:22) They will not build for someone else to inhabit, Nor will they plant for others to eat. For the days of my people will be like the days of a tree, And the work of their hands my (Jehovah's) chosen ones will enjoy to the full.

In all of those scriptures Jehovah refers to the Jews as His "chosen ones". But what about the Greek scriptures? Is "chosen ones" referring to the Jews there as well?

The Jews are God's chosen ones, but Christ also has chosen ones to rule with him in heaven. These verses in the Greek scriptures refer to them as Christ's chosen ones.

(Matthew 24:24) For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will perform great signs and wonders so as to mislead, if possible, even the chosen ones.

(Matthew 24:30, 31) Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in grief, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send out his angels with a great trumpet sound, and they will gather his (Christ's) chosen ones together from the four winds, from one extremity of the heavens to their other extremity.

(Mark 13:22) For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the chosen ones.

(Mark 13:26, 27) And then they will see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And then he will send out the angels and will gather his (Christ's) chosen ones together from the four winds, from earth’s extremity to heaven’s extremity.

(John 17:24) Father, I want those whom you have given me to be with me where I am, in order that they may look upon my glory that you have given me, because you loved me before the founding of the world.

(Luke 22:30) so that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom, and sit on thrones to judge the 12 tribes of Israel.

(1 Thessalonians 4:17) Afterward we the living who are surviving will, together with them, be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord.

So there are chosen ones of God, and chosen ones of Christ. To know who is being referred to by the term "chosen ones" you must consider the context.

Even the term "holy ones" does not always refer to those who will rule with Christ.

(Matthew 27:52) And the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the holy ones who had fallen asleep were raised up.

They had died long before Jesus died, so those "holy ones" will not be co-rulers with him.

(Revelation 20:9) And they advanced over the whole earth and encircled the camp of the holy ones and the beloved city. But fire came down out of heaven and consumed them.

At the end of the thousand year reign, those "holy ones" are on the earth, not ruling from heaven.

Holy Ones defined:

(Revelation 14:12) Here is where it calls for endurance on the part of the holy ones, those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus.”

Taken out of the way

If God's covenant with the Jews lasts until Armageddon, when it is replaced with a new covenant, what about Colossians 2:14?

(Colossians 2:13, 14) Furthermore, though you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcised state of your flesh, God made you alive together with him. He kindly forgave us all our trespasses ¹⁴ and erased the handwritten document that consisted of decrees and was in opposition to us. He has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the torture stake.

Does that scripture not tell us that the original covenant, the Mosaic Law, has ended?

Well, who was Paul speaking to? To his fellow Christians in Colossae. With Jesus' death the Mosaic Law no longer applied to them. His death purchased them, releasing them from the Law. It did not end the Law itself. It just ended its authority over Christ's followers. They were released from the Law and the consequences for transgression of its dictates.

(Galatians 3:13) Christ purchased us, releasing us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse instead of us, because it is written: “Accursed is every man hung upon a stake.”

If the law had been destroyed, then everyone would have been released "from the curse of the Law ", not just those that "Christ purchased."

(Galatians 3:24, 25) So the Law became our guardian leading to Christ, so that we might be declared righteous through faith. ²⁵ But now that the faith has arrived, we are no longer under a guardian.

Because of their "faith", Christians "are no longer under" the Mosaic Law.

In Ephesians Paul further describes how that covenant was nailed to the stake:

(Ephesians 2:14, 15) For he is our peace, the one who made the two groups one and destroyed the wall in between that fenced them off. ¹⁵ By means of his flesh he abolished the enmity, the Law of commandments consisting in decrees, in order to make the two groups in union with himself into one new man and to make peace,

Here Jesus' death is not said to abolished the Mosaic Law, but it abolished the enmity between the Jews and those of the nations that the law dictated. (Ac 10:28)

(Galatians 3:28) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in union with Christ Jesus.

The decrees within the Law which commanded the Jews to remain separate from others, that "fenced them off", was canceled, was 'taken out of the way' in order "to make peace." The Christians were 'purchased, releasing them from the Law'. (Ga 3:13)

(Romans 7:4) So, my brothers, you also were made dead to the Law through the body of the Christ, that you might become another’s, the one who was raised up from the dead, so that we should bear fruit to God.

The Law was not made dead. The Christians were made dead to the Law. (Ro 8:1; Ga 3:24-25)

It's like if you were riding on a train, and then got off the train at a station. Does the train still exist? Of course it does, you are just no longer on it. Your destination changed. And you are no longer bound by the rules specific to the train's passengers.

If the Mosaic Law was completely done away with, then much later after Jesus' death Paul would not have said what he said in Hebrews, as mentioned earlier.

(Hebrews 8:13) In his saying “a new covenant,” he has made the former one obsolete. Now what is obsolete and growing old is near to vanishing away.

The Greek word translated as "obsolete" means that it is old and outdated. It does not mean that it is no longer being used. Paul says that the Mosaic Law is "growing old" and "is near to vanishing away" showing that it was still in place well after Jesus' death.

(Matthew 5:17) “Do not think I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I came, not to destroy, but to fulfill.

(Hebrews 7:12) For since the priesthood is being changed, it becomes necessary to change the Law as well.

If the Mosaic Law was destroyed, it would not need to be changed to accommodate a new priesthood. (Re 5:10)

(Romans 3:28-31) For we consider that a man is declared righteous by faith apart from works of law. ²⁹ Or is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also the God of people of the nations? Yes, also of people of the nations. ³⁰ Since God is one, he will declare circumcised people righteous as a result of faith and uncircumcised people righteous by means of their faith. ³¹ Do we, then, abolish law by means of our faith? Not at all! On the contrary, we uphold law.

Yes, one God, two peoples: Jews and Christians.

The Jews belong to Jehovah, but Christians belong to Christ. (Ro 1:6)

(Isaiah 43:1) Now this is what Jehovah says, Your Creator, O Jacob, the One who formed you, O Israel: “Do not be afraid, for I have repurchased you. I have called you by your name. You belong to me.

(Mark 9:41) And whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, I tell you truly, he will by no means lose his reward.

(1 Corinthians 3:23) in turn you belong to Christ; Christ, in turn, belongs to God.

The Jews were still God's people as a whole, and though he gave some to Christ, He did not want all of them to become Christians. So He made it where most did not listen to the message.

(Romans 11:7, 8) What, then? The very thing Israel is earnestly seeking he did not obtain, but the ones chosen obtained it. The rest had their senses dulled, ⁸ just as it is written: “God has given them a spirit of deep sleep, eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear, down to this very day.”

(John 6:37-40) All those whom the Father gives me will come to me, and I will never drive away the one who comes to me; ³⁸ for I have come down from heaven to do, not my own will, but the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose none out of all those whom he has given me, but that I should resurrect them on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who recognizes the Son and exercises faith in him should have everlasting life, and I will resurrect him on the last day.”

"The last day" is the 1,000 year reign (Jn 11:24) which is after Armageddon, so he is not speaking of the dead "chosen ones" (Mt 24:31) who are resurrected just before Armageddon and taken to heaven "together with" the "chosen ones" who are still alive. (1Co 15:51, 52; 1Th 4:15-17) The Jews who accepted Christ became Christians, but the majority of the Jews remained Jehovah's chosen people.

(John 13:33) Little children, I am with you a little longer. You will look for me; and just as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ I now say it also to you.

Even while Jesus was still on earth, after he became the Messiah and Christ, the Jewish high priest was given divine foreknowledge of what was to come:

(John 11:49-53) But one of them, Caʹia·phas, who was high priest that year, said to them: “You do not know anything at all, ⁵⁰ and you have not reasoned that it is to your benefit for one man to die in behalf of the people rather than for the whole nation to be destroyed.” ⁵¹ He did not say this, however, of his own originality, but because he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was to die for the nation, ⁵² and not only for the nation but also to gather together into one the children of God who were scattered about. ⁵³ So from that day on they conspired to kill him.

So the Jews were sill God's people and Jehovah was still using them even while Christ was on earth. But there was no conflict of interest.

(Romans 8:28a) We know that God makes all his works cooperate together for the good of those who love God,

Christ never referred to the Jews as rejected by Jehovah, but as lost sheep.

(Matthew 10:6) but instead, go continually to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

(Matthew 15:24) He answered: “I was not sent to anyone except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

(John 4:22) You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, because salvation begins with the Jews.

Were the Jews a rejected people for killing Jesus?

(Matthew 27:25) At that all the people said in answer: “Let his blood come upon us and upon our children.”

No, because they did not kill Jesus. (See my article "Time of Arrival")

If the Jews were guilty, then would not Jehovah be just as guilty? (Jn 11:53)

(Acts 2:23a) This man, who was handed over by the determined will and foreknowledge of God,

Many times in the past Jehovah became displeased with the Jews and He allowed or even caused tribulation to befall them, but once they repented and returned to Him, He then returned to them. The scriptures quoted earlier tell us it will happen again at Armageddon. So the Jews as a people are not rejected, only the ones who reject Jehovah are. And it seems that only a minority of them will accept Jehovah at Armageddon.

(Zechariah 13:8, 9) “And in all the land,” declares Jehovah, “Two parts in it will be cut off and perish; And the third part will be left remaining in it.  ⁹ And I will bring the third part through the fire; And I will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name, And I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people,’ And they will say, ‘Jehovah is our God.’”

(Romans 9:27-29) Moreover, Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Although the number of the sons of Israel may be as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved. ²⁸ For Jehovah will make an accounting on the earth, concluding it and cutting it short.” ²⁹ Also, just as Isaiah foretold: “Unless Jehovah of armies had left an offspring to us, we should have become just like Sodʹom, and we should have resembled Go·morʹrah.”

(Romans 11:4, 5) Yet, what does the divine pronouncement say to him? “I have left for myself 7,000 men who have not bent the knee to Baʹal.” ⁵ So in the same way, at the present time also, there is a remnant according to a choosing through undeserved kindness.

I am glad that those end-time prophecies do not apply to Christians. If they did that would mean that only a minority of us would be acceptable, and most of us would be destroyed at Armageddon.

Join Them

If you moved to Israel and started practicing the Jewish faith with them, would you then become one of Jehovah's chosen people and enjoy the promises of their coming new covenant? No. Jehovah identifies "His people" not by belief alone, but also by bloodline.

(Ezra 9:2) They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons. Now they, the holy offspring, have become mingled with the peoples of the lands. The princes and the deputy rulers have been the foremost offenders in this unfaithfulness.”

(Ezra 10:2) Then Shec·a·niʹah the son of Je·hiʹel of the sons of Eʹlam said to Ezʹra: “We have acted unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples of the land. Despite this, there is still hope for Israel.

(Ezra 10:10, 11) Then Ezʹra the priest rose and said to them: “You have acted unfaithfully by marrying foreign women, and so you have added to the guilt of Israel. ¹¹ Now make confession to Jehovah the God of your forefathers and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from these foreign wives.”

(Ezra 10:14) So, please, let our princes represent the entire congregation; and let all those in our cities who have married foreign women come at an appointed time, along with the elders and judges of each city, until we turn back the burning anger of our God from us concerning this matter.”

(Ezra 10:44) All of these had taken foreign wives, and they sent their wives away, along with their sons.

Even their own sons by foreign wives were sent away. Jehovah wanted the Israelites to remain a pure people. He didn't choose a people who believed a certain way. He chose a race of people, a bloodline: The descendants of Abraham down through Isaac and then Jacob, whom Jehovah renamed Israel.

You could become a citizen of the country of Israel, but that would not make you an "Israelite".

What do you think?

:^)
Dave

da.getmyip@gmail.com http://da.getmyip.com/PDF/Ramblings

Last edited 03-08-2024 (date created 01-03-2021)