Timeless Covenant

THE FALSE PROPHET MUHAMMAD | home

Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake,

do not disgrace the throne of thy glory:

remember, break not thy covenant with us.

MANY wonder how a lost Jewish people could possibly be one of the

Two Witnesses, quoting as support for their view, “There is no other

name under heaven, given among men, whereby ye must be saved” (Act

4:12). Their concern is reasonable enough. So how can the true Church

be the ally of a people who don’t know that Jesus is their Messiah? Well,

when we look back at the rest of the Bible in the light of what we now

know from Revelation, we get a clearer picture of the spiritual position

of the Jews during this era. But to see it, we also need to understand the

spiritual condition of the Old Testament saints. Were Old Testament

Israelites “born again” like New Testament Christians are? There are any

number of heavyweight theologians who would dispute the point, so

let’s bring Scripture to bear on the issue.1

In His discussion with Nicodemus (John 3), Jesus put a name to

what happens in the human heart when we first turn to the Lord. He

called it being “born again.” When Jesus spoke with Nicodemus, the

cross was still in Jesus’ future, yet right there He

made a doctrinal statement that many think applies only to the Church:

Joh 3:3,10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say

unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom

of God ... Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

1 Joh 3:3, 3:7 and 1Pe 1:23 are the only verses in the Bible where this experience is so

Even though the Old Testament was all the Scripture Nicodemus

had, the Lord expected him to understand what being born again was all

about. So here is the question: How could Nicodemus have understood

the born-again principle before Jesus died on the cross? Answer: He

could only have understood being born again before the cross if Old

Testament believers could be born again before the cross. Jesus expected

Nicodemus to know, as did a scribe of his time, that it was not correct

doctrine, but a changed heart that resulted in salvation:

Mar 12:32-33 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou

hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but

he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the

understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, to

love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt

The Old Testament is full of verses declaring that a changed heart,

rather than sacrifice, is the central aspect of salvation.1 The whole 11th

chapter of Hebrews teaches that Old Testament saints were saved by

faith. They were not justified by the Levitical code, nor by the deeds of

the law any more than we are. Old Testament believers were given a

changed heart before the cross – were born again – just like Christians

Since Jesus said, “Except a man be born again he cannot see the

kingdom of heaven,” then Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Job,

Daniel, and all the rest of the Old Testament saints had to be born again,

or we will not see them in Heaven. We saw Moses and Elijah in their

glorified bodies on the Mount of Transfiguration – before the cross – so

we can prove they were born again, unless we wish to believe that God

1 Here are four of many Old Testament verses that stress heart condition unto salvation

Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Hab 2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by

Psa 51:16-17 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in

burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O

Mic 6:8 ... what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and

would permit His glory to radiate through the faces of the unregenerate.

Obviously, those elder brethren had changed hearts, and a changed heart

Eze 36:26-27 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit

will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of

your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.And I will put my

spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall

Old Testament or New, there is NO difference in how a soul is

saved. The only difference is doctrine, and doctrine is determined by

how the Lord willed to reveal Himself to man at a given time. Old

Testament saints and Christians have different doctrines, but the method

1Co 10:1-4 I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all

our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea.

And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And

did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same

spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed

True saints have always been born again “by grace through faith,”

regardless of the era in which they lived. This is a major issue in some

churches, so please make an effort to understand the argument. It will be

important to your spiritual well-being and will aid you in your future

We said all that to get to this: When Jesus went to the cross, there

were Old Testament Jews, spread all over the world. They were in

Africa, Spain, India, even as far away as England. If they were true

believers, they were born again. Elect, just like you and I are (Rom

11:28). Many of them must have been unaware of Jesus’ ministry, death,

So here’s the question: Did those dispersed Jews lose their salvation

the moment Jesus went to the cross and they were suddenly and

unknowingly thrust into the Christian Era? If we believe so, then we are

saying a man is saved by his doctrine, rather than his heart condition.

If a Jew, under God’s covenants given to him through the patriarchs

and prophets, could be saved by faith in his coming Messiah for one

nanosecond into the Christian Era, then a Jew in that same spiritual

condition can be saved under those same covenants a thousand, or even

2000 years later. The only way that would not be true is if salvation is

based upon where we are positioned in history, and the correctness of

Numerous times in the Old Testament the Lord speaks of His

everlasting covenant with the children of Israel, including the following

Gen 7:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee

and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting

covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

Psa 105:8-10 He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word

which he commanded to a thousand generations ... And confirmed

the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting

If faith in God’s Old Testament covenant was good enough to save

Moses and Elijah, then it is good enough to save a Jew today if – and it

is a big if – the Holy Spirit has not revealed to that Jew that Yeshua is

his Messiah. When the Holy Spirit does so, the Jew needs to recognize

God’s Son as his Messiah and Lord just like we do. So is it possible for

a Jew in this information age to be unaware that Yeshua1 is his

Messiah?2 Jesus gave us a marvelous parable in Luke which explains it

Luk 5:33-39 (excerpts) And they [the scribes and Pharisees] said

unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make

1 Strong’s No. H3091. Yehowshuwa’, yeh-ho-shoo’-ah; or Yehowshu’a, yeh-ho-shoo’-ah;

from H3068 and H3467; Jehovah-saved; Jehoshua (i.e. Joshua), the Jewish leader:

Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Joshua. Compare H1954, H3442. Transliterated into Greek as Jesus,

many Jews spell His name in the abbreviated form of Y’shua, Yeshua or Yeshuah.

2 It is no easier to tell if a Jew is saved than it is to tell the spiritual condition of a Gentile.

But, if the Holy Spirit reveals to a Jew that Jesus is his Messiah, he is no longer blind. If

a Jew then rejects the Lord, he is as lost as any Gentile who does. Consequently, a witness

to Jews is as necessary as it is for Gentiles. If a Jew already has the circumcision of the

heart (Rom 2:28-29), and the Holy Spirit takes the veil away, the believing Jew WILL turn

to Yeshua. Why? Because, the same Spirit that takes the veil away will point him straight

to God’s Son. Only the Lord knows the true heart condition, (1Sa 16:7).

prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat

and drink? And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the

bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?... And he

spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new

garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent,

and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the

old. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new

wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall

perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are

The Pharisees were questioning why Jesus’ disciples didn’t keep

Jewish traditions. Jesus replied that the children of the bridegroom didn’t

fast while the bridegroom was present, speaking of Himself and the

disciples. He then likened the gospel to new wine, and the Jews to old

wineskins. Jesus went on to say that He would not put the new wine of

the gospel into the old wineskins of the Jewish people, lest He destroy

them both. Jesus concluded with the categorical statement that He did

not will for the old bottles to perish, so new wine was put in new wineskins,

and both would be preserved. That is a mystery indeed. How can

a Jew be preserved if he does not understand the gospel? Let’s see how

God accomplished it. He promised Moses He would:

Lev 26:33-45 (excerpts) I will scatter you among the heathen, and

will draw out a sword after you ... And they that are left of you

shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands ... And yet

for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast

them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and

to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God . .

But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors,

whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the

heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.

Throughout the centuries, the Holy Spirit has kept the Jew under the

law (2Co 3:14, Gal 5:2-3). As stated before, to the Jew, the Old

Testament is all the Bible there is. To him, Messiah is still to come, and

oh, how he longs for His appearance, just as we do. The Jew believes in

Him and trusts in Him because of the promises of God given to him in

the Old Testament. Can his faith be in vain? The Bible tells us, if we

Rom 11:8-11 (According as it is written, God hath given them the

spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they

should not hear) unto this day. I say then, Have they stumbled that

they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation

is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.1

Rom 11:24-25 For if thou [the Gentile church] wert cut out of the

olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to

nature into a good olive tree [the Jews]: how much more shall

these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own

olive tree? For I would not, brethren, that ye [Gentiles] should be

ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own

conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the

Rom 11:28-29 As concerning the gospel, they [the Jews] are

enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election,2 they [the

Jews] are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. For the gifts and calling

of God are without repentance. [are irrevocable, NASB]

Note the two groups of people in those verses: We and They.

Language is meant to communicate, and in no language known to man

are we and they the same group of people. These are two distinctly

different bodies of people. From context, these two groups are the

Jewish people and the Gentile church. According to Rom 11:28, one of

these two groups is the enemy of the Gospel. The Church is not the

enemy of the Gospel, so the other group must be, and that’s the Jewish

But despite their enmity to the truth of the gospel, wonder of

wonders, they are still elect. Hear that: the Jews are still elect. That is not

1 Some have suggested that it is impossible for a Jew in this age not to know about Jesus.

If we were dealing in the natural realm, the author would agree, but we are not. By a

sovereign act of divine will, God blinded the spiritual eyes of the Jews (Rom 11:8) and

only God can cause them to see again! If the Lord blinded the Jews to their eternal

damnation, then He broke faith with the Patriarchs, and His everlasting covenants with

Israel are untrue. Num 23:19 states, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son

of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and

2 Strong’s No. 1589. ekloge, ek-log-ay’; from G1586; (divine) selection: chosen, election.

a suppositional doctrine; Rom 11:28-29 states they are still elect, and the

Rom 11:30-32 For as ye [the Gentiles] in times past have not

believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their [the

Jews] unbelief: Even so have these [Jews] also now not believed,

that through your mercy [shown to the Gentiles] they [the Jews]

also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all [both

Jews and Gentiles] in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Those Scriptures lead us to this point: If the Church is “elect,” and

Israel is “elect,” wherein lies the difference between us? Only in our

historic position, and in the accuracy of our doctrine (neither of which

saves us). The Old Testament saints knew their Messiah was coming,

even though they did not know who He was going to be. They were born

again, even though they did not know His identity. They were saved by

faith in the same Messiah that you and I are, and not by their doctrine.

Praise God we are not saved because our doctrines are perfect, but

because Jesus is the perfect atonement for our sins, and His blood is

perfect even for the Jews who do not know His name.

Over the last 22 years, I have watched people dance all around Rom

11:11 and 11:24-32. I even know several theological types who heatedly

declare, “I don’t know what those verses mean, but they certainly don’t

mean what they say,” thus putting the doctrines of men above the Word

of God. Why not believe what those verses say? Is the Bible the Word

of God, or isn’t it? I fear our traditions are so firmly entrenched that only

a major disaster or the return of the Lord will change them. Throughout

the Christian Era, we have been trying to make Gentiles out of Jews, but

we have it backwards. Israel was not grafted into the Church; the Church

has been grafted into Israel (Rom 11:17).

In Rom 11:25, we were commanded not to become “wise in our own

conceits” because we were given the gospel while the Jews were not.

But we got arrogant anyway, and it has resulted in our own blindness.

We’ve been thinking all along that we had it all, while the Jews were

without hope. It isn’t so, but unless we permit the Holy Spirit to take the

scales from our eyes, we will remain hopelessly blinded to God’s overall

Jesus was surrounded by a jeering crowd as He stood before Pilate.

Pilate wanted to free Him, but the crowd demanded His crucifixion. The

Lord loved them, taught them, fed them and healed everyone who came

to Him. The Pharisees knew who He was, but they still wanted Him

Mat 27:22-25 Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with

Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be

crucified. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But

they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate

saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was

made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude,

saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and

How are we saved, brethren? Because Jesus’ blood is upon us. There

at the Pavement, the Jews uttered what they thought was a curse, “His

blood be on us, and on our children.” But I don’t believe God saw it that

way. With unfathomable love and mercy He looked down on the people

He had blinded for our sakes and probably said, “Be it unto you in

Despite the Jews not recognizing God’s dying Son as their Messiah,

the Lord put His merciful hand over the eyes of His beloved people

Israel, and saved them. Do we even begin to grasp the caring and

forgiving nature of our Heavenly Father? All He needed to do for them

to be lost was nothing, just nothing. Instead of that, He blinded them so

they could not sin against a knowledge of the truth.1 Oh, what it has cost

those precious people. What sufferings they have endured throughout the

centuries because of their inability to see the Savior who went to the

1 Heb 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth

[that Jesus is the only sacrifice for sin that is acceptable to God the Father], there

remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and

fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

cross for them.1 Spiritually, they suffer still, looking dimly ahead,

through darkened Old Testament eyes, for the coming of their beloved

Rom 11:33-36 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and

knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his

ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord?

or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him,

and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and

through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever.

Looking at the big picture, why did the Lord decree a partial

spiritual blindness upon His beloved people? It was for the sake of you

and me, the Gentile believers. How dare the Church judge a people

whom God Himself blinded. The Lord desires that we have a loving and

understanding heart toward our brethren afar-off, the people who were

“blinded for our sake,” moving them to jealousy so that they come to His

Most Jews believe that Christians hate them. They may not show it

up front, but down inside the Jews believe it, and for very good reasons.

It is a deplorable fact that many so-called Christians have persecuted the

Jews throughout this era in the mistaken belief that they killed Jesus.

My, have our spiritual eyes ever been darkened. It wasn’t the Jews who

killed Jesus. You and I killed Jesus! Don’t you see that Jesus sacrificed

Himself because you and I sinned? While Jesus was hanging on the

cross, He saw the sins of all time, from the first sin of Adam to the very

last sin that will ever be committed. It was for your sins and mine that

He said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Blindness is upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles is come in

(Rom 11:25). Maybe that day is at hand because many thousands of

Jews are now turning to Yeshua. But the Lord has yet to take the scales

from the eyes of all, and many Jews still look to Moses and the prophets.

1 Certainly many of the Pharisees rejected the Lord so as to be lost, but not all.

Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea are notable exceptions. Nor would it surprise the

author to see Gamaliel in Heaven. He defended the brethren in Acts 5:37-39, and that he

In Hebrews we read about Father Abraham giving tithes to Melchizedek

(the Lord Jesus). Abraham did so for all those who would

proceed from his loins: for his children throughout all generations to

come (Heb 7:1-10). So what was Melchizedek’s response to Abraham?

He set a table before him, and on that table, bread and wine (Gen 14:17-

20). Bread and wine ... the same communion that Jesus served the

disciples at the last supper. Oh, the richness of the foreknowledge of

God. Do we have eyes to see what the Lord Jesus did through Abraham,

and for his physical seed forever? As Abraham gave tithes for the

children of Israel yet to be born, so, in like manner, Jesus had communion

with all the children of Israel yet to be born, and our God is a

Jer 31:3-8 Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love:

therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. For there shall be

a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise

ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God. For thus saith

the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the

chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save

If the Jewish people had come to know Jesus as their Messiah, they

would have been absorbed into the Church, and Jews would have

disappeared from the face of the earth. That doesn’t sound so bad, does

If the Jewish people had accepted Yeshua as their Messiah, the

Jewish nation as a distinct people would have been absorbed

into the Church and every one of the prophecies we have been

studying could never have been fulfilled!

The fulfillment of every prophecy we have looked at so far, plus the

ones we study next, depended on the Jews not knowing Jesus as their

1 Most denominations believe that the Jews of the Christian Era who are blind to the fact

that Jesus is their Savior are lost. Nonetheless, the scriptural evidence to the contrary is

so strong that the author wonders how the Church at large has been able to maintain their