1. Edenic

2. Adamic

3. Noahic

4. Abrahamic

5. Mosaic

6. Gospel of Jesus Christ

7. Church (New Covenant)

8. Tribulation - Part 1 (Evangelism)

9. Tribulation - Part 2 (Great Tribulation)

10. Baptism of Fire

11. Millennium (New Covenant to Israel/Davidic)

12. Final Judgment

• INTRODUCTION

Covenant Definition

Background

Key

Ramifications

• THE COVENANTS

1. Edenic

2. Adamic

3. Noahic

4. Abrahamic

5. Mosaic

6. Gospel of Jesus Christ

7. New Covenant to the Church

8. Tribulation - Part 1 (Evangelism)

9. Tribulation - Part 2 (Great Tribulation)

10. Baptism of Fire

11. New Covenant to Israel (Millennium)

12. Final Judgment

GLOSSARY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

This subject in Theology is called dispensationalism, which is the interpretation of scripture according a set of defined epochs of the administration of God. I first studied this subject from the notes of the Scofield Bible. Since then I have seen other brilliant theologians tackle the dilemma. They tried various categories and subcategories. If you're thinking of running away, hang in a little longer. We all carry with us a Bible that is divided into two categories - Old and New Testament. Now, this is a classic. The Bible itself defines an Old and a New Covenant, but the word, Testament, is an incorrect translation. Our Bibles should be labeled Old and New Covenants.

Then why, if the scholars are so brilliant, do they make such stupid mistakes? But is this a stupid mistake or is it a simple choice of translations? No, this one is a stupid one. Why? Because the whole subject is about Covenants - not testimony. This is not a simple choice of terms. It is a key to understanding the entire Bible. It is mind boggling that our understanding of the most studied book in history is so lacking. And this is the reason the truth needs to be documented. Otherwise, the Word will never be correctly interpreted.

Without a clear definition of the parts of the Bible, it is nothing more than a data base of scriptures or a collection of articles on various subjects. The writers of the King James Bible did one good thing for history: They labeled each verse with a number. Of course, they got the numbers wrong; but, at least, we have a common numbering standard that all of us can follow. We'll stick with the verse numbering standard for now; but the translation has to go.

The Covenants are the key the dispensationalists (I'm one too) have overlooked. Scofield used seven dispensations because (after all) that is the number for the completion of a category; so Scofield guessed that there must be seven dispensations. There is only one problem with this. When God numbers something, all the numbers are important - not just the summation. The first, second, third, etc., all had to be correct also. The Bible and its application must always be consistent in terms of everything - words, colors, numbers, time, sequence. The only person who can make everything fit perfectly is God. So when we find His truth, it's like a prime number. It stands out.

So I have defined the Plan of God in terms of God's Covenants with mankind. The Covenants are listed in scripture; they are correctly ordered; and they contain the contractual obligations between God and man, which is the purpose of scripture. This approach has many advantages: The outline is simple, covers all of creation, includes all of human history, is numerically correct, and fulfills the criteria for experiential sanctification. Maybe I better explain this last one.

The Word of God is alive - not a piece of literature about ancient theory or brilliant observations. The Bible is applicable to the computer programmer as well as to the unemployed native of the bush. It is for the scholar as well as manual laborer. It is for all mankind. Those who went to Harvard and those who didn't. The scholar can't refute it and its content will not be too difficult for the uneducated. The Bible is designed to be used by all.

Yet, if there is one field that is a disaster, it is the correct application of Bible Doctrine to experience - i.e. experiential sanctification. Experiential sanctification means vindication of our faith application. Perhaps this shouldn't be too surprising, since most people study academically beyond their means of application. Most people never use on the job the subjects they studied in school. Most people are educated beyond their intelligence. So, when someone sees "Old Testament" and "New Testament", it doesn't bother them a bit because they don't think - don't make application - don't perceive. And they are content in their ignorance or falsely secure in their arrogance.

Ah arrogance! As Shakespeare would say, "There's the rub." We fail to apply doctrine because of our arrogance. We fail to perceive because of our arrogance. We fail to apply because we either lack doctrine or lack the humility to believe it. We see a list of terms under a big word like dispensations and we don't stop to think, "Does it all line up?" The list of covenants that I have given purports to line up. The numbers are correct. The application fits the strategy for the Bible and for human history.

Covenant - a. a written agreement or promise usually under seal between two or more parties, especially for the performance of some action b. the common-law action to recover damages for breach of such a contract. Webster

At the right time in human history, Jesus Christ came and went to the cross to purchase our salvation. When Jesus Christ was hanging on the cross, God the Father poured out the sins of the world on Him and judged them. All that separated God from man was removed through the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross. Anyone can be saved by simply believing in Jesus Christ. This is a volitional choice. Those who want salvation can have it. Those who do not choose it will receive the consequences of evil along with Satan - i.e. condemnation to the Lake of Fire - eternal judgment.

On the cross Jesus Christ provided all the payment necessary for mankind to be saved. This proved that God's Plan could handle everything - including sin. Satan had been faked out. He instigated the death of Christ on the cross not knowing that it would bring about the fulfillment of the Plan of God in the payment for the sins of the world. The death of Christ on the cross was a victory over Satan, the ruler of the world. The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross and was resurrected. After three days, he received a resurrection body. The grave could not hold him. He was not dead, but alive!

After His resurrection, before He ascended into Heaven, the Lord spoke to His disciples to explain what had happened:

All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth. Matt. 28:18b.

All of human history is under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. All of creation is under His authority:

Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Gen 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die." (NAS)

Number 1 - Meaning: Unity, sovereignty, indivisibility.

The Covenant between God and man was the tree test. There was only one way they could sin: By eating the forbidden fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In perfection, they didn't have a conscience and didn't need one, since there was no need to recognize sin. They didn't have lust or arrogance or any other craving of the Old Sin Nature. They had to eat the forbidden fruit to sin.

When they sinned, they would suffer the consequences of violating the Covenant. When they ate of it, they would die twice - spiritually and physically. The original Hebrew has a doubling of the word for death, which means literally, "dying you shall die," i.e. "dying (spiritually), you will die (physically)."

Now Satan was very crafty, and he enticed them into sin. This proves that perfect environment is not the answer to man's problems. Anyway, man sinned and suffered the judgment for it: First, spiritual death (separation from God); and then physical death.

Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." (NAS)

Number 2 - Meaning: Division, separation, broken.

Gen 9:8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, 9 "Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; Gen 9:17 And God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth."

Number 3 - Meaning: The Trinity; justice of the Holy Spirit.

After the terrible catastrophe, which is reported in every major history, God gave a Covenant to Noah and promised never to destroy all flesh. He put a rainbow in the sky to verify this. The rainbow then becomes a symbol of the end of judgment. The ramification of the Noahic Covenant would soon occur: Nationalism would appear. The Tower of Babel was a counterattack upon nationalism. God destroyed it and confused the languages to establish nationalism. This was the only way to insure freedom in the devil's world. Freedom through military victory became the way of preserving human freedom.

Gen 12:2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Gen 17:1 Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. 2 "And I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly." 4 "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 8 "And I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." 10 "This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. 15 Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 "And I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."

Number 4 - Meaning: Weakness. The weakness of man in his dependence upon Sovereign God. Abraham became the Father of the Jewish race but not until age 100 when he and his wife were past the childbearing age and sexually dead. God had to work a miracle.

The Abrahamic Covenant provided a new race, the Jewish Race, to be God's chosen people. The Covenant promised a new nation, a theocracy, and blessings upon Abraham and his descendants along with cursing upon their enemies. The new race was to be set apart for a relationship with God. The race would be special, the keepers of God's commandments, and the means whereby the world could be evangelized.

Additional provisions of God's covenants with Abraham included a land grant. This is usually referred to as the Palestinian Covenant. All the land of Canaan all the way to Africa and Turkey was deeded to Abraham and his descendants. Anyone else who touches this land will be cursed per the Abrahamic Covenant.

Ex 34:27 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel."

Heb 9:19 For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you."

Number 5 - Meaning: Grace. The Lord fulfilled His promise to Abraham and made a great Jewish Client Nation. The Lord Jesus Christ in the form of the Shekanah Glory dwelt in the Tabernacle.

1. The Commands - The Ten Commandments and more designed to protect human freedom under the Laws of Establishment.

2. The Social Code - The regulations for diet, medical care, and quarantine, social relationships, and agriculture.

3. The Spiritual Code - The ordinances and ritual of the Tabernacle and spirituality in Israel.

During the period of the Law the Davidic Covenant was given to David. This Covenant, which is listed under the New Covenant to Israel (Millennium), insured that Christ would be born in the Davidic line, and that Christ would sit on the throne in the Millennium.

Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Heb. 7:17 For it is witnessed of Him, "Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

Heb 7:21 (for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him, "The Lord has sworn And will not change His mind, ‘Thou art a priest forever’"); 22 so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

Matt 28:18b "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Rom 5:10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

2 Cor 5:19 Namely, that God by means of Christ was reconciling the world to Himself by not imputing their sins to them and entrusted to us the doctrine of reconciliation.

Number 6 - Meaning: Man, since Adam was created on the sixth day. Jesus Christ was perfect humanity and perfectly prepared to be the mediator for mankind.

Jesus Christ bore the sins of the world on the cross. He paid for all the sins of the human race from beginning to end. He, therefore, satisfied the requirement of God for a relationship with man, since the sins of mankind were all judged. God was satisfied with the work of Christ on the cross. As the mediator for God and man, then mankind was reconciled to God. The Lord Jesus Christ, as the perfect man, reconciled man to God. He handled our sins. He opened the door of salvation for all who would believe. All of human history looked forward to the cross from the time Adam and Eve waited for the Savior, and all of human history looks back to the cross as the decisive payment of man's debt against God.

Christ won the Strategic Victory on the cross. It was a victory for all mankind; but it was also a victory over Satan. The cross broke the back of Satan. Christ emerged as the authority over Heaven and earth. He won over Satan on the cross and is free to distribute the spoils of victory. He proved on the cross that God's Plan was indeed just. His substitutionary spiritual death on the cross for all mankind in providing unlimited atonement was efficacious.

After three days, he emerged with a Resurrection Body and proclaimed: "All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth" (Matt 28:18b). This is the victory of the Covenants. All the Covenants were herein fulfilled. This is what it is all about - human history, the creation, life, death, everything!

Matt 26:27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. 29 "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom."

1 Tim 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time

Heb 9:15 And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

Heb 12:24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

Number 7 - Meaning: Completion. The King did not have a Royal Family, which was required to complete Him.

In His substitutionary spiritual death on the cross, Christ as the perfect man was the mediator of the New Covenant to the Church. As a perfect man without sin, He was able to bear the sins of all mankind. In His payment for sins, He reconciled all mankind to Himself. He satisfied all the demands of the perfect justice of God due to His perfect Righteousness. In His deity He mediated for God; and in His humanity He mediated for mankind. He satisfied all the demands of both.

But the Royal Messiah needed a Royal Family, and the Church Age is designed to fulfill that. Everyone born again in the Church Age is indwelt by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This one becomes a new spiritual species that never before existed in history. Christ is the head, and the Church is the body. Every believer in the Church Age can achieve a higher excellence that any other time in history. The Seventh Covenant is all about every believer being completed as well as the rest of the body, the Royal Family, the Bride of Christ.

Rev 11:3 "And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."

Number 8 - Meaning: New birth, born again, evangelism. Just as 7 completes the category; 8 is the beginning of the new.

The Jews who are left behind will suddenly wake up. There will be 144,000 (Rev. 7:4) great evangelists running around; and two great prophets (probably Moses and Elijah) to evangelize (Rev. 11:3). They will be on national television, and many will be saved. Thus, the first half of the Tribulation will be a time of world wide revival. So the 8th Covenant, where 8 is the number for new birth, fits perfectly.

Dan 9:27 "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

Dan 11:30 "For ships of Kittim will come against him; therefore he will be disheartened, and will return and become enraged at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 "And forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation.

Matt 24:15 "Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; 17 let him who is on the housetop not go down to get the things out that are in his house; 18 and let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak. 19 "But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days! 20 "But pray that your flight may not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath; 21 for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall.

Joel 2:31 “The sun will be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes." (NAS)

Number 9 - Meaning: The 9 Plagues of judgment.

Where's the United States in all of this. No one knows. My speculation is that if it is still a nation at the Rapture, it will collapse from within due to the loss of the Church, the salt of the earth. Our nation is a nation under God, and it could not withstand the removal of the Church. Anyway during this time, there are catastrophes everywhere: In business, weather, volcanoes, earthquakes, eclipses and blockages of sunlight and the moon - "the moon will be turned to blood" (which happens when there is ash in the atmosphere).

The Lord will return before Israel is annihilated. This is the Second Advent in which Christ returns to the Mount of Olives, splits it in half, and makes a sea port connecting the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. The Lord will destroy the enemies of Israel (another fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant) in the Battle of Armageddon. The blood will run up to the horses bridles for 180 miles and it will take 7 months to bury the dead.

Matt 25:32 "And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Number 10 - Meaning: Judgment of the establishment as the Ten Commandments and the 10th judgment in Egypt - death of the firstborn.

Heb 8:8 "Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, When I will effect a new covenant With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; 9 Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers On the day when I took them by the hand To lead them out of the land of Egypt; For they did not continue in My covenant, And I did not care for them, says the Lord. 10 "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, And I will write them upon their hearts. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people. 11 "And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ For all shall know Me, From the least to the greatest of them. 12 "For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more."

Number 11 - Meaning: True witness, as the 11 true disciples. In the Millennium everyone will have Bible Doctrine in their minds and hearts.

Davidic Covenant (Psa 89:3, 35; Psa 132:11-12)

Psa 89:3 "I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, 4 I will establish your seed forever, And build up your throne to all generations." [Selah]

Psa 132:11 The Lord has sworn to David, A truth from which He will not turn back; "Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne. 12 "If your sons will keep My covenant, And My testimony which I will teach them, Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forever."

Matt 28:18b "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Number 12 - Meaning: Authority. The Lord Jesus Christ is the highest authority over all creation.

Satanic Rebellion and Final Judgment (Rev. 20:7-10)

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.

Great White Throne

Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

COVENANT A divine contract which governs the administration of the Plan of God between God and a single man, who may also be a mediator between God and mankind. God defines the conditions of the contract, the period of time for execution, and the judgment for violation.

DISPENSATION The administration of God over a specific period of history. From Greek (oikonomia)⁴ (1 Cor. 9:17; Eph. 1:10; 3:9; Col. 1:25; 1 Tim. 1:4).

LAWS of ESTABLISHMENT God's administration of authority and government over all mankind, for both believers and unbelievers, for the purpose of protecting individual freedom and preserving life. "There is no authority except from God" (Rom 13:1).

MILLENNIUM The reign of Jesus Christ on earth for 1,000 years. Christ and the Church will rule and tribulational believers will populate the earth. There will be perfect environment and universal knowledge of the Lord (Bible Doctrine in the soul of believers).

NEW COVENANT TO THE CHURCH The administration of the Plan of God for the Church Age in which the Church is called out to be the Royal Family of Christ.

NEW COVENANT TO ISRAEL The administration of the Plan of God for Israel in the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ as King. There will be universal knowledge of the Lord and an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

RAPTURE The exit resurrection of the Church at the end of the Church Age (New Covenant to the Church). Believers will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

TRIBULATION Seven years allocated for the Jews after the Rapture of the Church and before the Baptism of Fire. The last half is the period of the devil's desperation and widespread disaster.

Author: Larry Wood