Eternal Covenant
The essential nature of God is that He is eternal. He is outside of time. He created time when He created the sun, moon and stars (Gen 1:14-18). He is also a God of covenant. His Word cannot be broken and what He has said will come to pass. His Word does not return to Him void.
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11
When God makes an eternal covenant, He means that it will last forever. It does not mean that it will be superseded by another covenant sometime in the future, though He may add another covenant that goes beyond the first or covers other things. We see this concept in the book of Esther, when the word given by the king could not be altered (Esther 8:8). There are many covenants in Scripture – some are eternal, some are conditional. A conditional covenant depends on the other party keeping his or her part of the agreement. The giving of the Law to Moses at Mt Sinai was a conditional agreement, which depended on the Hebrew people obeying the laws in order to receive the blessings. If they disobeyed, they would suffer the consequences of the curses (Deut 27 - 28).
The promise to Abraham and His seed, of God’s presence, descendants and land, was unconditional and eternal.
I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. 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. Genesis 17:7-8 (emphasis added)
Abraham was asleep (Gen 15:12) when God cut the covenant (Gen 15:4-7), so He took no part in it. It was a covenant given to him, promised by God and only dependent on the character of God to keep His part.
The promise of the new covenant to be written on the hearts of His people to be their God and for them to know Him, was a covenant that would last as long as the sun and moon were in the sky.
Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The LORD of hosts is His name: ‘If this fixed order departs from before Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘Then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me forever.’ Thus says the LORD, ‘If the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out below, then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done,” declares the LORD. Jeremiah 31:35-37
The covenant to believers in the Lord Jesus given as our assurance of salvation was an eternal covenant sealed with the shed blood of the Lord.
Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21 (emphasis added)
And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. Luke 22:20 (emphasis added)
If God can break His eternal covenant with Israel, He can break His eternal covenant with the church.
The covenant to Israel and the covenant to the church are both eternal covenants. If the Jewish people can be annihilated, God’s Word and character are at stake. If God’s eternal covenants to the Jewish people can be negated because of their disobedience, the church is in deep trouble. This means that His covenant made to the church can be negated also because of our disobedience. We therefore have no assurance of salvation. Have we been any more obedient than Israel? I don’t think so. God cannot, and will not, do away with either of His two witnesses – Israel and the church (Is 43:10,12, Acts 1:8). As Paul says, ‘May it never be’.
The Battle of the Ages
The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Isaiah 2:1-3
And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one. Zechariah 14:8-9
With the city of Jerusalem to be the throne of the one who will rule the whole earth, it is no wonder that Satan wants to control it for himself. The controversy surrounding Jerusalem is not an earthly battle – it is the battle of the ages for dominion of the earth. When Satan’s time is short, he will fight with all his might not to lose his power. He will use any human system or man-made religion to achieve his aim, even satanic forces if necessary.
There is a physical battle going on with 17 Muslim nations surrounding Israel that want to see her annihilated. There is a constant barrage of rockets, bombs and shootings through organized intifada perpetrated by Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north or ‘random’ acts of violence from her neighbours or from within. Iran’s nuclear ambitions are an evil threat hanging over the nation. There is a political war to divide the tiny land (one third the size of Tasmania) and deprive them of their inheritance. There is an economic jihad by the BDS movement (the the boycott, divestment and sanctioning of Israeli goods) to stifle trade with Israel. There is the spreading of lies, false rumours and biased information that damage Israel in world opinion. The whole world looks on and points the finger of accusation when she rises up in self-defence.
Even worse than the international response is the response of the church. The Pope has now officially recognised a Palestinian state within Israel’s borders. Some Protestant denominations have come alongside the BDS movement. Even many evangelical groups that formally supported Israel seem to be turning against her.
Whose Side Are We on?
When Joshua was about to enter Jericho, he was met by a man (probably the Lord himself) holding a sword and Joshua inquired as to whether He was for him or for his adversaries. The angelic warrior replied:
No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD. Joshua 5:14
God is not on the side of the Palestinians or the Jews. He is on the side of bringing His purposes to pass. The question is, ‘Whose side are we on?’ Are we for the unfolding of God’s purposes or against? Are we more influenced by what the Scriptures say, or by what we hear from the media? Both Israel and the Palestinians need to come in repentance and humility before the Lord. God loves the Muslim people and so must we. However, the spirit behind Islam is not of God as it denies that Jesus is the Son of God and this is the test God told us to apply when seeking to discern the spirits.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. 1 John 4:1-3
God is at work amongst Muslims revealing Himself to them through dreams and visions. They also will only find their destiny in Christ and in aligning themselves with God’s purposes. Some believers are starting to see this but many have been duped into the false doctrine of replacement theology. They have not understood the concept of eternal covenant.
See Article on Replacement Theology