All right, we're going to continue our studies tonight in the last session on understanding Bible prophecy. I love Bible prophecy. It is a major, major part of the Bible, and therefore something God wants all of his people to understand. I know our personal goal in our church is that every one of our members be a very serious Bible student, starting with the youngest ages, and then everyone all the way to the oldest one, serious Bible student, all the way to the end, long as you have any mind left. You run out of mind after a while. And all the way to the end, every single member. Now that's a good, that has a potential to be a very good church there. If every member is becoming a serious Bible student, that makes the Bible exciting to you. If you just read it and don't understand it, that can become boring. That can become boring, but the more you understand it and get benefit from it, the more exciting it gets. More and more and more and more, all the way to the end of your life. So we're looking at these great covenants, and we have come to the last one, the New Covenant. the New Covenant, and we're looking at this great prophecy of Jeremiah 30 through 33, and looking at major lessons from that great prophecy. We saw number one, it begins with the summary of God's plan for Israel, God's history, Israel's history. Secondly, the restoration of Israel will follow the Great Tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble. And primarily, the Great Tribulation, the Day of the Lord, is for the nations, God's judgment on the nations, and then His preparation of Israel for their conversion, the two major emphasis. And multitudes will be saved without number at that time. But don't try to wait till then. Number three, all the tribes of Israel will be united in that day. Number four, God will restore Israel because of His love. He said, My love is everlasting. I've loved thee with an everlasting love. That is an amazing statement. Number five, Israel will be regathered from the nations. And then number six, Israel will dwell in her own land. Her own land. That land belongs to no one else. God promised it to Abraham and his seed, and they are nationally, the national seed, and Israel will dwell in her own land when the new covenant is fulfilled. Verse 5 and 6 of Jeremiah 31, Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria. You know what's happening in Samaria tonight? What's happening in Samaria tonight is that Israel's enemies claim that land. And Israel, there's places in Samaria that Jews better not go. Jews! their own land. That's what's going on in Samaria. But Samaria is going to belong to Israel. The planters shall plant, shall eat them as common things. For there shall be a day that the watchmen upon Mount Ephraim, Mount Ephraim, and shall cry, Mount Ephraim, Ephraim, the tribe just above Jerusalem. Benjamin was touched on Jerusalem. Jerusalem was really located between Benjamin and Judah. And then just north of Benjamin was Ephraim. And all that's going to belong to Israel again. They're going to plant. There are going to be no problems there. And verse 24, Verse 24, there shall dwell in Judah itself, which is starting in Jerusalem and then south and down into the Judean wilderness and all, that's Judah, all the way down in the Negev, Negev means south, and the whole south part, that's Judah. Verse 24, And in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen and they go forth with flocks. The Bible talks mostly about agriculture in the millennium. It's going to be a big agriculture thing. So that's the emphasis. And there's flocks and there's plantings and all. Ezekiel. So we're talking about that Israel will dwell in her own land. All this is going to happen in her own land. in Samaria, Ephraim, and Zion, and Judah. Ezekiel, in the prophecy in Ezekiel, refers to the land of Israel. When it's talking about Israel's restoration, those prophecies, it says the land of Israel, not anybody else's land, the land of Israel, the land of Israel, repeated. Number seven, God will bless Israel. Indeed. But God will bless Israel. Jeremiah, we give several references there, but chapter 31, verses 12 through 14. Chapter 31, verses 12 through 14. God is going to greatly bless Israel. What is happening today will seem like nothing. The desert literally will blossom as the rose, not because of drip irrigation, but because of God putting rain upon it, blessing it. Therefore, they shall come and sing in the height of Zion and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, the goodness of the Lord. There you go. The Lord is good. Don't let the devil lie to you. The Lord's the only one that loves you, only one that cares for you. Every blessing you've ever had in your whole life came from the Lord. The goodness of the Lord for weed and for wine and for oil and for the young of the flock and of the herd and their soul shall be as a watered garden. Their soul shall be as a watered garden. There we go. Sorrow and sighing fleeing away. That kind of soul. They shall not sorrow anymore at all. Wow. That's nice. That's very nice. It's true, it's the word of God. You cannot fail, but you've got to be saved, or you don't have anything at all to do with these things. Nothing whatsoever. Very sobering, it should be. Because Jesus said, except ye be born again, you'll never see the kingdom of God. That's what these prophecies are describing, the kingdom of God ruled by Christ. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together. For I will turn their mourning into joy, there's joy again, and will comfort them and make them rejoice from their sorrow. The sorrow is gone and rejoice from it. Joy. Rejoice. Watered soul. A soul like a watered garden. Yeah. And so God is going to bless Israel. I will satiate the soul of the priest with fatness. My people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord. And so the great blessing and the prophecies just repeat this and expand upon this. Psalm 72 talks about the great blessings that are going to come upon Israel in that day. Bless it. Cities will be multiplied, will be filled with palaces, and Israel will be permeated with joy, Jeremiah 30, verse 19, 31, verse 12 and 13. Israel will be prosperous, indeed. Israel will worship in the house of God, There is no house of God there tonight. That glorious millennial temple that is described in great detail in Ezekiel chapters 40 through 48, that millennial temple described in great detail. When the Bible says that Christ will enter the Eastern Gate, That's the Millennial Temple. That's not that Temple Mount over there. The Muslims sealed it up, the Temple Mount, Eastern Gate, and they put a cemetery in front of it. And they said, well, Christ can't come. Then we fixed that. Yeah, right. But it's not even talking about that old temple man, it's talking about the millennial temple. And He'll come in His glory, Ezekiel described it, riding upon His cherubim throne. Now that's a chariot? Cherubim chariot is a flying chariot? That's a serious chariot. It carries the throne of God. That's literal description. That's not some fantasy thing. Ezekiel 1 and 2, Ezekiel saw the cherubim and the platform over them and the throne of God on that platform, and God has designed that. David talked about the cherubim chariot. And so Ezekiel, at the end of that prophecy, sees Christ coming on the cherubim chariot in glory, which is a shining like the sun kind of deal, and spectacular, splendid, and coming in to the eastern gate. And all that's literal. If you're saved, you'll see it. You can't draw a picture of it. It's just too beyond our imagination, but it's a real thing. And those cherubim, they go like lightning, and wherever God wants to go, they're there, and they go straight line, no messing around, no doodling around. Serious servants of God, those cherubims. full of eyes, intelligent, beyond really our comprehension right now. And, oh man, but that's that temple. The blessing of God upon Israel. There will be flocks of sheep. Agriculture and husbandry emphasized in the prophecies. And we give many scriptures about that. There are many references here in your notes. about the emphasis on agriculture and husbandry, raising of the animals, and the eating of animals. I'm sure about that. And that's going to be an emphasis. There's also, we'll be building projects and lots of things going on, but agriculture and husbandry are an emphasis in the prophecies. And Israel even today loves agriculture, is very good at agriculture. Israel, one of the things I've studied, I've gone to the kibbutzes and the farms and all, and studied their agriculture quite a bit, and visited their orchards and things, and it's just amazing what they've done. They have a green thumb, to say the least. That land was just like a desert before they came back and they have really done magnificent things. And they use every bit of altitude, you know. Different altitude, things grow differently. They've used every little bit of it. It's amazing. Ah, but nothing like what's coming. Nothing like it. Their cows produce more milk than any other cows in the world, including Australian cows. Australian cows don't know that. They don't. But Israel knows that and brags about it a lot. But it's true. But nothing like what's coming. Nothing like it. The prophecies. They will beat their swords into plowshares. That's agriculture. And they will beat their spears into pruning hooks. That's agriculture. So that's emphasis and the manpower and the genius that is currently devoted to building weapons, fighting wars and all kinds of selfish deals will be devoted to agriculture and other righteous endeavors. Imagine what the fruit will taste like. That first banana in the Garden of Eden. I think about these things sometimes. It's biblical. I like bananas and can you imagine that first banana? And with the perfect taste buds. You don't have perfect taste buds. I can't even smell. I got my smeller knocked out. When I was in the, right after I graduated from high school, I went to a pool hall. It's a good place to go to get in trouble. And there, I got in trouble and I got hit in the face by this big man. Anyway, I lost my smell pretty much. If you can't smell very good, you can't taste very good. But I'll imagine the original taste buds that Adam had with that original banana, it would just probably turn, you know, just kind of make you have a tizzy fit or something. What's going over there, Adam? I ate a banana. No, it's coming. All this stuff will be restored. That's what man is trying to get back. How can we get back to Eden? Well, you can. But God is going to restore something much better. The whole world Really, that's the emphasis. I've eaten some really beautiful fruit in Israel. I toured a banana farm. Imagine that. I did. I toured a banana farm. They showed me all the workings of it. It's amazing. But nothing. Like, what's coming? That's the emphasis. Even today, Israel is a leader in so many things. Kimmigation. and fertigation, saline irrigation, saline irrigation. They've learned how to do that and what can grow. under those conditions because they have a problem getting enough water. They've invented all these things to get around it. Biological pest control, slow-release herbicides targeted insecticides, hybrid seed production, agro-biotechnology, commercial algae production, geothermal power production, desalinization. They're way up there in that field. And they've used it magnificently to supply water for their nation so they don't have to pump water out of the Sea of Galilee anymore. It's been that effective. Computerized modern monitoring of water systems. The Israelis are on the cutting edge of all these things. And wastewater recycling. But this is just a little hint of what's coming. when the blessings of God will be upon Israel, and they will be a blessing to the nations. Number eight, Israel will be a habitation of justice and holiness, which we've looked at just a little bit, justice and judgment, righteousness and judgment, tzedakah and mispot. When the nations, verse 23, All the passages emphasize this. But thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, as yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, as yet. So God says, this is coming when I shall bring again their captivity. That's when it's coming. The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice. That's what they're going to say. And mountain of holiness. Well, that's not Israel today. Very corrupt. Their mayors are always going to jail. Very corrupt. It's going to be the habitation of justice and the mountain of holiness. It's coming. This is a description. The new covenant is what's behind the millennial kingdom. Fulfillment of that new covenant. And so Israel will be what God always intended her to be. Love for God and love for neighbor will be the chief laws of the kingdom. That's the heart and soul of righteousness and judgment. Blasphemy and murder and kidnapping and lying and stealing and cheating and bribing, fornication, adultery, dishonoring parents will be punished with a rod of iron. And it's coming. Number nine, Israel will be converted and will know and obey God. This is the heart and soul of that covenant. Jeremiah 31, 33, and 34. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, Jehovah God, all caps, Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. What covenant? The Mosaic covenant. which my covenant they break, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord." God feels rebellion. It affects Him personally. I was a husband to them. It affects Him personally. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that friendship with the world is enmity with God? feels these things? Why should He not? He made us. Every breath we have, He gave us. Why would He not feel our rebellion, our sin against Him? He does. Right here, it's explaining that. This will be my covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, starting in verse 33 again. After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts. Yeah, verse 33, and write it in their hearts, there, and will be their God, and they shall be my people. They shall teach no more, every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord. That's what we do today. That's the gospel. Know the Lord. We'll have to do that. For they shall all know me. from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord. Because unless you're born again, you'll never see the kingdom of God. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Israel will be converted, will know and obey the Lord, will be forgiven of their sins. Now this is the part of the New Testament believer shares in. But Israel will be born again. Historically, this has never happened, but it will happen. This will happen. We're looking at things that are surely in the future. It's great stuff to know what is in the future. It's wonderful. Zechariah 12 goes into this in quite depth. The actual repentance of Israel is described when they will look on the one that they pierced. Now, who could that be? I wonder that they pierced Jewish guide, our Jewish guide over there in our trip last time. He said, don't be talking to me about Israel crucifying Jesus. But they did. And Rome did it, too. And the whole world did it, too. He died for the sins of the world. Number 10, it's not numbered in your notes there, but it is in your notes. The great prophecy in Jeremiah 30 through 33 ends with the promise that the covenant is unconditional and sure. Look at 33, verse 25 and 26. Now this is just so absolutely clear. Chapter 33, verses 35 through 26, so we're at the end of this major prophecy, 30, 31, 32, 33, which we just looked at highlights of. And at the very end, verse 25, chapter 33, thus saith the Lord, If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth, then will I cast away the seed of Jacob and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for I will cause their captivity to return and have mercy on them. And he said, It's just so sure, it's like sure it's night and day. That's pretty sure. And that whole cycle won't end until the new heaven and new earth, the night and day. We're under the sun. We're under the night and day deal. 24 hours rotating. It's night and then it's day. We're under that. We're affected by that. We have to live our lives in that context. And God says, my covenant with Israel. is as sure as night and day, as the sun is shining, and as the moon is reflecting. That's just very clear. Nothing can change this. No false theology can do away with it. It's wonderful. It's going to happen. Those that are born again are going to be there. Now, we come to the church. We give here two other major prophecies of the new covenant. and give a simple study of them. Isaiah 61, 1-11, and then Ezekiel 36, 22-28, magnificent prophecy. And then the last part as we end tonight, the New Covenant and Church Age Believers. And so the question is, if the new covenant is not fulfilled in the church, not for the church, why does the writer of Hebrews quote it? Hebrews being a church epistle. Hebrews, well, let's read that. Hebrews 8, 6-13. Hebrews 8, 6-13. So we know now what a new covenant is, know something about covenants. And so here it's quoted in Hebrews, Hebrews 8, 6. But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second, the first covenant being the mosaic. Verse eight, for finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Well, we've read that, one of the major passages. not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they continued not in my covenant and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. Covenant of works, conditional, Israel broke it. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their mind and write them in their hearts. And I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. Right? That's right out of the pages of Jeremiah, which we've read. They shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know me from the least to the greatest. Well, that's not even true in most churches. But it's going to be true of Israel. It's going to be true in the kingdom, except you'll be born again. You'll never see the kingdom of God. And so verse 8, they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother. Know the Lord, verse 12, for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith a new covenant he hath made the first old, now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. Now, Hebrews 10, 15 through 19. Written to churches, Hebrews. Hebrews 10, 15 through 19. Wherefore, the Holy Ghost also is witness to us, for after that he had said before, this is my covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now, wherever mission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. So why is God writing about the new covenant to the churches? And so, number one, Hebrews does not say the new covenant is fulfilled in the church. It does not say that. In fact, it twice says that the new covenant belongs to, quote, the house of Israel. Hebrews 8, 8 and verse 10. The house of Israel. So the writer of Hebrews knows what he's talking about and knows who this covenant is actually for. Number two, Hebrews refers to the new covenant to show that the law of Moses was temporary and that even the Old Testament promised that it would be abolished and replaced by another covenant. That's the main thing here. Hebrews, written to Jews who had professed Jesus as the Christ, context of Hebrews, some of whom were being tempted to return to the Jewish religion because of persecution. And so this book of Hebrews, the epistle was written to encourage them that Christ is superior in every way to the law of Moses. The writer of Hebrews mentions the new covenant to show that God had all along planned to replace the mosaic covenant with a better one. That's what he's doing in the context. Number three, the writer of Hebrews indicates that the New Testament believer partakes of the spiritual blessings of the new covenant through Christ. The spiritual blessing. We get a part of this thing. Not the land, not the cows, the spiritual part. We get to share in that because that's for all saved, that part. What is that? Regeneration, verse 10, born again. The Spirit of God written in your heart. Adoption, verses 8, chapter 8, verse 10 and 11. Adoption. Adopted as a child of God. And we cry, Abba, Father, by the Spirit of God. And the forgiveness of sins, Hebrews 8, 12. I will forgive their sins. That's wonderful. And every believer partakes of that. But the rest is for Israel. Nowhere does the writer of Hebrews say that this covenant has been transferred from national Israel to a church of some kind, or that the physical aspects of the covenant should be spiritualized. Nowhere is that even hinted at. Only the spiritual aspects of the new covenant are quoted in Hebrews. Doesn't say anything about the temple and this and that and the other, the agriculture. Doesn't even mention it. That's for Israel. Only the spiritual aspect. And the New Testament believers participate in the spiritual blessings of the new covenant through faith in Christ. That's very clear. That's what this is all about. It's wonderful. to partake of those spiritual, great, amazing spiritual blessings. We celebrate that with the Lord's Supper, the new covenant in my blood. First Corinthians chapter 11. Look at that for a second. First Corinthians 11. So what we're doing, the Lord's Supper, beginning of verse, well, 17, but beginning of verse 23. Passage, we always read it, the Lord's Supper. 1 Corinthians 11, 23, For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you. Paul said he got this directly from the Lord. That the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, Take eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. This doing remembrance of me after the same manner. Also, he took the cup, which when he gets up saying this cup is the New Testament, New Covenant, same thing. This cup is the New Testament in my blood. This do you as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. So that's what the Lord suffers all about, the New Covenant. But that part of it that is ours, that spiritual part born again. Complete 100% forgiveness of sins, eternal life, adoption as sons. We celebrate that. And what we're doing is remembering the price that was paid to purchase that for us and to purchase it for Israel and everybody that's ever saved. We're celebrating the basis of that covenant. all the way back to Adam. I believe Adam and Eve were saved. And because they accepted the sacrifice that God made and the covering, you know, Eve had made those little garments. You know, Eve did that. And they rejected that and took the covering that God gave them for free. And He had killed animals to do that. It's the first sacrifice. Yeah, Adam and Eve, all the way back to Adam and Eve. Everybody that's ever been saved has been saved on the basis of that blood and that broken body, that death, which we have the privilege of celebrating as often as we celebrate it and being reminded of it. Isn't that amazing that we have to be reminded of super important things? But that's how weak we are. Really, that's how weak we are and how busy we can get in this world. But there it is, that's the New Covenant. That's Jeremiah, but just the part that has to do with the New Testament believer. And number four, the Apostle Paul plainly taught, plainly taught, the Apostle Paul himself, that I believe wrote Hebrews, that the new covenant will be fulfilled literally in Israel following the church age. And I want to conclude by reading this major passage, which we will be reading multiple times probably. It's so fundamental and so clarifying. Romans 11, 25 through 27, it's about Israel. Romans 9 through 11 is all about Israel. What about Israel? Well, Romans 9 through 11 explains what about Israel. Romans 11, 25, though, summarizes all of that in one of these major little summary passages. Romans 11, 25, For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits. So it is possible to be wise in your own conceits. That blindness, in part, has happened to Israel. Yep, that's where Israel is right now. But not forever. Until the fullness of the Gentiles become in, and that is the gathering of the harvest through the preaching of the gospel to the pagan nations, which is still going on, will go on until the rapture. And the fullness of the Gentiles will become in, and that last person will be saved. That last person will be saved. Only God knows who it will be, when it will be. Verse 26, and so when that's finished, all Israel shall be saved. And we compare Scripture with Scripture, and we know that's not every single Jew, but Israel as a nation, and it's going to be saved. Probably, it seems like only one third of those living at that time. But Israel and all 12 tribes will be saved as it is written, as it is written, there shall come out of Zion the deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. This is my covenant. There it is. This is my covenant unto them when I shall take away their sins. What covenant? New covenant. Jeremiah 30-33 and many other passages refer to in Hebrews, but only the spiritual part for the New Testament believer, which we celebrate in the Lord's Supper. And so Paul is referring back to that great new covenant and explaining that it is going to be fulfilled after the church age. There is a church age and it will end at the rapture. And when is that going to happen? When will the rapture happen? Do you know when the rapture will happen? No. You have any idea? Nobody does. Anytime. That imminent, the word imminent means anytime. To be expected at anytime, at hand. Your hand's pretty close. It's always there. That's how we should be thinking of the rapture. anytime. These things are really very clear. They're not that complicated. God writes the scriptures for ordinary people because that's who usually gets saved. Ordinary people. Just ordinary people. And I thank the Lord for it. You can take this truth and preach it anywhere in the world to people that are barely literate. In fact, people that are not even literate. There's people in our church that cannot read. They got saved later. They cannot read, but they can understand these things. And so can you. So can you. God bless you, pastor.