The Covenants and Biblical Prophecy
What is a covenant?
A covenant is simply an agreement between two parties. Covenants were used among the ancients in the form of treaties or alliances between nations (1 Samuel 11:1), treaties between individual people (Genesis 21:27), friendship pacts (1 Samuel 18:3-4), and agreements between God and His people.
In the Bible, God made specific covenant promises to a number of people. These include Noah (Genesis 9:8-17), Abraham (Genesis 15:12-21; 17:1-14), the Israelites at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:5-6), David (2 Samuel 7:8-16; 23:5), and God’s people in the new covenant (Hebrews 8:6-13).
What does the Bible say about God being a promise keeper?
Numbers 23:19 asserts, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” Prior to his death, an aged Joshua declared, “I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed” (Joshua 23:14). Solomon later likewise proclaimed, “Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant” (1 Kings 8:56; see also Joshua 21:45). God truly is faithful!
What is the Abrahamic covenant, and what is its significance to Bible prophecy?
God made a very famous covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:18-21), and it was later reaffirmed with both Isaac (17:21) and Jacob (35:10-12). In this covenant, God promised to make Abraham’s descendants His own special people. More specifically, God promised Abraham: (1) I will make you a great nation; (2) I will bless you; (3) I will make your name great; (4) You will be a blessing; (5) I will bless those who bless you; (6) I will curse those who curse you; (7) All peoples on earth will be blessed through you; and (8) I will give you the land of Canaan.
Were God’s promises in the Abrahamic covenant unconditional?
Yes. As a backdrop, there were two kinds of covenants in biblical days: conditional and unconditional. A conditional covenant was enacted with an “if” attached. This type of covenant demanded that the people meet certain obligations or conditions before God was obligated to fulfill what was promised. If God’s people failed to meet the conditions, God was not obligated in any way to fulfill the promise.
An unconditional covenant depended on no such conditions for its fulfillment. There were no “ifs” attached. What was promised was sovereignly given to the recipient of the covenant apart from any merit (or lack thereof) on the part of the recipient. Some scholars refer to this type of covenant as a “unilateral covenant,” a “one-sided covenant,” or a “divine commitment covenant.” The covenant God made with Abraham was unconditional, and was characterized by God’s “I will,” indicating that God was determined to do just as He promised.
According to ancient custom, the two parties of a conditional covenant would divide animals into two equal parts and then walk between the two parts, indicating that both were responsible to each other in mutually fulfilling the obligations of the covenant (see Jeremiah 34:18-19). In the case of the Abrahamic covenant, however, God alone passed between the animal parts after Abraham had been put into a deep sleep. This indicates that God made unconditional promises to Abraham in this covenant (Genesis 15:17).
What is the significance of the Davidic covenant to biblical prophecy?
God made a covenant with David in which He promised that one of his descendants would rule forever (2 Samuel 7:12-13; 22:51). This is another example of an unconditional covenant. It did not depend on David in any way for its fulfillment. David realized this when he received the promise from God, and he responded with an attitude of humility and a recognition of God’s sovereignty over the affairs of humankind.
The three key words of the covenant are “kingdom,” “house,” and “throne.” Such words point to the political future of Israel. The word “house” here carries the idea of “royal dynasty.” This covenant finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who was born from the line of David (Matthew 1:1) and will one day rule on the throne of David in Jerusalem during the future millennial kingdom (Ezekiel 36:1-12; Micah 4:1-5; Zephaniah 3:14-20; Zechariah 14:3-11).
When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to inform her that she would give birth to the Messiah, he told her, “The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33). To describe this future rule of Christ, Gabriel used three significant words: “throne,” “house,” and “kingdom.” Notice that each of these words is found in the covenant God made with David in which God promised that one from David’s line would rule forever (2 Samuel 7:16). Gabriel’s words must have immediately brought these Old Testament promises to mind for Mary, a devout young Jew.
What is the new covenant?
The new covenant is an unconditional covenant God made with humankind in which He promised to provide for forgiveness of sin, based entirely on the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Under the old covenant, worshippers never enjoyed a sense of total forgiveness. Under the new covenant, however, Christ our High Priest made provisions for such forgiveness. When Jesus ate the Passover meal with the disciples in the upper room, He spoke of the cup as “the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20; see also 1 Corinthians 11:25). Jesus has done all that is necessary for the forgiveness of sins by His once-for-all sacrifice on the cross. This new covenant is the basis for our relationship with God in the New Testament.
How does the classical covenant system of theology interpret biblical prophecy, including the prophetic elements in the covenants?
The classical covenant view rejects a strict literal interpretation of prophetic Scripture. Jesus is viewed as an allegorical fulfillment of Old Testament promises made to Israel, including the land promises in the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 13:14-17) and the throne promises in the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7:12-16). The New Testament church is viewed as spiritual Israel, a continuation of Old Testament ethnic Israel. Hence, there will be no literal fulfillment of land promises (or other Old Testament prophecies) to Israel.
In my view, this theological model involves more eisegesis (reading a meaning into the text) than exegesis (deriving the meaning out of the text). A consistent use of the historical-grammatical method demands that the unconditional land and throne promises be literally fulfilled in Israel. Moreover, from the perspective of Jesus Christ Himself, the church was in no sense a continuation of Old Testament Israel; rather the church was yet future from the time He spoke (Matthew 16:18; see also Ephesians 3:1-10). It was the advent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost that inaugurated the church (Acts 2:1-12; 1 Corinthians 12:13). Let us not forget that the apostle Paul affirmed that national Israel will be restored before Christ returns in the end times (Romans 11:1-2,29).
How does the modified covenantal view deal with biblical prophecy?
The modified covenantal view rejects a strict literal interpretation of biblical prophecy, but it also modifies things a bit by allowing for a future literal fulfillment of land and throne promises made to Israel. There will allegedly be an initial spiritual fulfillment of these promises in the church, but the future will provide a more fully realized and literal fulfillment in which both Israel and the church share.
This view is built upon a faulty and inconsistent hermeneutic that ultimately allegorizes Old Testament promises made strictly to Israel (Genesis 13:14-17; 2 Samuel 7:12ff.). This view also fails to recognize the church’s status as a “new creation” of God (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 3:3-5,9; Colossians 1:26-27).
What is dispensationalism, and how does it deal with biblical prophecy?
Dispensationalism is a system of theology that is characterized by (1) a consistent literal method of interpreting the Bible, (2) a clear distinction between Israel and the church, and (3) the glory of God as God’s ultimate purpose in the world. The word “dispensation”—from the Greek oikonomia (meaning “stewardship”)—refers to a distinguishable economy in the outworking of God’s purpose.
This system of theology views the world as a household run by God. In this household, God delegates duties and assigns humankind certain responsibilities. If human beings obey God during that dispensation, God promises blessing; if humans disobey, He promises judgment. In each dispensation, we generally see (1) the testing of humankind, (2) the failure of humankind, and (3) judgment as a consequence. As things unfold, God provides progressive revelation of His plan for history.
The present dispensation is the church age. Prior to that was the dispensation of the law. A future dispensation is the millennial kingdom (see Ephesians 1 and 3; John 1:17; Romans 6:14; Galatians 3:19-25). These three dispensations might be categorized as Old Testament, New Testament, and kingdom.
Dispensationalism recognizes that God deals differently with people in different ages or economies, as illustrated in how God related to people in Moses’ time, in our day, and in the future millennium.
What are all the dispensations in Scripture?
There are seven dispensations according to traditional dispensationalism:
1. Innocence (Genesis 1:28–3:6). This dispensation relates to Adam and Eve until the time they fell into sin at the Fall.
2. Conscience (Genesis 3:7–8:14). This dispensation describes the time between the Fall and Noah’s flood (see Romans 2:15).
3. Human Government (Genesis 8:15–11:9). Following the flood, God began a new dispensation when He instituted human government to mediate and restrain evil on the earth.
4. Promise (Genesis 11:10–Exodus 18:27). This dispensation relates to God’s call of Abraham and the specific promises God made to him and his descendants, both physical and spiritual.
5. Law/Israel (Exodus 19–John 14:30). This dispensation is characterized by God’s giving of the law to Israel as a guide to live by, governing every aspect of their lives. The law was not presented as a means of salvation. The law was temporary, lasting only until the coming of—and fulfillment by—Jesus Christ.
6. Grace/Church (Acts 2:1–Revelation 19:21). In this dispensation, the rule of life in the church is grace.
7. Kingdom (Revelation 20:1-16). This dispensation relates to Christ’s future millennial kingdom, over which He will rule for 1000 years on the throne of David. The church will rule with Christ as His bride.
How is revised dispensationalism different from traditional dispensationalism?
Both traditional dispensationalism and revised dispensationalism use a literal hermeneutic in interpreting Bible prophecy, and thus both believe in a national fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant for Israel. Traditional dispensationalists, however, hold that there are two new covenants—one for Israel (yet to be fulfilled) and one for the church (presently being fulfilled). As well, Israel and the church are viewed as two separate peoples with different destinies: one in heaven (the church) and the other on earth (Israel).
Revised dispensationalists, by contrast, hold that there is only one new covenant. While this new covenant has a later literal fulfillment in national Israel, it has a present application to the church. Even though revised dispensationalists see distinctives between Israel and the church, both are viewed as collectively composing one overall people of God who share in the spiritual redemption wrought by Christ.
What is progressive dispensationalism?
Progressive dispensationalism, an off-shoot of traditional dispensationalism, is somewhat open to allegorism in interpreting Bible prophecy in that it rejects the idea that there is a fixed objective meaning of the biblical text. Rather, it holds that a biblical text may have many meanings and we ought to seek a deeper understanding than the author’s expressed meaning. This view also suggests that there will be a literal fulfillment of the Abrahamic, Davidic, and new covenants in ethnic Israel, but it also claims there is a present inaugural fulfillment of these covenants in the church.
There are a number of problems with this view. First, those who approach prophecy in such an allegorical way are inconsistent, for they approach the rest of Scripture in a literal fashion. Second, no objective criteria exist by which one can determine the alleged correct allegorical truth. Third, it goes against the precedent set by prophecies of Christ’s first coming, all of which were fulfilled literally—including Christ being born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), from the line of Abraham (Genesis 15:1-6) and David (2 Samuel 7:12ff.).
What is your opinion on theological systems of interpretation?
I resonate most with the revised dispensational viewpoint. However, my goal is not to be a “faithful revised dispensationalist.” My goal is to be a faithful biblicist. My allegiance is to the Scriptures, not to some man-made system of theology. To be fair, theological systems can be helpful in organizing the teachings of Scripture in a cohesive way. But we must always be about the business of testing our theological systems against Scripture. Scripture alone has authority, for it came to us from God.