covanent eschatology

Covanent Eschatology

Covanent eschatology also spelled Covenant focuses on the transition from the Old and the New Covenants, from a ministration of death to one of life. In contrast to futurism, it differs in that it holds all prophecy to be fulfilled. It ascribes the endtime or last things of the Bible to the consummation of the Old Covenant in connection with the event known as the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, versus a future destruction of the physical universe. The New Covenant being an endless eternal covenant (Hebrews 13:20), having no end.

The Framework of Covenant Eschatology

The Framework of Covenant or realized eschatology is the Old Testament. All prophecies which were to be fulfilled in the endtime are rooted in the Old Testament. This is true for each category we will discuss: The fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, the Holy Spirit, the imminent time statements, the first century generation, all serve as pieces of the framework to understand the resurrection and related themes.

Covanent eschatology implies that the last days can only apply to the Old Covenant for it was tempoary. The New Covenant having no end, has no last days. It is a world without end.

Covanent Eschatology and the Resurrection.

Covanent eschatology has implications for the resurrection of the dead. The nature of the resurrection is determined by the covenant. The subject of resurrection begins in Genesis. God threatened Adam with the punishment of immediate death for eating of the forbidden fruit. "For in the day you eat, you shall surely die." Covanent eschatology honors the nature and time of Adam's death.

Adam died the day he ate which resulted in his separation from God. God defines spiritual death as a severed relationship between God and man. (Isaiah 59:1, 2).

Although Adam continued to live physically, his relationship with God was broken resulting in his being cast out of the garden of Eden, (Genesis 3). As is said of the widow who lived in pleasure, Adam was dead (spiritually) while he lived physically.

God did make it possible for Adam to commune with him through an atoning sacrifice providing a temporary covering for his sins. God made coats of animal skills to cover his and Eve's nakedness, (3:21). The shedding of animal's blood however, could never take away sins, (Hebrews 9:22).

Therefore, Adam's hope lie in the coming Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29).

Paul wrote concerning the transgression of Adam resulted in condemnation. This means his stance before God was affected. Sin-death and resurrection is not about "substance," but one's "stance" before God. Are we condemned or justified is the question.

"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of of the transgression of Adam, who is a type f Him was was to come." (Romans 5:12-14) See "mello" on "about to come" for Romans 5:14.

Covanent eschatology demonstrates the resolution to the problem of sin-death introduced by Adam in the garden. This death fell upon all men, both Jew and Gentile alike. It continued through the Law of Moses, as it was but a shadow of the "about to come" good things in the New Covenant.

Hence the need to dismantle the Old Covenant due to its ineffectiveness against sin, (Hebrews 7:18, 19) that God might establish the New Covenant, (Hebrews 8:6-13), through the death of Christ, shedding his own blood (Matthew 26:28) and offering it up to the Father in the heavenly tabernacle, (Hebrews 9:24-27), to accomplish what could not be effected by the law, (Romans 8:1-4; Hebrews 10:1-4)

The law entered that the offense might abound, (Romans 5:19, 20) but it did not remedy the problem, hence it became a ministration of death that killed its subjects, (2 Corinthians 3:6, 7), through their own self-deception into believing they could live by perfectly obeying it, (Romans 7:10-12; 10:5).

All who served under it were confined to death through sin, (Romans 3:19, 20). The removal of that covenant is for Paul the "deliverance from the body of this death," (Romans 7:24), the true goal of covanent eschatology, resulting in the New covenant or "body of life." "For if there could have been a law which could have given life, verify righteousness would have been by the law." (Galatians 3:21)

Covanent eschatology is the term used to illustrate the passing of the Old Covenant. It was a temporary arrangement until the time of reformation (Hebrews 9:8-11) and the fulfillment of the promise under Christ, (Galatians 3:23-26).

Complete covenantal change is tied to the fulfillment of all things spoken and written by the prophets, (Acts 3:21) which events were fulfilled in the first century generation in connection with the fall of Jerusalem and overthrow of the Jewish temple signifying the end of the era of Moses, (Luke 21:20-22).

Now, in Christ, life is freely given to those who believe for he has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, (2 Timothy 1:9, 10).

Covanent eschatology therefore forms an important interpretive paradigm in understanding the endtime message of the prophets. It honors the time statements, the audience relevance of the first century generation and their expectation of nearness, and the eschatological role of the Holy Spirit in the end of that age. Click any of the links above for further studies on these elements of covanent eschatology and fulfilled bible prophecy.

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