In order to understand the timing of the New Covenant, let’s go back to our original text and see what it says. Jeremiah 31:33(NASB) "But this is the covenant which I will make with the House of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." We have underlined a few key words here. Let’s look at the second group first. Does everyone that you know, “know the Lord”? We can look around us to see that they don’t, but let’s get a little deeper and find out exactly what the word “know” means. The Hebrew word is yada and is Strongs #H3045 and it means “to know, to perceive, to distinguish, to be acquainted with and to know carnally”. If we look at how this word is used, we will see it is the same word for when Adam “knew” his wife, Chava (translated into English as Eve, although this is the name of a pagan goddess), and they gave birth to Cain. If we use this meaning, then, certainly not everyone “knows” the Lord. If you will remember our Scripture in the book of Hosea, we can get a better understanding of when we will all “know” the Lord. Hosea 2:18-20(NASB) "In that day I will also make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, The birds of the sky and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land, And will make them lie down in safety. "I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion, And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the LORD. We will “know” the Lord after being given a new betrothal contract and this comes about in a time when we will have safety from the sword and war. This has not happened yet. Next, let’s look at the first words in our Jeremiah Scripture. Jeremiah 31:33 (NASB) "But this is the covenant which I will make with the House of Israel after those days," After what days? We need to look further back to the previous chapter in Jeremiah to get a full scope of the timeframe here. We will only print just a few verses, but we highly advise reading it all. Jeremiah 30:3(NASB) 'For behold, days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.' The LORD says, 'I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they shall possess it.'" This is the gathering of all twelve tribes back to the land of Israel. A lot of people believe that this has already happened in 1948, but are you there? When you accepted Yeshua as your Savior, you were “grafted into” the main olive tree, which is Israel and are now entitled to the land covenant also.
Let’s continue. Jeremiah 30:5, 7(NASB) "For thus says the LORD, ' I have heard a sound of terror, of dread, and there is no peace. 'Alas! for that day is great, there is none like it; and it is the time of Jacob's distress, but he will be saved from it." Jacob’s trouble or Jacob’s distress is also known as the Tribulation. Jacob was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, so both the House of Israel and the House of Judah together are called “Jacob”. Jeremiah 30:8-9(NASB) 'It shall come about on that day,' declares the LORD of hosts, 'that I will break his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves. 'But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.” We can see that first there is the gathering of the twelve tribes back to Israel, next (or possibly at the same time), will come the Tribulation and lastly, a king over all of them. None of these things have happened yet, and the New Covenant is given “after those days”. Let’s look at other Scriptures about this same covenant.
Ezekiel 34:12-13(NASB) "As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. "I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land." Again, we are speaking of the gathering of the twelve tribes back to the land of Israel. A “cloudy and gloomy day” is also symbolic of the Tribulation and is also known as “the Day of The Lord”. Joel 2:2(NASB) says that it will be a “day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness.” Continuing, Ezekiel 34:23(NASB) "Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd." One shepherd or king placed over them. Ezekiel 34:24-25(NASB) "And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them; I the LORD have spoken. I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods." Now, we can see that this covenant has a name and it is called “The Covenant of Peace”.
Ezekiel 37 has this same pattern all over again. Ezekiel 37:21-27(NASB) "Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms. They will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God. "My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them. They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons' sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever. "My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
For the timing, we can see that first; the tribes are gathered back to their land and then one king is placed over them. All of this seems to take place around the Tribulation, or “the Day of the Lord”. (We will talk about who that king will be in a later chapter.) Then, they are given a New Covenant – A Covenant of Peace. This does make sense. How can God give a Covenant of Peace to his people on the earth when He has yet to send the seven bowls of wrath? Also, please notice that everyone in His House receives this covenant at the same time. They are not being handed this covenant one by one upon death. Just as the first covenant was given to everyone on Mt. Sinai that day, so will we all receive the New Covenant – at the same time or as these Scriptures say “in that day”.
We will find out even more about the timing as we continue, but for now, let’s look at more of the promises that are given. The Scripture that we just read in Ezekiel chapter 37 gives us another clue about this covenant. It says in verse 26(NASB) “Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.”These words might remind you of a few verses in the New Testament. Revelation 21:1-4(NASB) "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." We will receive the New Covenant when God brings His Sanctuary or Tabernacle down from the heavens. Notice the same wording as our Jeremiah Scripture that “They shall be his people and He will be their God.” Also, we can see that this covenant will be given after the current heaven and the current earth are passed away. We now have another clue on the timing.
We are also given more promises of this beautiful covenant. Revelation 22:4(NASB) "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain..” How wonderful!
If we haven’t received this covenant yet, what was the reason that Yeshua came two thousand years ago? What was accomplished on the tree? We will get some of the answers when we see exactly who Yeshua is.