Publication date
9/15/18
Volume
39
Number
18
The WatchTower
The New Covenant
The Watchtower Magazines
../literature/watchtower/1918/18/1918-18-1.html
 
 
 
 
 
(271-275) 
THE 
WATCH 
TOWER 
BROOKl,YN, 
N. 
Y. 
trying 
experien~e 
in 
your 
life, 
The 
l>ittsburgh 
friends 
are 
rejoicing 
in 
the 
opportunity 
to 
suffer 
with 
)'Qu, 
and 
the 
Lord 
is 
granting 
the 
daily 
strength. 
On 
Saturday 
and 
Sunday 
we 
had 
the 
pleasure 
of 
hearing 
Qur 
dear 
Brother 
Thorn 
expound 
'the 
further 
unfolding 
of 
God's 
plan. 
He 
spoke 
of 
vhe 
restoration 
of 
the 
Jews 
to 
their 
land, 
called 
the 
attention 
to 
the 
significance 
of 
their 
Pas,sover 
Sup­ 
per 
coming 
the 
day 
folklwing 
ours, 
and 
also 
to 
the 
significance 
of 
t.he 
opening 
date 
of 
the 
recent 
Zionist 
Congress 
in 
Pitts· 
burgn, 
June 
22nd, 
the 
day 
following 
a 
most 
memorable 
day 
in 
the 
history 
of 
our 
Society. 
Note 
how 
in 
this 
wondenul 
se­ 
quence 
of 
events 
the 
ceremonial 
and 
governmental 
features 
of 
the 
movements 
effected 
ha.ve 
been 
kept 
separate 
and 
distinct. 
This 
Congress 
accomplished 
more 
than 
did 
the 
former 
twenty 
Zionist 
conventions 
put 
together; 
and 
we 
are 
!l€reeably 
sur­ 
prised 
to 
learn 
th!Lt 
it 
occurred 
forty 
years 
to 
tfu.e 
month 
after 
the 
Congress 
of 
Berlin, 
1878, 
the 
first 
ray 
of 
hope 
to 
the 
,Tew 
since 
the 
dispersion 
in 
73 
A, 
D. 
We 
are 
!Llso 
glad 
to 
note 
that 
this 
important 
Congress 
honored 
the 
home 
city 
of 
our 
beloved 
Pastor, 
who 
for 
the 
past 
forty 
years 
has 
tJhrough 
his 
writings 
been 
calling 
the 
attention 
of 
the 
world 
to 
the 
significance 
of 
that 
event. 
"A 
little 
while, 
now 
he 
has 
come, 
The 
hour 
draws 
on 
apace, 
The 
blessed 
hour, 
the 
glorious 
morn 
When 
we 
ehall 
sce 
his 
face. 
How 
light 
our 
trials 
then 
will 
seem, 
How 
E1hort 
our 
pilgrim 
way, 
This 
life 
of 
earth 
a 
fitful 
dream, 
Dispelled 
by 
dawning 
day!" 
With 
further 
as,surance 
of 
our 
daily 
prayers, 
and 
request­ 
ing 
your 
prayers 
for 
our 
guidance, 
we 
are 
Your 
brothcr 
and 
sister 
in 
the 
Lord, 
O. 
M. 
&, 
B. 
I. 
M.-Pa. 
YOh 
XXXIX 
BHOOKLYN, 
1\. 
Y., 
SEPTE::\fBEH 
15, 
191.9 
THE 
NEW 
COVENANT 
Ko. 
lA 
"Behold, 
the 
days 
come, 
suith 
the 
Lord, 
that 
I 
will 
make 
a 
New 
Cocenant 
wi.th 
th,; 
house 
of 
]S/'III'1 
and 
with 
the 
hou.~e 
of 
.Judah."-Jeremiah 
31 
:31. 
The 
new 
covenant 
is 
the 
Scriptural 
name 
fe>r 
the 
new 
ar- 
In 
the 
anti 
typical 
arrangement 
the 
sacrifices 
will 
never 
be 
rangement 
between 
God 
and 
man 
which 
will 
be 
instituted 
at 
repeated. 
They 
lue 
offered 
once 
for 
all. 
Through 
the 
"better 
the 
beginning 
of 
the 
age 
to 
follow 
this, 
and 
by 
which 
God 
pur· 
SlLcrifices" 
the 
antitypical 
Mediator 
will 
have 
the 
power 
to 
poses 
to 
receive 
the 
world 
of 
mankind 
again 
into 
favor 
with 
start 
the 
world 
with 
a. 
clean 
slwte, 
as 
it 
were. 
Then 
the 
work 
himself. 
The 
covenant 
relationship 
which 
Adam 
originally 
en· 
of 
uplift, 
e>f 
restitution, 
will 
begin. 
As 
the 
Lord 
declares 
joyed 
with 
his 
Maker, 
a.nd 
its 
resultant 
harmony 
with 
him, 
through 
the 
prop-het, 
HI 
will 
take 
away 
the 
stony 
heart 
out 
was 
based 
upon 
contingent 
obedience 
to 
the 
expressed 
will 
of 
of 
your 
flesh 
and 
give 
you 
a 
heart 
of 
flesh."-Ezek:iel 
36 
:26; 
God. 
a.nd 
was 
forfeited. 
by 
~Iisob.edience. 
. 
II: 
19. 
DEA'l'H 
UNDER 
THE 
NEW 
ORDER 
This 
oov.ena;nt 
~elatlOnship 
~Ith 
God 
was 
renewed 
typIcally 
Thus 
Adam's 
sin 
and 
condemllaltion, 
which 
came 
to 
man- 
at 
Mount 
Sm~I, 
WIth 
Israel. 
! 
Exodus 
1,9: 
1-9; 
24: 
3-8) 
Throug:h 
kind 
by 
heredity, 
will 
no 
more 
'be 
remembered 
by 
anybody; 
Moses 
as 
medul.tor, 
God 
promI~ 
thl!'t 
If 
Israel. 
would 
k~p 
hIS 
that 
is 
to 
say, 
it 
will 
be 
ne> 
more 
a 
torturing 
remembrance. 
law 
they 
should 
have 
eVE'rlastIng 
hfe.. 
The. 
InaU~ratlOn 
of 
While 
the 
lessons 
learned 
by 
the 
world 
through 
thcir 
experi- 
that 
Law 
Covenant 
was 
effected 
by 
theIr 
!UedIRtor, 
SIX 
months 
ences 
with 
sin 
and 
death 
will 
never 
be 
fe>rgotten, 
nor 
their 
after 
Israel 
le~t 
Egypt, 
through 
the 
sacrIfice~ 
of 
bUl~ 
.and 
00 
benefits 
lost, 
nevertheless 
these 
experiences 
will 
('PRse 
to 
dis­ 
goats; 
the 
chIldren 
of 
Israel 
solemnly 
agr~eJng 
to 
t 
elr 
part 
tress 
mankind. 
The 
joys 
which 
will 
then 
be 
theirs 
will 
swallow 
of 
the 
covenant. 
~"}Iese 
Atonement 
Day 
·sacnfiees 
were 
repeated 
up 
the 
sorrows 
and 
tears 
of 
the 
past; 
and 
the 
minds 
of 
man- 
year 
by 
year 
contllluallJ:'; 
for 
the 
blood 
of 
bulls 
and 
of, 
goats 
kind 
will 
be 
filled 
with 
the 
wonderful 
truths, 
the 
we>nderful 
cOl;Ild 
never 
ta~e 
away 
.SiD 
.. 
(Hebr.ew8 
10:1-9) 
Israel 
faIled 
to 
blessings, 
the 
glorious 
new 
projects 
and 
prospects 
continually 
gaIn 
the 
bleSSIng 
promIsed. 
m 
t.heIr 
Law 
COYi'n.ant. 
God 
fore- 
opening 
before 
their 
widening 
vision. 
To 
all 
eternity 
the 
per- 
knew 
~h.at 
Israel 
~vouhl 
fall; 
b~t 
through 
,theIr 
endeavors 
he 
fected 
earth 
will 
be 
filled 
with 
a 
race 
of 
happy, 
perfect 
beings 
was. 
glvmg 
;;n 
object 
lesson 
whIch 
would 
m 
the 
future 
he 
a 
in 
the 
human 
likeness 
of 
their 
Lord. 
lastmg 
bles~m~ 
to 
Israel 
and 
to 
the 
we>rld. 
. 
The 
work 
of 
taking 
away 
the 
stony 
heart, 
and 
the 
giving 
T~e 
medIation 
of 
the. 
old 
~w 
Covenant 
broug~t 
~srael 
mto 
of 
a 
heart 
of 
flesh 
will 
,be 
gradual, 
however. 
Many 
will 
awake 
a 
typleal 
eovenant 
rel~bons!l1p 
to 
Goo, 
The 
medIatIOn 
of 
the 
to 
shame, 
in 
proportion 
to 
their 
wilfulness 
in 
sin 
in 
the 
past. 
n~w 
Law 
C?venant 
WIll 
~rmg 
.not 
o.nly 
Isr~l, 
but 
~;r~a: 
Burt 
the 
disciplina.ry 
processes 
of 
the 
kingdom 
will 
gradually 
kmd 
w~o 
WIll 
have 
come 
mto 
h~e 
wI~h 
the 
klDgd~ 
"d 
g 
. 
relieve 
all 
who 
are 
amenllible 
to 
the 
influences 
of 
righteous- 
m~nis, 
mt.o 
actual 
covena.nt 
relahonshlX' 
Then 
ea~h 
mdlvl 
~al 
ness 
and 
to 
the 
work 
of' 
refe>rmation 
then 
instituted. 
By 
de- 
~lll 
be 
finally 
tested 
by 
,Jehovah,. 
as 
dam 
was 
m 
th~ 
b~m' 
grees 
their 
hard-heartedness 
will 
disappear, 
and 
they 
will 
bf- 
mng, 
to 
dlll11.onstrate 
whether 
he 
.18 
worthy 
?f 
everlastmg 
life. 
oome 
more 
and 
more 
tender-hearted 
and 
affectionate. 
No 
mem- 
None 
who 
fall 
to 
stand 
t~e 
test 
WIll 
be 
permItted 
to 
enter 
upe>n 
ber 
C>f 
the 
human 
race 
will 
le>nger 
be 
-held 
accountable 
for 
the 
eternal 
ages 
of 
blessmg 
to 
follow. 
Adam's 
sin. 
In 
Ezekiel 
18 
:2-4, 
we 
read 
of 
present 
condi- 
T~E 
~FFECT 
OF 
":H:B 
"BETTER 
SAORIFIOES" 
tions: 
"The 
fathers 
have 
eaten 
a 
sour 
grape, 
and 
thp 
chil- 
C?<>d 
WIll 
Introduce 
thiS 
new 
L~w 
Coven~nt 
through 
the 
drpn's 
teeth 
are 
set 
on 
edw'." 
But 
during 
the 
next 
:I!.!P 
th,' 
~edlRtor 
of 
the 
New 
Covenant, 
ChTlst 
Jesus,.lD 
'yho.m 
the 
~n' 
etfE'ets 
of 
the 
sour 
grape 
of 
sin 
will 
be 
~ra.dually 
eliminated. 
tire 
arrangeme1!t 
centers, 
and 
through 
wh,om 
It 
~Ill 
be 
,carrIed 
ender 
the 
new 
order, 
whoever 
dies 
will 
die 
for 
his 
own 
sin, 
nC>t 
out. 
For 
a 
Jll!f1?d 
of 
a 
thol1sa!ld 
years 
thIS 
Me~liator 
Will 
do 
So 
for 
the 
sin 
of 
his 
fathers. 
wor~ 
of 
medlatl~n 
for 
ma!,klDd. 
And 
he 
~lll 
not 
only 
be 
Since 
all 
mankind 
are 
in 
a 
oondition 
of 
imperfection, 
all 
M~dlator, 
b~t 
wlIl. 
be 
Priest, 
Proplle~. 
KIllg-, 
,Ju,!.gP. 
As 
will 
in 
that 
day 
Rtill 
be 
liable 
to 
ce>mmit 
sin. 
The 
only 
ar- 
pnes~. 
he 
WIll 
uplIft 
and 
hless 
humamty 
anti 
rpPPlw. 
thl"r 
rangement 
by 
which 
they 
can 
attain 
to 
everlasting 
life 
will 
be 
of!'prmgs. 
(See 
.Ta~rnacle 
Shadows, 
pp. 
93-100) 
As 
.kmg 
he 
by 
their 
adoption 
into 
the 
family 
of 
the 
Mediator-the 
Christ 
WIll 
rule 
m!lDkmd 
III 
r.lghtcol;Isne8S; 
as 
prophet 
he 
WIll 
teach 
-who 
will 
quicken 
their 
weak 
mortal 
,bodies. 
Although 
no 
them; 
as 
Judge 
he 
w~lI 
deCl~e 
and 
pass 
sentence. 
fa'-orl1'bJe 
divine 
condemnation 
will 
hold 
over 
against 
them 
from 
their 
or. 
unfavora·ble. 
It 
wJlI. 
reqU1r~ 
. 
the 
full 
thousand 
years. 
to 
past. 
vpt 
on 
Iv 
such 
a~ 
pome 
into 
proper 
rphtionship 
with 
th" 
brmg 
the 
people 
out 
of 
!helT 
conchhon. 
of 
death 
a!ld 
d('gra,]a~l<ln, 
MediWtor 
win 
rec"ive 
the 
divine 
blessing. 
Under 
the 
New 
to 
restore 
whosoever 
WIll 
of 
~ll 
~ankllld 
to 
thp 
Hn~g-e 
:Inri 
,'kp- 
Covenant 
the 
special 
favors 
of 
the 
Lord 
will 
be 
only 
for 
the 
nes- 
of 
God 
.. 
lost 
by. 
Ac!am 
'" 
Eden. 
. 
obedient. 
"Vhoever 
reiects 
the 
opportunities 
t.hen 
offered 
will, 
.' 
The 
basl~, 
of 
medlatl?n 
o~, 
the 
~rt 
of 
the 
better 
Medlator 
at 
the 
closp 
of 
the 
first 
hundred 
years, 
be 
destroyed 
from 
,~ill 
be 
the 
better 
sacnfi;es 
of 
th~s 
Gospel 
age. 
Let 
us 
no- 
amongst 
the 
poople.-Isaiah 
65 
:20. 
Leeser. 
tIe" 
the 
Apostle's 
declaratIOn 
regardmg 
thIS 
matter, 
In 
refer- 
- 
rin!! 
to 
the 
type, 
he 
says, 
"It 
was 
therefore 
necessary 
that 
the 
THE 
SEALING 
OP 
THE 
NEW 
COVENANT 
patterns 
of 
thin~s 
in 
the 
heavens 
should 
be 
purified 
with 
these; 
God 
cannot 
ce>nsilJtently 
ent.er 
into 
a 
eovenant 
with 
people 
but 
the 
heavenly 
things 
t.hemselves 
with 
better 
sacrifices 
than 
whe> 
are 
under 
his 
own 
sentence 
of 
death. 
Under 
the 
typical 
these." 
(Hebrews 
9 
:23) 
The 
words 
"hea.vens" 
and 
"heavenly 
arrangement 
of 
the 
Law 
Covenant, 
the 
death 
of 
bulls 
and 
of 
things" 
as 
used 
in 
this 
text 
do 
not 
refer 
te> 
spiritual 
things; 
goats 
was 
accepted 
as 
a 
sacrifice 
to 
Goo; 
and 
tIle 
people 
of 
for 
nothing 
RepirituaI 
is 
SE'cUTpd 
by 
these 
better 
sacrifices. 
Only 
Israel, 
thus 
typically 
cleansed, 
were 
enmbled 
to 
enter 
iIlJto 
a 
human 
blessings, 
human 
rights, 
are 
thus 
secured. 
The 
word 
typical 
relationship 
with 
him. 
This 
did 
not 
mean 
that 
the 
"hpnvens" 
means 
"hE'aved 
up, 
or 
higher"; 
and 
in 
ordpr 
~(] 
un- 
blood 
of 
hulls 
and 
of 
goats 
wa.'! 
sufficient 
to 
take 
away 
sin; 
derstand 
its 
specific 
meaning' 
in 
any 
text, 
the 
word 
must 
be 
but 
that 
it 
was 
a 
typieal 
representation 
e>f 
tbe 
real 
sacrifices. 
defined 
in 
harmony 
with 
its 
context. 
St. 
Paul 
is 
here 
oon- 
under 
the 
Grace 
Covenant, 
the 
Covenant 
of 
Sacrifice. 
trasting 
the 
types 
of 
the 
Jewi8h 
age 
with 
the 
antitypes 
of 
If 
the 
New 
Covenant 
were 
now 
sealed, 
then 
all 
the 
blood 
the 
Gospel 
dispensa.tion. 
of 
the 
covenant 
must 
have 
been 
previously 
prepared, 
must 
have 
[6824) 
(271-275) trying experiente in your life. The Pittsburgh friends are rejoicing in the opportunity to suffer with you, and the Lord is granting the daily strength. On Saturday and Sunday we had the pleasure of hearing our dear Brother Thorn expound the further unfolding of God’s plan. He spoke of the restoration of the Jews to their land, called the attention to the significance of their Passover Supper coming the day following ours, and also to the significance of the opening date of the recent Zionist Congress in Pittsburgh, June 22nd, the day following a most memorable day in the histery of our Society. Note how in this wonderful sequence of events the ceremonial and governmental features of the movementa effected have been kept separate and distinct. This Congress accomplished more than did the former twenty Zionist conventions put together; and we are agreeably surprised to learn that it occurred forty years to the month after the Congress of Berlin, 1878, the first ray of hope to the Jew THE WATCH TOWER Broogiyn, N. Y. since the dispersion in 73 A. D. We ure also glad to note that this important Congress honored the home city of our beloved Pastor, who for the past forty years has through his writings been calling the attention of the world to the significance of that event. “A little while, now he has come, The hour draws on apace, The blessed hour, the glorious morn When we shall sce his face. How light our trials then will seem, How short our pilgrim way, This life of earth a fitful dream, Dispelled by dawning day!” With further assurance of our daily prayers, and requesting your prayers for our guidance, we are Your brother and sister in the Lord, 0. M. & B. I. M—Pa. Vou. XXXIX BROOKLYN, N. Y., SEPTEMBER 15, 1918 No. 18 THE NEW COVENANT “Behold, the days come, suith the Lord, that I will make a New Covenant with the house of Isracl and with the house of Judah.”—Jeremiah 31:31. The new covenant is the Scriptural name for the new arrangement between God and man which will be instituted at the beginning of the age to follow this, and by which God purposes to receive the world of mankind again into favor with himself. The covenant relationship which Adam originally enjoyed with his Maker, and its resultant harmony with him, was based upon contingent obedience to the expressed will of God, and was forfeited by disobedience. This covenant relationship with God was renewed typically at Mount Sinai, with Israel. (Exodus 19:1-9; 24:3-8) Through Moses as mediator, God promised that if Israel would keep his law they should have everlasting life. The inauguration of that Law Covenant was effected by their mediator, six months after Israel left Egypt, through the sacrifices of bulls and of goats; the children of Israel solemnly agrecing to their part of the covenant. These Atonement Day sacrifices were repeated year by year continually; for the blood of bulls and of goats could never take away sin. (Hebrews 10:1-9) Israel failed to gain the blessing promised in their Law Covenant. God foreknew that Israel would fail; but through their endeavors he was giving an object lesson which would in the future be lasting blessing to Israel and to the world. The mediation of the old Law Covenant brought Israel into a typical covenant relationship to God. The mediation of the new Law Covenant will bring not only Israel, but all mankind who will have come inte line with the kingdom arrangements, into actual covenant relationship. Then each individual will be finally tested by Jehovah, as Adam was in the beginning, to demonstrate whether he is worthy of everlasting life. None who fail to stand the test will be permitted to enter upon the eternal ages of blessing to follow. THE EFFECT OF THE ‘‘BETTER SACRIFIOES’’ God will introduce this new Law Covenant through the Mediator of the New Covenant, Christ Jesus, in whom the entire arrangement centers, and through whom it will be carried out. For a period of a thottsand years this Mediator will do a work of mediation for mankind. And he will not only be Mediator, but will be Priest, Prophet. King, Judge. As priest, he will uplift and bless humanity and receive their offerings. (See Tabernacle Shadows, pp. 93-100) As king he will rule mankind in righteousness; as prophet he will teach them; as judge he will decide and pass sentence. favorable or unfavorable. It will require the full thousand vears to bring the people out of their condition of death and degradation, to restore whosoever will of all mankind to the image and tikeness of God, lost by Adam in Eden. The basis of mediation on the part of the better Mediator will be the “better sacrifices” of this Gospel age. Let us notice the Apostle’s declaration regarding this matter. In referring to the type, he says, “It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” (Hebrews 9:23} The words “heavens and “heavenly things” as used in this text do not refer to spiritual things; for nothing spiritual is secured by these better sacrifices. Only human blessings, human rights, are thus secured. The word “heavens” means “heaved up, or higher’; and in order to understand its specific meaning in any text, the word must be defined in harmony with its context. St. Paul is here contrasting the types of the Jewish age with the antitypea of the Gospel dispensation, In the antitypical arrangement the sacrifices will never be repeated. They are offered once for all. Through the “better sacrifices” the antitypical Mediator will have the power to start. the world with a clean slate, as it were. Then the work of uplift, of restitution, will begin. As the Lord declares through the prophet, “J will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”—Ezekiel 36:26; 11:19, DEATH UNDER THE NEW ORDER Thus Adam’s sin and condemnation, which came to mankind by heredity, will no more be remembered by anybody; that is to say, it will be no more a torturing remembrance. While the lessons learned by the world through their experiences with sin and death will never be forgotten, nor their benefits lost, nevertheless these experiences will cease to distress mankind, The joys which will then be theirs will swallow up the sorrows and tears of the past; and the minds of mankind will be filled with the wonderful truths, the wonderful blessings, the glorious new projects and prospects continually opening before their widening vision. To all eternity the perfected earth will be filled with a race of happy, perfect beings in the human likeness of their Lord. The work of taking away the stony heart, and the giving of a heart of flesh will be gradual, however. Many will awake to shame, in proportion to their wilfulness in sin in the past. But the disciplinary processes of the kingdom will gradually relieve all who are amenable to the influences of righteousness and to the work of reformation then instituted. By degrees their hard-heartedness will disappear, and they will become more and more tender-hearted and affectionate. No member of the human race will longer be held accountable for Adam’s sin. In Ezekiel 18:2-4, we read of present conditions: “The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ But during the next aye the effects of the sour grape of sin will be gradually eliminated. Under the new order, whoever dies will die for his own sin, not for the sin of his fathers. Since all mankind are in a condition of imperfection, all will in that day still be liable to commit sin. The only arrangement by which they can attain to everlasting life will be by their adoption into the family of the Mediator—the Christ —who will quicken their weak mortal bodies. Although no divine condemnation will hold over against them from their past. vet only such as come into proper relationship with the Mediator will receive the divine blessing. Under the New Covenant the special favors of the Lord will be only for the obedient. Whoever rejects the opportunities then offered will, at the close of the first hundred years, be destroyed from amongst the people.—Isaiah 65:20. Leeser. THE SEALING OF THE NEW COVENANT God cannot consistently enter into a covenant with people who are under his own sentence of death. Under the typical arrangement of the Law Covenant, the death of bulls and of goats was accepted ag a sacrifice to God; and the people of Israel, thus typically cleansed, were enabled to enter into a typical relationship with him. This did not mean that the blood of bulls and of goats was sufficient to take away sin: but that it was a typical representation of the real sacrifices, under the Grace Covenant, the Covenant of Sacrifice. Tf the New Covenant were now sealed, then all the blood of the covenant must have been previously prepared, must have [6824]

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