We will be discussing something that has been misunderstood by many people for many years. We will be dissecting the truth of the everlasting covenant. Many believe that there are many covenants and some believe that there is 1 covenant that has never changed since Sinai. We will bring clarity to this confusion as we search Scripture to find the correct understanding. Let’s first establish what the term ‘Everlasting Covenant’ actually means.
‘Everlasting’ in Hebrew is, OLAM which means: Continual, Perpetual, and Eternity. The word ‘covenant’ means to have a confederate, which means to be united with or to become an ally with Father and His Son. In other words, ‘covenant’ means to have an agreement to unite with Father and Son on their terms. To go against those terms, however, would be to break the covenant. Let’s look at what the Scripture says about the eternal union or Everlasting Covenant.
Which Man Received the Covenant from Father First?
Adam was the first man to enter into the Everlasting Covenant with Father. When someone enters into a covenant with God, there are stipulations. One of those stipulations is the necessity of keeping what Father commands us to do. Accordingly, there is a natural consequence that happens when someone goes against the Covenant’s stipulations, as well as a penalty for breaking the commands given.
Deut 11:26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;
Deut 11:27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:
Deut 11:28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
Now many say that Adam was not in a covenant with Father, but if we look a little deeper we will see that there was definitely a covenant given to Adam. Adam was made in the image and likeness of Father and His Son. Everything that was made was Adam’s, as long as certain stipulations remained in tact.
Gen 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Father showed Adam that everything was to be his. Father gave him every tree, gave him dominion over the earth, and told Adam to be fruitful and multiply. These are a few of the things incorporated in being in an everlasting covenant with the Father and His Son.
Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Scripture shows that Adam broke the covenant he had with Father when He disobeyed His command. When the Father’s covenant was broken, a curse occurred. Let’s see what happened when Adam broke the covenant.
Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
We clearly see that when the covenant is broken a curse occurs. When Adam broke the command He broke the covenant He had with His Father. The Father would have maintained Adam’s dominion on the earth, the blessing of being fruitful and multiplying, and everlasting life, if Adam would have remained obedient.
Now, because Adam broke this covenant, he lost all of the things involved in the relationship with the Father and His Son. This was the Everlasting Covenant made and given to Adam first. The law of righteousness was written in Adam’s heart and he chose to disobey his Father and break the Everlasting Covenant. We will touch on that a little later.
I Thought the Everlasting Covenant Started At the Cross?
Isa 24:3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word.
Isa 24:4 The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.
Isa 24:5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
Isa 24:6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
This Scripture passage shows that the earth and people are affected because of the breaking of the EVERLASTING COVENANT. This is from the book of Isaiah which was written many years before Christ’s incarnation. There seems to be one covenant being offered by the Father to His people throughout the ages, but when the people break this covenant, the Father cannot keep His side of the agreement due to the separation. Scripture says in Isaiah 59:2,
Isa 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Sin brings on us a curse. Scripture defines sin as the breaking of the law (1st John 3:4). Sin separates us from the blessings of the covenant and it leaves us cursed when we separate from Father and His Son. Scripture says,
Deut 27:26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.
So according to Isaiah, the earth was cursed by the people transgressing Fathers commands and breaking the everlasting covenant.
When did this curse first affect the earth? It would have to have been when Adam broke the everlasting covenant by disobeying Father’s command.
Another example is with Noah. Noah found grace in the Father’s sight and entered into a restored covenant. Remember the covenant included dominion over the earth and animals, as well as a promise to be fruitful and multiply. Let’s see what scripture says.
Gen 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
Gen 9:2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
Gen 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
This sounds exactly like the promises given to Adam, doesn’t it? Let’s see what’s added to this covenant.
Gen 9:9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
Gen 9:10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
Gen 9:11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
Gen 9:12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
Gen 9:13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
The rainbow was given as a sign of the covenant made TO ALL MANKIND. There are many who think this covenant is only to Noah but in fact it’s between Father and the earth with its inhabitants. This covenant was a restoration of the one made with Adam. The rainbow was added as a reminder. Father gives more tokens or signs to stir the mind to remember this covenant as mankind continues to degrade. The rainbow is also seen in Scripture as encircling the throne of God.
Rev 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
Rev 4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
There are not multiple covenants made with man in scripture. There is only one everlasting Covenant that the Father has been looking for people to have union with. Many are under the impression that there are many covenants; that Abraham was given an Everlasting Covenant, while Israel was given another Everlasting Covenant at Mount Sinai. Well we will let Scripture reveal what exactly the Abrahamic covenant and Mosaic Covenant really is.
Gen 13:14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
Gen 13:15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
Gen 13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
Gen 13:17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
Gen 15:2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
Gen 15:3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
Gen 15:4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
Gen 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
If we notice the promise Father is making with Abraham, we will see that everything which was given and promised to Adam is now promised to Abraham also. He told Him in Genesis 13 that He will have a son and that his descendants would be like the dust of the earth. (This is the blessing which Father refers to as being fruitful and multiplying.) Then we see in Genesis 15 how Father continues to promise him things, not only that he will have an heir from his own bowels, but that the whole earth would belong to Him.
Rom 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
We see here that Father is restoring His Covenant that was from the beginning with Abraham. This is not a new covenant but the same Covenant given to Adam. It can be thought of as a renewed covenant. The purpose of the plan of redemption was to restore man to his original position.
Act 3:20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
Act 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
All of the prophets spoke of this restoration. Not of a different outcome, but of a renewed conclusion. Abraham was not given a different covenant but the same Everlasting Covenant that the Father desires all His people in history to be apart of.
So Is the Covenant Only Given To the Descendants of Abraham?
The answer is: yes. Only the descendants of Abraham can be heirs. Now, as we said in the beginning, there are stipulations to remain in this covenant. If the descendants are the only ones to enter this covenant, then there are some stipulations to being a descendant of Abraham.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Scripture says that in order to be a descendant of Abraham, you must first be in Christ. This will determine if you are an heir to the promise. When the King of Judah lives in us, this is what makes us a Jew.
Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
I Thought Only Those Who Are Circumcised Jews Are Abrahams Decedents?
Rom 4:9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
Rom 4:10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
Rom 4:11 And he received the sign [token] of circumcision, a seal [signet] of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
Rom 4:12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.
Circumcision was not the actual covenant but a sign of a covenant that Abraham already accepted. Because Abraham received the everlasting covenant before he himself was circumcised, he was able to be the father of faith without the works of any command. Abraham was justified by believing and all those who believe in Father and His Son and Their promises will be children of faith and heir to the same promise given to Abraham. This is how Father is trying to restore all things given to man. Circumcision was added in order to help teach them of the nature of the Covenant they are entering.
The circumcision was the cutting off of the foreskin of every male believer. This symbolized the death to the fleshly lifestyle and also the cutting off or death to the fleshly desires. Circumcision was a necessity because ever since Adam, mankind has been degrading and growing exceedingly wicked, thus more strength and teaching from the Father is necessary. The physical circumcision was always nothing but a sign or symbol of the spiritual application that can only occur by faith. This was what Abraham and Moses needed to understand, and they definitely did.
Deut 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Circumcision is also an equivalent symbol to baptism. Baptism symbolizes the death to the old sinful fleshly man and the resurrection into a new life with Christ.
Col 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
Col 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
Col 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
This circumcision is the same circumcision Moses spoke of in Deuteronomy. Circumcision is what baptism teaches us today. There is no difference of importance because it is the same symbolism. Father is using different methods in restoring the same covenant and using many symbols to help us keep this understanding in mind.
We see that the same covenant is being renewed, and when Father tries to do this there is a symbol or sign to remind the people of it, such as the rainbow and circumcision. Now, with Israel during Moses’ time, there was a big problem.
Gen 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
Gen 15:14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
Abraham was given a prophecy of the slavery that would take place in Egypt. This affliction would occur and damage the spiritual connection with their God. This shows us that God’s people after 400 years of slavery were gong to need a lot of help to understand spiritual things. This is where we come to Mount Sinai.
Right before they were set free from Egypt, Father revealed to them the ultimate sacrifice that would come when He showed them how to observe the Passover and Unleavened Bread. Though these are symbols, they have much significance as they reminded them and remind us of what our minds should be focused on. Though they cried out in anguish due to the oppression of Egypt, they were in desperate need of lessons to understand who the God of their Fathers was.
First, let’s see if the Israelites received the same covenant at Mount Sinai.
Exo 32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
Lev 26:3 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
Lev 26:9 For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.
Deut 8:1 All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.
Throughout the writings of Moses, the Heavenly Father has been trying to reestablish the covenant made with Abraham with Israel at Sinai also. The Promises of Multiplying and possessing the promise land (The Earth) were also promised to the people at Mount Sinai but the people did not have a heart to accept and understand it.
Deut 5:2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
Deut 5:28 And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.
Deut 5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
Even though Father made the covenant with the people at Mount Sinai (Horeb), and the people said they will obey, Father saw their hearts and His Word reveals that their hearts were far from Him. He desired to place the covenant and the law in their hearts but they desired a surface relationship. Father did not regard them as His people fully because of this spiritual separation.
Heb 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
Heb 8:8 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:
Heb 8:9 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.
Heb 8:10 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:
The Covenant was not what was wrong or what needed to change. Father found fault in those who said that they would obey and did not. It says, “They continued not in my covenant and I regarded them not.” Father revealed this when Moses broke the tables of stone, which was a sign of the Covenant.
Exo 34:28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
Exo 32:19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
The stones being broken literally equates to the words of the covenant being broken by the people. They did not continue in the covenant and they broke Father’s law. The Lord then asked who was on His side, and the only ones who came forth were the people of the tribe of Levi. After Father commanded the destruction of the rebellious people who would not repent, He told Moses to come up and take tables of stone and renew the words of the Covenant. If you noticed, He renewed the covenant with the same law on it.
The spiritual decline of Israel for over 400 years was clearly seen as Father tried to restore them back to the covenant. Because of their lack of understanding, Father gave them multiple symbols such as the tabernacle, the sacrificial system, and the priesthood. These were all given to only to the tribe of Levi because they were the only ones on the Lord’s side when the golden calf was made.
These symbols were given because of pivotal truths that were and still are misunderstood. Briefly, the tabernacle was to teach the people that Father and His Son by Their Spirit desired to dwell in them.
Exo 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Eph 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Eph 2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
Eph 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
The sacrificial system not only teaches us of the death of the Savior, but also of how we ought to worship Him from the heart.
Psa 51:16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
The priesthood is supposed to teach us who we ought to be in Messiah while our mission is to deliver and teach the law to the world.
Exo 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
1 Pet 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house (Temple), an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
1 Pet 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
The duty of the priest was not only to live the law, but to teach it as well.
Neh 8:2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.
Mal 2:7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
All of this was given as symbols until they were fulfilled by Messiah, and now that they are fulfilled they are like our school master to teach us what Father desires to fulfill in us.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
We see that the same Covenant was made with the people at Sinai, and they were given more symbols and shadows to teach them about the covenant Father desired with them. Now, we are here and as the people of this world, having gone through thousands of years of lies and spiritual slavery, we say that all these things are done away with and are not necessary. Scripture itself is what we have to reveal and remind us of the Covenant Father has been offering since the beginning of time.
Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
If the Law/Torah is our school master, that means it teaches us the Gospel and that the people were being offered the same promises as we are offered today. Many, however, did not receive it because of lack of faith.
Heb 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
Israel was taught the gospel through the shadows of types and the Torah, but in performing those things, they did not perform them having Faith in what those things actually represented. This led to Israel breaking God’s everlasting covenant constantly. This caused many to fall and be cut off from God’s people. When people do not walk according to the Covenant Father is offering, they are not regarded as His commandment-keeping people. Repentance, however, is still offered according to Father’s will.
Heb 8:8 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:
Heb 8:9 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.
Father is restoring and renewing His covenant with those who will walk and depend on Fathers ability alone. Father desires us to surrender ourselves willingly, asking to receive His Spirit which will put His Law/Torah in our heart and minds. This will be done that we might walk in His ways always.
Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Heb 8:10 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:
This shows us that there is only one Covenant that Father desires for all mankind to partake in. Father has sent His Son to this earth to ratify that Covenant which He made with Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Israel. We are now in the position to see the fulfillment of the types given since Adam, as well as the final fulfillment of the remaining types, such as the feasts. I hope this study helped us to understand the Everlasting Covenant that Father has been trying to restore since the fall of man. Praise Father and His Son for redeeming us from the curse of breaking His Covenant and giving us the precious gift of His Spirit that we may walk in His ways, statutes, and judgments all the days of our lives.
‘Everlasting’ in Hebrew is, OLAM which means: Continual, Perpetual, and Eternity. The word ‘covenant’ means to have a confederate, which means to be united with or to become an ally with Father and His Son. In other words, ‘covenant’ means to have an agreement to unite with Father and Son on their terms. To go against those terms, however, would be to break the covenant. Let’s look at what the Scripture says about the eternal union or Everlasting Covenant.
Which Man Received the Covenant from Father First?
Adam was the first man to enter into the Everlasting Covenant with Father. When someone enters into a covenant with God, there are stipulations. One of those stipulations is the necessity of keeping what Father commands us to do. Accordingly, there is a natural consequence that happens when someone goes against the Covenant’s stipulations, as well as a penalty for breaking the commands given.
Deut 11:26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;
Deut 11:27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:
Deut 11:28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
Now many say that Adam was not in a covenant with Father, but if we look a little deeper we will see that there was definitely a covenant given to Adam. Adam was made in the image and likeness of Father and His Son. Everything that was made was Adam’s, as long as certain stipulations remained in tact.
Gen 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Father showed Adam that everything was to be his. Father gave him every tree, gave him dominion over the earth, and told Adam to be fruitful and multiply. These are a few of the things incorporated in being in an everlasting covenant with the Father and His Son.
Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Scripture shows that Adam broke the covenant he had with Father when He disobeyed His command. When the Father’s covenant was broken, a curse occurred. Let’s see what happened when Adam broke the covenant.
Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
We clearly see that when the covenant is broken a curse occurs. When Adam broke the command He broke the covenant He had with His Father. The Father would have maintained Adam’s dominion on the earth, the blessing of being fruitful and multiplying, and everlasting life, if Adam would have remained obedient.
Now, because Adam broke this covenant, he lost all of the things involved in the relationship with the Father and His Son. This was the Everlasting Covenant made and given to Adam first. The law of righteousness was written in Adam’s heart and he chose to disobey his Father and break the Everlasting Covenant. We will touch on that a little later.
I Thought the Everlasting Covenant Started At the Cross?
Isa 24:3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word.
Isa 24:4 The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.
Isa 24:5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
Isa 24:6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
This Scripture passage shows that the earth and people are affected because of the breaking of the EVERLASTING COVENANT. This is from the book of Isaiah which was written many years before Christ’s incarnation. There seems to be one covenant being offered by the Father to His people throughout the ages, but when the people break this covenant, the Father cannot keep His side of the agreement due to the separation. Scripture says in Isaiah 59:2,
Isa 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Sin brings on us a curse. Scripture defines sin as the breaking of the law (1st John 3:4). Sin separates us from the blessings of the covenant and it leaves us cursed when we separate from Father and His Son. Scripture says,
Deut 27:26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.
So according to Isaiah, the earth was cursed by the people transgressing Fathers commands and breaking the everlasting covenant.
When did this curse first affect the earth? It would have to have been when Adam broke the everlasting covenant by disobeying Father’s command.
Another example is with Noah. Noah found grace in the Father’s sight and entered into a restored covenant. Remember the covenant included dominion over the earth and animals, as well as a promise to be fruitful and multiply. Let’s see what scripture says.
Gen 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
Gen 9:2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
Gen 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
This sounds exactly like the promises given to Adam, doesn’t it? Let’s see what’s added to this covenant.
Gen 9:9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
Gen 9:10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
Gen 9:11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
Gen 9:12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
Gen 9:13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
The rainbow was given as a sign of the covenant made TO ALL MANKIND. There are many who think this covenant is only to Noah but in fact it’s between Father and the earth with its inhabitants. This covenant was a restoration of the one made with Adam. The rainbow was added as a reminder. Father gives more tokens or signs to stir the mind to remember this covenant as mankind continues to degrade. The rainbow is also seen in Scripture as encircling the throne of God.
Rev 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
Rev 4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
There are not multiple covenants made with man in scripture. There is only one everlasting Covenant that the Father has been looking for people to have union with. Many are under the impression that there are many covenants; that Abraham was given an Everlasting Covenant, while Israel was given another Everlasting Covenant at Mount Sinai. Well we will let Scripture reveal what exactly the Abrahamic covenant and Mosaic Covenant really is.
Gen 13:14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
Gen 13:15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
Gen 13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
Gen 13:17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
Gen 15:2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
Gen 15:3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
Gen 15:4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
Gen 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
If we notice the promise Father is making with Abraham, we will see that everything which was given and promised to Adam is now promised to Abraham also. He told Him in Genesis 13 that He will have a son and that his descendants would be like the dust of the earth. (This is the blessing which Father refers to as being fruitful and multiplying.) Then we see in Genesis 15 how Father continues to promise him things, not only that he will have an heir from his own bowels, but that the whole earth would belong to Him.
Rom 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
We see here that Father is restoring His Covenant that was from the beginning with Abraham. This is not a new covenant but the same Covenant given to Adam. It can be thought of as a renewed covenant. The purpose of the plan of redemption was to restore man to his original position.
Act 3:20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
Act 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
All of the prophets spoke of this restoration. Not of a different outcome, but of a renewed conclusion. Abraham was not given a different covenant but the same Everlasting Covenant that the Father desires all His people in history to be apart of.
So Is the Covenant Only Given To the Descendants of Abraham?
The answer is: yes. Only the descendants of Abraham can be heirs. Now, as we said in the beginning, there are stipulations to remain in this covenant. If the descendants are the only ones to enter this covenant, then there are some stipulations to being a descendant of Abraham.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Scripture says that in order to be a descendant of Abraham, you must first be in Christ. This will determine if you are an heir to the promise. When the King of Judah lives in us, this is what makes us a Jew.
Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
I Thought Only Those Who Are Circumcised Jews Are Abrahams Decedents?
Rom 4:9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
Rom 4:10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
Rom 4:11 And he received the sign [token] of circumcision, a seal [signet] of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
Rom 4:12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.
Circumcision was not the actual covenant but a sign of a covenant that Abraham already accepted. Because Abraham received the everlasting covenant before he himself was circumcised, he was able to be the father of faith without the works of any command. Abraham was justified by believing and all those who believe in Father and His Son and Their promises will be children of faith and heir to the same promise given to Abraham. This is how Father is trying to restore all things given to man. Circumcision was added in order to help teach them of the nature of the Covenant they are entering.
The circumcision was the cutting off of the foreskin of every male believer. This symbolized the death to the fleshly lifestyle and also the cutting off or death to the fleshly desires. Circumcision was a necessity because ever since Adam, mankind has been degrading and growing exceedingly wicked, thus more strength and teaching from the Father is necessary. The physical circumcision was always nothing but a sign or symbol of the spiritual application that can only occur by faith. This was what Abraham and Moses needed to understand, and they definitely did.
Deut 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Circumcision is also an equivalent symbol to baptism. Baptism symbolizes the death to the old sinful fleshly man and the resurrection into a new life with Christ.
Col 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
Col 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
Col 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
This circumcision is the same circumcision Moses spoke of in Deuteronomy. Circumcision is what baptism teaches us today. There is no difference of importance because it is the same symbolism. Father is using different methods in restoring the same covenant and using many symbols to help us keep this understanding in mind.
We see that the same covenant is being renewed, and when Father tries to do this there is a symbol or sign to remind the people of it, such as the rainbow and circumcision. Now, with Israel during Moses’ time, there was a big problem.
Gen 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
Gen 15:14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
Abraham was given a prophecy of the slavery that would take place in Egypt. This affliction would occur and damage the spiritual connection with their God. This shows us that God’s people after 400 years of slavery were gong to need a lot of help to understand spiritual things. This is where we come to Mount Sinai.
Right before they were set free from Egypt, Father revealed to them the ultimate sacrifice that would come when He showed them how to observe the Passover and Unleavened Bread. Though these are symbols, they have much significance as they reminded them and remind us of what our minds should be focused on. Though they cried out in anguish due to the oppression of Egypt, they were in desperate need of lessons to understand who the God of their Fathers was.
First, let’s see if the Israelites received the same covenant at Mount Sinai.
Exo 32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
Lev 26:3 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
Lev 26:9 For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.
Deut 8:1 All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.
Throughout the writings of Moses, the Heavenly Father has been trying to reestablish the covenant made with Abraham with Israel at Sinai also. The Promises of Multiplying and possessing the promise land (The Earth) were also promised to the people at Mount Sinai but the people did not have a heart to accept and understand it.
Deut 5:2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
Deut 5:28 And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.
Deut 5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
Even though Father made the covenant with the people at Mount Sinai (Horeb), and the people said they will obey, Father saw their hearts and His Word reveals that their hearts were far from Him. He desired to place the covenant and the law in their hearts but they desired a surface relationship. Father did not regard them as His people fully because of this spiritual separation.
Heb 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
Heb 8:8 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:
Heb 8:9 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.
Heb 8:10 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:
The Covenant was not what was wrong or what needed to change. Father found fault in those who said that they would obey and did not. It says, “They continued not in my covenant and I regarded them not.” Father revealed this when Moses broke the tables of stone, which was a sign of the Covenant.
Exo 34:28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
Exo 32:19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
The stones being broken literally equates to the words of the covenant being broken by the people. They did not continue in the covenant and they broke Father’s law. The Lord then asked who was on His side, and the only ones who came forth were the people of the tribe of Levi. After Father commanded the destruction of the rebellious people who would not repent, He told Moses to come up and take tables of stone and renew the words of the Covenant. If you noticed, He renewed the covenant with the same law on it.
The spiritual decline of Israel for over 400 years was clearly seen as Father tried to restore them back to the covenant. Because of their lack of understanding, Father gave them multiple symbols such as the tabernacle, the sacrificial system, and the priesthood. These were all given to only to the tribe of Levi because they were the only ones on the Lord’s side when the golden calf was made.
These symbols were given because of pivotal truths that were and still are misunderstood. Briefly, the tabernacle was to teach the people that Father and His Son by Their Spirit desired to dwell in them.
Exo 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Eph 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Eph 2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
Eph 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
The sacrificial system not only teaches us of the death of the Savior, but also of how we ought to worship Him from the heart.
Psa 51:16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
The priesthood is supposed to teach us who we ought to be in Messiah while our mission is to deliver and teach the law to the world.
Exo 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
1 Pet 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house (Temple), an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
1 Pet 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
The duty of the priest was not only to live the law, but to teach it as well.
Neh 8:2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.
Mal 2:7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
All of this was given as symbols until they were fulfilled by Messiah, and now that they are fulfilled they are like our school master to teach us what Father desires to fulfill in us.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
We see that the same Covenant was made with the people at Sinai, and they were given more symbols and shadows to teach them about the covenant Father desired with them. Now, we are here and as the people of this world, having gone through thousands of years of lies and spiritual slavery, we say that all these things are done away with and are not necessary. Scripture itself is what we have to reveal and remind us of the Covenant Father has been offering since the beginning of time.
Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
If the Law/Torah is our school master, that means it teaches us the Gospel and that the people were being offered the same promises as we are offered today. Many, however, did not receive it because of lack of faith.
Heb 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
Israel was taught the gospel through the shadows of types and the Torah, but in performing those things, they did not perform them having Faith in what those things actually represented. This led to Israel breaking God’s everlasting covenant constantly. This caused many to fall and be cut off from God’s people. When people do not walk according to the Covenant Father is offering, they are not regarded as His commandment-keeping people. Repentance, however, is still offered according to Father’s will.
Heb 8:8 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:
Heb 8:9 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.
Father is restoring and renewing His covenant with those who will walk and depend on Fathers ability alone. Father desires us to surrender ourselves willingly, asking to receive His Spirit which will put His Law/Torah in our heart and minds. This will be done that we might walk in His ways always.
Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Heb 8:10 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:
This shows us that there is only one Covenant that Father desires for all mankind to partake in. Father has sent His Son to this earth to ratify that Covenant which He made with Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Israel. We are now in the position to see the fulfillment of the types given since Adam, as well as the final fulfillment of the remaining types, such as the feasts. I hope this study helped us to understand the Everlasting Covenant that Father has been trying to restore since the fall of man. Praise Father and His Son for redeeming us from the curse of breaking His Covenant and giving us the precious gift of His Spirit that we may walk in His ways, statutes, and judgments all the days of our lives.