Old Covenant Made Obsolete By The NEW COVENANT Hebrews 8:13

Hello, it's William Bell. Welcome to the All Things Fulfilled broadcast. I want to take just a minute to talk about a text in Hebrews chapter 8 and the verses 13. The reason I want to talk about this is because it appears that people are having a problem understanding when the old covenant passed away and the consummation and inauguration of the new covenant began. Now, we do know that the Bible teaches that Christ died on the cross. It also teaches that his suffering ended at that point. And we have a text like John 19 and verse 30 that says that it is finished. Now, some people conclude that because the Bible says it is finished, that Jesus was referring to everything in the old covenant. That is not true. Certainly, the people who claim that, many of them are futurists. And so, they are still waiting on some prophecies in the Old Testament to be fulfilled. So, they couldn't be believing that, at least not consistently and logically, accepting the fact that all things were fulfilled when Jesus said it is finished. What he was referring to in John 19 and verse 30 was his suffering. And at the time he made the statement, as my good friend Don Preston says, he wasn't even dead. So, that couldn't be the case. But the Bible talks about the suffering of Christ being fulfilled at the cross. Now, there were other prophecies that had to be fulfilled, which means that the old covenant couldn't pass away until all of those things took place. But we have some people who have some difficulty with that. So, what I want to do is look at Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 13 This is a passage that we need to notice. And by the way, I'm going to look at two passages here in this chapter. Now, when we start in chapter 8, beginning in verse 1 through 4, I want you to note something. It says, Now this is the main point of the things which we are saying. We have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the majesty in the heavens, or of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. Notice verses 3 and 4. Now, that's referring to Christ. For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are priests, that's present tense, who offer the gifts according to the law. What are they doing? That's the Levitical priesthood, and they are offering the gifts according to the law. And that's why the text says that if Christ were on earth, he could not be a priest. You see, his priesthood was in the heavenly tabernacle, in the true tabernacle, as the Bible says, which the Lord pitched and not man. And that's why, even because he was from a different tribe, he was able to offer the sacrifices. Now, his ministry was in a new covenant, a different covenant. That's why it says in verse 6, But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry inasmuch as he is also the mediator of a better covenant which was established upon better premises. And then he goes on to talk about that old covenant and the reason why it was necessary to have a new one. So, in verse 13, the text says, In that he says, a new covenant he has made the first obsolete. Now, I've heard from some millennialists, some who are Hebrew Israelites, etc. They try to make this text apply to a fulfillment in Jeremiah and say that everything was fulfilled in Jeremiah. Then they'll turn right around in the next breath and say, but we're still waiting on this to be fulfilled. Well, this was not a fulfillment in the time of Jeremiah. If that were the case, then of course you got the old covenant fulfilled before it even gets to the cross. And then you have the New Testament implemented some 600 years during the time of Jeremiah. That doesn't work. In verse 13, again, in that he says, a new covenant he has made the first obsolete. That means that it's wearing out. It's losing its usefulness that has become obsolete. It's ready to be replaced. And so the next phrase says, now you see that word N-O-W, so important when you're talking about things that relate to the end time. The word now is used so very many times. The Greek word noon, I believe is the term, but it's used so many times in the New Testament and people just read over it like it isn't there. See, he didn't say in the time of Jeremiah, what he said was now, N-O-W, now, meaning at the time that this text was written, he's referring to that time in the first century. Now, what is becoming obsolete? So do you see how he further clarifies the statement when he says a new covenant, he has made the first obsolete. What is it that made the first covenant, the old covenant obsolete? It was the new covenant. So if you're going to say the new covenant or the started back in Jeremiah's day, or that this text refers to Jeremiah's day, then you have to have the new covenant back in Jeremiah's day. And that's not going to work because Jesus said when he died on the cross and prior to his death, just prior to at the last supper, he said, this cup is the New Testament in my blood, which was shed for many for the remission of sins. So it wasn't something that happened in the time of Jeremiah. Jesus wasn't living in the time of Jeremiah, but he was there in the first century with the apostles when he said, this cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. And thus, when the text now what is becoming obsolete, we have to pay attention to the words. That's a participle. Now, what is becoming, it's in the process of becoming obsolete and growing old. I mean, look, go back. I've been doing these videos on YouTube since the year 2007. It is now 2000 and what? 22. I mean, that's 15 years at least that I've been doing these videos on YouTube. Look at me then. And look at me now. I am growing old. I am becoming obsolete, but I'm not gone yet. And that's the meaning of the text. The old covenant called the old man was growing old and becoming obsolete, but it had not yet become obsolete. At the time the text was written. It says now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. Is that hand to vanish away now for those Hebrew Israelites out there who want to take the passage and they try to read it correctly, like Sakkari and some of the rest of them, they try to read and say, you see, it didn't say that he had passed away. It said it was ready to vanish away. Well, do you understand the word that he's using? It's the word at hand in goose. It was very near to vanishing away. So it wasn't going to take 2000 years for that to happen. Your very admission that it was ready to vanish away is an admission that it occurred in the first century. Otherwise it would not have been at hand to vanish. So you acknowledge the reading of the text. You just don't apply it correctly. And so the text says it was at hand to vanish away. That means it was very near and thus it shows two things. Number one, that the old covenant had not passed at the cross. And number two, that the passing of the old covenant was very near at the time the book of Hebrews was written. That was around AD 64. The fall of the temple occurred in 70 AD when the Romans sacked the temple. And that is when Jesus said in Luke 21 verses 20 through 22, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that it's desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who in the midst of it depart and let not those who are in the countries enter it for these are the days of vengeance that all things which are written may be fulfilled. And again, he said, assuredly, I say to you, verse 32, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. So you either believe Christ or you and if you believe yourself and reject what Christ said, try saving yourself. That's the message. I hope that you could get some clarity from it. I'm William Bell. Subscribe to our channel by clicking the red button and then click the bell so that you will receive notifications every time we produce a new video. And we encourage you to go over to our website and check out the information we have there as well as our mobile app that you can download from the Google play store. Thank you. And we'll see you in the next video.