Q. You have mentioned in past articles that the kingdom was being offered in the 1st century. What exactly do you mean?

A. To understand this I will have to go back and give some background. This will take several weeks so don't miss the next few articles. This will not be in massive detail but it will give you a better idea of what is going on, This week we will go over what the New Covenant is, next week we'll talk about Yeshua, Paul and the kingdom offer in relation to the new covenant and then the next week try to wrap everything up with a historical overview and show you it all comes back to the Covenant at Moab in Dt 29.1 through Dt 3.20. The "new" covenant is called the "Covenant at Moab." The Mosaic Covenant was made at Mt. Sinai and mediated by Moses, ratified with blood and given to those present at that time ( "in your ears" Dt 5.1-5). The Covenant at Moab ( Moab="seed of the Father") was made at Mt. Nebo (Nebo="prophet") shortly before entry into the promised land. This covenant is "besides" the Mosaic Covenant and includes Torah observance (Dt 30.10). Are you starting to see the connection? The people said they would keep the Mosaic covenant (Ex 24.7) but didn't. This brought on the need for the 2nd covenant at Moab. Both covenants are a work of God's grace (Jn 1.17). It's not like the Mosaic covenant because it had better promises, it was made with everyone, even those unborn (Dt 29 10-15). The Messiah (Yeshua) was the "surety" (Heb 7.22, 8.6, 12.24) and it would be ratified in His blood, not animals like in the Mosaic Covenant. The Moabite covenant had blessings, not just curses. Israel would be honored in the earth, the land would prosper, enemies defeated and they would be the head not the tail. It would be centered around repentance (Dt 30.2,8) and a circumcised heart ("desires"-Dt 30.26). The prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah talked about this new covenant (Ezek 36.22-38, Jer 11.1-4). This is the new covenant Yeshua spoke about and it is based in the Torah (Dt 30.10, everlasting (Jer 32.40) and gives life (Dt 30.6,15,19). The difference between the "old" covenant and the "new" covenant is not what is written but where it is written. It won't be on stone this time but on the heart, through the Holy Spirit. Daniel was studying about the prophecies in Jeremiah (Dan 9.2) and knew that the curses had come upon Israel due to their disobedience (Dan 9.13, Lev 26.14, Dt 28.15). He also knew that it would be seven times worse if they didn't repent (Lev 26.18,21,24,28). In Dan 9 he prays for mercy because he knows Israel failed to repent and 7 x 70 equals 490 years. Gabriel comes with God's reply and Israel will fall into a 490 year cycle. But Messiah will come after 483 years and be "cut off." Israel would need to repent when he came and accept the Torah and then at the end of 490 years enter the new covenant, already promised in Dt 29.1-30.20). But the new covenant could not take place until it was ratified in blood and that brings us up to the coming of Yeshua. He came to offer the kingdom and to ratify this new covenant for the forgiveness of sins, to open the way up for the coming of the Holy Spirit who would circumcise the heart and write the Torah on the hearts of those "born from above" (Jn 3.1-21). This circumcision of the heart is the desire to keep the commandments and that could only happen after the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit ( Jn 7.37-39). Next week we will pick up right here with the coming of Yeshua and His mission to offer the kingdom and to ratify the Moabite or new covenant and repentance.You see, the failure of the Mosaic covenant wasn't because the commandments were bad, it was the people who were at fault in Heb 8.8-13 and repentance was needed. That's why Jeremiah 31.31-34 is quoted by the writer of Hebrews describing the new covenant. Their desires needed to change and that could only be done through the work of God. So, hopefully, you have a better understanding of what the new covenant really is. It has nothing to do with the Law being done away with as is taught by many today but a new, circumcised heart to obey God and not make the same mistakes the people did under the Mosaic covenant. We'll pick up there next week with Yeshua and Paul in relation to the new covenant. Click here for Part 2