Subject: [ETI Main pdf 1A1.04.10.04] What Is The Covenant (Contract)?
From: "James R @ ETIMin" <[email-masked]>
To: "Lists @ ETI Min" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2004 21:30:25 +0200

Greetings

There have been various references to the covenant in articles posted in recent months.

This article seeks to remove the mystique from the word covenant and to define it in contractual terms which can be related to current life experience.

Warm regards and blessings

James Robertson

>>> ARTICLE BEGINS (ALSO ATTACHED AS A PDF) <<<

WHAT IS THE COVENANT (CONTRACT)?

The word "covenant" is frequently used with reference to the things of the Almighty and with particular reference to the covenants made by the Almighty with Israel through Moses and the covenant made with Israel and mankind through Yahooshua {Jesus}* The true Name of the Almighty is "Yah". The word widely translated "the LORD" is "Yahooeh" which means "Yah the eternally self existing" which reminds us of who the Almighty really is. The name Yahooshua, commonly represented as "Jesus" means "Yah is Salvation" and without this reference the full significance of the "name of Yahooshua" is completely lost. The word translated "god" or "God" is "elohim" which means "mighty one". There has been substitution of "elohim" for Yah and Yahooeh in the common Hebrew texts with the result that in many places substituting "mighty one" or "the Almighty" for "god" does not make sense, in these passages substitute "Yah" for "God". It is important to note that Yahooshua is a mighty one but he is NOT Yah. Christ is used for a number of words that would be accurately translated as "anointed", "anointing", "anointed one", etc referring to the anointing of the Spirit of Yah on a person. The anointing always refers to the Almighty BUT it does NOT always refer to Yahooshua. Yahooshua was anointed with the Spirit of Yah, he was not and never will be Yah. There are a number of other words that are regularly substituted in what i write for similar reasons. Replacement of the incorrect words with the correct words results in a much deeper and more accurate understanding of the writings and is pleasing to the Almighty..

Reduced to its fundamental basis, the word "covenant" refers to contracts many of which are confirmed by the shedding of blood through cutting or piercing. The Hebrew word translated covenant is Strong’s number 1285 beriyth (ber-eeth'); which is defined as "from 1262 (in the sense of cutting [like 1254]); a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh): -confederacy, [con-] feder [-ate], covenant, league."

However, it appears that the shedding of blood, while commonly regarded as an essential component of entering into a covenant, is NOT always present when the Almighty has entered into covenants with human beings. For a long time i have believed the shedding of blood to be pre-requisite for a binding covenant yet i have been unable to locate a verse that states categorically that the shedding of blood is essential for a covenant to come into existence and there is no evidence that there was shedding of blood directly associated with the contract that Yah entered into with Adam in Genesis 3 and particularly the promise that the Almighty made in Genesis 3:15 that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent (Satan).

Thus a covenant is a contract frequently but NOT always associated with an act of shedding of blood, as in the animal sacrifices performed by Moses, Abraham, Noah and others and by the sacrifice of himself offered by Yahooshua.

Any contract will generally contain a blessing, the positive outcome of compliance with the contract and a curse, the negative outcome of failing to keep the contract. The contract may also contain other terms and conditions. There are requirements for performance on both sides and penalties for non performance on both sides, except that in contracting with the Almighty He ALWAYS delivers His side, contracts with the Almighty ALWAYS fail because of human failings. That is why the contract through Yahooshua is so powerful, it provides for the Almighty to live in and through us and thereby reduce dependence on human frailty for compliance to the minimum – are you prepared to die to self so the Almighty can lead you?

Contracts are generally entered into with specific objectives and apart from constraints built into any particular contract there are no limits on the contracting parties in terms of other contracts they may enter into.

Thus the Almighty is entirely at liberty to enter into as many covenants as he chooses with the same person or other people and He is only constrained to the extent that other contracts impose constraints.

There are certain contracts that the Almighty has entered into with specific human beings which have enormous impact on mankind as a whole, there are others that are of very limited scope and may be restricted to a few or even one person. At some level it is likely that YOU have personally entered into several contracts with the Almighty where you believe He has made a promise to you or "called" you or whatever, why do you presume that He may not have entered into a covenant with Muhammed or any other human being? Or are you willing to concede that the Almighty IS ALL MIGHTY and therefore at liberty to contract with ANYONE He chooses to contract with and that such contract does NOT impute righteousness to that person.

The contracts with Moses and Yahooshua are amongst the most widely known contracts between Yah and those who believe in Him but there are many others including contracts with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), David, Solomon, etc.

Referring to the writings as "old testament / covenant" and "new testament / covenant" is therefore HIGHLY misleading, there are numerous covenants / contracts in the "old testament" and even different covenants in the "new testament", consider what was said to Shaul (Paul) after Yahooshua met with him on the road to Damascus. That was a clear contract sending Shaul on a particular and very specific mission for the rest of his life.

Yahooshua entered into contracts with his followers on behalf of the Almighty when he sent his followers out and told them to heal the sick, etc and when he commanded all who believe to share the good news of the covenant he had facilitated with all the world so that the end might come.

In all aspects of life a contract does not define life, it circumscribes it and defines boundaries and constraints, etc.

In the world today organizations do not operate with constant reference to the contract, the organization is formulated within the context of a contract and then operates within those contractual constraints. It is only when one party deviates from the terms and conditions of a contract that the contract is taken out and lawyers are consulted. Real world organizations operate within the constraints of dozens if not hundreds or even thousands of contracts yet they do NOT spend most of their time studying the contracts. When was the last time you read the contract with your electricity supply utility? Did you EVER read it?

It should be the same in the service of the Almighty. We ought NOT to be preoccupied with the terms of the covenant, we should know them and apply them and then seek to live our lives within those constraints taking note of the constraints, objectives and penalties as we live our lives.

Endless debate about the terms of the contract indicates a lack of understanding of the basis of contract law and the basis of covenant and WHY contracts exist.

Attaching religious mythical properties to a covenant and then complaining when people seek to take a stand on the plain language of the contract is religion in a pagan sense and legalism. Yah the eternally self existing is the ultimate lawyer and judge and His law’s are plain for all to understand.

As explained in the article 1A1.04.09.07 "What IS The Word of the Almighty?" the basic law is framed in the ten words or ten commandments which are all that was preserved in the "Ark of the Covenant", ark simply meaning "container", in other words the tablets of stone in the "container of the covenant" ARE the essence of the covenant or contract.

IF we are to place enormous reliance on THE WORD of the Almighty as a narrow body of writing then the words written by the Almighty Himself MUST form the basis of our understanding of these things. There should be absolutely NO WAY that any person who claims to love the Almighty should for a moment countenance ANY teaching or belief that in ANY way violates ANY of these ten words IF they profess to subscribe to the covenant given through Moses OR the covenant given through Yahooshua which is built upon the covenant given through Moses.

Where specifically stated, Yah’s contracts with one generation pass down from father to son indefinitely and are therefore binding on subsequent generations.

However, a contract with one blood line has NO applicability with another blood line. The covenants made with Abraham are binding on Isaac AND Ishmael but the covenant made through Moses has no force on Ishmael and therefore has no force on the Arab people and specifically no force on those who have adopted the contract made through Muhammed.

This principle does not prevent someone being "grafted" into a stronger contract by faith but it does mean that it is possible for the terms and conditions that apply to Muslims to be different to those that apply to Jews and different to those that apply to anointed one’s {Christians}.

This same principle therefore admits the possibility that there may be covenants with other blood lines that are also different at some level and thus that there may well be notable men of history who were prophets within the limitations of their ancestral contracts, their culture and ability to hear all that the Almighty wanted to say to them. Accordingly, it is wise NOT to judge other men of name from previous generations in any religion or even to judge those referred to as "saints", meaning "set apart ones", in this generation in other religions.

Different contracts carry different blessings and benefits and different curses and some may therefore be defined as more beneficial, more powerful or "better" than others. Thus the covenant entered into by and through Yahooshua is an extremely powerful covenant BUT it carries with it a greater requirement for obedience.

It is no coincidence that some of the harshest words about coming judgment for believers are given through those who were first to partake of the covenant through Yahooshua. Yahoochanan {John}, the disciple who leaned on Yahooshua’s breast at the last supper was given the visions reported in the book commonly referred to as "Revelation". This book repeatedly warns that BELIEVERS will be found wanting and rejected on the Day of Judgment. These warnings are more explicit and more harsh than most of what is contained elsewhere and they are tied in directly to the blessings and curses of the covenant through Yahooshua.

The covenant is more powerful, the blessing are greater – it is MUCH EASIER to overcome to the end and qualify to sit on a high throne for eternity through the covenant made by Yahooshua – and THEREFORE the curse and the judgment is more severe, we are clearly warned that believers WILL have a part in the lake of fire if they break the commandments of Yah the eternally self existing.

In considering the above, notice that Yahooshua did NOT have an earthly father in terms of his creation, therefore, as in that sense the "son of Yah", Yahooshua’s covenant is, as with the covenants with Adam and Noah, available to ALL mankind. This therefore places enormous responsibility on those who know of this covenant to take that knowledge to ALL the world in order that the end may come (Matthew 24:14).

It is time for those who know of the covenant through Yahooshua to cease speaking in pride about "their" faith and "their" covenant and to recognize that they are subject to a more severe judgment and that it is time to reach out in compassion to those who do not know of this covenant and are walking in ignorance or under less effective covenants.

We should be filled with set apart {holy} / reverent FEAR that we have a "better" covenant NOT filled with pride.

It is time to cease looking down on the other groups in the world who lack the truth we claim to have and to reach out to them in LOVE and humility, and compassion to offer something more effective, more powerful, to turn them from their headlong slide into the lake of fire.

To do this we must first recognize that the vast majority of those who claim faith through the covenant made by Yahooshua are so deceived and in so much error that they too are on a headlong slide into the lake of fire. This may be speaking to YOU?

Those who talk the most about the power of the covenant through Yahooshua compensate for this by preaching the greatest heresies:

1. They preach a trinity and make Yahooshua, a created being, equal with the Almighty thereby breaking the first commandment.

2. They worship the book {the Bible} and break the second commandment.

3. They use names like "God" and "the LORD" and break the third commandment.

4. They worship on Sunday, Christmas and Easter and ignore the feasts and fasts of Yah the eternally self existing and break the fourth commandment.

5. They send their parents off into old age homes, they encourage the "youth" to be independent of their parents, they enforce monogamy and in general they break up the multi-generational family which is the lifeblood of dignity in old age and thereby break the fifth commandment.

6. They teach against the death penalty, condone or wink at abortion, condone "contraceptive devices" that prevent implantation and thereby support murder at conception, and, in general condone murder thereby breaking the sixth commandment.

7. They preach, teach and practice marriage by ring and pagan ritual by priests and pastors and deny the covenant nature of virginity and the reality that a man can take the virginity of more than one woman and that therefore Yah designed man and woman so that more than one woman can be married to the same man and thus they violate the seventh commandment.

8. They preach and teach tithing and giving into their ministries and preach blessings for giving and then preach and teach false doctrine which results in the blessings being stolen from the "sheep" or the "sheep" being condemned to perdition and, in these ways they steal thereby breaking the eighth commandment.

9. They preach, teach and practice all sorts of lies, including all those listed above and thereby bear false witness to their neighbours and break the ninth commandment. These lies include ‘once saved always saved’ and stating that Christians will escape the Day of Judgment.

10. They practice covetousness in numerous forms and their societies are rife with advertising and other messages that are founded on covetousness. Money reigns and Yah’s values are forsaken.

All of the above is RIFE in the nations that claim knowledge of the covenant through Yahooshua {Christian}. And then, they attack those in other countries who are not party to the covenant of Yahooshua BUT who are conscious of the commandments and who seek to live righteous lives and are greatly offended by the unrighteous conduct of those who call themselves "Christian". The fact that Christians are offended by the offense of Muslims who justly refer to Christendom as "the great Satan", does not alter the fact that Islam in its pure form is just as much of Yah as Christianity and, given the depraved state of Christianity, Islam in is current corrupt state, is MORE pure than Christianity!

This calls for a sober reassessment by those who know of the covenant through Yahooshua about what they believe and where their priorities lie – if you love Yah, keep His commandments!

In such a reassessment, the first thing that is required is to get clear that the first requirement is a PERSONAL relationship with the Almighty, NOT a relationship through pastor, priest or king.

The second thing is to get clear what the basis of the covenant is, the ten words or commandments touched on above and do whatever is necessary to sort out and flush out all the wrong beliefs that are entrenched in nearly all believers through the covenant of Yahooshua and to deal with the arrogance of Christianity and Judaism, repent, ask to be humbled, humble ourselves and seek a new course of action.

In doing this remember that the covenant is a point of departure, it circumscribes the journey, it defines the straight (difficult) and narrow (clearly defined) way to eternal life and not many find that way AND fewer still remain on that way till the end of their lives (Matthew 7:13-14).

Furthermore, it is vital to understand the essence of the covenant and to separate out all the case studies, explanatory and amplifying texts, etc and recognize them for what they are, supporting information intended to make it easier to stick to the straight and narrow way and then recognize that all the histories are there for edification and direction and amplification but do NOT represent the inerrant "Word" of the Almighty, they are largely case law and examples of how to live and how NOT to live in terms of the commandments of the Almighty.

In considering all the above it is vital that we are clear WHY we are here and WHY the covenant’s exist.

There is a great battle between the kingdom and forces of Yah the eternally self existing led by Yahooshua and the forces of darkness until recently led by Satan.

This battle is for the hearts, minds, souls and eternal destiny of every human being on the planet. It is a vicious war and the human beings who represent the Almighty are LOSING HANDS DOWN and are too proud to see it let alone acknowledge it!

Yet, the Almighty has chosen human beings as His instruments for victory over the forces of darkness and Yahooshua came in order to make this victory possible.

There are certain fundamental terms to the covenant’s from the beginning:

1) A man must bruise the head of the serpent, Satan, Yahooshua started this process and it is up to mankind to complete it.

2) Men and women who overcome to THE END will be rewarded with thrones for eternity.

3) We are to love the Almighty TOTALLY with nothing left for anything else and THEN we will be able to love others because we love the Almighty through them as well.

4) We are to be filled with and led by the Spirit of the Almighty.

5) We are to have a deep personal relationship with the Almighty.

6) We are to seek to have the Almighty’s commandments written on the tablets of our hearts and to live by them at ALL times.

7) We are to take these truths to the four corners of the earth, to every human being (Matthew 24:14) and we are to enroll them into the most powerful covenant available and thereby trample Satan and his cohorts and bring the Kingdom of Yah to earth at which point Yahooshua can return in order to RECEIVE the kingdom that Yah has prepared for him through His Spirit IN us!

CONCLUSION

I pray that you will find the above challenging and useful and encourage you to go ALL OUT in serving the Almighty.

Warm regards and blessings

JAMES ROBERTSON

[email-masked]

+27-11-791-2327

+27-83-251-6644

1A1.04.10.04 v 07

20 October 2004