2011.08.02

Covenant – NOT New Testament

by

James Robertson

I have encountered numerous references recently to the "New Covenant" – the label applied to the writings from MattihYahoo {Matthew} onwards in most bibles and by most Christians.

In recent days I have been challenged regarding what I believe with regard to this term and today I was impressed by Daddy Yah to research and document the subject.

This is done in the sections that follow:

There is a problem when you look up the word "Testament" in "Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words" we find:

In other words, the word Testament does NOT occur in the so-called New Testament, the Greek word ACTUALLY means Covenant.

If we look at the King James version and search on the word "Testament" the first instance is from MattihYahoo {Matthew} 26:28 which reads:

"For this is my blood of the new testament" – whereas other translations say "new covenant".

Turning to the Interlinear bible we find:

The word translated "testament" is diatheékees, Strong's number 1242.

Notice that the word "new" has Strong's number 9999 which means it was added by the translators and is NOT in the original Greek!

Searching for all occurrences of Strong's number 1242 (diatheékees) in the so-called "New Testament" we find:

That is, diatheékees variously translated "testament" and "covenant" indicating that the use of the word "testament" was introduced by the translators to serve some purpose, possibly doctrinal, to mask the use of the word "covenant".

Interestingly in Mark 14:24 we find the same use of new <9999> testament:

Interestingly we find in Luke 22:20 that the word "new" IS in the text:

We find the same in 1 Corinthians 11:25:

Note that MattihYahoo and Mark are reputed to have been eye witnesses throughout Yahooshua's {Jesus'} ministry but that only MattihYahoo was present at the supper in the upper room where Yahooshua introduced the covenant that he was making.

Remember that Luke and Shaul {Paul} were NOT present during Yahooshua's ministry.

Given that MattihYahoo was an accountant it has been said by Yah that his account can be regarded as the most precise and most reliable.  Yah has also indicated that Luke sometimes resorted to folklore and so it becomes apparent that the use of the word "new"<9999> should be considered carefully.

Yah states that in fact Yahooshua simply entered into a covenant which was a progression of many covenants and did NOT enter into a "new" covenant in the sense of something that superseded or replaced a preceding covenant – remember that Yah entered into covenant's, in many cases more than one, with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Israel, Moshe {Moses}, David and others so the covenant with Yahooshua was simply the next in the series of his specific blood line.

Yah has continued to enter into covenant's with men and women of faith throughout all the intervening years and continues to enter into covenant's with devout believers right through to this day and He says He will continue to do this right to the end of the age.

Thus we find that two pivotal concepts of Christianity "new" and "testament" are without foundation in the Greek texts AND that it appears that the word "new" was introduced by believers in the years FOLLOWING the death and resurrection of Yahooshua, in other words, we find a key doctrinal nuance introduced in the retelling of the story of Yahooshua even as it is recorded in the books of the bible.

This speaks again to the reality that the writings in the bible are records made by men who were not perfect and who were not fully inspired and therefore the writings cannot be regarded as the infallible word of the Almighty as many believe.

How did this happen?

In the sections that follow I will provide a thumbnail of the history of believers that led up to the creation of the English texts of the bible that are so widely regarded as infallible and show that while in one sense it IS a miracle that they exist at all at another level it is reasonable to expect them to be at some material level corrupt and containing error.

In considering what follows be aware that research will provide various frequently conflicting accounts of many of these events and the timing of these events such that what I offer is my best summarisation of what I believe Father Yah has shown me over a period of more than ten years.

One of the reasons the current bible is based on numerous fragments of text is that the Jews increasingly zealously and aggressively persecuted the believers through the covenant of Yahooshua and destroyed all Hebrew manuscripts that they could lay hands on.

The believers therefore came to rely on Greek texts most of which were translations from the Hebrew and which in many cases contained doctrinal nuances and biases that were not present in the original Hebrew texts.  There were also translational problems associated with translating Hebrew idiom as used by Yahooshua with the result that the Greek translations are NOT a particularly accurate rendition of the Hebrew.

Similar but potentially more severe problems were experienced with the early English texts as discussed later in this article.

In the same way, but for diametrically opposed reasons, the Romans ALSO persecuted the early believers and in particular hated the Hebrew roots of the faith and destroyed Hebrew texts.

This too favoured the move to Greek as the language of the early believers.

But then over time the by now significantly corrupt Christian religion started to find favour with the Romans and Roman customs were progressively assimilated into the body of common belief and practice and was, in turn, associated with further departure from the true Hebrew roots of faith through the Covenant of Yahooshua.

This was so pronounced that within 300 years the Christian faith was more pagan than monotheistic faith in Yah through the Covenant of Yahooshua and by 600 AD pagan feasts like Christmas and Easter, the first day of the week Sabbath of the sun god, legislated monogamy and many other fundamental errors including worship of Yahooshua and worship of the bible were embedded in the Christian faith.

During this period, probably around 300 AD, the bible was also compiled by a collective effort of the Roman faith and progressively had supernatural origination imputed to it notwithstanding that it was compiled by a committee of humans who did NOT claim that its compilation was inspired.  In fact, believing that the bible is the Word of God is roughly equivalent to belief in the Pope as Yah's authorized spokesperson on earth – both have the same roots.

In considering all the above remember that Yahooshua {Jesus} was a Hebrew and that he is reported to have stated that he did NOT come to destroy the Torah {Law} or the Prophets but to FULFILL them (MattihYahoo 5:17).  Fact is he could NOT have destroyed them and still been legitimate in the sight of Yah.

He is also reported to have said that not one "jot or tittle" (the smallest elements of Hebrew script) of the Torah {Law} would pass away till ALL was fulfilled.

It is VITAL to understand with regard to any of the so-called "New Testament" or "New Covenant" that Yahooshua could ONLY introduce NEW ordinances within the constraints of what had gone before and that ONLY to fulfil what had gone before.

Thus much of what is ascribed to Yahooshua cannot possibly have been the case – he could NOT have introduced worship of a Trinity instead of monotheistic worship of Yah, he could NOT have changed the Sabbath from the 7^th day (Saturday) to the 1^st day (Sunday), he could not have introduced forced monogamy, etc, etc.

So we see, associated with the move to Greek manuscripts and Greek influence a distancing from the Hebrew roots and corruption of the Hebrew based doctrines (teachings).

This is compounded by the reality that the texts on which the current English "New Testament" manuscripts are based are derived from multiple fragments of ancient Greek manuscripts most of which were incomplete and which differ between themselves to the tune of well over one thousand (1,000) documented variances such that different English translations are based in some cases on different source manuscripts.

Wikipedia gives illustrations of some of the fragments that have been found:

And continues to offer approximate dates:

Notice the even the earliest fragments are dated about 100 years after the death of Yahooshua!

It is important to be aware that reports also indicate that only fragments of the so-called "Old Testament" were preserved when the Hebrews were exiled to Babylon and that the current "OT" texts are based on compilations made after the exile.  Accordingly the "Old Testament" texts are ALSO suspect at some level!

Furthermore, Yah has indicated that substantial bodies of even the above "NT" manuscripts were removed and locked in the vaults of the Vatican because they contained passages that too obviously evidenced that the teachings of the Christian (Roman) church were deviant relative to the teachings of Yahooshua.  Yah says that this includes writings which make it clear that Yahooshua did NOT introduced enforced monogamy and that make it clear that Yahooshua was NOT Yah in the flesh.

Then it is important to realize that the first English translations were produced under arduous conditions.

The manuscripts were held tightly by the professional "priests" of the Roman church and were not allowed to be seen by the "laity" for various reasons, including that a lot of the doctrine of the day was NOT in the bible.

The first English translators suffered terrible persecution, some were tortured and released, others were burned alive at the stake.

If you are not aware of the gross evils of the Roman church in the so-called Middle Ages you are doing yourself a disservice in terms of your understanding of the historical context to the religion that you practice IF in any shape or form it derives from Christianity.

Thus, whether knowingly or unknowingly the early translators translated within the context of their current doctrine and the traditions of the "church" of their age and at some level steered clear of the more controversial subjects like the Sunday Sabbath, the use of "the LORD", "God", enforced monogamy, etc, etc.

Thus, from the outset the English translations from the Greek perpetuated and elaborated on the errors, distortions and corruptions in the Greek texts and encapsulated many pagan errors.

Even today just about every version and translation continues to perpetuate these errors and there is very little awareness of what is written above and very little desire to correct these errors.

It is easier to avoid persecution by men and be accepted than it is to tackle the many gross errors that accompany the traditional pagan names, pagan feasts, avoidance of Hebrew roots, etc.  This grieves our loving Father Yah DEEPLY!

IF you aspire to be His friend and child then you MUST go to great lengths to seek and apply HIS truths and His commandments, use His correct name, observe His Sabbaths, etc.

Partly these errors are perpetuated in ignorance but Yah has also said to me that in this age, with the ease of access to all the above information on the Internet, the current generation are WITHOUT EXCUSE – we will be judged harshly if we perpetuate the errors of our forefathers.

Presumably for the reasons outlined above we find that virtually every version and translation of the so-called "New Testament" contains a litany of meaningless and corrupt words and erroneous translations.

The composite effect of all these errors and corruptions is to create an apparent divide between the "Old Testament" and the "New Testament" that simply does NOT EXIST.

This is compounded by similar errors in the so-called "Old Testament" that are carried through into the "New" – please remember that there is NO SUCH THING as this distinction.

The writings in the book do NOT label themselves "Old Testament" and "New Testament", these divisions were added later by men and have no basis in fact, they are simply a further manifestation of the impacts of the historical events summarized above.

As we have seen there is NO "New Testament", there is ONLY a covenant entered into by Yahooshua and delegated by him to his followers and which was tightly constrained by the Torah, the commandments given by Yah at Sinai to Moshe.

Remember also that the word "Law" in the NT is used variously for the commandments given at Sinai (the Ten Commandments – the essence of the Covenant given through Moshe), the broader range of teachings ascribed to Moshe, the Talmud (the Rabbinic law compiled by the Scribes and Pharisees over the centuries) and the Oral law (extension of the Rabbinic law with traditions, etc also compiled by the Scribes and Pharisees) – it is these LATTER mandmade "laws" that Yahooshua taught against and warned people to avoid, Yahooshua taught according to the commandments given by Yah to Moshe at Sinai and adhered to them and taught those who followed him to do likewise – THIS is the way that he referred to when he said he was the way – the way of observing the essential commandments of Yah.

So we find ourselves immersed in a morass of English words that have the potential to lead us down a seriously wrong road and which HAVE led almost the entire Christian Church, ALL DENOMINATIONS, down that seriously wrong road.

Consider a few words by way of example:

Testament – actually Covenant – a blood contract with a death penalty NOT a will

Holy – means "set apart" – separated from

Christ – means anointed with the Spirit of Yah or an anointed one NOT Yahooshua's second name – causes huge confusion with regard to the identity of Yahooshua

Christ – Messiah – actually anointed one – if you are a Spirit filled believer YOU are a christ or a messiah!

Jesus – Joshua in the "Old Testament" but ACTUALLY Yahooshua

Mary – Miriam in the "Old Testament"

John – Jonathan in the "Old Testament", ACTUALLY Yahoochanan (Yah has graced)

Baptize – bathed in the "OT" (King James Version) but actually immersed

Gospel – actually "good news"

Angel – actually "messenger"

Cross – stake in the "OT" and correctly stake

Paul – initially Saul but changed part way through the "NT" with no explanation – note that Paul is Roman and Saul, correctly Shaul, is Hebrew

Church – congregation in the "OT" or assembly or body of believers

Lord – sometimes correct when referring to Yahooshua but sometimes referring to Yah the eternally-self existing (incorrectly "the LORD" in the "OT") – causes huge confusion with regard to the identity of Yahooshua

God – incorrect in the OT

Son of man – actually "son of Adam"

There are many others but these are the ones that come to mind right now – if you really dig into these words and the impacts they have in supporting wrong understanding you will find yourself immensely challenged and if you manage to come out the other side you will find yourself greatly blessed and MUCH CLOSER TO YAH and well on the way to finding yourself to be regarded by Him as a friend and devoted servant and child who truly loves Him.

How can you say you love Him if you continue to practice these errors once you have been shown the truth

So where are we today?

The vast majority of people abdicate their critical faculties, do not question and go forward in blind unquestioning "faith" in the teachings of professional priests (pastors) who abdicate their man given responsibility to provide accurate teaching.

Words such as naïve, gullible, "blind faith", foolishness come to mind.

Someone tells us "the bible is the word of God and without error" and we trustingly take that on board, read the book at some level with all the errors touched on above and open ourselves up to harsh judgment on the Day of Judgment.

How do you respond?

Pray constantly "Father I ask you to show me the level of my present deception and how to correct it, I ask you to judge me severely and correct me harshly that I may serve you more perfectly, lead me into all truth, help me to overcome to the end and be found a good and faithful servant, etc" all in the name of Yahooshua.

Fast and seek truth as I have described before.

If you are NOT actively seeking truth you can be absolutely certain that you are gaining error – Satan is god, mighty one of this world and the forces of darkness are very much in charge on this planet.  We are surrounded by billions of demons and millions of fallen messengers {angels} which are LITERALLY HELL BENT on sending every one of us to hell – if they can prevent any human being from being in right standing with Yah on the day Yahooshua is scheduled to return and if they can prevent the good news of the covenant through Yahooshua being preached to ALL the world in the name of Yah and Yahooshua then Yahooshua will NEVER return and Satan will rule on earth for eternity!

What then is the REAL covenant entered into by Yahooshua?

It is simple really:

1. Yahooshua fulfilled the Aaronic priesthood and substituted for them to make it MUCH EASIER to comply with the terms of the covenant given to Moshe – necessary because by the time of Yahooshua the priesthood was corrupt.

2. Yahooshua replaced the animal sacrifice or offering of the covenant given to Moshe with bread and wine again making it MUCH easier to comply with the terms of the covenant – necessary because days were coming when it was impossible to obtain an animal to sacrifice or a priest to conduct the sacrifice let alone a temple where the sacrifice could be offered.

3. Yahooshua REgained authority over Satan and delegated it to us so that we might come to the throne of Yah (the throne of Grace) and petition Yah based on the delegated righteousness of Yahooshua and also take authority over the forces of darkness in the name of King Yahooshua.

Basically, those three points are the essence of Yahooshua's covenant – no matter what anyone tells you!

The rest of the work that Yahooshua accomplished was reinstatement of the existing terms and conditions that existed from the time of Adam but which became progressively lost and corrupted over the years as a consequence of the fallen state of man and which were reinstated through Moshe.

Remember that up to the moment that Yahooshua's side was pierced by the spear and the blood ran down the stake, down the earthquake crack ONTO the Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant there was NO covenant relating to Yahooshua.  At that point Yahooshua had complied with the terms of his agreement with Yah and lived a life without sin, pronounced by the Spirit of Yah certain contractual statements, had various pronouncements made over him by sons of Adam (men) with the legal right to make those pronouncements and died, still without sinning.  Then and ONLY THEN did his covenant come into existence.

Thus EVERY SINGLE THING that Yahooshua performed was in terms of the covenants that existed before his birth, the so-called "Old Covenant" or, if you like, the Covenant given through Moshe – thus the healings, the raising from the dead, the "prophetic" utterances were ALL so-called "Old Covenant", in fact, if you will have it, Yahooshua was an "Old Covenant Prophet"!

Ultimately ALL that Yahooshua set out to accomplish was to make it possible for us to be in relationship with Yah and keep Yah's commandments (the Ten Commandments) and have a way of recovering when we missed it (sinned).

Conclusion

I want to challenge you to energetically and actively seek truth and actively seek to let go of all the wrong beliefs that you have been taught, that is IF YOU TRULY LOVE YAH.

If you love the traditions and teachings of men so much that you are not willing to let go of the wrong names, wrong words, wrong beliefs, idolatry of Yahooshua and the bible, etc then do yourself a favour, own your attachment to the errors of man and enjoy life while you can so that at least on the Day of Judgment you can say that you enjoyed your sin and do not have regrets when you are consigned to the lake of fire for eternity.

May Yah bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you and give you peace.