New Covenant Prophecy (5) Using the Old Covenant

Dan McCollam notes that some people point out that Jesus prophesied judgments on Jerusalem and its people. However, when he announced the destruction of Jerusalem, he was warning of what would happen to the people who rejected his new covenant chosen to stay under the old.

Dan said that some people say that the same is true for a city or nation that has rejected God. We can pronounce judgment over it, because they have rejected God. However, they have not rejected his covenant, because they did not know about his covenants. They are not the people of the covenant. The people of Jerusalem were the people of the covenant. They chose to reject the new, despite the signs and wonders that Jesus did in their midst.

Jesus judgments are not a model for new covenant prophecy. They are what is the finality of old covenant prophecy looked like. They do not apply to a pre-Christian person, city or nation.

Dan says that we cannot use the standards of the old covenant when prophesying to modern people who have not accepted the gospel. They never signed up to the old covenant with God, so we cannot judge them for failing to comply with it.

I agree with this, but I think we need to be careful about saying that Jesus is not the model for new covenant prophecy. He must be the model for new covenant prophets. He announced a judgment on Jerusalem, but did it with tears (Matt 23:27-39). He said that he would much rather draw the people to himself for protection, but knew that they would not accept that option.

Modern prophets should follow Jesus example and use the old covenant when prophesying to the Jewish people, especially those in Israel. The people of Israel have chosen to live under the old covenant and are claiming the privileges and blessing of the old covenant while failing to comply with the standards of God’s covenant.

Most modern prophets seem to be cheerleaders for the Israeli nation. Their standard for assessing Israel seems to come from the textbooks of military and political power, not the old covenant. This failure to challenge Israel for failing to comply with their covenant with God is limiting the power of the gospel. It is holding back the time when all Israel comes to faith, which is the key to blessing the world (Rom 11:12,26).

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