Since the Old Testament in many places talks about the “everlasting covenant” with the Israelites, why is it no longer everlasting?<\/p>\n\t
The word “everlasting” does not necessarily mean “infinite.” The world is described as lasting forever, but we know from II Peter 3 that there is a terminating point. Instead, the correct definition is “a long, but indeterminate amount of time.”<\/p>\n
The word comes from the Hebrew word “olam<\/em>.” It is used to refer to the ancient past as in\u00a0Deuteronomy 32:7, yet the past is not of infinite length — it had a distinct beginning. The word can even be used in reference to one’s own lifetime, as in\u00a0Psalms 77:5\u00a0or\u00a0Exodus 21:6. Perhaps I will have a long life, but the length of my life is indeterminate to me — I do not see its end, yet I know that it will certainly come to an end.<\/p>\n Hence, the Old Covenant can be accurately described as “everlasting.” Its reign was for a long, but indeterminate period of time. The use of the term does not rule out an ending, only that the ending was indeterminable to mankind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Since the Old Testament in many places talks about the “everlasting covenant” with the Israelites, why is it no longer everlasting? Answer: The word “everlasting” does not necessarily mean “infinite.” The world is described as lasting forever, but we know from II Peter 3 that there is a terminating point. Instead, the correct definition…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[116,115,76],"class_list":["post-600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-forever","tag-old-law","tag-terminology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4275,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-word-forever-in-ecclesiastes-14-mean-everlasting\/","url_meta":{"origin":600,"position":0},"title":"Does the word “forever” in Ecclesiastes 1:4 mean “everlasting?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 27, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does the word \"forever\" in\u00a0Ecclesiastes 1:4\u00a0means \"everlasting?\" Answer: \"One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever\" (Ecclesiastes 1:4). The Hebrew word\u00a0'owlam\u00a0refers to something that is of a long, indefinite period. It is a period of time which you cannot say for certainty when it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9349,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-eternal-covenant\/","url_meta":{"origin":600,"position":1},"title":"What is the eternal covenant?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 7, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is the eternal covenant? What is the difference from other covenants? Answer: \"Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17694,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-still-need-to-keep-his-covenant-with-abraham\/","url_meta":{"origin":600,"position":2},"title":"Does God still need to keep His covenant with Abraham?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 8, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Thank you so much for\u00a0answering me. So many people are\u00a0deceived about the Jewish people and their destiny. I\u00a0was 99.999% sure I was\u00a0reading God's\u00a0Word in the context\u00a0in which God meant for it to be understood. I know they are no longer God's chosen people. Some people tend to take one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1466,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-hell-like\/","url_meta":{"origin":600,"position":3},"title":"What Is Hell Like? (Article)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 1, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton When Jesus taught with parables, each story is based on true events: people do purchase fields, widows do lose coins, and fishermen do catch a variety of things in their nets. In one story, Jesus tells of a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24442,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-ten-commandments-and-the-old-and-new-testaments-shall-stand-forever\/","url_meta":{"origin":600,"position":4},"title":"The Ten Commandments and the Old and New Testaments shall stand forever!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 4, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do not mislead the people with your manipulation of the Word of God and your omissions\u00a0about the \"Ten Commandments.\" His Word and Commandments were, are and forever shall remain true! He alone is the Creator and the destroyer! No mortal with limited knowledge can change what He tells through\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55115,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/back-to-basics-covenants\/","url_meta":{"origin":600,"position":5},"title":"Back To\u00a0Basics: Covenants","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Frank Jamerson When brethren make such statements as: \"Jesus did not come to establish a covenant which was different from any previous arrangements,\" and \"Jesus is the covenant victim, not a covenant maker or law-maker,\" it indicates a dire need to get back to basics. 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