This is Part 4 in a 4 part introduction to Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews.
We have been studying an overview of Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews, noting that Paul definitely authored this epistle specifically to address Jews in the Tribulation. He knew that God would be dealing with Israel to save the remnant at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Notice these references to things pertaining to Israel.
The first covenant – Heb 8:7 – this is the covenant that God made with Israel through Moses when they left Egypt. This is when God gave Israel the Ten Commandments. We are not under these commandments in the church age [Rom 6:14; Gal 3:24-26].
The second covenant – Heb 8:7 – this is the new covenant of Jer 31:31-34 restated by Paul in Heb 8:8-12. Notice the new covenant made with Israel [the 10 northern tribes] and Judah [the 2 southern tribes]. Notice the reference to Egypt, when Israel became God’s son, even his firstborn [Ex 4:22-23]. This is Israel’s first birth. Notice the reference to “after those days,” a reference to the Tribulation. Under the new covenant, all the Jews know the Lord, the laws are written in the hearts and in their minds. God forgives their sins and iniquities and he remembers them no more. This is the salvation [new birth] of the nation of Israel prophesied by Paul in Rom 11:25-27.
According to Jesus in Jn 4:22 salvation is of the Jews. They are the ones to whom were given the oracles of God [Rom 3:1-2]. They are Israelites, and they have the adoption, the glory, the covenants, etc [Rom 9:1-5]. We get in on what God promised to Israel. They turned it down at Jesus’s first advent and again when they stoned Stephen. So, the gospel opened to the Gentiles and we got what Paul wrote in Heb 10:14-17. We are saved because of this covenant, but we only enjoy part of its fulfillment until Israel is saved.
After the rapture, when the fulness of the Gentiles is coming in, God deals with Israel again through the Tribulation and the nation is born again in the “day” that Jesus returns [Is 66:7-8] and the Jews rise from their graves [Ezek 37:1-14].