The New Covenant is God's promised covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah—not with the Church—in which He will write His law in their hearts.
God announced through Jeremiah that He would make a new covenant with Israel that is different from the Law covenant made at the exodus, which Israel broke. Under this new covenant, God will put His law in Israel's inward parts, write it in their hearts, and be their God while they are His people. Les Feldick teaches that this covenant is still future and belongs to Israel alone.
Jeremiah 31:31 — This is the verse where God announces the new covenant and names its recipients: the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
Jeremiah 31:33 — This verse defines the new covenant itself: God will put His law in Israel's heart, making them His people.
God says, "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah" (Jeremiah 31:31). The new covenant is not like the covenant He made with their fathers when He brought them out of Egypt—the covenant they broke, although He was a husband unto them (Jeremiah 31:32). Instead, the Lord declares: "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Jeremiah 31:33). The result will be that no one will need to teach his neighbor to know the Lord, because they shall all know Him, and the Lord will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more (Jeremiah 31:34).
Les Feldick teaches that Jeremiah 31 is plainly about Israel, not the Church. He points out that the new covenant is made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, and he argues that theologians who put believers in the Age of Grace under the new covenant are not reading the Bible in plain English. He emphasizes that the new covenant is still future; it must wait until the Abrahamic covenant has run its course and Israel is in her promised land with God Himself in the person of Christ the Messiah as their King.
The Bible names the recipients plainly: "with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah" (Jeremiah 31:31). Les Feldick says that if he reads his Bible in plain English, the new covenant cannot be applied to believers in the Age of Grace because it is made with Israel, and no one but Israel.
The old covenant was the Law, made when God brought Israel out of Egypt, and Israel broke it over and over again (Jeremiah 31:32). The new covenant, Les explains, will not be like the covenant of law; instead of tables of stone, God will write His law in their hearts. Under this covenant no Israelite will need to be taught the Word of God, because the knowledge will be in them by an act of God. Les describes the result as an obedient, believing, cleansed people who will be blessed materially—a pattern that belongs to Israel, not to the Church.
Les teaches that even though Jeremiah wrote these words in about 600 B.C., the new covenant is still future from our time. It cannot be made until the Abrahamic covenant has run its course and Israel is a nation in her geographical land under the reign of Messiah the King. At that time Israel's ungodliness and unbelief will come to an end, and the Jew will again be the apple of God's eye. Israel is presently set aside and spiritually blinded as a nation, but God is not through with them; they will one day enjoy this covenant.
Les teaches that the words "All Israel shall be saved" do not mean every Israelite living on the planet. Just as Zechariah 13 describes a remnant brought through the fire, the all Israel of Romans 11:26 is believing Israel. Under the new covenant, God will make Israel a people of faith and believing, cleansed from all iniquity, and they will be showered with the blessings of their God.
All Israel Means the Believing Remnant
Les teaches that 'all Israel shall be saved' refers to believing Israel—the remnant—not to every Israelite on earth, and he points to Zechariah 13 as the explanation.
New Covenant Made with Israel, Not the Church
Les teaches that Jeremiah 31 plainly gives the new covenant to the house of Israel and the house of Judah, so it cannot be applied to believers in the Age of Grace.
Abrahamic Covenant Must Run Its Course
Les teaches that the new covenant cannot be made until the Abrahamic covenant is fulfilled and Israel is in her land under Messiah the King.
Law Written in Their Hearts
Les quotes Jeremiah 31:33 to show that the heart of the new covenant is God putting His law in Israel's inward parts and writing it on their hearts.
Obedient and Materially Blessed Israel
Les teaches that under the new covenant Israel will be an obedient, believing, cleansed people who will not need to be taught and will be blessed materially.
Israel Set Aside but Not Forgotten
Les teaches that Israel remains God's covenant people even though they are currently set aside and spiritually blinded, and the new covenant is still future for them.
New Covenant Still Future
Les teaches that Jeremiah 31 remains future even though Jeremiah wrote it in 600 B.C.; it will come when Israel's unbelief ends and the Jew is again the apple of God's eye.
Law on Hearts, Not Stone
Les emphasizes the verb tenses: God will write His law in their hearts as an act of God, not on tables of stone.
Jeremiah 31:31: Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
God's own announcement that a new covenant is coming and names its recipients.
Jeremiah 31:32: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
Distinguishes the new covenant from the broken Law covenant made at the exodus.
Jeremiah 31:33: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
States the core promise of the new covenant: the law written on hearts and God's special relationship with Israel.
Jeremiah 31:34: And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Describes the resulting universal knowledge of God and complete forgiveness of sin.
Zechariah 13:9: And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
The remnant passage Les cites when explaining that 'all Israel' is believing Israel.
Romans 11:26: And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
The verse Les is interpreting when he says 'all Israel' means believing Israel.
No, according to Les Feldick. Jeremiah 31 says the new covenant is made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, so Les says theologians who put believers in the Age of Grace under the new covenant are not reading the Bible in plain English.
Les teaches it is still future. It must wait until the Abrahamic covenant is fulfilled and Israel is in her land under the reign of Christ the Messiah. Jeremiah wrote the promise in 600 B.C., but it has not yet been made.
The old covenant was the Law, which Israel broke. In the new covenant, God will write His law on the hearts of Israel, so no one will need to be taught. Israel will be an obedient, believing, cleansed people.
Watch the Teaching: All Israel Shall Be Saved — What Romans 11:26 Really Means