The new covenant is God's future covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not with the church.
In Jeremiah 31:31, God says He will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant of law made at the exodus, which Israel broke; instead, God will put His law in their hearts and write it in their inward parts. Les Feldick teaches this covenant is still future and is for Israel alone, not for believers in the present age of grace.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 — This is the passage where God directly promises the new covenant to Israel and Judah and explains its terms.
In Jeremiah 31:31, the LORD 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." The next verse says it will not be according to the covenant He made with their fathers when He took them out of Egypt, a covenant they broke. Jeremiah 31:33-34 describes the new covenant itself: God will put His law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts, so that He will be their God and they will be His people. They will no longer teach every man his neighbor and brother, saying, "Know the LORD," because they shall all know Him from the least to the greatest. The LORD also says He will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more. The wording of the passage is future: "the days come" and "after those days."
Les Feldick teaches that the new covenant in Jeremiah 31 is as yet future and belongs exclusively to Israel. He emphasizes the grammar of Jeremiah 31:31: God says He will make the covenant "with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah," so he rejects the common claim that the church is under the new covenant (Clip 2). He likewise contrasts it with the old covenant of law made at the exodus, which was harsh and which Israel broke, and he points to the coming day when God will write His law on Israel's hearts rather than on tables of stone (Clip 1, Clip 5). Les also ties the new covenant to Israel's future national restoration. Right now, he says, Israel is set aside and spiritually blinded, but they are still God's covenant people and God is not through with them; one day He will pick up where He left off (Clip 6). In that future day Israel will be one nation under one king, no longer two kingdoms, and they will no longer defile themselves (Clip 0). Under the new covenant, knowledge of God will be automatic — Israel will not need a rabbi or the Torah to know the LORD; they will all know Him from the least to the greatest, will recognize Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah, and God will call them His people again (Clip 5, Clip 7).
Jeremiah 31:31 says the LORD will make the new covenant "with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah." Les Feldick stresses this wording, saying that if he reads his Bible in plain English, the church cannot be under this covenant because God names Israel and no one but Israel (Clip 2).
Under the new covenant, God says He will put His law in Israel's inward parts and write it in their hearts, 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" (Jeremiah 31:33-34). Les explains this means full knowledge of God will be automatic, by an act of God, rather than something gained by sitting down to read the Torah or studying under a rabbi (Clip 5, Clip 7).
The language of Jeremiah 31 is future: "Behold, the days come" and "after those days." Les says Israel has not come to that place yet; they are still set aside and spiritually blinded today, but the day is coming when God will make this covenant with them (Clip 0, Clip 6).
Israel's Future One Nation and One King
Les sets the new covenant in the future day when Israel, no longer two nations, will be made one nation under one king and will no longer defile themselves.
New Covenant Made After the Old Covenant Runs Its Course
Les shows the new covenant is made with the house of Israel and Judah and is different from the covenant of law made when God brought Israel out of Egypt.
New Covenant Is for Israel, Not the Church
Les explicitly rejects the idea that the church is under the new covenant because Jeremiah 31:31 says God will make it with the house of Israel and house of Judah.
New Covenant Writes the Law on Hearts
Les connects Jeremiah 31:33 with Zechariah's remnant that will suddenly realize Jehovah is their God when the law is written on their hearts.
New Covenant Described in Jeremiah 31
Les reads the new covenant promise again, emphasizing that God will put His law in Israel's inward parts and write it in their hearts.
Law on Hearts, Not on Stone
Les explains the difference: the old covenant law was on tables of stone, but the new covenant puts it in the heart, giving Israel full knowledge without studying the Torah or under a rabbi.
Israel's Present Set-Aside, Future New Covenant
Les teaches Israel is still God's covenant people but is currently set aside and blinded; the new covenant is as yet future and is not appropriate for Israel tonight.
All Israel Will Know the Lord
Les says under the new covenant Israel will not need to be taught to know the LORD; they will all know Him from least to greatest, and God will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.
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:
The foundational promise of a new covenant that names Israel and Judah as 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:
Shows the new covenant will not be like the old covenant of law made at the exodus, which Israel broke.
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 of the new covenant: God's law written in the heart and a restored relationship.
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 universal knowledge of the LORD and complete forgiveness of sin.
Ezekiel 37:22: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
Used by Les as the future context in which Israel becomes one nation under one king.
Les Feldick says no. He points to Jeremiah 31:31, which says God will make the covenant "with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah," and he says the plain English of that verse rules out the church (Clip 2).
No. Jeremiah 31:34 says they will not teach every man his neighbor and brother, saying, "Know the LORD," because they shall all know Him from least to greatest. Les describes this as full knowledge that is automatic by an act of God (Clip 5, Clip 7).
Jeremiah 31:32 identifies it as the covenant God made with Israel's fathers when He brought them out of Egypt. Les calls it the Law, which was harsh and which Israel broke (Clip 1, Clip 5).
The Bible frames it as future in Jeremiah 31. Les says Israel has not yet come to that place; today Israel is set aside and spiritually blinded, but God will one day make the covenant with them (Clip 0, Clip 6).
Watch the Teaching: Ezekiel 37 Explained: Israel's Dry Bones Prophecy Fulfilled?