AE 701 - Covenant

 AE 701 [15-16, 18]

"The old covenant" means
conjunction through such Divine truth
as was given to the sons of Israel,
which was external,
and therefore representative of internal Divine truth.
They had no other Divine truth,
because they could not receive any other,
for they were external and natural people,
and not internal or spiritual,
as can be seen from the fact
that such as knew anything about the Lord's coming
had no other thought of Him
than that He was to be a king
who would raise them above
all the peoples in the whole world,
and thus establish a kingdom with them on the earth,
and not in the heavens
and therefrom on the earth
with all who believe on Him.
"The old covenant," therefore,
was a conjunction through such Divine truth
as is contained in the books of Moses
and is called "commandments, judgments, and statutes,"
in which, nevertheless,
there lay inwardly hidden
such Divine truth as is in heaven,
which is internal and spiritual.
This Divine truth was disclosed by the Lord
when He was in the world;
and as through this alone
there is conjunction of the Lord with people,
therefore this is what is meant by "the new covenant,"
also by "His blood,"
which is therefore called
"the blood of the new covenant."
"Wine" has a similar meaning.

This "new covenant,"
which was to be entered into with the Lord
when He should come into the world . . ..

That Jehovah, that is, the Lord,
"was to make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and house of Judah"
does not mean that it was to be made with
the sons of Israel and with Judah,
but with all
who from the Lord
are in the truths of doctrine
and in the good of love to the Lord.

. . . spiritual Divine truth is received by a person inwardly,
thus otherwise than with the sons of Israel and the Jews,
who received it outwardly;
for when a person receives Divine truth inwardly in himself,
that is, makes it to be of his love and thus of his life,
truth is known from the truth itself,
because the Lord flows into His own truth with a person,
and teaches him;
this is what is meant by the words . . ..
The conjunction itself thereby effected,
which "the new covenant" means,  is meant by
"I will be to them for God,
and they shall be to Me for a people."

 . . . "a covenant of peace,"
because man by conjunction with the Lord
has peace
from the infestation of evil and falsity from hell . . ..