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Some things are said
to be eternal, or last forever in the Old
Testament that no longer apply under the New
Covenant. The words eternal and forever have
different meaning in the Hebrew and the
Greek languages and we need to understand
their uses.
The Hebrew words said to
be “eternal/forever” are owlam or ʿôlam.
They are translated as: “forever”,
“always/continuous existence”,
“perpetual/everlasting”, “indefinite” or
“unending future”, “eternity”, “cycle or
age”.
The Sabbath: Ex. 31:13, 16, 17.
Circumcision:
Gen. 17:10-14.
Jewish Passover: Ex. 12:14,24.
Day of
Atonement: Lev. 16:30-31.
Feast of
Tabernacles: Lev. 23:41-42.
Feast of
Unleavened Bread: Ex. 12:17.
Tabernacle Candles: Lev. 24:2-4.
Tabernacle Showbread: Lev. 24:5-9.
Tabernacle work: Num. 18:22-23.
Priestly washings: Ex. 30:21.
Grain
offering: Lev. 6:15-18; 23:13-14.
Incense burning: Ex. 30:8.
Animal
Sacrifices: Lev. 7:36-38; Deut. 12:27-28; Ex. 29:42.
Levitical
Priesthood: Ex. 29:7-9.
The New
Testament explicitly teaches that
Sabbath-keeping along with all of the other
ceremonial requirements of the Old Covenant
Law are not required in the New Covenant
(Matt. 11:28-30; 12:1-8; Acts 15:1-28;
Col. 2:14-17; Gal 4:10-11;
Rom. 14:5-12; Eph. 2:11-18; Heb. 3:7-4:13; 10:23-25).
Everything
listed above was said to be “eternal”,
“everlasting”, or “forever” and they no longer
serve any purpose in the New Covenant. The
New Covenant has removed all of the
ceremonial and ritualistic elements of the Old
Covenant law. The word “eternal” is used in
the “sense of a cycle or age”. The object
has served its purpose and met its
fulfillment.
Many of the laws, rules,
regulations, and promises God gave to Israel
do not apply to Christians living under the
New Covenant. Each covenant has its own
legal code that governs it.
Hebrews 7:11-12 says, “Now if perfection had been
attainable through the Levitical priesthood
(for under it the people received the law),
what further need would there have been for
another priest to arise after the order of
Melchizedek, rather than one named after the
order of Aaron? For when there is a change
in the priesthood, there is necessarily a
change in the law as well.”
Hebrew
and Greek word definitions for “eternal”,
“everlasting” or “forever”.
Hebrew:
ʿôlām / owlam:
A masculine noun meaning a
very long time. The word usually refers to
looking forward but many times expresses the
idea of looking backward. It may cover a
given person's lifetime (Ex. 21:6;
1 Sam. 1:22); a period of many generations
(Josh. 24:2; Prov. 22:28); the time of
the present created order (Deut. 33:15;
Ps. 73:12); time beyond this
temporal sphere, especially when used
regarding God (Gen. 21:33; Ps. 90:2;
Dan. 12:2, 7). The term also applies to
many things associated with God, such as His
decrees, His covenants, and the Messiah
(Gen. 9:16; Ex. 12:14; Micah 5:2).
This word describes the span of time in
which God is to be obeyed and praised
(1 Chron. 16:36; Ps. 89:1; 119:112). In
the age to come, there will be no need for
sun or moon, for God Himself will be the
everlasting light (Isa. 60:19, 20; cf.
Rev. 22:5). [Complete Word Study
Dictionary, The Old Testament].
Greek: aiōn, aiōnios:
In the New
Testament, aiōn and aiōnios are often used
with the meaning “eternal,” in the
predominant sense of futurity. The word aiōn
primarily signifies time, in the sense of
age or generation; it also comes to denote
all that exists under time-conditions; and,
finally, superimposed upon the temporal is
an ethical use, relative to the world's
course. Thus aiōn may be said to mean the
subtle informing spirit of the world or
cosmos—the totality of things. By Plato, in
his Timaeus, aiōn was used of the eternal
Being, whose counterpart, in the
sense-world, is Time. To Aristotle, in
speaking of the world, aiōn is the ultimate
principle which, in itself, sums up all
existence. In the New Testament, aiōn is
found combined with prepositions in nearly
three score and ten instances, where the
idea of unlimited duration appears to be
meant. This is the usual method of
expressing eternity in the Septuagint also.
The aiōnios of 2 Corinthians 4:18 must be
eternal, in a temporal use or reference,
else the antithesis would be gone.” [The International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia].
The Hebrew words
“eternal” and “forever” are used in the
sense of a “cycle or age” in the Old
Testament. It has served its purpose and has
met its fulfillment. This is how the New
Testament can say that something that was
said to be eternal, or everlasting in the
Old Testament has come to an end.
There are also many things the Bible says
God sanctified (consecrated) and declared
holy in the Old Testament that were also
fulfilled by Jesus Christ and are no longer
set apart for holy use under the New
Covenant (Gen. 2:3; Ex. 20:8; 30:22-38;
Ps. 65:4; 2 Chron. 7:16; 1 Kings 9:3; 8:64;
Ex. 40:9; Lev. 25:10; Ne. 3:1).
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