2017 was the year of the New Covenant, a new covenant offered to the Gentiles for the last time. A new covenant was necessary because of the rejection of the fulness of the gospel by the LDS church (D&C 84:54-59). The New Covenant was accepted by many in attendance in Boise, Idaho at the Egyptian Theater on September 3rd with many others listening remotely. Some people might ask, “Was this foretold in the scriptures, and were there any signs from the Lord?” Short answer, “Yes!”
The New Covenant was offered to the Gentiles through Denver Snuffer, who received the revelation directly from the Lord. (“Teachings and Commandments”, section 157 and 158). If this was a significant event in the history of the world, you would think that there would be some scriptures that talk about this event. As it turns out you will find several that speak of it, if you look closely enough. One of them is Isaiah 55:3-5. It reads:
Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of thy Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
Denver Snuffer had been given the name David by the Lord in revelation on September 10, 2011. (T&C 162). He is the “witness” of the Lord’s work and covenant mentioned in verse 4 of Isaiah 55. The nations not known in Isaiah’s time are the Gentile nations, perhaps indicating that a covenant is offered to them and through them. The reference to David as a witness and as an example for the new covenant points to the Davidic Covenant given to David by the Prophet Nathan in 1 Samuel 7. That covenant ties the unconditional promises of the Lord to the righteousness of David, up to that time. He has already performed the conditions of having a covenant with the Lord, so the Lord promises that the kingship will pass through his descendants forever, and is tied to eventual possession in perpetuity of the lands of Palestine and beyond by his descendants. It is because of the performance of David to that point that the covenant was given. Likewise, we may also owe the Lord’s offering of a new covenant for us at this time, to the performance (“mercies”) of a modern David.
Another verse in Isaiah, 66:5-12, starts out talking about the outcasts from the congregation, from the church, who will be blessed by the Lord in the last days while those that did the casting out (excommunication?) will be ashamed. In verse 7 there is a curious reference to the birth of the “man child” (Heb: zakar) before the woman was due. Revelation 12 uses a similar word to express the birth of a son – “man child”. I will talk more about the Revelation 12 sign and what it signifies because the two scriptures are linked. The sign of the Virgin Woman giving birth to the man child is a fulfillment of both Isaiah 66 and Revelation 12. And it happened on September 23, 2017. Isaiah 66:8-12 continues to describe the coming forth of Zion before the Lord comes (before the woman is due to deliver). At that time the Gentiles will be blessed, which surely is the issuing of a new covenant to the Gentiles. Jerusalem will also be comforted and supported by the Gentiles and then in verse 14 and 15:
And when you see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb; and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.
For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many.
All of Isaiah 66 is a prophecy of the last days, up to and including the millennium. The last line of this quote, surely, is describing our day. Isaiah 61:8-9 also alludes to a final, everlasting covenant to be made amongst those who dwell under the protection of the Gentiles. In Jeremiah 31 we find the conditions of our day foretold and in verse 31-34 of that chapter we find this prophecy:
“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:
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 Egypt; which my covenant they brake…
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.
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.”
Jeremiah speaks of the day when the new covenant will involve knowing the Lord personally. Further promise of fulfillment of that prophecy can be found in the “Covenant Ordinance”, Section 158:15 of T&C. http://scriptures.info/scriptures/tc/section/158
“I will visit my house, which the remnant of my people shall build, and I will dwell therein, to be among you, and no one will need to say, “Know ye the Lord,” for you all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.”
These words contained in the New Covenant of September 23, tie this covenant to the full completion of the prophecy in Jeremiah 31.
When Christ taught the Nephites during His ministry in America, He prophesied that the Gentiles would be destroyed by the remnant of Jacob. He did, however, give the Gentiles a chance to join with the righteous of the remnant of Lehi.
But if they will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance;
3 Nephi 21:22
The new covenant of September 23 also speaks to the fulfillment of this prophecy:
I will raise you up and protect you, abide with you, and gather you in due time, and this shall be a land of promise to you as your inheritance from me.
T&C 158:13
I am aware that there are a few souls stating that the Lord was not in the covenant offered at Boise, or it was a lesser ordinance because of the unwillingness of the people to receive a greater covenant directly from the Lord personally. Their idea is that only the Lord can offer a covenant to you which He does directly, personally. Some have interpreted this to mean that you cannot get a covenant from the Lord through an intermediary. It is true that only the Lord initiates covenants, but He can and does offer it through messengers. When you are baptized it is a sign of your acceptance of a covenant that was offered by the Lord through an intermediary. Baptism of fire is the Lord showing his acceptance of your sacrifice and willingness to obey Him. In neither of those cases was it necessary for the Lord to appear to you to deliver a covenant personally. You also have the account of King Benjamin delivering a covenant to the people from the Lord through an angel. I do believe, however, that after a covenant has been offered in this way, through a human agent, and been accepted by you, there is a sacrifice required on your part, and you need to seek the Lord out to ratify the covenant to you personally. By personally I mean through the Holy Spirit or in person. You must experience this without an intermediary.
Well, this post is getting long, and I hope I have made the point that the New Covenant of September 23, 2017, is a fulfillment of prophecy. There are so many scriptural proofs and evidences this is the case that I think someone could write an entire book about it. I wanted to also talk about the signs that occurred during 2017 that made it a year of prophecy in this post, but will have to cover that in the next post.
God Bless.