The Seven Covenants of God in the Bible

Noah - Promise: No More Flood / Type: One-Way Unconditional / Devolves to: All Mankind / Sign: Rainbow / Inauguration in Blood: Dead Bodies of the Wicked / Term: As Long as the Earth Remains

Abram - Promise: Land / Type: One-Way Unconditional on Collective, Two-Way Conditional on Individual / Devolves to: Isaac, Jacob, Jacob's Descendants exclusively / Sign: Circumcision / Inauguration in Blood: Animals Cut in Half / Term: Forever

Moses - Promise: Blessings for Obedience to the Law, Curses for Disobedience / Type: Two-Way Conditional / Devolves to: Every Generation of Israel / Sign: Sabbaths / Inauguration in Blood: Sprinkling of Blood on Book and People / Term: Until New Covenant of Jeremiah 31 Replaces It

Aaron - Promise: Priests to Serve Forever / Type: One-Way Unconditional on Collective, Two-Way Conditional on Individual / Devolves to: Levites / Sign: Bronze Plating of the Altar / Inauguration in Blood: Bulls of Consecration / Term: Forever

David - Promise: Son to Rule as King Forever / Type: One-Way Unconditional / Devolves to: The Promised Son / Sign: Virgin Birth / Inauguration in Blood: Death of King of the Jews / Term: Forever After

Israel - Promise: Law Written in Hearts, Replacing Old Covenant / Type: One-Way Unconditional / Devolves to: House of Israel and Judah / Sign: Legal Purchase of Property / Inauguration in Blood: Death of Wicked in Day of Wrath / Term: Forever After

Abraham - Promise: Blessings on All Nations Through Seed Heir / Type: One-Way Unconditional on Collective, Two-Way Conditional on Individual / Devolves to: All Mankind / Sign: Bread and Cup / Inauguration in Blood: Death of the Lamb of God / Term: Forever

There are seven distinct Covenants of God explicitly called out and detailed in the Bible, starting with the Covenant God made with Noah after the catastrophic Global Flood event caused by the extreme and rapid warming of the planet at the end of the Last Ice Age. 

Besides this "Noahic" Covenant, God made two Covenants with Abraham, one with Moses that devolves to the Children of Israel, one with the Priests of Israel, one with King David, and a second one with the House of Israel that replaces, yet at the same time in some sense retains, the "Mosaic" Covenant.

God Himself is the "Party of the first part" in all seven Covenants. Two of the Covenants devolve to the benefit of the whole world and all its inhabitants, while the remaining five specifically call the collective House of Israel or individual members thereof as the sole recipients of the promises found within each Covenant.

But why is the list of seven covenants of God found in this study different from all other teaching sources that may be encountered which purport to describe the "Covenants of God"? Because this list is based on a strict set of criteria: 1) it must be explicitly 'called' a covenant (Hebrew - beriyth, Greek - diatheke) in Scripture (thus eliminating the "Adamic" or "Edenic" so-called covenants as well as the contrived "Covenant of Works," "Covenant of Grace," and "Covenant of Redemption" forming the basis for Reformed "Covenant Theology"), 2) it must identify the party with whom God is making the covenant (e.g., Noah, Abram, Moses, David, etc.), 3) it must identify to whom the covenant devolves, 4) it must clearly identify the promises or agreements made under it, 5) it must include a defined term, or "expiration date", 6) it must include an execution action, which must be "in blood", and 7) it must include a unique "sign" clearly defined within the context of the covenant.

The seven covenants here in this study are distinguished from each other by these criteria. The covenant God made with Abram that devolves exclusively to Isaac, then again only to Jacob, and then to Jacob's descendants exclusively, with its own unique sign that applies only to those named parties, is by those criteria distinguishable from another covenant God made with Abraham in that this other one devolves to all the families of the earth, has a completely different sign, and details a completely different set of promises.

By this qualifying standard, it becomes clear that the "New Covenant" of Jeremiah 31 is a completely separate, wholly distinguishable covenant from the "New Covenant" of Luke 22. Simply stated, the named parties to whom each devolves are distinctly different, the signs are absolutely different, the object of the execution in blood is decidedly different, and most importantly, the very promises are completely different. Conclusion: they are two distinct covenants. To convolute the two into one is to violate logic's very law of identity.

There are many promises made by God in the bible, along with warnings, judgments, and admonitions. But unless the promise is called a "covenant", and includes an execution in blood, and carries a unique, identifiable sign, it is not a Covenant of God, but is merely a promise.

Thankfully God is true to all his promises, whether executed as a signed covenant or not.