JEWS AND GENTILES UNDER THE NEW COVENANT

     There are three special covenants: the everlasting covenant which God made with Abraham (Gen. 17:7-8), God’s  national covenant with Israel (Ex.19:5-6), and the new covenant which involves all humanity (Jer. 31:31-32). All of these will be referred to in this study, but it is the new covenant which is our main objective because it reveals God’s desire to reach out to the entire world.
     For there to be a new covenant the previous covenant had to be canceled, and it was!  (Heb. 8:13). That  covenant was between God and Israel.  When the children of Israel  become Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt  they cried out to God for deliverance, and  Moses was sent to tell Pharaoh that he must let them go.
     Even after  God empowered Moses to punish the Egyptians with various afflictions, Pharaoh refused. But after the   firstborn son in every Egyptian family died, including his own son,  Pharaoh would be  ready to “drive” them out of Egypt (Ex. 6:1, 12:29-33). 
     The firstborn sons of the slaves were protected by following God’s command.  They were directed to sacrifice a perfect firstborn lamb, sprinkling its blood around  their doors. God, seeing the blood, would  pass over them.  They were also instructed  to eat the lamb as part of their preparation for leaving Egypt.   This important event became known as the Passover, a memorial of their deliverance from Egypt. It was an important step towards the children of Israel becoming a special nation set apart for God (Ex. 12:21-28).
     When they arrived at Mt. Sinai in the wilderness they camped at the base of the mountain while Moses went up the mountain to commune with God.   Moses was sent back with this message, “If you will obey me and keep my covenant,  then you will be  my own special people, above all the people in the world.   And you shall be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:3-6).
     Two important words stand out in this covenant, the words “if” and “then”.  They tell us that God’s covenant with Israel, as a nation, was not an unconditional everlasting agreement.        
     This is clearly revealed in God’s  declaration to Solomon,  “If you will walk before me as David your father walked,  then I will establish the throne of your kingdom forever.  But if you or your children turn from me to serve other gods,  then I will remove Israel from the land that I have given them” (I Kings 9:4-7).
     “When Solomon  was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods...and Solomon did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord...so the Lord said to Solomon...I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and give it to your servant.  Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David”  (I Kings 11:1-12 N.A.S.).
     Jeroboam, who had been Solomon’s servant, led a rebellion against Solomon’s son Rehoboam because of his decision to raise taxes even higher than his father’s had been.   This produced two kingdoms; the house of Israel under Jeroboam and the house of Judah under Rehoboam (I Kings 12:1-24). 
     Three hundred and fifty years later both of these kingdoms were history!  The Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom,  the house of Israel,  and  Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon  vanquished Judah.
     Both of these kingdoms had failed spiritually.  God  said,  “If the people of Israel will obey my commands...then I will not allow them to be driven out of the land...but the people of Judah did not obey the Lord, and Manasseh led them to commit even greater sins than those committed by the nations whom the Lord had driven out...So I, the Lord God of Israel... will punish Jerusalem as I did Samaria...I will wipe Jerusalem clean of its people...I will do this to my people because they have  sinned against me and have stirred up my anger from the time their ancestors came out of Egypt to this day”  (II Kings 21:8-15 G.N.).
     The “if” and “then” factor was a promise and God always keeps His word!   “The time is coming, ‘declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.  It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt,  Because they broke my covenant”  (Jer. 31:31-32 N.I.V.).
     That prophecy was ready to be fulfilled when Jesus gathered His disciples together for one last meal before His crucifixion. Taking the bread Jesus said,  “This bread is my body which is given for you”.  Lifting the cup,  Jesus said, “This wine is my blood of the new covenant  which is shed for you.  Do this  in remembrance  of me”. (Luke 22:19-20).   This meal was part of the yearly Passover memorial, only this time Jesus was going to be the Passover Lamb!
     We know, from what Paul wrote, that the early church understood what Jesus meant.  “I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread;  and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, ‘Take, eat:  this is My body, which is broken for you;  do this in remembrance of Me.’  In the same manner He also took the cup ...saying,  ‘This cup  is the new covenant in My blood.  This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me’.   For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” (I Cor. 11:23-26 NKJV).
     “Our passover is Christ, who was sacrificed for our sake” (I Cor. 5:7 Lamsa).  Jesus’ last words on the cross were,  “It is finished”  (John 19:30). 
     At that moment the curtain which covered the way into the Holy of Holies was torn apart from top to bottom! (Matt. 27:50-51). This was a message from God that anyone, at anytime, can approach Him through no other mediator than the One who had just died on the cross.  The way was now open to everyone, both Jews and Gentiles.   Jesus said,  “I am the Door. If anyone comes in through Me, he will be saved...” (John 10:9 Beck).  
     The first thing Jesus said to His disciples after His resurrection was,  “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Just as my father has sent me I am also sending you.  Go, therefore, and convert all nations;  and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit;  and teach them to obey everything that I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always...” (Matt. 28:18-20 Lamsa).
     The last thing Jesus said to the disciples before His departure was, “You are to be given power when the Holy Spirit has come to you.  You will be witnesses to me, not only in Jerusalem, not only throughout Judaea, not only in Samaria, but to the very ends of the earth!” (Acts 1:8 Phillips).
     It is obvious that the new covenant was an international, interracial agreement ratified with his blood.  The previous covenant involved only one race and one nation.  The new covenant called for a new way of thinking for the Jews.   
     What has been called “the great commission” was a Jewish evangelistic effort in the beginning.  In order to carry out the work that Jesus gave them, it would be necessary for them to associate with Gentiles.  Could these Jews  present the gospel to the Gentiles in an impartial, unbiased way?  
     The Apostle John could.  He wrote,  “For  God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
     Peter was taught this important lesson in a very interesting way.  It began with Cornelius, an officer in the Roman army, who lived in Caesarea.  He and his family were devoted to God and noted for their giving to those in need.  An angel appeared to him  saying that God was pleased with him and that if he would send men to Joppa to a man named Peter, further instructions would be given him. (Acts 10:1-6).
     As the men approached Joppa,  Peter was in prayer on the roof of the house where he was staying.  When he became hungry he had a vision of many animals that the Jews were forbidden to eat.  God told Peter to take one these animals and eat it.  Peter reminded the Lord that he had never eaten any thing unclean.  Then God said, “Do not call what I have cleansed, unclean” (Acts 10:9-15).
     As Peter was thinking about this, the men sent by Cornelius  arrived at the house where he was staying. The Spirit told him that  men from Caesarea were at the door and that he should go down to them because God had sent them to him. The following day Peter accompanied them to Caesarea (Acts 10:17-23).
     Cornelius, his relatives and friends were all together in his house when Peter arrived.  Peter said to them, “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him.  But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean...I now understand that God  accepts everyone who fears him and does what is right” (Acts 10:24-35).
     Peter went on to tell them what had transpired regarding Jesus:  His teachings, His death, His resurrection and how Jesus had called the Apostles to be His witnesses. 
     “While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came down upon all who heard the word.  All the Jewish believers who  had come with Peter were surprised that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out also on people who were not Jews.  They heard them speaking in other languages and praising God” (Acts 10:44-46 Beck).
     “Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.’ So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 10:47-48 N.I.V.).
     God used Peter’s experience to help other Jews grasp the full significance of the new covenant. “The Apostles and the other believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. When Peter went to Jerusalem, those who were in favor of circumcising Gentiles criticized him, saying, ‘You were a guest in the home of uncircumcised Gentiles, and you even ate with them!’ So Peter gave them a complete account of what had happened from the very beginning” (Acts 11:2-4 G.N.).
     Peter’s account included what the angel said to Cornelius, “He will speak words to you by which you and all your family will be saved.’  And when I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them just as on us at the beginning...It is clear that God gave those Gentiles the same gift that he gave us...When they heard this, they stopped their  criticism and praised God, saying, ‘Then God has given to the Gentiles also the opportunity to repent and live!” (Acts 11:13-18 G.N.).  
     Paul and Barnabas, who were traveling about preaching in various cities, reached many people for the Lord. In Iconium, “a great number of Jews and Gentiles became believers” (Acts 14:1 G.N.).     
    When Paul and Barnabas came to Antioch they discovered that men from Judaea were saying to the new believers,  “You cannot be saved unless you are circumcised as the law of Moses requires...Paul and Barnabas got into a fierce argument with them about this” (Acts 15:1-2 G.N.).
     Later, as they returned to Jerusalem, the Apostles and Elders debated this issue. “And after much controversy, Simon Peter rose up and said to them, Men and brethren, you know that from the early days God chose that from my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the Gospel and believe.  And God, who knows what is in the heart, has testified concerning them and has given them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us.  And he did not discriminate between us and them, because he purified their hearts by faith. Now therefore why do you tempt God by putting a yoke upon the necks of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” (Acts 15:7-10 Lamsa). 
     The final words in this debate were given by James, a  leader in the  church in Jerusalem.  “Brothers, listen to me.  Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself...It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.  Instead we should  write to them,  telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood” (Acts 15:13-20 N.I.V.).    
     The Jews who had been slaves in Egypt, had, in a sense, become slaves to the law.  The Gentiles were, in a sense, slaves to sin. The new covenant was and is God’s way of delivering them and bringing them both together into a fresh new life in Christ.  
     Paul sums up the new covenant this way, “There is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free men, between men and women: you are all one in union with Christ Jesus.  If you belong to Christ, then you are the descendants of Abraham and will receive what God has promised” (Gal. 3:28-29 G.N.).      
     What did God promise Abraham?
     Five hundred years before God established a covenant with Israel as a nation, He  made an everlasting covenant with Abraham.   
     God said to Abraham,  “I will establish My covenant between  Me and you and your descendants...for an everlasting covenant...Also I give to you and your descendants...all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession” (Gen. 17:7-8 N.K.J.V.).
     The only way Abraham and his descendants could or can receive that promise is if they live forever. This is the promise of eternal life!
     Earlier God had told Abraham, who had no children, that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. Abraham, “Believed the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:5-6 NKJV). This promise was given  to a righteous man and only Abraham’s righteous descendants will be counted  as heirs of God’s everlasting future, which includes a land that will endure forever.
     David understood this.  He wrote, “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell in it forever” (Psm. 37:29 NKJV).  Not every one in Israel was righteous. One’s race has never been and will never be a condition for eternal life. 
     The hope of being a part of God’s promise of an everlasting  future can be realized only through faith in God and His son the Lord Jesus Christ.  Righteousness comes by faith, not by works, lest anyone should boast. (Eph. 2:8-9).
     Paul was writing a letter to Gentile believers when he wrote, “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise” (Gal. 4:28 NKJV).  To be a child of Abraham is to be an heir  of the promise of eternal life.
     Jesus taught that Gentiles from all over the world would join Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven while  children of the kingdom would be excluded.  We know that Jesus was raising the inter-racial issue because it was an officer from the Roman army whose faith became the basis for Jesus’ words.  He called the faith of that Gentile “greater” than any He had found in Israel (Matt. 8:5-12).
     The land that God promised Abraham and his righteous descendants belongs to that kingdom of which Jesus was speaking.  Both the kingdom  land and its people must endure forever for that promise to become a reality.  That land is a post resurrection entity.  Abraham understood this and everyone of us today, both Jews and Gentiles, should keep this in mind when we think about the future.  We should never forget that John foresaw that this earth would pass away.  “I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away; and the sea was no more” (Rev. 21:1 Lamsa).
     Consider Abraham’s faith  which should be ours also!  “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;  for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God...Therefore from one man...were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude...These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them...and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth...Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them”  (Heb.11:9-16 NKJV).
     Hebrews, Chapter Eleven, ends with these words, “All these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us” (Heb. 11:39-40 NKJV).
     The New English Bible has, “These also, one and all, are commemorated for their faith; and yet they did not enter upon the promised inheritance, because, with us in mind, God had made a better plan, that only in company with us should they reach their perfection”.
     Simply stated, we all will inherit the promise together. 
     The hope that Abraham and his righteous descendants had can be ours,  thanks to the new covenant.  The covenant that God made with Israel at Mount Sinai, with its earthly nationalism, is gone. God has replaced it with one that is eternal!
     Only those personally chosen by our Lord Jesus Christ can give us the authorized version of the new covenant. 
     Paul, who had been busy persecuting the followers of  Jesus, had a heavenly vision which altered his life completely.  The heavenly  light of his vision was so bright that he became blind.   Paul was led by the hand to Damascus where he remained until God sent Ananias to lay hands on him and pray for him that he might receive his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. 
     The Lord told Ananias that Paul was to be a chosen vessel to bear His name to the Gentiles, to kings and to the children of Israel  (Acts 9:1-16). 
     Paul wrote, “Have you ever heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you? For the mystery was made known to me by a revelation...Which in ages past was not made known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and partakers of his body and of the promise which is given through him by the gospel” (Eph. 3:1-6 Lamsa).
     In the previous chapter Paul wrote, “Remember...you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope...But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ.  For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of division between us, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace” (Eph. 2:11-15 NKJV).    
     Continuing on we read, “...henceforth you are neither strangers nor foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints and children of the household of God” (Eph. 2:19 Lamsa).
     To the Romans Paul wrote,  “...by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight...now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed...even the righteousness of God which is through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe.  For there is no difference;  for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:20-23 NKJV).
     To the Colossians he wrote, “He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us...he took it away, nailing it to his cross...Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.  These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” (Col. 2:13-17 NIV). 
     To the Galatians he wrote, “If we could be saved by keeping Jewish laws, then there was no need for Christ to die” (Gal. 2:21 LB).
     To Titus he wrote,  “Pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth” (Titus 1:14 NIV).
     To the Philippians Paul wrote,  “Watch out for those...who say you must be circumcised to be saved...I was a real Jew if there ever was one!  What’s more, I was a member of the Pharisees who demand the strictest obedience to every Jewish law and custom...and I tried to obey every Jewish rule and regulation right down to the very last point...now I’v thrown them all away so that I can put my trust and hope in Christ alone” (Phil. 3:2-7 LB).
     The book of  Hebrews is a gold mine of information regarding the new covenant  which should be of interest to both Jews and Gentiles.  It shows the  superiority of the new covenant over the old covenant by demonstrating  the exalted nature of the  Lord Jesus Christ, the High Priest of the new covenant.   Jesus is called our High Priest eleven times in the book of Hebrews.
     Under the old covenant the high priests were required  to offer up a sacrifice for their own sins before they could carry out their priestly duties for others. (Heb. 5:1-3).        But our High Priest never sinned. “We have one who was tempted with everything as we are, and yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15 Lamsa). “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (II Cor. 5:21 NIV).
     “Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time...to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Heb.9:28 N.I.V.). The words: “hope”, “promise” and “inheritance” tell us that what ever we receive from God while we are still in our earthly bodies is only a tiny foretaste of what we shall receive when we see Him face to face!   
     “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered...having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 6:19-20 NAS).        
     Melchizedek became a type of Christ because his beginning and ending  are a mystery, having “no father, no mother, no ancestry; no beginning to his days, no end to his life, but, like the Son of God, as  priest continues on and on with no successor” (Heb. 7:1-3 Williams).
     In Israel all the priests came from the tribe of Levi; this was the law!  But Jesus was from the tribe of Judah. “Now, if the priests who descended from Levi could have given us something perfect, why did another priest still need to come who is like Melchizedek...different from Aaron?  When a different person is made priest, the Law also has to be changed...The Law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did...Here is the High Priest we needed - holy, innocent, spotless, separated from sinners...who doesn’t need to bring sacrifices every day...first for His own sins, then for the sins of the people.  He did this  only once when He sacrificed Himself” (Heb 7:11-27 Beck).
     The sacrifice He offered is far better than what was   offered by earthly priests whose offerings were only shadows of heavenly things.  Jesus is the “Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises” (Heb. 8:5-6 NKJV).
     If the old covenant had been perfect there would have been no reason for a new covenant.  Therefore God said, “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 when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant” (Heb. 8:7-9 NKJV).
     Hebrews, Chapter Eight, closes with this verse, “When God speaks of a new [covenant or agreement], He makes the first one obsolete - out of use.  And what is obsolete - out of use and annulled because of age - is ripe for disappearance and to be dispensed with all together” (The Amplified Bible).  Another version has,  “The mere fact that God speaks of a new covenant or agreement makes the old one out of date.  And when a thing grows weak and out of date it is obviously soon going to be dispensed with altogether”  (J.B.Phillips).  Yet another version has,  “God speaks of these new promises, of this new agreement, as taking the place of the old one;  for the old one is out of date now and has been put aside forever” (The Living Bible).     
     Scriptures which refer to the law are usually  speaking of  the old covenant.  “The law had in it a shadow of the good things to come, but was not the essence of the things themselves;  hence although the same sacrifices were offered every year, they could not perfect those who offered them.  For if they had once been perfected, they would have ceased from their offerings...” (Heb. 10:1-2 Lamsa).
     Moses had been instructed by God to construct a tabernacle for Israel.  God said to him, “Be careful to make all of it like the pattern you were shown on the mountain” (Heb. 8:5 Beck).  Why?  Because it was to be a figure of heavenly things.  Almost everything connected with Israel’s worship had implications regarding the future. Since those examples have become  realities,  all those shadows have no further value.  “The law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).  
     Moses, who could not see God and live, will live to see God!   As will all those who have put their trust in the One whose blood can wash away their sins (Rev.1:5).  This is why the Gospel is called good news. The new covenant eliminated     the wall which separated Israel from the rest of the world.  That wall was the old covenant and all that related to it, including the culture that it produced. God would never lead us back to that which was set aside.   
     Jesus cleared the way for a new culture which fits the new covenant; a culture which brings us all together as one in Christ.  Unfortunately, that is not what has transpired. The divisions within the Christian community are theological, doctrinal, racial, cultural, etc. 
     Senator Morris of Oregon said,  “We are all victims of our prejudices and our ideologies”.  Our differences bring confusion where there should be light and hope.                
     Paul was ready to sacrifice every thing he once held dear if that is what it would take to reach others for Christ.
     He wrote,  “I am a free man...but I have made myself every man’s servant, to win over as many as possible.  To Jews I  became like a Jew, to win Jews;  as they are subject to the Law of Moses, I put myself under that law to win them, although I am not myself subject to it. To win Gentiles, who are outside the Law, I made myself like one of them, although I am not in truth outside God’s law, being under the law of Christ.
     “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.  Indeed, I have become everything in turn to men of every sort, so that in one way or another I may save some” (I Cor. 9:19-22 NEB).
     We must get back to the basics of the new covenant.  The better we understand the new covenant the closer we can be to each other, and the better we can work together. 
     Paul wrote, “Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another...that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 15:5-6 NAS).
     This new body of believers was to be an international, interracial congregation;  a body with just one head, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus alone could say, “All power is given to me in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18), “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (John 11:25). 
     The promise of eternal life is linked to the resurrection of Jesus and to our resurrection at His return. His resurrection is the forerunner of our resurrection. That is why Jesus is called the firstborn from the dead.    
     “He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead” (Col. 1:18 NIV). 
     Did you notice that the resurrection of Jesus in that scripture is called a birth?  Jesus was born in a barn in Bethlehem but when He rose from the dead He was born again!  
     Jesus told Nicodemus that no one can “see” or “enter” the kingdom of God  without being born again. (John 3:1-7).  Since one must be born again to see and enter the kingdom of God, even Abraham, Moses, David and the prophets must be born again!  The birth that Jesus was talking about with Nicodemus was the same birth He  experienced when He rose from the dead.  The kingdom of God is a heavenly place which can be inhabited only by heavenly beings. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God...this mortal must put on immortality”  (I Cor. 15:49-50,53). 
     Jesus also pointed out to Nicodemus that, “What is born of flesh is flesh; and what is born of Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6 Lamsa). “For the life of this world men are made like the material man; but for the life that is to come they are made like the one from heaven” (I Cor. 15:49 Phillips).  Lamsa has, “As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly”.   
     When Peter asked Jesus what they would receive for following Him, Jesus told him that their reward would come to pass “in the regeneration”, and Jesus added something for the rest of us. He told Peter that anyone who suffers by following Him will be paid back “A hundredfold, and inherit everlasting life” (Matt. 19:27-29 NKJV).  When do we inherit everlasting life?  In the regeneration!
     Some day the Good Shepherd will say to His sheep, “Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34 KJV). When will that happen?  When Jesus comes!  What will be the main event?  The resurrection of the dead!  That is when we will be born again!  That is when we will see and enter His kingdom. That is when all God’s promises, which are our hope, become a reality. Verse forty-six of that chapter, tells us that the wicked will experience everlasting punishment,  but the righteous will enter into life eternal.  
     Remember, Abraham and all his righteous descendants will be in that kingdom.(Matt. 8:11).  They will all be born again by resurrection just as Jesus was! 
     Paul carefully explains what takes place when a person turns to Christ. “You also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.  Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is the deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession” (Eph. 1:13-14 NIV).
     This gospel is our hope for the future.  We are not yet in that glorious kingdom where He lives.  And where He lives is where we will spend eternity.
     Our traditions are not the gospel. The gospel is that Jesus the Christ died on the cross for our sins, and those who put their trust in Him and His sacrifice, will have their sins forgiven and the Spirit of the living God will come to them and seal them for His own for now and for all eternity.
     Jesus was on the cross between two thieves.  One of them scorned our Lord but the other one asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom.  Jesus said to him, “You will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42-43).
     That man had never been to church!  That man had never been baptized!  Jesus hung there between heaven and earth, bridging the gap between the sinner and God!  He is the door to heaven!  The way to glory!  Only through Him can we enter into that life which will never end.   
     God has promised to wipe away all our tears; He has said there will be no more pain, no more sorrow and no more death.  He ended those words with this statement, “I am making all things new”  (Rev. 21:1-5).  That is what the new covenant is all about!
     These words are being written in the summer of 1999, the year 2000 is just a few months away.  Certain prophecies regarding Israel’s future have persuaded many well meaning Gentile believers to embrace portions of the culture produced in Israel under the old covenant.
     A church in Florida had an announcement regarding Messianic dancing in the evening service.  A few years later in a church in Washington State, a similar dance took place  during the morning worship service. 
     A suggestion was made from the pulpit that if some have  questions regarding such dancing they should read their Bibles.  The only significant reference to dancing in the New Testament is the dance which Herodias performed before Herod, which led to the death of John the Baptist. (Matt. 14: 3-12 and Mark 6:17-29).  Neither Paul, Peter nor John ever mentions dancing.  This is significant because they are the  leaders chosen by God to teach both Jews and Gentiles all about the new covenant.    
     Rather than promoting Messianic dancing, Paul was led to say, “Express your joy in singing among yourselves psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making music in your hearts for the ears of the Lord”  (Eph. 5:19 Phillips). This agrees with Malachi, the prophet, “Those who feared the Lord talked often one to another; and the Lord listened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those...who thought on His name. And they shall be Mine...My jewels - My special possession, My peculiar treasure” (Mal. 3:16-17 Amplified Bible). 
     An important issue these days involves the possibility of a full restoration of the nation of Israel. 
     When the disciples asked Jesus if he was about to restore the kingdom to Israel, his answer was fundamentally,                  “It’s none of your business” (Acts 1:6-7).           
     Jesus told them to go and be his witnesses (Acts 1:8), not of what he is going to do for Israel as a nation, but of what he has already done for everyone in the world.
     When the Church has accomplished the task assigned to it, the “Israel of God”, His new nation, will be complete (Gal. 6:16).
     Paul was speaking to the Gentiles when he said, “The Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all” (Gal. 4:26 NKJV). That city is described as having twelve gates with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel written upon them and twelve foundations with the names of the twelve apostles written upon them. (Rev. 21:10-14).
     This is where the “Israel of God” will live for all eternity. There will be no going back to former things which were only shadows of a glorious future. There will be nothing earthly about the new Jerusalem.
     Christians who stand on the sidelines cheering for Israel, and  urging our government to provide arms for Israel, should go back and study the prophets again.  God said, “I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by horses, nor by horsemen” (Hosea 1:7 KJV).
     Those who use force in an attempt to bring about a full restoration of Israel as  an earthly nation, will  lead the world to that last great battle called, “Armageddon”! (Rev. 16:16).
     The early Jewish preachers of the gospel would not be a part of what is going on today.  For example, a messianic Jew, founder of a Christian Alliance for Israel, promoted a big celebration of the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel, which many Evangelical Christians attended. Israeli flags were waved and  Israeli songs and dances  were a part of this five day affair.  Christians were urged to use both their religious and political power in support of Israel.  Many well known Evangelical ministers demonstrated their support of Israel.
     On November 14, 1996, a paid advertisement appeared in the Seattle Post Intelligencer, promoted by twenty-one different Evangelical supporters of Israel. It was a message to the Prime Minister of Israel:  
     “Shalom!  On behalf of the Christian Community in Seattle, we wish to extend our support and good wishes to you”.  After reviewing several prophecies regarding Israel, it ends, “On that day, when all the earth humbles itself before almighty God, His light will once again shine from Zion bringing eternal peace to the nations.  This is why we pray for you and for Israel and why we support you with all the zeal and means put at our disposal”.
     This last quotation is a reference to a thousand year earthly reign of Christ.  How can “eternal” peace  reign during a time which ends in rebellion and flames?  (Rev. 20:7-9)
     Under the new covenant we are to love every one, and that certainly includes the Jews.  Gentile believers love the prophets and cherish the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation, which were written primarily by Jews. Thank God for the Jews!  It is from those same Scriptures that we discover the truth about the future of Israel.  God’s plan for Israel is sadly misunderstood by those who take up arms in hope of restoring Israel.  
     A respected Bible scholar, whose teachings are widely accepted, wrote, “Most of the prophets of the Old Testament with enraptured gaze contemplated the glory of a millennial kingdom in which Israel would be restored and be the head of all nations” (p.183 The Millennial Kingdom).
     Isaiah was one of those prophets. He wrote, “Behold, the nations are as a drop in the bucket and are reckoned as a speck of dust on scales...All the nations are as nothing before Him; they are accounted as less than nothing and worthlessness” (Isa. 40:15,17 Berkeley).
     Daniel also was one of those prophets. When Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream which he could not recall,  God revealed the dream and its meaning to Daniel. The dream was about an image of a huge man whose various parts represented the kingdoms of this world. The  parts of the image were of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay. A great stone, uncut by human hands, crushed the image, which became like chaff on a threshing floor, which the wind carried away so that no trace of it could be found.  And the stone that crushed the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Dan. 2:28-35).
     Daniel’s interpretation  reveals that “the  God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed...it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (Dan. 2:44 NKJV).     
     Jeremiah was another of those prophets. He wrote, “I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I  scattered you, but of you I will  not make a full end... and I will by no means leave you unpunished” (Jer. 30:11 RSV, also Jer. 46:28).     
     “For though thy people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them shall return” (Isa. 10:22 Jewish Version).  “I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion” (Jer. 3:14 KJV).      
     Ezekiel received this word regarding Israel, “I will bring you out from the peoples, and I will gather you out of the countries where you are scattered...And I will bring you into the wilderness...I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them  out of the country where they sojourn, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel” (Eze. 20:34-38 NKJV).          
     “The Lord called thy name a leafy Olive-tree, fair with goodly fruit...and the branches of it are broken” (Jer. 11:16 Jewish Version).
     Paul, with a new covenant perspective, explains that “some” of the branches have been broken off from the good Olive tree and that Gentile branches from a wild Olive tree are being grafted in “among” the branches which remain. (Rom. 11:17-20 KJV). 
     “This is how all Israel will be saved” (Rom. 11:25-26 GN). “For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel...They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed” (Rom. 9:6-8 KJV).
     “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise” (Gal. 4:28 KJV).
     “My temple will be called a house of prayer for all people. The Lord God, who gathers the scattered people of Israel, says this: I will gather others to them besides their own people” (Isa. 56:7-8 Beck).
     All Israel will be saved, but not every Jew!
     “Who has heard such a thing?...Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day ?  Or shall a nation be born at once?” (Isa.66:8,9,12 KJV).    
     That nation will be born by resurrection and transformation of the righteous when Jesus comes in power and glory.  The good Olive tree will then be complete with its combination of Jew and Gentile branches (the righteous seed of Abraham).
      “Then I will restore to the people a pure speech,  that they may  call upon the name of the Lord to serve him with one consent” (Zeph. 3:9 Lamsa).                           
     We should remind ourselves every now and then that there is only one body, only one Spirit, only one hope, only one Lord, only one faith, only one baptism and only one God the Father of all. (Eph. 4:4-6).
     “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you” (Eph. 4:32 NKJV).
     Jesus said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12 NKJV). 
     In His prayer to the Father, Jesus said, “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me”  (John 17:24 NKJV).
     That is our future!
     There will be one nation-His!  There will be one  Kingdom-His!  There will be one people-His!
     Why should anyone want anything less?

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