Jesus asked Peter who the Jewish masses thought he was. “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 16:16-17). John 1:1-14 provides even greater revelation of Jesus’ identity as “the only begotten of the Father” (the Son of God), and of His previous eternal existence as the second Person of the Godhead. John called Him “the Word.”
Paul had this to say about who Jesus was, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:13-14).
The only time in the O.T. that the term “Son of man” is used for deity is in Daniel 7:13. In the N.T., Jesus liked to call himself the “Son of man.” One incident in which he used this term was in Mark 2, when he performed one of his numerous miracles. In this instance, Jesus healed several Jews who had palsy. Before he cured them, he saw their faith and told them their sins were forgiven. Some of the Jewish scribes heard this and were thinking that he was speaking blasphemies, as only God can forgive sins. Jesus knew their thoughts and asked them whether it was easier to say to the sick, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk.”
Jesus then told the scribes, “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it in this fashion” (Mark 2:10-12). By Jesus’ many supernatural miracles and healings, and this testimony (that he could forgive sins), Jesus, as the Son of man (a term for His deity in which He is humanity’s kinsman redeemer), claimed to be God Himself. Jesus is exactly who He said He was. John quoted Jesus as saying, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).
The Book of Acts is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke. It is an accurate historical record of the early church. Acts is also an apologetic work that presents a strong case for the validity of Christ’s claims and promises. Luke’s gospel ended with the resurrected Jesus appearing to the disciples in Jerusalem before His ascension into heaven. Jesus told them, “These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me” (Luke 24:44). In verse 45, it says Jesus then opened their understanding that they might comprehend the scriptures regarding him.
Jesus then told them, “Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:46-49). The “promise of the Father” was that Jesus would send the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, and they would be “endued with power from on high.” Jesus then lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he blessed them, he was parted from them and carried up into heaven.
Acts 1:9 picks up the story of Jesus’ ascension. While the disciples watched Him go up, two men (angels) stood by them in white apparel, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). This was a prophecy of Jesus’ Second Coming. He would return visibly in the sky when it was time for Him to establish His Kingdom of God on Earth.
The fulfillment of the Holy Spirit’s coming upon the disciples “with power” occurred ten days after Jesus’ ascension (which occurred on the 40th day from his resurrection). This was the day of the Jewish Feast of the Lord, known as Shavuot or the Feast of Weeks (also, the Feast of Harvests). The Greek name for Shavuot is Pentecost. “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4).
This fulfilled John the Baptist’s words about Jesus baptizing with fire (the Holy Spirit) and was a preview or sample of the prophet Joel’s words about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28-29) at the start of the kingdom of God. Joel’s prophecy, quoted by Peter on Pentecost, concerns the Day of the Lord (Daniel’s 70th week, aka the Tribulation) and what comes afterward, which allows the Jewish remnant to enter Christ’s millennial kingdom.
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call” (Joel 2:28-32).
The verses in bold refer to the new covenant in Jeremiah 31 (see below) that God makes with national Israel at the end of the Day of the LORD.
THE NEW COVENANT WITH ISRAEL
This new covenant will one day replace the old covenant of the Mosaic Law. “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 the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
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 neighbor, 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 31:31-34).
The only way this will occur is if the LORD pours out His Spirit upon His people.
Ezekiel 36 also prophesies this “new covenant.” “For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God” (Ezekiel 36:24-28).
Ezekiel 39 also mentions the “new covenant” for Israel when He pours out His Spirit upon His people when they enter the millennial kingdom. “Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God” (Ezekiel 39:29).
Daniel 9:24 prophesies that this “new covenant” will only be given at the end of the 70th week (the seven-year Tribulation). “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”
Of course, we know that Daniel 9:24-27 is a dual fulfillment prophecy, with several millennia between the fulfillment of verses 25-26 and verse 27.
“The new covenant of Jeremiah 31:31-34 must and can be fulfilled only by the nation of Israel and not by the church. Since this was a literal covenant made with the physical seed of Abraham, any relationship of the church to the blood required by that covenant cannot change the essential promises of God in the covenant itself. Apart from any relationship of the church to this blood, the covenant stands as yet unfulfilled and awaits a future literal fulfillment.” {1}
This raises the question of what Jesus was referring to when he mentioned the “new covenant” at the “Lord’s Supper” (Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24, and Luke 22:20) during his last Passover. Jesus was revealing his upcoming death to his disciples during his last Passover meal, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat; this is My body. Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:26-29).
The Jewish disciples who heard Jesus talk of the new covenant would certainly have understood Him to be referring to the new covenant of Jeremiah 31, which is made with the house of Israel. The wine Jesus gave the disciples represented Jesus’ blood that would be shed. Jesus said the blood being offered was what was required by the promised new covenant, for the purpose of giving remission of sins. The new covenant was instituted with Jesus’ death on the cross.
“Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive” (Hebrews 9:15-17). Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant.
The old and new covenants share one thing in common: “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22). However, the new covenant is infinitely better. “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:13-14).
The new covenant for Israel would replace the old covenant. However, it would not occur right away, as the Jews had rejected Jesus as their Messiah King. At the Last Supper, Jesus said he would not drink of this fruit of the vine (wine) until the Kingdom of God began. That means (national) Israel will not receive its fulfillment nor its blessings until it is confirmed and actualized at the second advent of Christ, when “all Israel shall be saved… for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins” (Romans 11:26-27).
There certainly is a difference between the institution of the covenant and the realization of its benefits. Christ, by His sacrificial death, laid the foundation for Israel’s covenant, but its benefits will not be received by Israel until the second advent.
The church is not fulfilling the new covenant with Israel. Since the church receives blessings of the Abrahamic covenant (Galatians 3:14; 4:22-31) by faith (only), the church may receive blessings of the new covenant without being under or fulfilling it. The church, like Israel, is promised salvation, the forgiveness of sin, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Yet the church is never promised inheritance in a land, material blessings on the earth, and rest from oppression, which were parts of the promise to Israel. The new covenant not only promised Israel salvation, but a new life on the millennial earth as all her covenants are realized. The church is certainly not fulfilling the material aspects of this covenant.
The new covenant cannot be fulfilled and realized by Israel until after Israel’s tribulation and her deliverance through the advent of the Messiah. Since the tribulation, second advent, and millennial age are yet future, the fulfillment of this promise must be yet future, and therefore, the church cannot now be fulfilling this covenant.” {2}
“The covenants (starting with Abraham) belonged to Israel alone –Gentiles had no part of them (Ephesians 2.11-12). The Abrahamic Covenant was the foundation of all future covenants God would make with Israel (Mosaic, Davidic, and New Covenants). Blessings to the Gentiles would come through Israel. “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curses thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3).
Since the ultimate source of all covenantal blessings for the Jews was the Messiah, it would be the same for the Gentiles as well. The great message of hope of the Jewish prophets throughout the Old Testament was the coming of the Messiah and His kingdom. Numerous prophetic verses reveal God’s plan to bless Gentiles through Israel and the Messiah (Isaiah 2.4, 11.10, 42.1-7, 49.5-7, 60.1-3 cf. Luke 2.25-32; Isaiah 61.4-7, 62.1-5; Jeremiah 3.15-18; Zechariah 8.20-23).
The church does not replace Israel regarding the new covenant, neither temporarily nor permanently. However, the church, which includes both Jews and Gentiles who believe Jesus is the Christ and that he died for our sins and rose again into eternal life, receives the same spiritual rewards that Israel will receive in the Millennium Kingdom. The spiritual promises of the new covenant are forgiveness of sins, the indwelling Holy Spirit, knowledge of the Lord, and a new heart (2 Corinthians 5.17). Individual believers in Christ (both Jewish and Gentile) receive the spiritual rewards of the new covenant the moment they believe. However, for the nation of Israel, which has rejected Christ, they will have to wait until the second advent.
PAUL’S GOSPEL OF THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN BY JESUS’ DEATH AND RESURRECTION
God communicated His plan of the Law (Faith + works) to Moses, and Moses communicated it to Israel. God communicated His plan of grace through faith (Faith only) to Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, who communicated it to the Church. Paul revealed that anyone (whether Jew or Gentile) who believes his gospel (good news) is saved and is not subject to the Mosaic Law. Paul’s gospel stipulates that, by the grace of God, we have forgiveness of sins by believing Christ died for us and rose from the dead, as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15.1-4; Ephesians 1:7; and Colossians 1:14.
The believer in Christ is freed from the bondage of the Law. This was one of Paul’s great themes, which he taught throughout his letters (Romans 6.14; Galatians 4.28-5.1). Paul wrote the book of Galatians in 49 AD to make this point.” {3}
Paul received his gospel message and was commissioned to minister to the Gentiles many years before Peter’s encounter with Cornelius in 40 AD. Paul received his gospel directly from the risen, glorified Lord. He also said Christ appointed him as the apostle to the Gentiles. Paul wrote to the Churches in Galatia (modern-day Turkey), “Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the brothers who are with me, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever” (Galatians 1:3).
Paul was not taught by the twelve apostles or any man. He was taught by revelations from the ascended and glorified Jesus Christ Himself. “For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11-12). Paul, formerly Saul, then tells his story of his previous life as a Pharisee who persecuted Christians until the glorified Christ intervened, and he converted to Christianity (as recorded in Acts 9), and was appointed an apostle to the Gentiles.
After Paul’s conversion, he said he did not immediately consult with anyone or go up to Jerusalem to speak with the apostles, but instead went into Arabia for three years. Most scholars believe this is where the glorified Christ revealed previously unknown truths and secrets about salvation, the Church, and the Rapture to Paul. After three years, in 38 AD, Paul traveled to Jerusalem and met only with Peter and James (the brother of Jesus). He said that he was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that were in Christ. “They only heard it said, ‘He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.’ And they glorified God because of me” (Galatians 1:23-24).
Paul traveled extensively, preaching the gospel of Christ. Paul and Barnabas began the missionary movement in the early church.
Before Paul wrote Galatians, he embarked on his first missionary journey (in 48 AD) with Barnabas and John Mark (for part of the journey) to regions of Galatia (modern-day Turkey). Their preaching the gospel of Christ opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. While many Gentiles became Christians through Paul’s missionary journeys, some Jewish converts believed that obedience to the law of Moses was necessary for salvation. In 49 AD, the Jerusalem Council met to discuss these issues and to establish Christian doctrine. Some Pharisees there insisted that circumcision and obedience to the law of Moses were necessary for salvation.
Peter stood and recounted the story of the Gentile Cornelius and his conversion eight years earlier. Peter told them, “And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will” (Acts 15:8-11).
Peter was aware of Paul’s testimony from Paul’s second visit to Jerusalem three years earlier (and from one eleven years earlier). But clearly, Peter did not understand the implications of Paul’s gospel during that time. During those years in Jerusalem, the Jews had continued to reject the gospel of Jesus as the Messiah King and his coming kingdom. But Gentiles had been responding to Paul’s gospel of grace through faith, and forgiveness of sin. Paul’s defense and argument that Gentiles were not under the Mosaic Law resonated with Peter’s own Gentile experience with Cornelius and his household. At the end of the Jerusalem council, Peter and the apostles agreed that Paul’s gospel of salvation through faith only was the correct one.
James, the brother of Jesus and the leader of the Church at the time, announced the council’s decision that Gentiles were free from the Law of Moses. This decision reinforced the inclusion of Gentiles into the Church and stimulated future missionary efforts to the rest of the Roman Empire. Shortly after, Paul departed on his second missionary journey. He took Silas with him to Galatia and Asia Minor.
“Paul wrote the Galatians to correct the false teaching that they were to live under the administration of the Mosaic Law. Some Jews (most of whom were believers in Jesus the Messiah) were teaching Paul’s converts that they were subject to the Mosaic Law. Such teaching undermined Paul’s teaching of grace (Galatians 1.6-9; cf. Acts 15.1, 5, 10-11). To counter this error, Paul used the Old Testament (which the Jews of Judea would understand) itself to prove his doctrine. He argued the Abrahamic covenant took precedence over the Mosaic covenant (Galatians 3.17-18).
The covenant God gave Moses at Mt. Sinai did not supplant the covenant He had established with Abraham. Why did Paul make this point? The doctrines Paul received from the risen Lord were doctrines of grace, not Law. Paul used Abraham as his example of one who was justified by faith alone, faith + 0 (Romans 4.1-4), and Abraham came before Moses.” {4}
John the Baptist, Jesus, and the twelve apostles preached the gospel of the kingdom of God, in which Jesus fulfilled the OT prophecies of 2 Samuel 7:9-17, Psalm 45:6-7, Isaiah 9:6-7, and others. This gospel primarily focused on who Jesus was: his identity as the Messiah-King of Israel and the Son of God. This gospel was preached mainly to the Jews. Paul began as the apostles did by preaching to the Jews the gospel of the kingdom of God. However, after receiving his revelations from the ascended glorified Jesus, he began preaching the gospel of grace through faith, in which obeying the Mosaic Law was not necessary for salvation, and Gentiles would also be included in God’s salvific plan.
Paul’s gospel can be summed up in these scriptures: “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 1:4).
“For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
“God predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:5-7).
Paul’s gospel (good news) primarily focused on what Jesus did: his salvific work on the cross. Of course, he couldn’t have done what he did without being who he was! Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 53, sometimes called the “Sin-Bearing Messiah.” “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed….
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:5,10-12).
Jesus’ resurrection from the grave on the third day from his crucifixion (and was seen by many) proved that he was the Son of God and fulfilled the prophecy of Psalm 16:10. “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.” In Acts 2:22-36, Peter quoted this prophecy on the day of the “pouring out” of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Shavuot to the Jews) and explained how Jesus fulfilled it. Paul also quoted Psalm 16:10 and explained Jesus’ fulfillment of it in Acts 13:33-37. He also wrote, “Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:3-4).
We will examine Jesus’ second advent and the long-delayed Millennium Kingdom in Part IV.
Randy Nettles
Randy Nettles articles: Article Archives – Rapture Ready
Endnotes:
{1} Things To Come by J. Dwight Pentecost, pgs. 124-125
{2} ibid, pgs. 126-127
{3} Covenant Theology and the New Covenant – doctrine.org
{4} Covenant Theology and the New Covenant – doctrine.org
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