The Amazing Fulfilment of Messianic Prophecies on the Day of Pentecost
What’s the significance of the Day of Pentecost?
What is the significance of the events that happened on the Day of Pentecost? These events are recorded in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. We often associate Acts 2 with one of these themes: the baptism of the Holy Spirit or glossolalia or the practices of the early Church. Indeed, the Day of Pentecost that came after the resurrection of Jesus Christ is when the Lord Jesus poured out His Holy Spirit on hundred-and-twenty disciples who were waiting in prayer to receive this Promise. They were baptized in the Spirit (Acts 1:5), spoke foreign languages they had never learned, were empowered to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. But there’s a lot more to it.
Of course, you’ll tell me about Peter’s sermon and the amazing response he received. Three thousand Jews repented and were baptised in water in obedience to the gospel. They too wanted the Holy Spirit! They were added to the Church. It was a great day indeed. There’s still more to that day.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Apostle Peter announced the fulfillment of messianic prophecies in Jesus—the very things Jews longed to see in their Messiah. The Jews were disappointed because the kind of fulfillment they had expected in a Messiah was apparently absent in Jesus. Peter, a former Jew, addressed those very concerns and he successfully drove home his point. Those key messianic prophecies are found in Ezekiel 37. Peter declared the fulfillment of three key predictions in that chapter. We shall examine each of these.
Let’s consider this prophecy from Ezekiel.
“My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. … David my servant will be their prince forever.” (37:24-25)
This is a reiteration of God’s oath to David centuries after his death. Of course, David wasn’t going to come back to life in order to rule Israel. One of his descendants was to rule forever. That descendant, the Messiah, was destined to die, and then come back to life.
Apostle Peter claimed, in his address on the Day of Pentecost, that David had prophesied the Messiah’s resurrection.
“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that He would place one of his descendants on his throne.
Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah … — Acts 2:29-31 Emphasis added
Jesus had indeed resurrected. The apostles were His witnesses. But Peter was more excited about the significance of that resurrection – in the fulfillment of Israel’s hope of a Messianic Kingdom – than in the resurrection itself. Therefore, Peter went on to cite Prophet David’s prediction regarding the fulfillment of God’s promise to him. It was a special kind of fulfillment. David predicted that his descendant would be enthroned in heaven at God’s “right hand”—not on earth, as some imagine. Thus, both the resurrection and the coronation of the Messiah were prophesied by David. Here’s Peter quoting David once again:
David himself says, “The Lord said to my lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” — Acts 2:34-35 Emphasis added.
Imagine! David’s throne … in heaven! Isn’t that an unexpected twist in the plot? In his address, the apostle Peter claimed that God’s promise to David was fulfilled when Jesus was raised from the dead and installed as Lord and Messiah (King).
What about Jews who were waiting for an earthly fulfillment of their Messianic expectations? How were they to know for sure that their Messiah was now inaugurated in heaven? Peter claimed that the outpouring of the Spirit was proof enough that Jesus was indeed crowned as Messiah at the right hand of God’s throne.
“Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.” — Acts 2:33 Emphasis added
God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” — Acts 2:36 Emphasis added
Peter claimed that the outpouring of the Spirit proved that Jesus was indeed crowned as Messiah at the right hand of God’s throne.
The visible and audible signs of the Spirit made it all the more convincing to the Jews who had gathered there.
Yes, this proclamation demanded a paradigm shift in their understanding of the Messiah. Wasn’t the Messiah supposed to be a King on earth, with a geographical domain, ruling over ethnic Israel? But three thousand Jews among the audience were prepared to abandon their Zionist interpretations, and to embrace Peter’s interpretation of a heavenly Messiah, seated on David’s throne in heaven, ruling over every nation on earth!
The apostle Paul too made a similar case for the fulfillment of Israel’s hope during his sermon in a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. He, too, cited David’s prediction, especially from Psalms. Paul’s assertion is notable.
“And we proclaim to you the good news about the promise to our ancestors, that this promise God has fulfilled to us, their children, by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son; today I have fathered you.’” — Acts 13:31-32 NET. Emphasis added
Indeed, what could be greater good news to Jews than the proclamation of the fulfillment of their national dream of a Messianic Kingdom? That’s the good news that apostle Paul preached! He preached the “Gospel of the Kingdom of God … with complete boldness and without restriction,” wrote Luke, in the concluding line of Acts.
What’s the good news that you preach? Some of us can’t preach anything beyond the Cross; others can’t get beyond the empty grave. The apostles preached “the crucified Christ”—the crucified Jesus who resurrected from the dead and went on to become Christ, the anointed King! How strange that we forget the meaning of the words “Christ” and “Messiah.”
After Jesus was arrested, he was tried by a few Jewish leaders. The Jewish High Priest asked Jesus,
The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” — Matthew 26:63 NET.
The High Priest wanted to know whether Jesus claimed to be the Messiah Israel was expecting. In their understanding, their Messiah had to be a man who would restore the former glory of a unified free Israel under King David. All Kings in the ancient near East justified their right to rule by claiming to be born of God. The phrase “Son of God” should be seen in that context.
Jesus, in His reply, attempted to correct the High Priest’s notion regarding the Messiah. He deliberately used the phrase “Son of Man” while referring to Himself. That phrase was from Daniel’s prophecy. Daniel had seen “one like a son of man” ascending on the clouds of heaven to God’s presence to receive eternal dominion over all kingdoms of the earth.
Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” — Matthew 26:64 NET Emphasis added
In effect, Jesus said, “Yes, I’m the Messiah; but I’m not the kind of messiah whom you expect—someone who rules the tiny nation of Judea like any other king. I’m the Son of Man that Daniel saw in his vision. I shall rule from heaven, seated at the right hand of Almighty God.”
What about his “coming on the clouds of heaven”? Jesus was quoting Daniel. The language used here is apocalyptic and symbolic. The Messiah’s “coming on the clouds of heaven” indicates the display of His power through acts of salvation and judgment.1 The key to the meaning of Jesus’ statement is in the phrase “you will see.” In other words, Jesus said that the High Priest Caiaphas would see the evidence of Jesus’ reign. That evidence included the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and all the wondrous miracles the risen Jesus would perform. Caiaphas may even have lived long enough to see the grandest display of Jesus’ royal judgment on Jerusalem in AD 70 in fulfillment of Malachi 3:1-7.2
You might protest, “But isn’t that a little disappointing that Jesus’ coronation didn’t happen on earth? We were hoping that He would rule from Jerusalem.” I’m sorry to say that your so-called “Christian hope” of seeing a Messiah rule from Jerusalem is no different from the old Jewish interpretation Jesus wished to correct.
St. Peter too proclaimed a heavenly fulfillment of God’s Kingdom on the Day of Pentecost. If three thousand Jews who heard Peter were convinced that their national hope was fulfilled in the risen and glorified Jesus, what stops you, a Christian, from believing Peter’s gospel? Do you see any specific practical advantage in having Jesus seated on a physical throne, like any other king, in Jerusalem? How is Jesus on a heavenly throne – far above all principalities and powers – any less attractive to you or less accessible to you than a Jesus seated on an earthly throne?
How is Jesus on a heavenly throne – far above all principalities and powers – any less attractive to you or less accessible to you than a Jesus seated on an earthly throne?
God chooses the manner in which He fulfills His promises. There is a literal fulfillment and there is a fulfillment that goes beyond the literal sense.
For instance,
Therefore, dear “Bible-believing Christians,” why wouldn’t you believe the Gospel that apostles Peter and Paul preached? If they declared God’s promise to David as “fulfilled,” so be it. The Messiah is on His throne. His Kingdom was inaugurated. The outpouring of the Spirit was sufficient evidence to his inauguration.
How can you say that Jesus in yet to be the Messiah (the anointed King)? Why then do you call Him Christ? How can you even confess “Jesus is Lord” when you don’t even believe He’s Lord of all?
How can the Messianic Kingdom be inaugurated without the restoration of Israel? Didn’t Ezekiel predict that kingdoms of Judah and of Israel would be gathered from distant lands to be united as one nation? The answers to these questions are found in the fulfillment of other prophecies in Ezekiel.
Let’s consider the second major prophecy in Ezekiel 37.
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them, and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.” Ezekiel 37:21-22
This prophecy too was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost when Jesus was first proclaimed as Messiah. During that festive season, there were Jews from “every nation under heaven” in Jerusalem.
“Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from “every nation under heaven.” When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.
“Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!
Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” (Acts 2:5-11)
“What does this mean?” It is in answer to this question that Peter stood up with the Eleven and spoke to the crowd. He convinced them that Jesus was exalted by God as their Messiah. Peter’s words cut to their heart. They had no more objections.
When the Apostle Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, delivered the punch line of his sermon on the Day of Pentecost, he deliberately addressed that Jewish multitude from all nations as “all Israel.”
“Therefore let “all Israel” be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” (2:36)
Peter was not mistaken. It wasn’t a slip of the tongue. The Holy Spirit made him say that. Humanly speaking, there was no “all Israel” assembled there. But if you accept every word of Scripture, you are bound to believe these words.
Everyone knew that the kingdom of Israel (the ten tribes) was lost forever. None of those tribes maintained their identity after their exile around 700 BC. During Jesus’ time, only three tribes were present. Still, it was not an accident that Jews from “all nations” were present there on that day. If three thousand among them believed Peter’s message, we can imagine how many more thousands had heard the apostles’ message.
As was mentioned earlier, God gets to choose the manner in which His word is fulfilled. If we insist on a literal fulfillment of prophecies related to the gathering and unification of all the twelve tribes, we’ll be the ones who lose out on God’s purposes. It was certainly not God’s intention to create the lost ten tribes of Israel out of thin air for the sake of fulfilling the word He spoke through Ezekiel and other prophets. Instead, the Holy Spirit, through Peter, addressed Jews from “all nations” as “all Israel.”
Apostle Peter’s statement, sadly, is lost on Christians who are still looking forward to seeing a physical gathering of all Jews to the land of Palestine. Why do they believe Jesus is the Messiah if they think He has not yet restored the nation of Israel in His own way?
Apostle Peter’s statement, sadly, is lost on Christians who are still looking forward to seeing a physical gathering of all Jews to the land of Palestine.
How unfortunate that Bible-believing Christians should spend their time, money, and other resources on a misplaced project called ‘Aliyah’—the immigration of Jews to the land of Palestine. They hope against all hope that the northern kingdom of Israel have survived centuries of exile and intermingling with the nations. Worse still, Zionism and Aliyah continue to defile that land with the blood of innocents. Crimes against humanity, apartheid, persecution of Palestinians, ethnic cleansing, and illegal settlements on occupied territory are being justified as actions that lead to fulfillment of prophecy!
A theological system called Dispensationalism makes Christians believe that Jesus the Messiah is still a work in progress, and that His mission on earth is yet unfinished. According to John Darby, the founder of Dispensationalism, Abraham and Israel are God’s first priority. After Jesus came into the scene, we are told, God pressed the “PAUSE” button on His “Israel” timeline for a season. A “parenthetical period” called the Dispensation of Grace kicked in.3 This was to be the age of the Church.
Gentiles were allowed into the Church. But Church, we’re told, wasn’t God’s first and primary mission. God will “rapture” the Church away from earth in order to resume His plan for Israel. It is only then – at some uncertain point in the future – will Israel be unified under their Messiah. They believe that the Messiah will physically descend to this earth to set up David’s throne in Jerusalem. A third Temple would have been constructed by then, we’re assured. A full team of Levitical priests will restore animal sacrifices and cultic worship in that Temple!
Imagine Jesus, the Lamb of God, presiding over a Jewish kingdom that offers animal sacrifices! Anyone who has a proper understanding of the Scriptures will be able to identify the dangers of Dispensationalism.
The Church is not God’s side-hustle. The Church of Jesus Christ – comprising of believing Jews and Gentiles – has always been “God’s secret plan—a secret that has been hidden for ages in God who has created all things.”
God never created the Church to be a “filler” in some “parenthetical period.” The Church of Jesus Christ is the most important entity in God’s scheme of things. It is not God’s side-hustle. It’s the main thing! The Church of Jesus Christ – comprising of believing Jews and Gentiles – has always been “God’s secret plan—a secret that has been hidden for ages in God who has created all things.”4 And that’s not all. Paul wanted to enlighten the Gentiles about this “mystery.” It was God’s intention to reveal, through the Church, “the multifaceted wisdom of God … to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms.”5
The Dispensationalists present a lame duck messiah to the Jews today—a messiah who hasn’t yet ascended David’s throne; a messiah who has done nothing as yet to restore the ancient glory of Israel! No wonder the Jews turn their back on Jesus. They want a messiah who has fulfilled all of God’s purposes for Israel as stated in the Prophets; they want a messiah who has already lifted the fallen tent of David to its former or even greater glory.
God has fulfilled His plan for ethnic Israel in Jesus Christ. There is nothing left undone. There are no loose ends to be tied up. He fulfilled His oath to David through Jesus the Messiah. The Messianic age was inaugurated, and it was marked by the unmistakable sign of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
God has fulfilled His plan for ethnic Israel in Jesus Christ. There is nothing left undone. There are no loose ends to be tied up!
Where now is any room for Zionism? The Messiah is on His throne. Why should anyone care about who rules which earthly domain? The Messiah is above all other thrones. Why should anyone fight over Palestine as if that “shadow” hasn’t found fulfillment in the Messiah? Did not the Almighty promise the reigning Messiah, “Ask me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth as your personal property.”6 It’s no longer about a small strip of land, folks. It’s about a global domain. It’s a heavenly Kingdom of cosmic proportions.
The apostle Peter presented such a victorious Messiah to “all Israel” and three thousand of them were convinced! The result of that sermon speaks for itself. Thousands more rallied under the Messiah in the days and years that followed. May the good Lord open the eyes of today’s Christians to see what Peter saw on the Day of Pentecost. May He open the eyes of Jews to see what those three thousand Jews saw on the Day of Pentecost—David’s Son reigning over the whole universe from heaven!
We shall now examine the third major prophecy in Ezekiel 37.
“The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” …
“… And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
“… Then he said to me, Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.” – Ezekiel 37:1-10
In his sermon, Peter stated that the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost was a fulfillment of one of Joel’s prophecies. But Joel was not the only prophet who had predicted the outpouring of the Spirit.
“All Israel” that was gathered in Jerusalem “from every nation under heaven” was like dry bones—beyond redemption and without hope. The good news of the inauguration of Jesus’ messianic kingdom was preached to them. Three thousand of those Jews pledged allegiance to the Messiah. They repented of their sins. In the waters of baptism, they were buried with Jesus; they also shared His resurrection. They were made alive in Christ.
The outpouring of the Spirit resurrected the dry bones of ethnic Israel to form a Spirit-animated army—today’s Israel of God, the Church of Jesus Christ.
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Jesus’ disciples (and eventually on the thousands of Jews who were baptized that day) resulted in the creation of a living Spirit-animated army out of those dead bones. This was God’s way of fulfilling the vision of the Valley of Dry Bones described in Ezekiel 37. Nothing of that significance and scale had ever happened in the history of Israel.
Significantly, this Israel, belongs to Ye’shua the Messiah.
The resurrected, Spirit-animated Israel became the nucleus of the Church of Jesus Christ! This renewed Israel was founded on Jesus the Corner Stone and on the foundation of The Twelve. The number twelve was no accident. The Twelve Apostles mirror the twelve patriarchs in giving leadership to resurrected Israel. No wonder Jesus promised to seat the Twelve on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.7 We now know Jesus was referring to the Church. It was to this Israel – the continuation of Old Testament Israel through Jesus Christ – that God later added believing Gentiles. But the apostles worked hard to bring this good news first to the Jews everywhere in Roman Empire, and then, to the Gentiles.
Members of the early Church were all God’s children. There were no ‘unbelievers’ among them. They were true heirs to Abrahamic promises through the “seed of Abraham,” Jesus Christ.8 Israel, a mass of dry bones, was resurrected and formed anew to bear a new identity. The Jews who refused to believe in Jesus the Messiah had no part in this Israel.
The apostle Paul acknowledged this change in the identity of the People of God by redefining the terms “Jew”9 and “Israel” in his epistle to the Romans before saying “all Israel shall be saved.”10 He anguished over the stubbornness of Jews in whom God had invested so much.11
Paul comforted himself thus:
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. – Romans 9:6-8 ESV
Who then are “the children of the promise?” Who is worthy to be called Abraham’s offspring? None other than Jesus! Paul states that clearly in Galatians.12 If Christ alone qualifies to be called “Abraham’s Seed,” ethnic Israel cannot claim Abraham’s inheritance or promises! Only those who come through Christ can be true heirs. The Gospel of Jesus Christ opened that privilege to Jews and Gentiles.
“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” – Gal 3:27-29 ESV
To Jews who still boasted in the flesh, Paul had this to say:
“It doesn’t matter whether we have been Jews or Gentiles. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the Israel of God.” – Gal 6:15-16.
Most English versions give us the impression that Paul, in Galatians 6:16, is blessing two groups of people — those who “follow this rule” and the “Israel of God.” This is because the Greek conjunction και is translated as “and.” For example, ESV renders it as: “And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.”
As a result of such a translation, readers get the impression that God has two sets of people—the Church and Israel. Such a view goes against what Paul was trying to say in the preceding verse, and it contradicts the teaching of the whole epistle. The Greek conjunction και often means “even.” Therefore, verse 16 should be rendered as “peace and mercy upon all who walk by this rule, even upon the Israel of God.”
The following English versions translate the verse correctly.
“For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Peace and mercy be upon all who walk by this rule, upon the Israel of God.” — Revised Standard Version (RSV)
“But in Christ it is not circumcision or uncircumcision that counts but the power of new birth. To all who live by this principle, to the true Israel of God, may there be peace and mercy!” — J. B. Phillips New Testament
“It does not matter if a person is circumcised or not, but he must become a new person. May all who live by this rule have peace. And may God bless them. They are the true people of Israel, and they belong to God.” — Worldwide English NT
“And all those who live in agreement with this standard will have true peace and God’s delight, for they are the Israel of God.” — The Passion Translation (TPT)
“Circumcision, you see, is nothing; neither is uncircumcision! What matters is new creation. Peace and mercy on everyone who lines up by that standard – yes, on God’s Israel.” — New Testament for Everyone
“Certainly, it doesn’t matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation. Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God.” — Names of God Bible
“Certainly, it doesn’t matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation. Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God.” — God’s Word Translation.
Peace and grace be upon God’s true Israel!
The Day of Pentecost is not just about an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Jesus’ disciples to empower them for evangelism. The apostles proclaimed the inauguration of the Messianic Kingdom of God. God had fulfilled His oath to David by installing Jesus on David’s throne in heaven—at the right hand of God’s throne. Jesus demonstrated that He was indeed the Lord and Messiah by receiving the Spirit from the Father and gifting Him to His disciples. The Church of Jesus Christ that received the Holy Spirit was the Spirit-animated army that Ezekiel had foreseen.
God fulfilled His promise to unite all Israel under His Messiah. God had brought to Jerusalem Jews from all nations under heaven. Three thousand of them submitted themselves to Messiah Jesus. God revived these “dry bones” of ethnic Israel by His Spirit and raised them up as an army just as Ezekiel had seen. Together with a hundred and twenty disciples of Jesus, they became the resurrected Israel, the Church of Jesus Christ. The Jews who rejected Jesus remained as “natural” descendants of Abraham. They were cast out like Ishmael was.13 Those who received Jesus, the promised “Seed of Abraham,” became heirs to Abraham’s blessings.
Do you think the risen Jesus who ascended to the highest throne in heaven will be game enough to re-enact his coronation on earth, as a King over ethnic Israel? No way! He’s already King of kings and Lord of lords. The resurrected Jesus, on David’s throne in heaven, does not match a Zionist’s dream of a parochial Jewish king on earth.
Misplaced expectations about a messiah prevented the Jews of Jesus’ time from believing in Him. Christians can now boldly answer Jewish objections about Messiah Jesus, like Peter did, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Nothing is more effective in defeating carnal, earthly Zionist interpretations than the demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit.
See David B. Curtis, Christ’s Cloud Coming - Mark 13:26-27.↩︎
“I am about to send my messenger, who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the LORD who rules over all. Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can keep standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap. … I will come to you in judgment.↩︎
See H. A. Ironside, The Great Parenthesis, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2021. Online.↩︎
Ephesians 3:9 NET Bible.↩︎
Ephesians 3:10 NET Bible.↩︎
Psalm 2:8 NET Bible.↩︎
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth: In the age when all things are renewed, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” – Matt 19:28 NET Bible.
Also, compare this with James 1:1 “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.”↩︎
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female — for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise.↩︎
A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. – Romans 2:28 NIV.↩︎
“… all Israel will be saved. As it is written: ‘The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.’” Romans 11:26.↩︎
“I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.” (Rom 9:1-5).↩︎
Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. – Gal 3:16 ESV.↩︎
“But what does the scripture say? ‘Throw out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the son’ of the free woman.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman but of the free woman.” — Galatians 4:30-31.↩︎
Philip Eapen, an environmental scientist by training, devoted his life to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ ever since he realized that the world needs Jesus Christ more than anyone or anything else. Apart from sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, Philip teaches Christians in order to equip them for service. He is supported by donations from readers. Philip is married to Dr. Jessimol and they are blessed with three sons and a daughter.
Date: April 1, 2020
