There is a man in the Bible, by the name of Simeon, who is spoken about in the Gospel of Luke.
And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. (Luke 2:25-26)
It is important to note here that the Holy Ghost (Spirit) was upon this man Simeon. In other words Simeon was being ministered to by the Lord, and the Lord revealed to him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. I remind you once again that the word Christ means Messiah, so the Lord was letting Simeon know that he would in fact see the Messiah, with his own two eyes, before he left this earth. It is also important to note that this man was waiting for the consolation of Israel. This man was described as being just (righteous) and devout, so you know that he probably knew the scriptures very well. The consolation of Israel was to be found in the Messiah and He would be for the redemption of the people of Israel.
And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. (Luke 2:27-32)
New Covenant: In The Blood of Jesus Christ
The providence of God is absolutely amazing as we see this devout Jewish man, named Simeon, enter into the Jewish Temple at the very same time that Joseph (the stepfather) and Mary (the Jewish virgin) brought Jesus into the Temple to be circumcised according to the Jewish Law. Please keep in mind that the Holy Ghost (Spirit), who is the Spirit of truth (John 16:13), was the one who was directing the footsteps of this Jewish man Simeon. What did Simeon do when he noticed Mary and Joseph with this young child? He took the child up in his arms and he blessed God, and asked Him to now let him depart in peace (die in peace) because the promise that he would see the Christ (Messiah) was FULFILLED right then and there! Simeon declared that his own eyes had seen “thy salvation” which is found in Jesus the Christ (Messiah). Do not miss the fact that Simeon also mentioned the Gentiles along with the people of Israel.
I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; (Isaiah 42:6)
Isaiah the prophet spoke about a person who would be given for a COVENANT of the people, and for a LIGHT to the Gentiles. Who is this person that Isaiah was talking about? The person is without question Jesus the Christ (Messiah). Jesus Christ IS the covenant for both the Jewish people and the Gentile people! There is NO COVENANT for the Jewish people or the Gentiles (Nations) outside of faith in Jesus Christ! The Jewish people do not have a BLOOD atonement for their sins in the present day, and they have not had a BLOOD atonement for their sins for nearly two thousand years! Jesus Christ shed His very own BLOOD for the SINS of Israel and the Nations (Gentiles) of the world. Without a BLOOD atonement a person is still in their sins, and should they DIE in that condition, they would spend eternity in Hell!
For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. (Leviticus 17:11)
In the passage below Jesus is sharing a Passover meal with his own disciples, and He declared that the cup in His hand represented the New Testament (COVENANT) in His own BLOOD, which would be shed for them. There is NO COVENANT for any person Jewish or Gentile, other than the COVENANT in the BLOOD that Jesus Christ shed on the cross almost two thousand years ago!
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. (Luke 22:19-20)
For any person to hold back this VITAL TRUTH from the Jewish people, and claim that the Jewish people are still “God’s CHOSEN people” is simply pure delusion. It is truly mind boggling to hear those same people, who claim to have a “love for the Jewish people” lambast and criticize those who preach the TRUE GOSPEL even as Jesus Himself commanded us to do! Trust me folks, that you are not being anti-semitic when you preach the Gospel to both Jew and Gentile in EXACTLY the same manner. In fact, you are in PERFECT OBEDIENCE to the Lord Himself. The passage below speaks about this great salvation going to the ends of the earth!
And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6)
What a powerful verse we have right here! Once again, the servant that this verse is talking about is obviously Jesus the Christ (Messiah). Jesus would restore Israel and He would be a LIGHT to the Gentiles, to the very ends of the Earth! What happened when Jesus Christ came to this earth? Did the Jewish people receive Him as the Messiah?
He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:11-12)
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)
Jesus came unto His own (the Jewish people) but for the most part they rejected Him, and ultimately had him put to death by crucifixion. What happened after Jesus was killed on the cross? He rose from the dead just as He said that he would. What message did Jesus give to His followers to preach after He rose from the dead?
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake 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. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved 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. (Luke 24:44-47)
Jesus the Christ (Messiah) told His followers to preach repentance and remission of sins in HIS name, beginning at Jeruslaem (where the Jewish people were), and then OUTWARD to the rest of the NATIONS of the world. That is EXACTLY what Isaiah the prophet was speaking about when he said that the servant (Christ) would also be a LIGHT to the Gentiles (Nations)
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)
The RISEN Jesus, the Christ (Messiah), declared that He possessed ALL POWER in Heaven and Earth, and once again He told His disciples (followers) to teach ALL NATIONS (Gentiles). Jesus told them that He would be with them until the end of the world!
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1:8-11)
The Lord told His followers that when the Holy Ghost came upon them, they would be witnesses for Him, in Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth. Once again this is the very FULFILLMENT of the prophecy by Isaiah, which spoke about that servant (Jesus Christ) being salvation to the ends of the earth! (Isaiah 49:6) Ladies and gentlemen, there is only ONE salvation plan for ALL people on planet earth. The prophets spoke about the coming Messiah, and that devout Jewish man, named Simeon, was one of the FEW who recognized Jesus to be the Christ (Messiah) when He arrived. Jesus is the only way of salvation for the Jewish people, and Jesus is the only way of salvation for the Gentiles (the rest of the people in nations all over the world).
No Distinction Between Jew and Gentile
Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; (Ephesians 2:11-15)
The Gentiles (Nations of the world) have been made nigh (near) by the BLOOD that Jesus Christ shed on the cross. Almost two thousand years ago, God broke down the wall which separated the people of Israel and the Gentiles, and he abolished it. Unfortunately there are still some FALSE TEACHERS who are trying to put a separation between Israel and the Gentiles, and they are attempting to REPLACE that wall of partition that God broke down. I guess that you could call that REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY because it is REPLACING the TRUTH of the Bible, with a very FALSE message! There is no other way for a person to be SAVED except through Jesus Christ. He is THE COVENANT, and if a person rejects HIM then they reject salvation itself, and they make God out to be a LIAR!
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (1 John 5:10-12)
It is truly mind boggling that there are some who will declare that the Jewish people are still God’s CHOSEN people, in spite of the fact that the majority of Jewish people totally reject the thought of Jesus as Messiah and Lord! This is what the scriptures declare regarding the ONLY way of salvation for both Jew and Gentile, and these words will stand on the day of judgment!
Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:10-12)
That message has been going forth for nearly two thousand years and it will NEVER change. There are not TWO distinct and separate plans for the Jewish people and the Gentiles. Be careful that you do not place yourself under the very CURSE of God by preaching a FALSE GOSPEL to the Jewish people, and giving them a FALSE HOPE outside of Jesus Christ!
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:8-10)
Jesus Christ: The Only True Hope of Israel
The Lord Jesus Christ is the hope of Israel, and He is the hope for the rest of the world too. The apostle Paul was persecuted and put in chains for his faith in Jesus as the hope of Israel as he declared here:
For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain. (Acts 28:20)
Jeremiah the prophet tells us that the Lord is the hope of Israel, and he described Him as a fountain of living waters also.
O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters. (Jeremiah 17:13)
Jesus declared that all who would come to him would have living waters (spiritual) flowing out of their belly!
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (John 7:37-38)
Do you believe the words of Jesus Christ the creator of all things? He said this:
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. (Mark 16:15-16)
Are the words of Jesus Christ still for us today? Here is what the Jewish apostle Paul said:
If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, (1 Timothy 6:3-4).