Jesus Christ did not only come for the lost sheep of Israel. He also came to be a light to the Gentiles (nations of the world). How do we know that? Let’s take a look at the Biblical narrative:

In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth and all the nation through one man Adam and his wife Eve. Adam’s sin resulted in death that came to all nations. After some time the nations of the world were living in wickedness and evil so then God decided to choose Noah and his family to be saved by grace. Noah responded in faith and built the ark to be saved from the flood. This was the first instance of salvation – a man became righteous by faith and not based on any national/racial background.

After the flood, God made a covenant with Noah to never flood the world again. The descendants of Noah populated the entire human race and filled the world. The human race tried to become and reach to God’s throne in heaven but at the Tower of Babel, God confounded them. They were scattered into the world as separate nations with different languages and cultures.

At that time, the world was in unbelief – the nations did not know God and had no hope. They worshipped idols, sun, moon, stars and other aspects of nature as Paul mentioned in Romans 1:20-32. These were the Gentiles or the nations of the world. This included every race and tribe in the world that was ever created.

God decided to choose Abraham out of these pagan Gentile nations, not based on anything he had done. Abraham responded by faith to this grace of God. When Abraham complained to God that he could not have children, God promised him the descendants as numerous as the stars. Abraham believed in God and was made righteous!

Genesis 15 “⁶ Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”

Later on, God sealed the covenant with the sign of circumcision:

Genesis 17 “⁹ Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. ¹⁰ This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹ You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹² For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. ¹³ Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

The only way to be blessed by God under the covenant was to be circumcised. Anyone who was not circumcised was not going to be blessed. Therefore in this covenant, there were two people: circumcised vs uncircumcised – Jew vs Gentile.

The descendants of Abraham were the Jews – who were circumcised. When the Israelites followed Moses through the Red Sea, God judged the Egyptians (Gentiles) when they were drowned. God saved His covenant people but judged those outside the covenant. When the Israelites gained their promised land by evicting the Gentile nations in their path, it was because those Gentile nations worshipped idols and not the true God who created all things.

Deuteronomy 12 “³⁰ and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.” ³¹ You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates”

Under the old covenant, Israel was chosen by grace to be a royal priesthood to bring all Gentile nations to God through the Law.

Exodus 19 “⁵ Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, ⁶ you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

But Israel was unable to do so because the Law was a heavy burden and nobody could obey the covenant. The Gentiles did not come to God but stayed away because of the heavy burdens of the law and even the Jews themselves could not keep the law. The only way to be saved was by faith in Jesus Christ. Peter confirmed this when he stopped the Judaizers from trying to get the Gentile Christians being circumcised and keeping the law.

Acts 15 “¹⁰ Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? ¹¹ No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

The law was a curse and condemnation because it demanded perfection. The law was not given to make anyone righteous but to expose sin and increase it so that people would run to Jesus Christ for salvation by grace through faith!

Romans 3 “¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.”

The Law was only given to Israel and no other nation, but the Jews could not keep the law. The Gentiles who were not under the law were also guilty because they did not join the covenant through circumcision but remained uncircumcised and separate from God.

But when Jesus Christ came, He abolished the Law on the cross so that both Jew and Gentile can be saved freely by grace through faith!

Romans 3 “²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

Paul addressed this glorious salvation to the Gentiles because Jesus Christ abolished the law on the cross through His death to make all people equal in God’s eyes – so that all people can be saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2 “⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast……¹¹ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵ by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ¹⁷ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. ¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

The Gentiles here are uncircumcised by birth – this includes all the nations outside Israel who were never the descendants of Abraham. It also includes those lost tribes of Israel who became uncircumcised during the wars with Assyria and Babylon and times of the Greek rule in the Old Testament. These Gentiles were separated from God, having no hope, excluded from the covenants and without God. But Jesus’ death on the cross forgave our sins and made us alive with Him. Jesus removed the hostility between the circumcised Jew and the uncircumcised Gentile. The Jews considered themselves as holy and clean compared to the unholy and unclean Gentiles – with enmity and hostility between Israel and the nations. But the law showed all Jew and Gentile as unholy but  only in Christ’s blood everyone could be made righteous by faith – both Jew and Gentile!

Colossians 2 “¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.”

The reason the Gentiles can now be saved is that Christ’s death on the cross removed the law that condemned us for not being circumcised. When a person believes in Christ, he/she is forgiven all sin because the law ends for that person!

The law was created to shut man’s self-righteous mouth – to increase sin so that people would come to God seeking His grace for salvation by faith.

Romans 5 ” ²⁰ The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, ²¹ so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Galatians 3 “¹⁰ For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” ¹¹ Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” ¹² The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” ¹⁴ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit……..¹⁹ Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come…… ²³ Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. ²⁴ So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. ²⁶ So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Before the cross, Jesus had to uphold the law and this is why He initially denied the Gentile woman the blessing here:

Matthew 15 “²¹ Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²² A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” ²³ Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” ²⁴ He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” ²⁵ The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. ²⁶ He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” ²⁷ “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.”

Before the cross, Jesus went only to the lost sheep of Israel and He forbid his disciples from going to Samaritans or Gentiles. It was because the law was only canceled on the cross. He could not bless the Gentiles because they were outside the covenant until His death on the cross. Only the Israelites were the children of God / children of Abraham. But when the woman persisted in faith, He gladly blessed her with the children’s bread! The Gentile also became a child of God by FAITH in CHRIST. He was giving a foretaste of the kingdom to the Gentiles that would happen fully after the day of Pentecost.

Jesus showed that He was not a respecter of persons or races or Jew or Gentile. His only criteria is to come to Him in faith! He rewards ALL who come in faith to receive His GRACE!

This is why after the cross, we see that the Gospel was sent to the Samaritans and then the Gentiles like Cornelius – its because the law ended on the cross and faith in Christ would give everyone salvation!

Acts 13 “²⁶ “Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent…..³⁸ “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. ³⁹ Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.”….On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ⁴⁵ When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him. ⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.”

The children of Abraham were the Israelites but the Gospel was also sent to the Gentiles who came to the synagogue. We see two groups of people – the Israelites (children of Abraham) and the Gentiles who feared God.

But Paul also preached to an ENTIRE CITY of Gentiles !! This means that EVERY human being on earth is qualified to be saved by faith in Christ. This means that the Gentiles were not restricted to the uncircumcised descendants of Abraham but included every non-Jew in the world!

Paul said that being circumcised or uncircumcised did not matter. The only thing that matters is faith in Christ. It does not matter if a person is Jew or Gentile but the only thing that saves a person is individual faith in Jesus Christ.

Galatians 5 “⁵ For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. ⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

This is exactly why Abraham was chosen – not because he was from Babylon or because he was a male or knew any laws. But because he believed in God! Abraham was a Gentile just like anyone else in the world but God chose him by grace and he was justified by faith and not works! God chose Abraham to display His marvelous salvation by grace!

Romans 4 “⁴ Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. ⁵ However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness……..⁹ Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. ¹⁰ Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! ¹¹ And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. ¹² And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. ¹³ It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. ¹⁴ For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, ¹⁵ because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. ¹⁶ Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷ As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations……. ²³ The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, ²⁴ but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵ He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”

Abraham was made righteous before the law came! Therefore salvation has nothing to do with the law of Israel or circumcision. Therefore the “Gentile” has nothing to do with the lost tribes of Israel. Abraham was made righteous by faith. Those who have faith are the offspring of Abraham – not based on ancestry because flesh/blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. The children of Abraham are not those who are circumcised or the blood descendants but those who have his faith!

Abraham became a “friend of God” by grace through FAITH. He received righteousness by faith and nothing else. Therefore everyone can receive the same righteousness by believing in God who raised Jesus from the dead after He was crucified for our sins. Anyone can become a child of God by faith in Christ.

The blessing of Abraham’s covenant was the land of Israel under the Old Covenant. But this was a shadow of the true blessing in heaven. The Gentiles under the old covenant had no access to this blessing but now in Christ everyone who believes in Jesus Christ will be resurrected into heaven. But the rest of mankind (unbelievers) have no hope beyond the grave.

1st Thessalonians 4 “¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him”

The blessing of Abraham to the nations (Gentiles) is the Holy Spirit who is given to everyone through faith in Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3 ” ⁷ Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. ⁸ Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” ⁹ So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. ¹⁰ For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” ¹¹ Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” ¹² The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” ¹⁴ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit is the deposit of the inheritance of salvation that will come in the end.

Ephesians 1 “¹³ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

What is the inheritance? It is the HEAVENLY JERUSALEM

1st Peter 1 “³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,”

Hebrews 11 “¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”

Hebrews 12 “²² But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem”

Hebrews 13 “¹⁴ For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.”

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he clearly proves that the Gentiles are separate unrelated people compared to the Israelites.

Romans 9 “³⁰ What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹ but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. ³² Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone”

He said that salvation came to the Gentiles because they accepted righteousness by grace through faith without works but the Israelites tried to attain it by works of the law and failed. The Israelites stumbled over the cornerstone (Christ) because of unbelief.

Romans 10 “Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. ² For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. ³ Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. ⁴ Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”…… ⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Christ came to end the law so that there is righteousness for ALL who believe in Him – both the Jew and Gentile but the Israelites didn’t believe in Him.

The vast majority of Israelites rejected Christ except for a remnant by grace:

Romans 11 “I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. ² God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew…..So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. ⁶ And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”

Why did God blind the Israelites by their unbelief? So that the Gospel would go to the Gentile world (ALL nations) and save them!

Romans 11 “¹¹ Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. ¹² But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!”

But Paul said that one day the Israelites would also believe in Jesus and it would be like the dead being raised! He was clearly saying that the Israelites are a separate people compared to the Gentile nations.

The reason the Gospel went to the Gentiles was to provoke jealousy in the Israelites so that they would be saved in the end:

Romans 11 “¹³ I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry ¹⁴ in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. ¹⁵ For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?”

Paul said that the Israelites were cut off from the tree of salvation because of their unbelief and that the Gentiles were grafted in by their faith!

Romans 11 “²⁰ Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith.”

The “you” are the Gentiles. The “they” are the Israelites – TWO SEPARATE GROUPS of PEOPLE having no relation between them – but separated by the Law of Moses.

But that God could graft the Israelites back in IF THEY BELIEVED in JESUS!

Romans 11 ” ²³ And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again”

Then Paul tells them the mystery on how the Israelites will come back to God – when the full number of Gentile believers are saved, then God will open the EYES of the Israelites (LOOSEN their HARDENED HEARTS) and ALL ISRAEL would be saved.

Romans 11 “²⁵ I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part UNTIL the full number of the Gentiles has come in, ²⁶ and in this way all Israel will be saved“

So then it is clear from the context, that the fullness of Gentiles is NOT EQUAL to “ALL Israel”. Paul was telling them that Israel was hardened partially so that the Gospel would go to the Gentiles, but when all the Gentiles were saved, then the Israelites were provoked to jealousy and the “full number” of Israelites would be saved because God would open their eyes and they would be saved. Israelites were hardened UNTIL the fullness of Gentiles were saved. After the full number of Gentiles came in, then ALL Israel would be saved.

Look at God’s marvelous plan! Look at how Paul describes God’s wonderful plan of salvation!

Romans 11 “³⁰ Just as you (GENTILES) who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their (ISRAEL) disobedience, ³¹ so they (ISRAEL) too have now become disobedient in order that they (ISRAEL) too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you (GENTILES). ³² For God has bound everyone (ISRAEL and ALL NATIONS) over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all (ISRAEL + ALL NATIONS). Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!”

When God gave the Law to Israel, it was the Gentiles who were disobedient and alienated from the blessings of God.

But when Christ came and died on the cross, the Gentiles were saved because Israel was disobedient by rejecting the Gospel!

But after the full number of Gentiles are saved, God would turn back to Israel and save their full number!

In the Book of Revelation we see the “ALL Israel” being saved when the 144,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel are saved:

Revelation 7 “⁴ Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel”

This happened after the Gospel was preached to the Gentiles and their fullness was saved. Then we see the fullness of the 12 tribes being saved.

Now, who are those 12 tribes of Israel? They are the circumcised Israelites scattered in the nations addressed by James and Peter – including the people in the 7 churches in Asia from Revelation.

James 1 ” James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations”

1st Peter 1 ” Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia”

How do we know for sure if they are circumcised? Its because we see that after the council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, Paul and Peter make an agreement:

Galatians 2 “Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas…..⁷ On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. ⁸ For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. ⁹ James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. “

So then this is the CRYSTAL CLEAR EVIDENCE that the 144,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel were CIRCUMCISED believers in Christ who heard the Gospel from Peter, James and John. They were NOT the Gentiles and were NOT uncircumcised.

Paul was writing to the Gentiles who are NOT the 12 tribes of Israel:

Romans 11 “¹³ I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry”

But Peter, James, and John were writing to the circumcised Israelites scattered in the nations: The 144,000 were saved before the event of AD70 when Jerusalem was destroyed. But that was not the end of the Gospel. It was only the end of the nation of Israel. That’s why there was such a great urgency to preach the Gospel to the Israelites in all nations within that generation.

In Revelation 20, we have TWO resurrections. The first resurrection happened in AD70 at the end of the great tribulation when the 144,000 martyrs did not worship the beast and didn’t take the mark of the beast but were resurrected to be with Christ for 1000 symbolic years.

AD70 was the END of Israel.

But the Gentile nations did not end in AD70. Therefore the Gospel continues to all nations after AD70 until the END of the world.

After the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70, there is a symbolic period of 1000 years where the Gospel is preached to all Gentile nations without the hindrance of Israelite persecution. Rome adopted Christianity in the 3rd century and Roman persecution also reduced – and the Gospel has been preached unhindered to all nations until 2020.

Some day in the future, after all nations have heard the Gospel, the END will come when the Final Resurrection happens – Christ will be revealed in the clouds and the dead in Christ will rise and those alive will be caught up in the clouds with the dead. That is the Great White throned judgment.

So then the Gospel is still relevant for the last 2000 years when Gentiles have been saved by simple faith in Christ. It is also very relevant today!

Dear friends, I want you to see the glorious love of our Father God:

John 3 “¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”

God does not want to judge the world. He LOVES the world (ALL nations) equally and wants to save everyone! This is why He imputed all our sins on the Cross and is freely imputing His righteousness to us as a free gift when we believe.

For everyone who BELIEVES in Jesus Christ will be SAVED, will be FORGIVEN of all sin and will receive ETERNAL LIFE in HEAVEN.

May God bless you in Jesus’ name.