The new covenant refers to those whom God has chosen and called. These are the apostles of Jesus and other Christians anointed with the holy spirit. These are the same 144,000 anointed ones who will rule with Jesus in heaven.



But since these people are descendants of the imperfect Adam, they are sinful and are not sons of God by birth. Therefore, God adopts them on the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus and they become sons and heirs together with Jesus, the only begotten Son of God (Galatians 4: 1-7; Romans 8: 14-17).



Those the new covenant is the agreement of God's adoption of those whom he has chosen. Jesus in this covenant is the mediator between his Father and his apostles.

After being adopted by God, Jesus makes a covenant with his followers.

Jesus' Covenant With His Followers.


On the night of Nisan 14, 33 C.E., Jesus made this covenant with his faithful apostles. To the 11 apostles he promised that they would sit on thrones (Lu 22:28-30; 2 Ti 2:12).

Later, he showed that this promise extended to all spirit-begotten 'conquerors' (Re 3:21; Re 1:4-6; 5:9, 10; 20:6).

On the day of Pentecost he inaugurated this covenant toward them by the anointing with holy spirit of those disciples present in the upper room in Jerusalem (Ac 2:1-4,33).Those who would stick with him through trials, dying his kind of death (Php 3:10; Col 1:24), would reign with him, sharing his Kingdom rule. The covenant remains operative between Jesus Christ and these associate kings forever (Re 22:5)

The new agreement was not only made with the Israelites in the flesh.

The Israelites were unfaithful to God. From the beginning, they often tested, murmured against Jehovah, forgot Him, and worshiped other gods. Jehovah endured this for a very long time ... Israel in the flesh lost God's approval.

PENTECOST 33 A.D. e. became a significant day. On that day, a major change took place: Jehovah, through his spirit, formed a new people — spiritual Israel, or “the Israel of God.” - Galatians 6:16. For the first time since the time of Abraham, God's people began to differ from other nations not by literal male circumcision. Now everyone who enters this nation, according to Paul, is circumcised “in the heart by the Spirit” (Romans 2:29).

The first to enter this new people of God were the apostles and over a hundred other followers of Christ, who gathered in the upper room of the house in Jerusalem (Acts 1: 12-15). Holy spirit was poured out on all of them, making them spirit-born sons of God (Romans 8:15, 16; 2 Corinthians 1:21). This proved that the new agreement had entered into force. His legal basis was the blood of Christ, who became his mediator. --Luke 22:20; read Hebrews 9:15. Thus, these disciples became members of Jehovah's new people. Thanks to the holy spirit, they were able to preach in the languages ​​spoken by Jews and proselytes who had gathered from all over the Roman Empire in Jerusalem for the Jewish Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost. Spirit-born Christians spoke of “the glorious works of God,” and the people heard and understood the message. --Acts 2: 1-11.

And in 36 AD, believers from other nations were able to become members of the new people of God (Acts 1: 12-15).

Today, the Israel of God includes people of different nationalities and nations. They live in different countries, speak different languages ​​... These are Christians anointed with the spirit. And the new agreement applies to them as well.


Who do you think Christians are?

These are people who believe in Jesus, in his sacrifice, who follow in his footsteps, live according to his teachings, fulfill his task ...
Jesus Christ became the founder of true Christianity. There was no such religion before him.

The good Christians should have memorized Romans 1:16: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile."

I am not sure if you are agruing against the translation or if you are not recognizing the last word in the verse???

I used the NIV and I recognize the KJV and other versions use "Greek" in place of "Gentile." An introductory level study of the humanities would lead anyone to understand the reference to Greek philosphy comprised of VULGAR (of all people) minds.

Even when we disregard this variation the verse still says, "to EVERYONE who believes..."

Help me understand your question.

I have not done an exhaustive search but every translation of Romans 1:16 uses the word 'everyone" or the two words "every one". I quote (copy) it here again (second time) this time in the New American Standard Bible (NASB) version:



For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

-ROMANS 1:16 (NASB)



See further Romans 1:14 where the Apostle Paul initially compares Greeks to the "wise" men of the day and Acts 17:22-24 where Paul speaks in Athens to Areopagus who was proceeded by Socraters, Plato, Aristotle, and classic (secular) Greek (Athenian) Philosophies. This further suggests the Greeks were Gentiles as Athens was a gathering place for the great minds of the period, not implicitly Greeks. Therefore Salvation is for everyone who believes.

I disagree. The apostle Paul is widely considered the Apostle to the Gentiles and this does not exclude non-Jewish peoples. All apostles (and christians) were charges with going into all the world and preaching the whole gospel to all creation (Mark 16:15).

Yes, many of the churches Paul visited were Jewish but nowhere does it say non-Jews were prohibited. Likewise, Romans[1:13] does not exclude anyone... it includes both female and male believers. Paul wrote many letters including the letter to the church in Rome and each letter suggests he was very busy spreading the gospel to everone. Don't forget, the Roman empire was one of the largest empires on earth.

Again I refer to Acts chapter 17 especially verse 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

Also, read verse 18 (A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him....), should we assume all Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were Helinistic Jews? From what I understand, wealthy families from all over the known world attended these schools.

Additionally, when Paul addressed the Areopagus, should we assume only Hellinistic Jews presided in Athenian aristocracy? Clearly we are talking about a melting pot of people, beliefs, and opinions (how else can you have this caliber of philosphical debate still studied today?). Even Damaris was converted at the Areopagus and many people believe she may have been a prostitute. The point being, everyone (regardless of your sins, your fathers sins, or your fathers bloodline) is eligible for salvation.

Again I disagree. Christ preached to the gentiles.

I feel like the whole Bible disagrees with everything you assume. If I were to make strong proof, we'd surely need another for of communication... it'd probably crash the internet!

Try this site for starters:

Has God always been concerned about extending His love and forgiveness to all nations and peoples of the earth?

Yes!

To discover how this is true, we must read our Bible as Jesus read His. Jesus only had what we today call the Old Testament. In His Hebrew Bible — the Books of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms — we learn that God’s grace was never limited to one nation or people group.

God initially chose one man, Abraham, through whom He would grow the nation of Israel (Genesis 12). Israel was meant to be “ … a light for the nations, that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6, English Standard Version). And from this nation would come another, Messiah, who would fulfill all of what was written and hoped for in the Old Testament, thereby bringing the blessing of Abraham to the nations.

With unbroken continuity, the New Testament picks up right where the Old Testament left off. The foretold Messiah enters history, and God’s promise and plan of salvation are fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. God sent His Son, Jesus, that whoever believes in Him would have eternal life (John 3:16).

How the Old and New Testaments Connect
The first book of the New Testament, Matthew, begins right where the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, ended even though there were 400 years of silence from God between the two books.

Malachi was a Jewish prophet — someone who spoke to God and for God. A prophet enforced the Mosaic covenant, a collection of laws under which the nation of Israel lived. The book’s message warns of an imminent day of judgment called “the Day of the Lord.” It would be “a great and terrible day” of “cleansing and burning” and also a time of great joy and reward for the faithful.

The judgment would be particularly severe on the nation of Israel and its leaders because of specific sins against God such as hypocritical worship (Malachi 1:7-14), social injustice (2:10), pagan religious practices (2:11), divorce (2:16) and withholding tithes and offerings to God (3:8-10). But above all, the prophet declares, God’s patience is coming to an end because the people who were supposed to make God — Yahweh — known and shown to the nations of the world have failed to do so. Instead, they have disrespected His name (1:15-14). They were not reflecting God to the nations. But God’s purpose will not be defeated, for all over the world, His name is to be known and honored among the nations. In every place, prayers and worship are to be offered to Him (1:11).

Because God is so concerned that He be honored among the nations, He is about to act, Malachi warns. He will first send a forerunner, a “frontman,” to prepare the way for Him (Malachi 3:1). The forerunner will come in the likeness of an Old Testament prophet; he will stand in the tradition of the fiery man of God named Elijah (Malachi 4:5).
After the forerunner has prepared the way, then God, the Son, will come Himself (Malachi 3:1).
Jesus identified John the Baptist as the “Elijah” whom Malachi had promised. Jesus declared: “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:13-15, Revised Standard Version).

Jesus was warning that a turning point in history was near. The last of the prophets — John the Baptist, a type of Elijah — had been sent to bring about a message of reconciliation with God. Some months later, after the death of John the Baptist, He again identified John as the type of Elijah the prophet foretold by Malachi:

“But I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands. Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist” (Matthew 17:12-13, New American Standard Bible).

John the Baptist had been sent as a messenger to prepare the way for God’s Son, Jesus, the Messiah. John suffered just as the Messiah would suffer. Jesus had come to announce a new covenant promise to replace the old covenant that had been broken between God and Israel.

Summary of How the Book of Malachi Bridges to the Book of Matthew
The Book of Malachi summarizes the Old Testament books as a unified story that point to the future. It highlights the spiritual failures of God’s chosen people, Israel. It also speaks of Yahweh’s unfailing love for His people. It was this love that sent Jesus into the world, as noted in the opening of the New Testament.

Where the Israelites had failed, God’s Son, Jesus, would succeed. Jesus knew that the covenant agreement God made with His people at Mt. Sinai (in Old Testament times) had been broken again and again by a disobedient people. After a long line of prophets was sent to call them back to following God, they still failed. In Jesus’ earthly life, He paid the penalty for disobedience by His once for all sacrificial death on the cross. And He lived out and fulfilled the covenant law perfectly so that a new covenant could be introduced on behalf of a new people of God. He would make “one new man” from both Jew and Gentile (Ephesians 2:15,16). There was a note of urgency with which Jesus began His ministry.

The Gospels — the first four books of the New Testament — confirm this all-inclusive concept of God’s plan to save those who believe in Him — Jew and Gentile alike. Jesus shows that He undertook God’s rescue mission for all mankind through the distinctive title He used for Himself, in the strategy of His ministry and in His teachings.

How Jesus’ Title, Son of Man, Reveals His Identity and Mission
Jesus was “the Son of God” referred to prophetically in Psalm 2:7, and during His trial before the Jewish religious council called the Sanhedrin, He acknowledged this. But the title which He used most often throughout His ministry was “Son of Man.” More than 40 times in the Gospels the term is used, always by Jesus referring to Himself. The disciples never used the term, but called him “Lord,” “Master” or “Teacher.” Again and again, He said it: “ … the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20, ESV). “The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Matthew 9:6, ESV). “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8, ESV). “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” (Mark 13:26, ESV).

Son of Man in the Book of Ezekiel
Jesus derived this term from two principal sources: the Old Testament Books of Ezekiel and Daniel. “Son of Man” is the distinctive title applied to the prophet Ezekiel by God and occurs 87 times. The Hebrew translation of Son of Man is “ben Adam,” literally, “Son of Adam” or “son of mankind.” Originally, when used to refer to the prophet Ezekiel, it meant only “man,” as opposed to God, and reminded Ezekiel of his humble status. But by the time of Jesus, the term had become an honorific title of the Messiah, and many passages in the Book of Ezekiel were idealized and interpreted messianically. As He read the book, Jesus likely noted the similarities to Himself and His calling: “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against Me” (Ezekiel 2:3, ESV). “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, you shall give them warning from Me” (3:17, ESV).
Especially significant for Jesus were the passages concerning a remnant to be spared (6:8); the new heart and spirit (11:19; 1 36: 26-27); the new everlasting covenant (37:26); and the promise that the Gentile nations would come to know the Lord, God of Israel (37:28; 38:23, 39:7). All these were to be fulfilled by Jesus as Son of Man.

Son of Man in the Book of Daniel
Daniel 7:13-14 was also in the mind of Jesus when He used the title “Son of Man.” There it was an Aramaic term, “bar enash,” instead of “ben Adam.” But the meaning is similar, “enash” being the word for mankind in general, as against an individual male person. In rabbinical commentary and popular thought, the term had already been highly spiritualized, indicating the ideal man, almost divine in nature. While not one of the accepted books of the Bible that came from God, the Book of Enoch, an apocalyptic discourse widely circulated during the first century, exalted the figure even beyond Daniel’s vision. But it is not necessary to assume that Jesus was influenced by Enoch. The words of Daniel are clear enough:

“I kept looking in the night visions,

And behold, with the clouds of heaven,

One like a Son of Man was coming,

And He came up to the Ancient of Days

And was presented before Him.

And to Him was given dominion,

Glory and a kingdom,

That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language Might serve Him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion

Which will not pass away;

And His kingdom is one

Which will not be destroyed” (7:13-14, NASB).

Jesus knew that these things prophesied in Daniel 7 would take place after His suffering on the cross, His resurrection and His return to heaven. He claimed the title for Himself, thus identifying Himself, not only with the Hebrew people or the Jewish nation but with the whole human race, with all the families of mankind.

Summary of the Importance of Jesus’ Title, Son of Man
The Son of Man title taken from the Book of Ezekiel showed how Jesus emphasized His own perfect humanity. Taken from Daniel, it showed He understood His identity as the Messiah — the anointed One from God and promised deliverer foretold from the Old Testament. Jesus was the perfect God-man who would bring in God’s everlasting kingdom for both Jew and Gentile.

Jesus’ Ministry Strategy
The vision of a kingdom that included Jews and Gentiles was part of Jesus’ plan from the very beginning of His ministry.

Jesus’ first sermon in his hometown of Nazareth demonstrates that His life purpose extended far beyond the nation of Israel. He was not surprised that His own people — the Jews — did not receive His message. “That’s the way it has always been,” He said. (Luke 4:24, author’s paraphrase). He then gave an example: “There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah … and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow” (Luke 4:25-26, ESV). His hearers knew the rest of the story told in the Old Testament book of 1 Kings 17. Received into a Gentile home, Elijah performed the remarkable miracle of replenishing the flour and oil, then later restored the widow’s son to life — not a Jewish widow, but a Gentile!

Jesus did not stop with the example from the ministry of the Prophet Elijah. He rubbed salt into the wounded feelings of His audience with the story of Naaman, the Syrian. He was not only a Gentile but a military leader-captain of the Syrian army, which at that time was at war with Israel and had almost eradicated the hapless little nation (2 Kings 5:1-14). Namaan was stricken with leprosy, and although there were many lepers in Israel, “ … none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian” (Luke 4:27, ESV).
No more dramatic illustration could have been given that the grace of God was not limited to the people of Israel and that Gentiles often displayed greater faith than those who were considered “children of the kingdom.” It is a small wonder that the proud citizens of Nazareth were infuriated at this brash young man who insulted their nation and called into question their privileged status as God’s chosen people! But for His miraculous power, they would have hurled him to His death on the jagged rocks at the foot of a cliff (Luke 4:28-30).

First Strategy: To the Jews
Jesus did have a deep conviction of a special mission to the Jewish nation, who were God’s treasured possession (Exodus 19:5). He expressed this so strongly that some have concluded that He envisioned no mission beyond Israel. But careful consideration of all His words and actions reveals that it was a question of strategy: As Paul later expressed it, His mission was “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16; 2:10, King James Version).

Jesus’ concern for Israel was shown in the instructions to the 12 disciples as He sent them out on their first preaching mission. “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles,” He said, “and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5-6, NASB). The apostle Paul later wrote, “God, having raised up His servant, sent Him to you (the Jews) first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness (Acts 2:26, ESV, author’s clarification in parentheses).

His ministry was restricted primarily, but not exclusively to the Jews (Matthew 8:1-13). Indeed, in the very same context is the prediction that the preaching ministry of the disciples would be extended to the Gentiles; “You shall even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles” (Matthew 10:18, NASB 1977).

Luke’s Gospel tells of a later preaching mission in which 70 others were sent out two by two (Luke 10:1). Just as the 12 apostles symbolically represent the 12 tribes of Israel, the 70 symbolize the Gentile nations. In Genesis 10, the descendants of Noah are listed, 70 in number.

Rabbinical tradition assumed that this was the total number of nations scattered over the earth after the Tower of Babel and repeatedly referred to the 70 Gentile peoples. Jesus may have used this means of symbolizing His long-range purpose. The 12 were sent to heal the sick and announce the nearness of God’s kingdom. The 70 were sent later on a training mission in preparation for their ultimate mission to the whole world.

Jesus ministered to the Jews for the Gentiles.

Second Strategy: To the Gentiles
Most of the public ministry of Jesus was conducted in Jewish territory. Under the circumstances, the number of personal contacts with Gentiles recorded in the Gospels is surprising. He healed a Gadarene (Gentile) demoniac (Matthew 8:28-34). Another time, among 10 lepers healed, one was a Samaritan (a mixed race, half-Jew), and Jesus remarked upon the fact that only the foreigner returned to thank Him (Luke 17:12-19).

A Samaritan woman was the sole audience for one of Jesus’ greatest dialogues. She received the assurance that the time was near when God would be worshipped, not just in Jerusalem (where the Jews worshipped) or at Mt. Gerizim (where the Samaritans worshipped), but all over the world “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:5-42).

A Canaanite (Gentile) woman’s faith was rewarded when her daughter was healed. Much has been made of Jesus’ challenging remark at the beginning of the encounter: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24, ESV). He declined to heal her because His mission was first to the Jews. The woman understood and didn’t challenge this. Even so, she humbly submitted herself to Jesus, asking for His mercy. The significant point is that Jesus did minister to this Gentile woman and praised her faith in the presence of His disciples and the Jewish onlookers (Matthew 15:28). This incident echoed forward to Romans 15:8-9 that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy.

Another example of Jesus reaching the Gentiles involved a Roman centurion whose servant was healed. Commander of a band of 100 foreign soldiers quartered at Capernaum to keep the peace, this Roman leader was despised by the Jews who resented this “army of occupation.” Conscious of his own authority as a military man, he humbly assured Jesus that it would not be necessary for Him to go to his house to heal his servant (and thus render Himself unclean — because He was a Jewish man — by entering a Gentile home). “But only say the word, and my servant will be healed,” he declared with genuine faith (Matthew 8:8, ESV). Jesus turned and announced to the Jewish crowd which was following Him: “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith” (Matthew 8:10, ESV). He did not stop there but continued with this solemn prediction: “I tell you, many such foreigners shall come from the east and the west to join Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But many others who thought they were ‘sons of the kingdom’ (the chosen people of Israel) shall be shut out” (Matthew 8: 11-12, author’s paraphrase).

In Jerusalem, during the week of Passover, a group of Greeks who had made a commitment to follow the laws of Judaism asked to speak with Jesus (John 12). Their request for an audience caused Jesus to declare: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23, ESV). The deep interest of the Greeks was evidence that the world was ready for His redemptive mission to be culminated by His atoning death: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32, ESV). “All men” — Greeks as well as Jews — this is the clear implication of these profound words recorded by John.

Jesus’ Teaching in His Last Earthly Week
The events of Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem bear eloquent testimony to the fact that He moved resolutely toward the cross.

He entered the city on a donkey, in order to fulfill the prophet Zechariah’s prediction from the Old Testament of a king who would speak peace to the nations and whose dominion would be from sea to sea (Zechariah 9:9-10).

Then He went to the temple and found greedy religious businessmen taking advantage of those that had come to worship. So He cleansed this corruption from the court of the Gentiles (the outermost court of the temple in Jerusalem that could be entered by all peoples), declaring sternly, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations” (Mark 11:17, ESV).

Standing in the temple, He denounced the chief priests and Pharisees, the official leaders of the Jewish nation, for having failed to be good stewards of the truths of the kingdom which had been entrusted to the chosen people, and solemnly declared, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits” (Matthew 21:43, ESV).

When asked concerning the end of the age, Jesus said, in effect: “Don’t be misled. It will not be as soon as some think. For this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all nations, and after that, the end shall come” (Matthew 24:4-14, author’s paraphrase). Concerning His return in glory, He was purposely vague, declaring, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36, ESV). But when He does come, He promised, “Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:32, ESV).

Just before the Passover, at a house in Bethany, an adoring woman anointed His body with costly ointment. When she was criticized for her extravagance, Jesus stoutly defended her with these words: “ … She did it to prepare Me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her” (Matthew 26:12,13, ESV).

The next evening in the upper room with His disciples, He sealed the new covenant with them, in anticipation of His death. He declared as He passed the cup, “for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28, ESV). Only the disciples were present, and all were Jews. But Jesus knew that the small nucleus of a new chosen people, the remnant of Israel, was soon to be enlarged, as the many for whom He died heard the good news of His love and forgiveness and placed their trust in Him as their Lord and Savior.

After Jesus’ resurrection, His last words before He went back to heaven gave instruction to His followers: ”But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8, ESV).
God’s heart has always been for the nations, and the global vision of the risen Jesus remains the same. Jesus’ call is for His followers to reach all peoples with the good news of His love and forgiveness.

Source: (https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/share-the-gospel/evangelism-principles/jesus-and-the-gentiles.html)

Again I disagree. Christ preached to the gentiles.

I feel like the whole Bible disagrees with everything you assume. If I were to make strong proof, we'd surely need another for of communication... it'd probably crash the internet!

Try this site for starters:

Has God always been concerned about extending His love and forgiveness to all nations and peoples of the earth?

Yes!

To discover how this is true, we must read our Bible as Jesus read His. Jesus only had what we today call the Old Testament. In His Hebrew Bible — the Books of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms — we learn that God’s grace was never limited to one nation or people group.

God initially chose one man, Abraham, through whom He would grow the nation of Israel (Genesis 12). Israel was meant to be “ … a light for the nations, that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6, English Standard Version). And from this nation would come another, Messiah, who would fulfill all of what was written and hoped for in the Old Testament, thereby bringing the blessing of Abraham to the nations.

With unbroken continuity, the New Testament picks up right where the Old Testament left off. The foretold Messiah enters history, and God’s promise and plan of salvation are fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. God sent His Son, Jesus, that whoever believes in Him would have eternal life (John 3:16).

How the Old and New Testaments Connect
The first book of the New Testament, Matthew, begins right where the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, ended even though there were 400 years of silence from God between the two books.

Malachi was a Jewish prophet — someone who spoke to God and for God. A prophet enforced the Mosaic covenant, a collection of laws under which the nation of Israel lived. The book’s message warns of an imminent day of judgment called “the Day of the Lord.” It would be “a great and terrible day” of “cleansing and burning” and also a time of great joy and reward for the faithful.

The judgment would be particularly severe on the nation of Israel and its leaders because of specific sins against God such as hypocritical worship (Malachi 1:7-14), social injustice (2:10), pagan religious practices (2:11), divorce (2:16) and withholding tithes and offerings to God (3:8-10). But above all, the prophet declares, God’s patience is coming to an end because the people who were supposed to make God — Yahweh — known and shown to the nations of the world have failed to do so. Instead, they have disrespected His name (1:15-14). They were not reflecting God to the nations. But God’s purpose will not be defeated, for all over the world, His name is to be known and honored among the nations. In every place, prayers and worship are to be offered to Him (1:11).

Because God is so concerned that He be honored among the nations, He is about to act, Malachi warns. He will first send a forerunner, a “frontman,” to prepare the way for Him (Malachi 3:1). The forerunner will come in the likeness of an Old Testament prophet; he will stand in the tradition of the fiery man of God named Elijah (Malachi 4:5).
After the forerunner has prepared the way, then God, the Son, will come Himself (Malachi 3:1).
Jesus identified John the Baptist as the “Elijah” whom Malachi had promised. Jesus declared: “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:13-15, Revised Standard Version).

Jesus was warning that a turning point in history was near. The last of the prophets — John the Baptist, a type of Elijah — had been sent to bring about a message of reconciliation with God. Some months later, after the death of John the Baptist, He again identified John as the type of Elijah the prophet foretold by Malachi:

“But I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands. Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist” (Matthew 17:12-13, New American Standard Bible).

John the Baptist had been sent as a messenger to prepare the way for God’s Son, Jesus, the Messiah. John suffered just as the Messiah would suffer. Jesus had come to announce a new covenant promise to replace the old covenant that had been broken between God and Israel.

Summary of How the Book of Malachi Bridges to the Book of Matthew
The Book of Malachi summarizes the Old Testament books as a unified story that point to the future. It highlights the spiritual failures of God’s chosen people, Israel. It also speaks of Yahweh’s unfailing love for His people. It was this love that sent Jesus into the world, as noted in the opening of the New Testament.

Where the Israelites had failed, God’s Son, Jesus, would succeed. Jesus knew that the covenant agreement God made with His people at Mt. Sinai (in Old Testament times) had been broken again and again by a disobedient people. After a long line of prophets was sent to call them back to following God, they still failed. In Jesus’ earthly life, He paid the penalty for disobedience by His once for all sacrificial death on the cross. And He lived out and fulfilled the covenant law perfectly so that a new covenant could be introduced on behalf of a new people of God. He would make “one new man” from both Jew and Gentile (Ephesians 2:15,16). There was a note of urgency with which Jesus began His ministry.

The Gospels — the first four books of the New Testament — confirm this all-inclusive concept of God’s plan to save those who believe in Him — Jew and Gentile alike. Jesus shows that He undertook God’s rescue mission for all mankind through the distinctive title He used for Himself, in the strategy of His ministry and in His teachings.

How Jesus’ Title, Son of Man, Reveals His Identity and Mission
Jesus was “the Son of God” referred to prophetically in Psalm 2:7, and during His trial before the Jewish religious council called the Sanhedrin, He acknowledged this. But the title which He used most often throughout His ministry was “Son of Man.” More than 40 times in the Gospels the term is used, always by Jesus referring to Himself. The disciples never used the term, but called him “Lord,” “Master” or “Teacher.” Again and again, He said it: “ … the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20, ESV). “The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Matthew 9:6, ESV). “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8, ESV). “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” (Mark 13:26, ESV).

Son of Man in the Book of Ezekiel
Jesus derived this term from two principal sources: the Old Testament Books of Ezekiel and Daniel. “Son of Man” is the distinctive title applied to the prophet Ezekiel by God and occurs 87 times. The Hebrew translation of Son of Man is “ben Adam,” literally, “Son of Adam” or “son of mankind.” Originally, when used to refer to the prophet Ezekiel, it meant only “man,” as opposed to God, and reminded Ezekiel of his humble status. But by the time of Jesus, the term had become an honorific title of the Messiah, and many passages in the Book of Ezekiel were idealized and interpreted messianically. As He read the book, Jesus likely noted the similarities to Himself and His calling: “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against Me” (Ezekiel 2:3, ESV). “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, you shall give them warning from Me” (3:17, ESV).
Especially significant for Jesus were the passages concerning a remnant to be spared (6:8); the new heart and spirit (11:19; 1 36: 26-27); the new everlasting covenant (37:26); and the promise that the Gentile nations would come to know the Lord, God of Israel (37:28; 38:23, 39:7). All these were to be fulfilled by Jesus as Son of Man.

Son of Man in the Book of Daniel
Daniel 7:13-14 was also in the mind of Jesus when He used the title “Son of Man.” There it was an Aramaic term, “bar enash,” instead of “ben Adam.” But the meaning is similar, “enash” being the word for mankind in general, as against an individual male person. In rabbinical commentary and popular thought, the term had already been highly spiritualized, indicating the ideal man, almost divine in nature. While not one of the accepted books of the Bible that came from God, the Book of Enoch, an apocalyptic discourse widely circulated during the first century, exalted the figure even beyond Daniel’s vision. But it is not necessary to assume that Jesus was influenced by Enoch. The words of Daniel are clear enough:

“I kept looking in the night visions,

And behold, with the clouds of heaven,

One like a Son of Man was coming,

And He came up to the Ancient of Days

And was presented before Him.

And to Him was given dominion,

Glory and a kingdom,

That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language Might serve Him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion

Which will not pass away;

And His kingdom is one

Which will not be destroyed” (7:13-14, NASB).

Jesus knew that these things prophesied in Daniel 7 would take place after His suffering on the cross, His resurrection and His return to heaven. He claimed the title for Himself, thus identifying Himself, not only with the Hebrew people or the Jewish nation but with the whole human race, with all the families of mankind.

Summary of the Importance of Jesus’ Title, Son of Man
The Son of Man title taken from the Book of Ezekiel showed how Jesus emphasized His own perfect humanity. Taken from Daniel, it showed He understood His identity as the Messiah — the anointed One from God and promised deliverer foretold from the Old Testament. Jesus was the perfect God-man who would bring in God’s everlasting kingdom for both Jew and Gentile.

Jesus’ Ministry Strategy
The vision of a kingdom that included Jews and Gentiles was part of Jesus’ plan from the very beginning of His ministry.

Jesus’ first sermon in his hometown of Nazareth demonstrates that His life purpose extended far beyond the nation of Israel. He was not surprised that His own people — the Jews — did not receive His message. “That’s the way it has always been,” He said. (Luke 4:24, author’s paraphrase). He then gave an example: “There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah … and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow” (Luke 4:25-26, ESV). His hearers knew the rest of the story told in the Old Testament book of 1 Kings 17. Received into a Gentile home, Elijah performed the remarkable miracle of replenishing the flour and oil, then later restored the widow’s son to life — not a Jewish widow, but a Gentile!

Jesus did not stop with the example from the ministry of the Prophet Elijah. He rubbed salt into the wounded feelings of His audience with the story of Naaman, the Syrian. He was not only a Gentile but a military leader-captain of the Syrian army, which at that time was at war with Israel and had almost eradicated the hapless little nation (2 Kings 5:1-14). Namaan was stricken with leprosy, and although there were many lepers in Israel, “ … none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian” (Luke 4:27, ESV).
No more dramatic illustration could have been given that the grace of God was not limited to the people of Israel and that Gentiles often displayed greater faith than those who were considered “children of the kingdom.” It is a small wonder that the proud citizens of Nazareth were infuriated at this brash young man who insulted their nation and called into question their privileged status as God’s chosen people! But for His miraculous power, they would have hurled him to His death on the jagged rocks at the foot of a cliff (Luke 4:28-30).

First Strategy: To the Jews
Jesus did have a deep conviction of a special mission to the Jewish nation, who were God’s treasured possession (Exodus 19:5). He expressed this so strongly that some have concluded that He envisioned no mission beyond Israel. But careful consideration of all His words and actions reveals that it was a question of strategy: As Paul later expressed it, His mission was “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16; 2:10, King James Version).

Jesus’ concern for Israel was shown in the instructions to the 12 disciples as He sent them out on their first preaching mission. “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles,” He said, “and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5-6, NASB). The apostle Paul later wrote, “God, having raised up His servant, sent Him to you (the Jews) first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness (Acts 2:26, ESV, author’s clarification in parentheses).

His ministry was restricted primarily, but not exclusively to the Jews (Matthew 8:1-13). Indeed, in the very same context is the prediction that the preaching ministry of the disciples would be extended to the Gentiles; “You shall even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles” (Matthew 10:18, NASB 1977).

Luke’s Gospel tells of a later preaching mission in which 70 others were sent out two by two (Luke 10:1). Just as the 12 apostles symbolically represent the 12 tribes of Israel, the 70 symbolize the Gentile nations. In Genesis 10, the descendants of Noah are listed, 70 in number.

Rabbinical tradition assumed that this was the total number of nations scattered over the earth after the Tower of Babel and repeatedly referred to the 70 Gentile peoples. Jesus may have used this means of symbolizing His long-range purpose. The 12 were sent to heal the sick and announce the nearness of God’s kingdom. The 70 were sent later on a training mission in preparation for their ultimate mission to the whole world.

Jesus ministered to the Jews for the Gentiles.

Second Strategy: To the Gentiles
Most of the public ministry of Jesus was conducted in Jewish territory. Under the circumstances, the number of personal contacts with Gentiles recorded in the Gospels is surprising. He healed a Gadarene (Gentile) demoniac (Matthew 8:28-34). Another time, among 10 lepers healed, one was a Samaritan (a mixed race, half-Jew), and Jesus remarked upon the fact that only the foreigner returned to thank Him (Luke 17:12-19).

A Samaritan woman was the sole audience for one of Jesus’ greatest dialogues. She received the assurance that the time was near when God would be worshipped, not just in Jerusalem (where the Jews worshipped) or at Mt. Gerizim (where the Samaritans worshipped), but all over the world “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:5-42).

A Canaanite (Gentile) woman’s faith was rewarded when her daughter was healed. Much has been made of Jesus’ challenging remark at the beginning of the encounter: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24, ESV). He declined to heal her because His mission was first to the Jews. The woman understood and didn’t challenge this. Even so, she humbly submitted herself to Jesus, asking for His mercy. The significant point is that Jesus did minister to this Gentile woman and praised her faith in the presence of His disciples and the Jewish onlookers (Matthew 15:28). This incident echoed forward to Romans 15:8-9 that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy.

Another example of Jesus reaching the Gentiles involved a Roman centurion whose servant was healed. Commander of a band of 100 foreign soldiers quartered at Capernaum to keep the peace, this Roman leader was despised by the Jews who resented this “army of occupation.” Conscious of his own authority as a military man, he humbly assured Jesus that it would not be necessary for Him to go to his house to heal his servant (and thus render Himself unclean — because He was a Jewish man — by entering a Gentile home). “But only say the word, and my servant will be healed,” he declared with genuine faith (Matthew 8:8, ESV). Jesus turned and announced to the Jewish crowd which was following Him: “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith” (Matthew 8:10, ESV). He did not stop there but continued with this solemn prediction: “I tell you, many such foreigners shall come from the east and the west to join Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But many others who thought they were ‘sons of the kingdom’ (the chosen people of Israel) shall be shut out” (Matthew 8: 11-12, author’s paraphrase).

In Jerusalem, during the week of Passover, a group of Greeks who had made a commitment to follow the laws of Judaism asked to speak with Jesus (John 12). Their request for an audience caused Jesus to declare: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23, ESV). The deep interest of the Greeks was evidence that the world was ready for His redemptive mission to be culminated by His atoning death: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32, ESV). “All men” — Greeks as well as Jews — this is the clear implication of these profound words recorded by John.

Jesus’ Teaching in His Last Earthly Week
The events of Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem bear eloquent testimony to the fact that He moved resolutely toward the cross.

He entered the city on a donkey, in order to fulfill the prophet Zechariah’s prediction from the Old Testament of a king who would speak peace to the nations and whose dominion would be from sea to sea (Zechariah 9:9-10).

Then He went to the temple and found greedy religious businessmen taking advantage of those that had come to worship. So He cleansed this corruption from the court of the Gentiles (the outermost court of the temple in Jerusalem that could be entered by all peoples), declaring sternly, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations” (Mark 11:17, ESV).

Standing in the temple, He denounced the chief priests and Pharisees, the official leaders of the Jewish nation, for having failed to be good stewards of the truths of the kingdom which had been entrusted to the chosen people, and solemnly declared, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits” (Matthew 21:43, ESV).

When asked concerning the end of the age, Jesus said, in effect: “Don’t be misled. It will not be as soon as some think. For this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all nations, and after that, the end shall come” (Matthew 24:4-14, author’s paraphrase). Concerning His return in glory, He was purposely vague, declaring, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36, ESV). But when He does come, He promised, “Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:32, ESV).

Just before the Passover, at a house in Bethany, an adoring woman anointed His body with costly ointment. When she was criticized for her extravagance, Jesus stoutly defended her with these words: “ … She did it to prepare Me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her” (Matthew 26:12,13, ESV).

The next evening in the upper room with His disciples, He sealed the new covenant with them, in anticipation of His death. He declared as He passed the cup, “for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28, ESV). Only the disciples were present, and all were Jews. But Jesus knew that the small nucleus of a new chosen people, the remnant of Israel, was soon to be enlarged, as the many for whom He died heard the good news of His love and forgiveness and placed their trust in Him as their Lord and Savior.

After Jesus’ resurrection, His last words before He went back to heaven gave instruction to His followers: ”But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8, ESV).
God’s heart has always been for the nations, and the global vision of the risen Jesus remains the same. Jesus’ call is for His followers to reach all peoples with the good news of His love and forgiveness.

Source: (https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/share-the-gospel/evangelism-principles/jesus-and-the-gentiles.html)

Where did you learn that God's grace was NOT limited to one people? Please show me!
You write that Jesus ministered to the Jews for the Gentiles. Can you see how foolish this is? Why would Jesus do that and for what purpose? And what about Paul? Did you see the connections? Paul NEVER wrote to an Islamic Nation. Why would he?

What is the holy spirit?? You can write your own opinion but will not answer my questions.

Another important question is about salvation. What is salvation and for whom is it? You will say all believers, like your followers. Once you answer this question, you will see how WRONG you are, and futile your writings! But I know, it's hard to believe differently and set aside everything you believe and have learned!

What happened to the 12 disciples after the resurrection and ascension?

1 – Judas

We all know what happened to him…

2 – Andrew – missionary to modern day Georgia/Bulgaria (area adjacent to the Black Sea near Turkey); martyred/crucified in town of Achaia (Greece)

He was a fisherman from Galilee; was Peter’s brother; brought Peter to Jesus; preached to the Scythians and Thracians; was crucified and buried at Patrae (Greece).

According to Hippolytus: Andrew preached to the Scythians [modern day Georgia] and Thracians [modern day Bulgaria, both Georgia and Bulgaria are adjacent to the Black Sea near Turkey], and was crucified, suspended on an olive tree, at Patrae, a town of Achaia [Greece]; and there too he was buried.

3 – Bartholomew – missionary to India; martyred/crucified upside down in Armenia (Georgia)

Bartholomew: From Cana in Galilee; also known as Nathanael; preached in India, to whom he also gave the Gospel according to Matthew; was crucified and buried in Allanum.

According to Hippolytus, Bartholomew preached in India (geography – moving to the east and to the south, you have Turkey, than Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and then India: Bartholomew, again, preached to the Indians, to whom he also gave the Gospel according to Matthew, and was crucified with his head downward, and was buried in Allanum, a town of the great Armenia [modern day southern Georgia].

Eusebius, in his Church History, confirms the ministry of Bartholomew in India.

4 – James, Son of Alphaeus – local missionary in Jerusalem; martyred/stoned in Jerusalem

He was the son of Alphaeus, possibly Matthew’s brother; not to be confused with the son of Zebedee or the author of the Book of James (who was Jesus’ brother); when preaching in Jerusalem was stoned to death by the Jews and was buried there beside the temple.

Hippolytus identifies that James was stoned to death in Jerusalem: And James the son of Alphaeus, when preaching in Jerusalem, was stoned to death by the Jews, and was buried there beside the temple.

5 – James, Son of Zebedee – local missionary in Judea; martyred/beheaded in Judea

He was the son of Zebedee, brother to John; from Capernaum; referred to by Jesus as one of the sons of thunder; when preaching in Judea, was killed by Herod the tetrarch and was buried there.

James was the brother of John, the disciple “that Jesus loved.” According to the Book of Acts in the New Testament, James was killed by Herod:
Act 12:1 And at that time Herod the king threw on his hands to oppress some of those of the church.
Act 12:2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

This is confirmed by Hippolytus: James, his brother, when preaching in Judea, was cut off with the sword by Herod the tetrarch, and was buried there.

Eusebius described more precisely what was cut off of James: First Stephen was stoned to death by them, and after him James, the son of Zebedee and the brother of John, was beheaded.

6 – John, brother of James and son of Zebedee – banished to Patmos; died of old age

John: The son of Zebedee, brother to James; from Capernaum; referred to by Jesus as one of the sons of thunder and identified as the disciple “whom Jesus loved”; he wrote the Gospel of John, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John; in Asia, was banished by Domitian the king to the isle of Patmos where he wrote the Book of Revelation; died in Ephesus.

John was one of the few disciples that did not die a cruel death, but of old age.

Eusebius discusses the reason that John wrote his Gospel: Matthew and John have left us written memorials, and they, tradition says, were led to write only under the pressure of necessity…And when Mark and Luke had already published their Gospels, they say that John, who had employed all his time in proclaiming the Gospel orally, finally proceeded to write for the following reason. The three Gospels already mentioned having come into the hands of all and into his own too, they say that he accepted them and bore witness to their truthfulness; but that there was lacking in them an account of the deeds done by Christ at the beginning of his ministry.

According to Hippolytus, John was banished by Domitian to the Isle of Patmos, and later died in Ephesus: John, again, in Asia, was banished by Domitian the king to the isle of Patmos, in which also he wrote his Gospel and saw the apocalyptic vision (Revelation); and in Trajan’s time he fell asleep at Ephesus, where his remains were sought for, but could not be found.

7 – Matthew/Levi – missionary to Parthia (Iran); died of old age

Matthew: A tax collector in Capernaum; son of Alphaeus, possibly James’ brother; also known as Levi or the publican; wrote the Gospel of Matthew; died at Hierees, a town of Parthia (Iran).

Eusebius referenced to Bishop Papias of Hierapolis, as early as c. 110 A.D., bearing witness to Matthew’s authorship of his gospel: ….Matthew put together the oracles [of the Lord] in the Hebrew language, and each one interpreted them as best he could.

According to Hippolytus: Matthew wrote the Gospel in the Hebrew tongue, and published it at Jerusalem, and fell asleep at Hierees, a town of Parthia [Parthia is near modern day Tehran in Iran]

8 – Simon/Peter – missionary to Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Betania, Italy, Asia; martyred/crucified upside down in Rome

He was a fisherman from Galilee who was previously called Simon and was also called Cephas; he was Andrew’s brother; wrote 1st and 2nd Peter; preached the Gospel in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Betania, Italy, and Asia; was afterwards crucified by Nero in Rome.

Eusebius, quoting Papias of Hierapolis (c. 110 A.D.), records a tradition that the Gospel of Mark preserved the Gospel as preached by Peter: Mark having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately whatsoever he remembered…. he accompanied Peter…

Irenaeus (c. 180 A.D.) records a similar tradition, and mentions that Peter and Paul founded the Church in Rome (Italy – geography – moving to the West and slightly north from Israel, you hit the Mediterannean Sea, then Greece and Italy): Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, did also hand down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter…

Eusebius records that Peter was put to death under Nero in Rome: It is, therefore, recorded that Paul was beheaded in Rome itself, and that Peter likewise was crucified under Nero. This account of Peter and Paul is substantiated by the fact that their names are preserved in the cemeteries of that place even to the present day. (Paul was a Roman citizen can cannot be crucified but got an “easier” death sentence).

Hippolytus confirmed the fact that Peter was crucified by Nero in Rome: Peter preached the Gospel in Pontus (Turkey), and Galatia (Turkey), and Cappadocia (Turkey), and Betania, and Italy, and Asia, and was afterwards crucified by Nero in Rome with his head downward, as he had himself desired to suffer in that manner.

9 – Philip – missionary to Phrygia (Turkey); martyred/crucified upside down in Hierapolis (Turkey)

Philip: From Bethsaida; not to be confused with Philip who was one of the seven deacons chosen to help with the food distribution program in the church (Acts 6:5); preached in Phrygia (Turkey), and was crucified and buried in Hierapolis in the time of Domitian.

According to Hippolytus, Philip preached and was executed in what today is eastern Turkey:
Philip preached in Phrygia, and was crucified in Hierapolis with his head downward in the time of Domitian, and was buried there.

10 – Simon the Zealot – bishop of Jerusalem after James; died of old age

He was from Cana and was called Simon the Canaanite or Simon the Zealot (the Zealots were Jewish revolutionaries who opposed Rome); the son of Clopas, died and was buried in Jerusalem.

According to Hippolytus, Simon the Zealot was the second Bishop of Jerusalem: Simon the Zealot, the son of Clopas, who is also called Jude, became bishop of Jerusalem after James the Just, and fell asleep and was buried there at the age of 120 years.

11 – Thaddaeus/Judas son of James – missionary to Edessa and to the surrounding Mesopotamian region (Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Iran); died of old age

He may have taken the name Thaddaeus (“warm-hearted”) because of the infamy that came to be attached to the name Judas; also called Lebbaeus; not to be confused with the author of the Book of Jude who was Jesus’ and James’ brother; preached to the people of Edessa, to all Mesopotamia, and died and was buried at Berytus.

Hippolytus records: preached to the people of Edessa (upper Mesopotamica), and to all Mesopotamia (corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran), and fell asleep at Berytus (Lebanon, near Syria and Turkey), and was buried there.

12 – Thomas – missionary to Parthians/Medes/Hyrcanians (Iran), Bactrians (Afghanistan); martyred – speared in 4 different places

Thomas: Also called Didymus; possibly a fisherman; often remembered as “Doubting Thomas”; preached to the Parthians (Iran), Medes (Iran), Persians (Iran), Hyrcanians (Iran), Bactrians (Afghanistan), and Margians; was killed and buried in Calamene, a city of India.

Hippolytus records that Thomas was an active missionary, and that he met his fate in India:
And Thomas preached to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians, and Margians, and was thrust through in the four members of his body with a pine spear at Calamene, the city of India, and was buried there.

13 – Matthias – local missionary in Jerusalem; died of old age

After Jesus’ ascension the 11 Apostles met in the upper room where they were staying and cast lots to decide between two disciples, Matthias and Joseph called Barsabus, who was surnamed Justus.

Matthias replaced Judas Iscariot to bring the Apostles number back to 12; was one of the 72 and preached in Jerusalem; died and was buried there.

14 – Paul – missionary to Illyricum (Croatia), Italy, Spain; martyred/beheaded in Rome

Paul became an apostle a year after the ascension of Christ and beginning at Jerusalem, he advanced as far as Illyricum (Croatia), Italy and Spain, preaching the Gospel for 35-years. In the time of Nero he was beheaded and buried at Rome.

12 disciples + Matthias (replacement to Judas) + Paul = 14 disciples

Out of 14, 1 was lost forever, 9 were martyrs. 4 were local missionaries in Jerusalem/Judea. The rest were foreign missionaries who left their local surroundings–9 of them out of the 14 were foreign missionaries and church planters.

Source: https://raychoi.org/2012/06/01/what-happened-to-the-12-disciples-after-the-resurrection-and-ascension/



The good Christian should have memorized Ephesians 2:8-9 where Paul defines Salvagion as a gracious gift through on faith. This gift is not like the Law of Moses (John 1:17) and it includes gentiles:

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...

-Romans 11:25



I am not a minister (just a reasonable person) so I have no followers. I have read a few religious books finding most concur with base facets... if we do not approach them with a hard heart full of pride and alterior motivations.



I fail to see my wrong; where am I wrong?



Yes, each of us must open our hearts and guard against hypocrisy.

Thank you for your gracious kindness, I wish I could find a women who'd feel sorry for me, pause and give me more time to digest!

Thank you for telling me I am wrong, again. This time could you show me?

It matters not what ethnicity the Apostles were or who is Islamic. Yes, Christ was an Israelite but he ministered to everyone.

The concept of salvation I have relayed comes straight from the Bible and nearly every Bible church interprets plainly without the difficulties you now harbor. Perhaps you are looking for your interpretation??? Is there some reason anyone should care about your interpretation over, say, Yehuda a youngster of 32 years old, to whom the Rabbi's and chief Priest have bowed???

Really did he? This is what Christ said out of his own mouth: Matthew [15:24] But he answered and said: I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Who sent Chris? God did. Why? To administer and save HIS people from their sin.

You are WRONG Again! What is sin and can everyone sin?

We can keep going on until you learn! But will you?

Yes, the youngster is the new false Messiah for whom Israel has been waitng for since 1948. That makes him the MOST important person in Israel. He will bill bring changes and speed up the downfall of the middle east. This is wat Chirst had to say about messiahs like him: Matthew [24:24] For there shall arise false Christ, and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew great signs and wonders insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

We know how Christ is coming, so he can deceice his people, and believers who think that he is the true messiah. He is not the first, but one of the last who will deceive his people.

And for your info the nationality of everyone in the bible does matter. If you think differently then show me where the Romans tortured and Killed their own people and why. Christ came for his people and none else.

Yes, indeed, Jesus was originally sent to the Israelites.

But in 36 A.D. e. a significant event happened - he believed in Jesus Christ and was baptized centurion Cornelius, a gentile. Jehovah sent the apostle Peter to this God-fearing man and thereby showed that Jesus' command to “make disciples among all nations” was not only about preaching among Jews in different countries. --Acts 10:44, 45. From that time on, they began to preach to all people!

It was not only Peter who preached to other nations.

The preacher Philip preached to the Samaritans and the eunuch of the Ethiopian queen (Acts 8: 5-13; 8: 26-40);
the apostles Paul and John preached to other nations;
Jesus Christ himself preached to the Samaritan woman at the well when he asked her to drink water (John 4: 5-30).

The good news of the Kingdom will be preached throughout the earth to all nations. --Matthew 24:14.


Sin is anything that goes against the qualities, norms, ways and will of God; everything that spoils the relationship with God.

Most people do not know the qualities of God, nor his will, nor his ways, therefore they often act and speak incorrectly, i.e. sinning.

Jesus came to save people from the power of sin. This refers to the sin that Adam passed on to us all as an inheritance.

Mary in Quran
The prophet Zakariah (Zachariah) - the father of prophet Yahya (John the Baptist) - was chosen as the guardian of Mary. Zakariah gave her a separate room in the temple where she worships God. Whenever Zakariah would visit the room, he would find her with fresh fruits and food, some of the fruits being out of season. He asked her, "O Mary! Who (sends) this to you?" She said: From God.
While praying, she was visited by an angel in the form of a man. Confused, she put up a screen between herself and the angel, and cried, “I seek refuge in the Merciful (God) from you, (come not near) if you fear Him.”
The angel assured her: “, I am only a messenger from Lord, (to announce) to you the gift of a holy son.” "He shall speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. And he shall be (of the company) of the righteous." The angel said, "O Mary, indeed God gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary - distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to God.
She said, "My Lord, how will I have a child when no man has touched me?" [The angel] said, "Such is God; He creates what He wills. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, 'Be,' and it is.
The angel said: And [make him] a messenger to the Children of Israel, [who will say], 'Indeed I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I design for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of God. And I cure the blind and the leper, and I give life to the dead - by permission of God. And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers.

From the article I pasted earlier you will find several times Jesus ministered outside the naiton of Israel:


Most of the public ministry of Jesus was conducted in Jewish territory. Under the circumstances, the number of personal contacts with Gentiles recorded in the Gospels is surprising. He healed a Gadarene (Gentile) demoniac (Matthew 8:28-34). Another time, among 10 lepers healed, one was a Samaritan (a mixed race, half-Jew), and Jesus remarked upon the fact that only the foreigner returned to thank Him (Luke 17:12-19).

A Samaritan woman was the sole audience for one of Jesus’ greatest dialogues. She received the assurance that the time was near when God would be worshipped, not just in Jerusalem (where the Jews worshipped) or at Mt. Gerizim (where the Samaritans worshipped), but all over the world “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:5-42).

A Canaanite (Gentile) woman’s faith was rewarded when her daughter was healed. Much has been made of Jesus’ challenging remark at the beginning of the encounter: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24, ESV). He declined to heal her because His mission was first to the Jews. The woman understood and didn’t challenge this. Even so, she humbly submitted herself to Jesus, asking for His mercy. The significant point is that Jesus did minister to this Gentile woman and praised her faith in the presence of His disciples and the Jewish onlookers (Matthew 15:28). This incident echoed forward to Romans 15:8-9 that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy.

Another example of Jesus reaching the Gentiles involved a Roman centurion whose servant was healed. Commander of a band of 100 foreign soldiers quartered at Capernaum to keep the peace, this Roman leader was despised by the Jews who resented this “army of occupation.” Conscious of his own authority as a military man, he humbly assured Jesus that it would not be necessary for Him to go to his house to heal his servant (and thus render Himself unclean — because He was a Jewish man — by entering a Gentile home). “But only say the word, and my servant will be healed,” he declared with genuine faith (Matthew 8:8, ESV). Jesus turned and announced to the Jewish crowd which was following Him: “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith” (Matthew 8:10, ESV). He did not stop there but continued with this solemn prediction: “I tell you, many such foreigners shall come from the east and the west to join Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But many others who thought they were ‘sons of the kingdom’ (the chosen people of Israel) shall be shut out” (Matthew 8: 11-12, author’s paraphrase).

In Jerusalem, during the week of Passover, a group of Greeks who had made a commitment to follow the laws of Judaism asked to speak with Jesus (John 12). Their request for an audience caused Jesus to declare: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23, ESV). The deep interest of the Greeks was evidence that the world was ready for His redemptive mission to be culminated by His atoning death: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32, ESV). “All men” — Greeks as well as Jews — this is the clear implication of these profound words recorded by John.

Jesus’ Teaching in His Last Earthly Week
The events of Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem bear eloquent testimony to the fact that He moved resolutely toward the cross.

He entered the city on a donkey, in order to fulfill the prophet Zechariah’s prediction from the Old Testament of a king who would speak peace to the nations and whose dominion would be from sea to sea (Zechariah 9:9-10).

Then He went to the temple and found greedy religious businessmen taking advantage of those that had come to worship. So He cleansed this corruption from the court of the Gentiles (the outermost court of the temple in Jerusalem that could be entered by all peoples), declaring sternly, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations” (Mark 11:17, ESV).

Standing in the temple, He denounced the chief priests and Pharisees, the official leaders of the Jewish nation, for having failed to be good stewards of the truths of the kingdom which had been entrusted to the chosen people, and solemnly declared, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits” (Matthew 21:43, ESV).

When asked concerning the end of the age, Jesus said, in effect: “Don’t be misled. It will not be as soon as some think. For this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all nations, and after that, the end shall come” (Matthew 24:4-14, author’s paraphrase). Concerning His return in glory, He was purposely vague, declaring, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36, ESV). But when He does come, He promised, “Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:32, ESV).

Just before the Passover, at a house in Bethany, an adoring woman anointed His body with costly ointment. When she was criticized for her extravagance, Jesus stoutly defended her with these words: “ … She did it to prepare Me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her” (Matthew 26:12,13, ESV).

The next evening in the upper room with His disciples, He sealed the new covenant with them, in anticipation of His death. He declared as He passed the cup, “for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28, ESV). Only the disciples were present, and all were Jews. But Jesus knew that the small nucleus of a new chosen people, the remnant of Israel, was soon to be enlarged, as the many for whom He died heard the good news of His love and forgiveness and placed their trust in Him as their Lord and Savior.

After Jesus’ resurrection, His last words before He went back to heaven gave instruction to His followers: ”But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8, ESV).
God’s heart has always been for the nations, and the global vision of the risen Jesus remains the same. Jesus’ call is for His followers to reach all peoples with the good news of His love and forgiveness.

Disillusioned words are like a bullet's bark
As human gods aim for their mark
Make everything from toy guns that spark
To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark
Easy to see without looking too far
That not much is really sacred
While preachers preach of the evil fates
Teachers teach that knowledge waits
Can lead to the hundred-dollar plates
Goodness hides behind its gates
But even the President of the United States
Sometimes must have to stand naked

Robert Zimmerman - It's alright Ma, I'm only bleeding

Some Jewish dude people are forever waxing lyrical about as if they knew him personally and he was their best friend