Salvation for the Nations

God sent Jesus to provide salvation for men, women, and children of all nations, and everlasting life in the age to come.

After his resurrection, Jesus declared, “All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me! Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations.” And so, he sent his disciples to announce the salvation accomplished by his death “to the ends of the Earth.”

The promise of the Abrahamic Covenant to bless all nations is being fulfilled by Christ, and he does this as his Church preaches the Gospel to all men under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This singular message concerns much more than the individual salvation of men and women, though the salvation of every individual is vital. Redemption and reconciliation must include the entire creation.

The Apostle Paul declared that God “will reconcile all things to Himself” through His Son. Saint Peter preached that the return of Jesus will bring “the times of the restoration of all things,” and he exhorted Christians in his second letter to look forward to the “new heavens and new earth,” where only righteousness will dwell – (Colossians 1:20, Acts 3:21, 1 Peter 3:13, Ephesians 1:10).

[Lighthouse - Photo by Sebastian Knoll (Salzburg) on Unsplash]

This does not mean every individual human being will be saved. Those who reject the offer of salvation will face judgment. Nevertheless, certain New Testament passages indicate that a far larger number of men and women will inherit life than perhaps many of us expect.

The Apostle John, for example, saw a multitude of men redeemed by the blood of Jesus that “no man could number,” and the physical dimensions of New Jerusalem are impossibly large, suggesting a city overflowing with citizens. The offer of salvation is made to every man, woman, and child, not to a select company chosen from among the rest of humanity – (Revelation 7:9, 21:10-21).

The plan of redemption that began with Abraham always included the salvation of the nations and the redemption of the Creation itself. As God promised His Son, his reign and salvation will reach even to “the uttermost parts of the earth.” God sent His Son so that the world, the ‘kosmos’, “might be saved through him” - (John 3:17).

God gave promises to Abraham and Israel, and Jesus is fulfilling these promises. In Christ, we see and experience the full grace of God that was promised but remained obscure and incomplete under the former covenant. But now, all the promises of God find their “yea and amen” in Christ Jesus– (John 1:14-18, 2 Corinthians 1:20, Hebrews 1:1-3).

• “The Lord said to me, You are my Son. Today, I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession” – (Psalm 2:7-8, the Septuagint).

• “The scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations on the basis of faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, IN YOU ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED. So then, they that are from faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. <…> Now, to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He says not, and to ‘seeds’, as of many; but as of one, AND TO YOUR SEED, which is Christ” - (Galatians 3:8-9, 16. Note the verbal allusion to Genesis 22:17).

The Age of Salvation began with the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus Christ. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost confirmed this. From now on, Jesus reigns over the nations as Lord and King:

• “This is that which has been spoken through the prophet Joel: AND IT WILL BE IN THE LAST DAYS, says God, I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT UPON ALL FLESH! <…> AND IT WILL BE, THAT WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED” - (Acts 2:16-21, citing Joel 2:28, 32. Note that Peter cites the passage from the Greek Septuagint version of Joel).

The life-giving message of Christ must be announced to all men before he returns. The Son of God has overcome death and achieved everlasting salvation for all those who call upon his name. This salvation is offered freely to men and women of every nation and ethnic group, and to all on the same basis, “the faith of Jesus Christ” – (Matthew 24:14, 28:18-20, Romans 3:21-22).

Everyone who turns to Jesus in repentance and faith will receive the forgiveness of sins, the gift of God’s Spirit, and the assurance of salvation on the Last Day. God has empowered the Church with His Spirit to proclaim this Good News to every man, woman, and child on the Earth:

• “Peter said to them: Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all those who are afar off, AS MANY AS THE LORD OUR GOD WILL SUMMON” – (Acts 2:38-39. Compare Joel 2:32 in the Septuagint).

This salvation includes the redemption of the nations. The legal claim of Satan on humanity was voided by the death of Jesus, and the curse that condemned all of us to death has been broken. When Jesus returns, death will no longer enslave humanity. New Jerusalem will be fully inhabited, including nations and kings:

• “Since the children are partners in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same, that through death he might nullify him who had the tyranny of death, that is, the Devil, and liberate all those who through fear of death were all their lives subject to bondage” - (Hebrews 2:14-15).

• “And the nations will walk amidst the light of it, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into the city” – (Revelation 21:24. Compare Revelation 22:1-3).

The institutions and ideologies of the world order will not endure. Ever since Christ’s victory on the Cross, the forms of this age have entered their terminal phase. This process will continue until they all vanish from the Earth on the Last Day.

The Cross is the hinge on which History has turned. There will be no return to the old era. Following the return of Jesus, sin, suffering, and death will be eliminated forevermore:

• “But this I say, brethren, the time is shortened. <…> For the forms of this age are passing away”- (1 Corinthians 7:29-31).

• “In saying, OF A NEW SORT, he has made obsolete the first. But the thing that is becoming obsolete and aged is about to disappear!” – (Hebrews 8:13. Compare Jeremiah 31:3-34).

• “But according to his promise, we look for NEW HEAVENS AND A NEW EARTH in which righteousness dwells” - (2 Peter 3:13. See Isaiah 65:17).

When Jesus returns, he will raise the dead, overthrow death, complete the Kingdom of God, judge the nations, and bring in the New Creation – (1 Corinthians 15:24-28, Matthew 25:31-46).

ONCE AND FOR ALL TIME

The arrival of Jesus Christ in History signaled the start of the new epoch, the final age that will conclude with his return:

• “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, THE SEASON IS FULILLED, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel!” – (Mark 1:15. Compare Daniel 2:44, 12:4 and Galatians 4:4-7).

The idea of a new era of salvation is implicit in the opening words of the Letter to the Hebrews. God has spoken with great finality in His Son in these final days:

• “Many parts and many ways of old, God, having spoken to the fathers in the prophets, upon the end of these days, has spoken to us in a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the ages, who being the radiant brightness of his glory, and the precise imprint of his essence, and upholding all things by the utterance of his power, HAVING ACHIEVED THE PURIFICATION OS SINS, HE SAT DOWN ON THE RIGHT HAND of the Majesty on high” – (Hebrews 1:1-3. Note the use of wording from Leviticus 16:16 and Psalm 110:1. Both allusions are based on the Septuagint [LXX], the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament).

Through his sacrificial death, Jesus has cleansed the stain of our sins. Therefore, God resurrected him and exalted him as our High Priest - (Hebrews 8:1-2).

The death of Jesus was not an interim stage in a long series of redemptive acts, but the great and final saving act of God for His children. God has appointed this same ‘crucified messiah’ as the ruler of the Cosmos and the only source of everlasting life.

• “Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” – (Acts 2:36. Compare Acts 4:11-12).

The crucifixion of Jesus was his once-for-all sacrifice for sin, the unique event that liberates us from bondage to sin and the fear of death, for God will raise us from the dead when Jesus returns:

• “But now, once, at the conclusion of the ages, he has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And since it is appointed to men to die once and for all, and after this comes judgment, so also Christ, having been offered once and for all TO BEAR THE SINS OF MANY, will appear a second time, apart from sin, to those who are awaiting him for salvation” – (Hebrews 9:26-27. Note the verbal allusion to Isaiah 53:12, LXX).

Death will not be the end for all those who belong to Jesus. We will receive our full inheritance when Jesus returns to gather his people and resurrect the righteous dead:

• “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. And then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN with power and great glory. And he will send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” – (Matthew 24:30-31. Compare Daniel 7:13).

Salvation is provided on the same basis to every man, woman, and child: by the faith of Jesus Christ. The basis of our reconciliation with God is the sacrificial death of His Son – (Romans 3:21-22, Galatians 2:15-21).

• “For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, AND TO GIVE HIS LIFE A RANSOM FOR MANY” – (Mark 10:45. Note the verbal allusion to Isaiah 53:12).

We live in the final period before the Day of the Lord, when the Good News of salvation is proclaimed to humanity. Everyone who responds with repentance and faith will receive the forgiveness of sins in this life and resurrection in the new heavens and new earth.

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[Citations of Old Testament passages in this article are based on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint (see the link here and here). Text printed in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament. The Septuagint is represented by the Roman numeral for ‘seventy’ or LXX based on the Latin name of the translation, ‘Interpretatio septuaginta virorum’]

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SEE ALSO:

• The Son of David - (Jesus is the Son of David and heir to the Messianic Throne, the beloved Son of God, and the Suffering Servant of Yahweh)

• The Salvation of the Lord - (‘Jesus’ means “Yahweh saves.” In the man of Nazareth, the salvation promised by the God of Abraham has arrived)

• The Son of Man - (The figure of the Son of Man in the Book of Daniel is the source of Christ’s self-designation, the Son of Man)

• The Living Word - (Jesus is the Word made flesh through whom the glory of God is revealed, the same Word by which God created all things)