Peace and mercy be upon the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16)

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Yomelijah

7 min readJun 20, 2024

The New Covenant between God and the Israel of God

“As for all those who walk orderly by this rule of conduct, peace and mercy be upon them, yes, upon the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16)

Jesus Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). This New Covenant is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah 31: 31,32. According to 1 Timothy 2: 5, all men, all people who have faith in the sacrifice of Christ are under the authority of the New Covenant (John 3:16). The Israel of God represents the whole of the Christian Congregation. Nevertheless, Jesus Christ showed that this Israel of God will have one part in heaven and another on earth, in the future earthly paradise.

(Jesus Christ is the only path to everlasting life (John 14: 6; 17: 3))

The Heavenly Israel of God is constituted by the 144000, the New Jerusalem, the capital from which will flow the authority of God, coming from heaven, on earth (Revelation 7:3–8: the heavenly spiritual Israel composed of the 12 tribes of 12000 (kings and priests) =144000): “I also saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21: 2).

(Only 144,000 human beings (men or women), will have a heavenly resurrection and reign with the King Jesus Christ, in heaven, according to the prophecy of Revelation chapters 5,7 and 14)

The Earthly Israel of God will be made up of humans who will live in the future earthly paradise, being designated by Jesus Christ as the 12 tribes of Israel to be judged: “Jesus said to them: “Truly I say to you, in the re-creation, when the Son of man sits down on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28). This earthly spiritual Israel is also described in the prophecy of Ezekiel chapters 40–48.

At present, the Israel of God is constituted by faithful Christians who have the heavenly calling and Christians who have a earthly hope of everlasting life by coming out the great tribulation as great crowd (Revelation 7: 9 -17 “the great crowd).

(In the future earthly paradise there will be a great crowd that will come out from the Great Tribulation and will represent one third part of the current humanity, according to the prophecies of Zechariah 13: 8 and Revelation 7: 9–17)

(In the future paradise there will be the earthly resurrection)

(The unrighteous resurrected one will be individually judged, but the whole of humanity, in the earthly paradise will be under the authority of this worldwide judgment and the administration of the Kingdom OF God)

(The “Israel of God” is organized in a Christian congregation to worship Jehovah and serve King Jesus Christ)

On the night of the last Passover, Jesus Christ concluded the New Covenant with the faithful apostles who were with him: “Also, he took a loaf, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying: “This means my body, which is to be given in your behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” Also, he did the same with the cup after they had the evening meal, saying: “This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf”” (Luke 22: 19,20).

This New Covenant concerns all the faithful Christians, whatever their hope (heavenly or earthly). This New Covenant is closely related to the spiritual circumcision of the heart (Romans 2:25–29). Insofar as the faithful Christian has this spiritual circumcision of the heart, he can consume the unleavened bread, and the cup which represents the blood of the New Covenant (whatever his hope (heavenly or earthly)): “First let a man approve himself after scrutiny, and only then let him eat of the loaf and drink of the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28).

(We must commemorate the death of Jesus Christ every year, and all faithful Christians (regardless of hope (heavenly or earthly), are required to take the emblems of the Memorial of the Death of Jesus Christ, according to John 6:48–58)

The other sheep

“And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those also I must bring, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd”

(John 10:16)

As we carefully read John 10: 1–16, we notice that the central theme is the identification of the Messiah as a true shepherd for his disciples, the sheep.

In John 10: 1 and John 10: 16, it is written: “Most truly I say to you, He that does not enter into the sheepfold through the door but climbs up some other place, that one is a thief and a plunderer. (…) And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those also I must bring, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd”. This “sheepfold” represents the territory where Jesus Christ preached, the Nation of Israel, in the context of the Mosaic law: “These twelve Jesus sent forth, giving them these orders: “Do not go off into the road of the nations, and do not enter into a Sa·marʹi·tan city; but, instead, go continually to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5,6). “In answer he said: “I was not sent forth to any but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”” (Matthew 15:24). This sheepfold is also the “house of Israel”.

In John 10:1–6, Jesus Christ presented himself before the gate of the sheepfold. This happened at the time of his baptism. The “doorkeeper” was John the Baptist (Matthew 3:13). By baptizing him, he became the Christ. John the Baptist opened the door for him and testified that Jesus is the Christ and the Lamb of God: “See, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29–36).

In John 10:7–15, while remaining on the same Messianic theme, Jesus Christ uses another illustration by designating himself as the “door”, the only place of access in the same way as John 14:6: “Jesus said to him: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me””. The main theme of the subject is still Jesus Christ as Messiah. From verse 9, in the same passage (he changes the illustration again), he designates himself as the shepherd who grazes his sheep by making them “go in or go out” to feed them. The teaching is both centered on him and on how he cares for his sheep. Jesus Christ designates himself as the excellent shepherd who will give his life for his disciples and who loves his sheep (unlike the hired shepherd who will not risk his life for sheep which do not belong to him). Again, the central point of the teaching of Christ, is Himself as a shepherd who will sacrifice himself for his sheep (Matthew 20:28).

John 10:16–18: “And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those also I must bring, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I surrender my soul, in order that I may receive it again.No man has taken it away from me, but I surrender it of my own initiative. I have authority to surrender it, and I have authority to receive it again. The commandment on this I received from my Father”.

Reading these verses, according to the context, Jesus Christ announces a revolutionary idea at that time: he would sacrifice his life not only for his Jewish disciples (in the sheepfold), but also in favor of other disciples who would not be part of this sheepfold of Israel. The proof is, the last command which he gave to his disciples, regarding the preaching, is this: “You will be witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the most distant part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). It is precisely during the baptism of Cornelius that the words of Christ in John 10:16 began to be realized (See the narrative of Acts chapter 10).

Thus, the “other sheep” of John 10:16 apply to non-Jewish Christians in the flesh. In John 10:16–18 it is described the unity in the obedience of the sheep to the Shepherd Jesus Christ. He also spoke of all of his disciples in his day as a “little flock”: “Have no fear, little flock, because your Father has approved of giving you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). By Pentecost in 33 C.E., the disciples of Christ, numbered only 120 (Acts 1:15). In the remainder of the Acts narrative, we read that their number was a few thousand (Acts 2:41 (3,000 souls); Acts 4:4 (5,000)). Be that as it may, the new Christians, whether in the time of Christ, as in that of the apostles, represented a “little flock”, comparing with the whole population of the nation of Israel and then to the other nations of that time.

The Promise of God. The complete explanation of Genesis 3:15.

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