| Jew and Gentile are delivered from our enemies of sin and the devil and death, by the mighty acts of God in Jesus Christ's cross and resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the defeat of mans final enemy death. Jesus defeated the enemy death, after having disarmed the power of sin and the Devil at the cross. This is and was deadly war when the powers of evil were put to flight and had their power broken over men.This was Jesus who is stronger than the strongman and because the Strongman has been defeated, the strongmans goods who are the people held captive by sin and the devil are now plundered and brought into a glorious freedom and future in the Kingdom of God. Now when Jesus says that the cup they are drinking is the new covenant of Jesus blood, which is shed for you. We see that God will bring in a new covenant when he destroys sin, the devil and death in the redemption of Israel and Jerusalem. The New covenant is for those who have partaken of the life givingblood of Jesus, which gives immortality and deliverance to believing Israel. Hereafter the gentiles also would be joined through faith in Israel's Christ and be partakers of the promise of the Holy Spirit and the Kingdom of God. This is not something alien from the hope of Israel, for in the book of the prophet Ezekiel we find that the new covenant is promised and is seen to be a part of the time of the Kingdom of God. If we read Ezekiel 36 we find that their restoration after having returned from exile is in an Edenic land. However the people who return to the Edenic Kingdom of God are a recreated people who return to a recreated land. Ezekiel clearly tells us that the recreated people are the people who God recreates and makes into new creations by Him working the promises of the new covenant in them. This great redemption of Jerusalem and Israel will usher in the Kingdom of God. For to partake of the promises of the new covenant, is to partake of the promises of the Kingdom of God. Luke shows how this is worked out when the promise of the Holy Spirit is given in the book of Acts. Indeed the promise of the Holy Spirit is a promise of the New Covenant where God promises to recreate a person. The promise says God will put His Spirit in you, to cause you to walk in His ways. For people of this wicked age to walk in the ways of God needs a mighty transforming miracle to take place in the believers life, which only God can do, to make them into righteous people, good and pleasing to God. This then is the end of Israels long night of exile. For in Daniell9 whose context is the end of her exile in Babylon. We find that the Archangel Gabrielle says to Danielle that although they will return from Babylon after 70 years, their restoration will only take place after 70 weeks of years. From the rest of Danielle 9 we see that the establishing of the Kingdom and putting an end to sin happens when the Christ will be cut off. So when Israels sin is forgiven, then she will be restored to God and her exile will end. So the events of the cross and resurrection are the end of Israels exile and her restorationh to God. It is all they had longed and hoped for and would happen in the person and ministry of Christ. |
