Good News for All Nations

The Last Days, the time of fulfillment, began with the Death, Resurrection, and the Enthronement of Jesus Christ . When we hear the term “ Last Days ” we assume it refers to the final few years of history just before Christ’s return. Nevertheless, the New Testament presents this period as the era of fulfillment that began following the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, and the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost. In Christ, the “ ends of the ages ” have come upon the Church, the people of God – (1 Corinthians 10:11).

The Gift of the Spirit is for every man who repents and follows Jesus, even to those afar off, and in fulfillment of the promise of the Father . After completing his sermon on the Day of Pentecost, Peter summoned his audience to repent and be baptized “ in the name of Jesus Christ .” But something more than a call to accept the Gospel was transpiring. The Apostle concluded his sermon on a note of fulfillment and with a foretaste of things to come, for the “ promise is to you, your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God will call .”

Jesus is the herald who announces the Good News and inaugurates the Kingdom, the process that will culminate in the final harvest . Jesus proclaimed the imminence of God’s Kingdom and called men and women to repent and turn away from unrighteousness in response to this new reality. He is the Messiah who inaugurates the redemptive act of God, and this will conclude with the great harvest of souls when Christ returns “ on the clouds of heaven .”

With the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the blessings for all nations promised to Abraham commenced . The gift of the Holy Spirit is described as “the promise of the Father” in the New Testament, which connects this gift to the Abrahamic covenant. The promises to Abraham and his seed are fulfilled in the New Covenant inaugurated by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Spirit is the guarantee that we will inherit all that God has promised.

Jesus has come in these last days 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 .” Christ 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 now being fulfilled by Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the quintessential man of the Spirit. His life and ministry are filled with the power and presence of the Spirit of God . The activity of the Spirit dominates the life, words, and deeds of Christ. He is “ Jesus, the one called Christ ,” the long-awaited Messiah of Israel. The angel informed Joseph that Mary carried a child “ conceived of the Holy Spirit ,” indicating that something more than just a miraculous birth was about to unfold.

The outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost signaled the start of the Last Days and the time of fulfillment . The application of Joel’s prophecy to the events of the Day of Pentecost links the outpouring of the Spirit to the last days. The death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus inaugurated History’s final stage before the Day of the Lord, and now, he reigns and bestows the gift of the Spirit on his Church.