SATAN’S PLAN AGAINST THE GENTILES
SATAN’S FAILURE AND NEW STRATEGY
A few years after Jesus returned to the Father, Satan began his long-term plan against the Gentiles. His attempt to convince Jesus to join him had failed (Matthew 4:8-9), and all his hopes of keeping Christ in the tomb were permanently shattered by the resurrection (Acts 2:24).
What remained for the serpent was to continue doing among the Gentiles what he had always done since Eden: convincing humanity not to obey God’s laws (Genesis 3:4-5).
TWO OBJECTIVES OF THE PLAN
To achieve this, two things needed to be accomplished:
- The Gentiles had to be distanced as much as possible from the Jews and their faith—a faith that had existed since the creation of humanity. The faith of Jesus’s family, friends, apostles, and disciples had to be abandoned.
- They needed a theological argument to accept that the salvation offered to them differed from how salvation had been understood since the beginning of time. This new plan of salvation had to allow the Gentiles to disregard God’s laws.
The devil then inspired talented men to create a new religion for the Gentiles, complete with a new name, traditions, and doctrines. The most critical of these doctrines led them to believe that one of the Messiah’s primary purposes was to “free” the Gentiles from the obligation to keep the Commandments of God.

THE DISTANCING FROM ISRAEL
THE CHALLENGE OF THE LAW FOR GENTILES
Every movement seeks followers to survive and grow. The Law of God, which had until then been observed by Messianic Jews, began to pose a challenge for the rapidly expanding group of Gentiles within the newly-formed church.
Commandments such as circumcision, the observance of the seventh day, and abstaining from certain meats started to be viewed as barriers to the movement’s growth. Gradually, the leadership began making concessions to this group, under the false argument that the coming of the Messiah included a relaxation of the Law for non-Jews—even though such an argument lacked any basis in the Old Testament or in the words of Jesus recorded in the four Gospels (Exodus 12:49).
THE JEWS’ RESPONSE TO THE CHANGES
Meanwhile, the few Jews who still showed interest in the movement—drawn by the signs and wonders performed by Jesus just a few decades earlier and bolstered by the presence of eyewitnesses, including some of the original apostles—were understandably troubled by the gradual abandonment of the obligation to observe God’s laws delivered through the prophets.
These were the same laws that Jesus, the apostles, and the disciples had faithfully followed.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF DISTANCING
THE CURRENT STATE OF WORSHIP
The result, as we know, is that millions now gather weekly in churches claiming to worship God, all while completely ignoring the fact that this very God set apart a nation for Himself through a covenant.
GOD’S PROMISE TO ISRAEL
God clearly stated that He would never break this covenant:
“Just as the laws of the sun, the moon, and the stars are immutable, so too the descendants of Israel will never cease to be the nation before God forever” (Jeremiah 31:35-37).
GOD’S COVENANT WITH ISRAEL
SALVATION THROUGH ISRAEL
Nowhere in the Old Testament do we read that there would be blessing or salvation for those who do not join themselves to Israel:
“And God said to Abraham: You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you; and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3).
Even Jesus Himself was unequivocal in affirming that salvation comes from the Jews:
“For salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22).
GENTILES AND OBEDIENCE
The Gentile who desires to be saved by Christ must follow the same laws that the Father delivered to the chosen nation for His honor and glory—the same laws that Jesus and His apostles observed.
The Father sees the faith and courage of such a Gentile, despite the challenges. He pours out His love upon him, unites him with Israel, and leads him to the Son for forgiveness and salvation.
This is the plan of salvation that makes sense because it is true.
THE GREAT COMMISSION
SPREADING THE GOOD NEWS
According to historians, after Christ’s ascension, several apostles and disciples obeyed the Great Commission and carried the gospel taught by Jesus to Gentile nations:
- Thomas went to India.
- Barnabas and Paul went to Macedonia, Greece, and Rome.
- Andrew went to Russia and Scandinavia.
- Matthias went to Ethiopia.
The Good News spread far and wide.
THE MESSAGE REMAINED CONSISTENT
The message they were to preach was the same one taught by Jesus and centered on the Father:
- To believe that Jesus came from the Father.
- To obey the Father’s laws.
Jesus made it clear to the first missionaries that they would not be alone in their mission to spread the Good News of the Kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit would remind them of what Christ had taught during their time together:
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).
The instruction was to continue teaching what they had learned from their Master.
SALVATION AND OBEDIENCE
A SINGLE MESSAGE OF SALVATION
Nowhere in the Gospels do we see Jesus suggesting that His missionaries would bring a different message of salvation specially crafted for non-Jews.
FALSE DOCTRINE OF SALVATION WITHOUT OBEDIENCE
The idea that Gentiles could obtain salvation without obeying the holy and eternal commandments of the Father is absent from the teachings of Jesus.
The idea of salvation without obedience to the Law has no support in the words of Jesus and is therefore false, no matter how old or popular it may be.
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