8. (a) When Peter wrote his first inspired letter, what calamity was about to befall Israel, and what relationship did the Jews no longer hold with Jehovah God? (b) Who, then, composed the “consecrated nation”?

⁸ When the apostle wrote the words of 1 Peter 2:9, the Jewish people were nearing a national disaster. Their templed city of Jerusalem was about to be destroyed by the Roman legions and they were to be dispersed internationally, as Jesus had foretold. (Luke 21:20-24) Sad to say, in 33 C.E., they had rejected Jesus Christ the Mediator of God’s new covenant, and unquestionably the old Law covenant that had been mediated through the prophet Moses was no longer in force. “That which is Israel in a fleshly way” was now being rejected. (1 Corinthians 10:18; Matthew 23:38) The new nation of spiritual Israel had been produced by Jehovah God. (Romans 9:6; Galatians 6:15, 16) This new “consecrated nation” was made up of the disciples of Jesus Christ to whom Peter addressed his letter, namely, “the ones chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, with sanctification by the spirit.”​—1 Peter 1:1, 2.

9. Did God foreknow the members of that holy nation individually, and how did they become a chosen “race”?

⁹ This does not mean that God knew the individual members and appointed them by name beforehand. Rather, he foreknew that he would produce a new nation, “a holy nation,” and foreknew the things that would be required of each individual member in order for that one to be chosen and taken into the holy nation. Also, this spiritual nation would be made specially holy by God’s holy spirit, the members of the nation being begotten by means of the holy spirit to become spiritual sons of God. (Titus 3:4-7) In this holy, or sanctified, standing they could serve as a “royal priesthood.” As spirit-begotten ones, they were a “race,” a “chosen race.”

When the Greater Moses, Jesus Christ, ascended to heaven and presented to Jehovah God the value of the merit of his human sacrifice, the Mosaic Law covenant was voided and the basis was laid for the setting up of the foretold “new covenant.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34) So, on the day of Pentecost of 33 C.E., the Jewish disciples of Jesus were transferred from the Mosaic Law covenant to the “new covenant” of which the Greater Moses, Jesus Christ, was the Mediator.b

15. (a) What did not end immediately for the Jews with the canceling of the Law covenant? (b) What was God’s will now for Jews who cared about their dedicated relationship with God?

¹⁵ While the Law covenant had now been invalidated, God’s time period of special favor and attention to the Jews, on the basis of their being the natural seed of Abraham, had not ended; it ended first in the year 36 C.E. So, even after the first outpouring of holy spirit in 33 C.E., the spirit-anointed apostle Peter said to a crowd of Jews in Jerusalem: “Repent, therefore, and turn around [be converted] so as to get your sins blotted out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the person of Jehovah and that he may send forth the Christ appointed for you, Jesus.” To repair their dedicated relationship with God would now involve not only repenting over sins against the Law covenant in which they still considered themselves to be but also presenting themselves as prospective members of this new nation, which was God’s will then for all who became disciples of Jesus, Christians. This is confirmed by what Peter said earlier on the day of Pentecost to Jews who were “stabbed to the heart” over their share in causing the death of Jesus. To them, Peter said: “Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the free gift of the holy spirit.” Thus, much more was involved than simple repentance and a general resolve to do better based on belief in Jesus.​—Acts 3:19, 20; 2:37-40, NW; AV.

16. (a) When the Kingdom message reached the circumcised Samaritans, what did their baptism in water symbolize? Why? (b) What substantiated that they had been taken into covenant relationship with God?

¹⁶ Before ascending to heaven, Jesus told his apostles that they would widen out the witness regarding him to “Samaria and to the most distant part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) While the Samaritans were non-Israelites, people “of another nation,” they got circumcised because they accepted the books of the Bible written by Moses and considered him the mediator between themselves and God. (Luke 17:16-18) In His undeserved kindness, Jehovah saw good to have Peter use a special key for the Samaritans somewhat earlier than the use of one for uncircumcised Gentiles in opening up opportunities in connection with the kingdom of the heavens. But since those Samaritans had not really been in the Mosaic Law covenant, and were ‘worshiping what they did not know,’ they now, in getting baptized, first had to dedicate themselves understandingly to Jehovah God in the name of the Messiah, Jesus, as the Mediator of a new covenant. Their being baptized afterward with the holy spirit substantiated that they had been accepted into the new covenant.​—Matthew 16:18, 19; John 4:4-42; Acts 8:5-25.

17. (a) When and how did God first visit the uncircumcised non-Jews “to take out of them a people for his name”? (b) What did their baptism in water symbolize?

¹⁷ In the year 36 C.E., when God’s time of special favor to the Jews expired, Jehovah God turned his attention to the uncircumcised non-Israelites, the Gentiles, “to take out of them a people for his name.” (Acts 15:14-18) Using another of the “keys,” Peter was sent to the household of the Roman centurion named Cornelius, who was kindly disposed to the Jewish people. These Gentiles must have accepted the witness about Jehovah God and his glorified Messiah, for the holy spirit fell upon them and they began speaking in tongues. God had mercifully begun to grant “repentance for the purpose of life to people of the nations also,” through Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” (Acts 11:18; John 1:29) Jehovah had accepted them, too, into his spiritual nation on the basis of the dedication made to him in their hearts. Holy spirit confirmed this. So none of the Christianized Jews who accompanied Peter could find objection to his command that they get “baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” That started off “the conversion of people of the nations.” (Acts 10:1-48; 15:3) Since then all who have desired to serve God, whether Jew or Gentile, have had to make a dedication in their hearts to Jehovah. And, in connection with their baptism in water, they present themselves for the doing of God’s will for them, in imitation of Jesus.

A Symbol for Those Who “Offer Themselves Willingly”

8. Why is this the day of Christ’s “military force,” and how do those now offering themselves willingly proceed in this respect?

⁸ The disciples of that royal High Priest, Christ Jesus, now “offer themselves willingly” on the day of his “military force.” They dedicate themselves to Jehovah God in the name of this royal High Priest, getting baptized in water in symbol of that dedication. These are the ones the complete number of whom must be finally sealed before the outbreak of the “great tribulation.” They, along with their companions of the “great crowd,” “offer themselves willingly” just like dewdrops in bringing God’s refreshing message of salvation to the people.​—Revelation 7:2-4, 9, 10, 14.

9. At Romans 12:1, 2, what counsel does Paul give to anointed Christians?

⁹ Writing to the disciples of 1,900 years ago, the apostle Paul said: “I entreat you by the compassions of God, brothers, to present your bodies a sacrifice living, holy, acceptable to God, a sacred service with your power of reason. And quit being fashioned after this system of things, but be transformed by making your mind over, that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”​—Romans 12:1, 2.

10, 11. (a) So Paul addresses his plea to the Gentile Christians in Rome as a follow-up to what discussion? (b) In what way was this arrangement an expression of great compassion on God’s part?

¹⁰ The above entreaty comes immediately after Paul’s discussion of the symbolic olive tree. Like branches in a garden olive tree, the dedicated nation of Israel was the natural offspring of God’s “friend” Abraham. As such they were first in line to become “Abraham’s seed” according to the promise made to him. (Genesis 12:3; 22:17, 18; Galatians 3:16, 29; James 2:23) But only a remnant of natural Jews accepted Jesus as the Messiah and were transferred from being the natural seed of earthly Abraham to being the spiritual seed of the Greater Abraham, Jehovah. (Romans 11:5, 7) The rest were lopped off as “branches.” To replace them, God turned to the non-Jews or, as it were, to a symbolic wild olive tree, to extract sufficient “branches” to graft into the spiritual garden olive tree that was to be composed of 144,000 branches rooted in the Greater Abraham, Jehovah God, the Source of all blessings.​—Romans 11:13-33; Revelation 14:1.

¹¹ So it was an expression of great compassion on God’s part for those Romans and all other uncircumcised non-Jews to become a part of the spiritual seed of Abraham for blessing all the families of the earth by means of God’s kingdom. (Ephesians 2:12; Galatians 3:26-29) This laid upon them the course of self-sacrifice. But this was the only privilege that God then held out to human creatures, and what a special privilege it was! Not overstepping proper bounds, the apostle Paul wrote and said to them: “Present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, also your members to God as weapons of righteousness. For sin must not be master over you, seeing that you are not under law [the law of Moses] but under undeserved kindness.”​—Romans 6:13, 14.

12. What would be involved for spirit-anointed disciples of Christ when they are told, “present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead”?

¹² While Paul is writing to those who were already dedicated Christians, “holy ones,” he is not overlooking what they had done at first in dedicating their lives, when he said: “Present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead.” But they must live up to this dedication, in this sacrificial course. If such were not done, then they, as replacement branches, would be lopped off, too. (Romans 1:7; 11:21, 22) Moreover, these words written under inspiration would be read by future disciples of Jesus Christ and would offer strong encouragement for them to take all the steps necessary to enter into and maintain this dedicated, baptized relationship with God. To preserve their dedicated relationship with God, once made, they would be in a continual battle to fashion their fleshly members into weapons of righteousness rather than submitting these to the mastery of sin. This would be in obedience to Jesus’ words: “If anyone wants to come after me, let him disown himself and pick up his torture stake and continually follow me.”​—Matthew 16:24.

2. What identifying factors are discussed in Revelation chapter 7, and how do these relate to salvation?

² Today a “great tribulation” is about to strike the whole world. So Revelation 7:1-8 tells us that the “four angels” stationed at the four corners of the earth are instructed to hold back the four winds from blowing and producing a most destructive storm or “tribulation” until the fixed number of God’s chosen ones have been given a seal in their foreheads.