Zech 14:5. “Then the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him! ” Zech 14: 9 “And the Lord will be king over all the earth…”
I. Introduction. Prophecies Of Messiah – 8 – Matthew Introduction – Part A
A. This Eternity study focuses on a study of the Bible, which takes place through a consistent, literal, historical, grammatical and contextual interpretation of God’s Inspired Word. The result of this study is accomplished through a systematic exposition of Israel and the End Times, which includes Scripture that is contained in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.
B. The contents in this article rely heavily on my study of the commentaries, articles, and discussions of many highly respected theological scholars, It is important to know that before I draw a conclusion on any subject, that I must first have found agreement on the conclusion from the works of such reputable theologians.
C. For a view of other trusted theological scholars, of whom I have chosen for reference, please click on my Page, “About My References.”
D. Dates that are provided in this article come from the Scofield Study Bible (1909 A.D.) and the Ryrie Study Bible (1986 A.D.).
II. Prophecies Of Messiah – 8 – Fulfillment – Matthew Introduction – Part A
A. Well, we’ve finally made it to the Gospel of Matthew. We might wonder how we got here. The journey began in Genesis 12:1-3,” where God provided a blessing upon Abraham, and through Abraham and his seed, which traveled through his son, “Isaac,” and then on through the seed of his son, Jacob, whom God named Israel. It was through the seed of Jacob, that all of the world would be blessed and saved from the results of the fall of Adam and Eve, and the curse which followed. The blessing that God placed upon Abraham, became known as the Abrahamic Covenant, which provided blessings of “the Land Covenant, Davidic Covenant, and New Covenant.” The Abrahamic covenant provided for his blood seed, unconditional promises of “land, seed and blessing.” Through those blessings, were unconditional promises (covenants of promise) for Israel. Through the fulfillment of the “Abrahamic Covenant,” all redeemed Jews and Gentiles will live “eternally” in the eternal state of the New Heaven, New Earth, and New Jerusalem (Rev 21:1-2), and will be present with “the Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb” (Rev 21:22) “forever and ever” (Rev 22:4).
B. The Gospel of Matthew tells of the Law, and of a look ahead to the future, literal, physical, earthly Kingdom of God, where Christ will rule and reign for 1,000 years, and then the Eternal State that will follow. Christ gives a prophecy of the Church (Mt 16:17-18, His church), which will not come into being until after His death, burial, and resurrection (Acts 1:1-1:10.)
C. It is important to understand that the audience of Matthew consisted of Jews, those of whom were believers in Christ. The message of Christ to those Jews did not provide “a plan of salvation,” as the target audience had already been saved, having followed the words of Christ in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” The purpose of Matthew’s gospel was not to document the gospel of “the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, ” (1 Cor 15:1-8), but to offer the “prophesied gospel of the kingdom,” to first century Jews of Israel, which was preached as being the future, literal, earthly, physical Kingdom of God (Mt 24:14; Messianic, 1,000 year Millennial). Just as any kingdom must be ruled by a king, Matthew showed that Israel must enthrone the king of Yahweh’s own choosing, per the Mosaic Covenant (Deuteronomy 17:15). The Mosaic Covenant, and dispensation of Law, would continue until after the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Christ to Heaven (Acts 1:4-9). “where the Holy Spirit descended from heaven upon the Jews in Jerusalem, binging an end to the Dispensation of Law, and bringing in the Dispensation of Grace, and the Church Age (Acts 2:1-2. It can be seen that the offer of the Kingdom of God, had a purpose of saving Jews from those oppressive kingdoms which had oppressed Israel ever since the Jews of Judea were taken captive by the Babylonians, in 586 B.C. The oppression of Israel continued by the kingdoms of: the Medes and Persians (538-333 B.C.; the Greeks, (333-63 B.C.), and then by the Romans, where the Romans defeated the Greek empire, and continued the oppression of Israel through the time of Christ, and until the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in AD 70 by the Romans. In 1948 dispersed Jews began a return to their promised Land of Israel from Europe, after the “1941 to 1945 Holocaust,” when Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe, which was around two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish population.
D. God is in control of the return of Jews to their home land, which is a definition of Zionism, and has had His hand in the return of Jews to their homeland of Israel. Aliyah is also a term that relates to the the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel. God’s part in the return of Jews to Israel is told in the prophecy of Ezekiel in 587 B.C., as is written in the following paragraph, when Jews of Israel had been taken in exile to Babylon, by its by King Nebuchadnezzar, for 70 years of exile.
THE RESTORATION OF JEWS TO THEIR LAND. “Ezekiel 36:1. And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord.” “36:12 Yes, I will cause men—My people Israel—to walk on you and possess you, so that you will become their inheritance and never again bereave them of children.” “36:24. For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land.”
E. Matthew’s Gospel documents the offer of the kingdom by Christ to Israel, and only to Jews, not Gentiles of Samaritans. This offer was made by John the Baptist (Mt 3:2); by Christ (Mt 4:17), and the disciples (Mt 10:5-7). The message was that “the kingdom was near “(not here). Being near was that Messiah had come, and the Kingdom would follow, if Israel were to receive her King, “Christ.” But, the kingdom was “not here” because Israel had “not” received her king. The kingdom, had not come, has not come, and will not come until Israel calls on Christ (Mt 23:38); which will not occur until Israel calls on Christ, in belief (Zech 12:10); which will not happen until the end of the Tribulation (Mt 24:21, 22b; 29-30) when the forces of Satan are in the process of decimating Israel.
F. In the message of Christ to Israel (He didn’t offer the kingdom to Gentiles or Samaritans, Mt 10:5-7), He told the Jews of first century Israel, who were living under the Law, of the conditions of the Law that will exist during the Kingdom Age. He related the severity of discipline and punishment of the Law (e.g., Sodomy or homosexuality is to be punished by the death of both parties involved, Lev 18:22, 29; 20:13); carnal relations with a beast required the execution of both the man and the animal, (Lev 18:23; 20:15) ; both of which were examples of punishment which will be executed during the Kingdom age.
G. In the Old Testament, righteousness is often associated with justice and adherence to God’s law. The Hebrew word for righteousness, “tsedeq,” conveys the idea of being right or just.
H. The Law given to Moses further underscores God’s desire for His people to live righteously. Deu 6:25 states, “And if we are careful to observe every one of these commandments before the LORD our God, as He has commanded us, then that will be our righteousness.”
I. It is important to understand that the Church is not under the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7), (e.g., Mt 5:29-30 plucking out and eyes; cutting of limbs). The book of Leviticus is a part of the Torah. The definition of the word “Torah” is literally, “instruction.” When Jews say “Torah,” they’re most likely speaking of the first five books of the Bible (Books of Moses), which is the foundation of all Jewish instruction and guidance. God required violators of the Law to come under strict discipline and severe punishment. The same system of discipline and punishment will be present during the Kingdom age for unresurrected people, as explained in paragraph M.
M. At the end of the Tribulation, those of whom had been saved (Mt 25:35-40) but not resurrected, will enter the Kingdom in mortal bodies (still having a sin nature), (Mt 25:33-34); they will be able to bear children. Children whom are born of such unresurrected parents, will also have mortal bodies and sin natures. Such parents and children will come under the teachings of Christ (Isa 2:1-3 Zech 8:20-23). But, many of those unresurrected parents and children, may not submit to Christ’s teachings, and will rebel against Him at the end of the Kingdom (Rev 20:7-10).
N. Prior to the Kingdom Age, the church will have been caught up to heaven (Jn 14:1-3; 1 Cor 15:50-54; 1 Thes 4:13-18). Therefore, no church (born again believers in Christ) will be present on earth during the Tribulation. There will be a false church (of those not being born again) during the Tribulation (Rev 17:1-14). Matthew tells of the rejection of Christ by Israel (Mt 12:24). He also tells of the Tribulation Age, Christ’s second coming, and the post Tribulation judgments (Mt 24-25). Christ told of many other things, many of which will be discussed in the following Chapter studies of Matthew.
III. Worship. Hunger For Holiness (2016) – Carman Licciardello (Deceased, 2021).