Many say the new testament begins with Matthew and others with Acts. Some believe John the Baptist established a kingdom whereby the sins of those baptized into it were remembered no more. None speak of the baptism of Christ except to acknowledge it; otherwise there is total silence. Did Christ baptize for the remission of sins and entry into a church (not the church he purchased) since he made and baptized more disciples than John, Jn. 4:1-2? Was Christ overshadowed by John? A few say the law of Moses was in effect during the preaching of Christ and John until the cross, but Christ gave his new testament in accordance with the scripture while he lived, making it of non effect until he died. Therefore, the new testament became effective after the death of the testator. The argument of a testament being of force before the death of the testator is ludicrous.
Christ and John were sent by God as the last two prophets to the Jews under the law of Moses. They neither said nor did anything to negate the validity of the old testament or the prophets. However, Christ did spend a good deal of his time pointing out to the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, lawyers, chief priests and rulers, how they perverted the scripture, thus making them of non effect.
The bottom line with the leaders of the Jews was money and power. Jesus soon became a real threat politically to the chief priests and Pharisees; therefore, they immediately hatched plans to kill him.
John 11:47-53 "Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles......If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation......And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, .....Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not...... And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;.....And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad......Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death."
Caiaphas had it all figured out: Jesus would die for the nation and all who were scattered abroad would be brought together. How nice; they could even become richer and far more powerful, and Caiaphas would be a mighty prophet of truth. Little did he know, his prophecy came true, but in a spiritual gathering of all men to God.
The only pride those hypocrites took in the law of Moses was how they could distort it to their advantage. Being under Roman rule actually helped them to become wealthy, since the Romans did not call them to account for monies collected. Just before the final blow to Jerusalem, Titus the Roman General, said:
" It can therefore be nothing certainly but the kindness of us Romans which hath excited you against us; who, in the first place, have given you this land to possess; and, in the next place, have set over you kings of your own nation; and in the third place, have preserved the laws of your forefathers to you, and have withal permitted you to live, either by yourselves, or among others, as it should please you: and, what is our chief favor of all, we have given you leave to gather up that tribute which is paid to God, with such other gifts that are dedicated to him; till at length you became richer that we ourselves, even when you were our enemies; and you made preparations for war against us with our own money; nay, after all, when you were in the enjoyment of all these advantages, you turned your too great plenty against those that gave it to you, and, like merciless serpents, have thrown out your poison against those that treated you kindly." Josephus, Wars of the Jews, book 6, ch.6, sec.2.
Apparently the chief priests, scribes and elders were paranoid, as if Jesus had conspired with the Romans.
Mark 11:27-28 "And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders,.....And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?"
It is also possible these Jews might have thought the Romans felt Jesus was a threat to them. That being the case, the Romans could have brought the whole nation down as they suspected. Jesus was a young man who knew just what kind of turmoil he could cause in a matter of twenty or thirty years.
The question in point is, was the law of Moses in effect during the life of Christ and John? The misunderstanding of one or more scriptures has caused a world of division regarding the remembrance of sins no more before the shedding of the blood of Christ. Confusion is not limited to that doctrine, which spearheads a conflict in the scripture regarding divorce/remarriage, weekly contribution, no work on Sunday, and a subsequent kingdom to Israel and Judah wherein there was salvation before the kingdom of Christ.
Malachi 3:1-2 "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. .....But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:"
Malachi 4:5-6 "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:..... And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."
Elijah, in the person of John the Baptist, would exhaust every effort to bring the family unit back together to keep God from cursing the earth. It appears there must be respect and harmony within the family before there will be reverence to God. Even though we do not live under the law of Moses, we should understand by this threat of God to his people then, we must have our house in order concerning the headship of the father.
The messenger of the covenant mentioned in the first reading is Christ. God had only one covenant, which was the law of Moses. Like all other prophets before him, Jesus would set his laws before the chosen of God.
Daniel 9:10-11 "Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets......Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him."
There is no doubt the law of Moses was in effect when Jesus made his appearance on the earth and continued until his death.
Luke 1:17 "And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Luke 1:76 "And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;"
Matthew 11:14 "And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come."
Matthew 17:1-4 "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,.....And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. .....And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him......Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias."
Matthew 17:10-13 "And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?.....And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things......But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. .....Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist."
John 1:19-23 "And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?.....And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ......And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No......Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?..... He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias."
There may be things we do not understand about God sending back Elijah in the person of John the Baptist, but he was no ordinary man. We can only conclude he was a messenger sent from God for a specific time and purpose.
1 Chronicles 23:1-6 "So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel......And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites......Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand......Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the LORD; and six thousand were officers and judges:.....Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith. .....And David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari."
2 Chronicles 23:18 "Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the LORD by the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David."
2 Chronicles 31:2 "And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the tents of the LORD."
2 Chronicles 35:10 "So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their courses, according to the king's commandment."
Ezra 6:18 "And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses."
Here is the history of the Levites as David divided them by courses. Of the 38,000 numbered, 24,000 were set aside for service in the temple. According to Josephus, the great Jewish historian, the courses were drawn by lot, being a total of twenty four. He was of the family of the first course and that being the most prominent. Without this background on the courses by lot, we would be in a heap of trouble and would more than likely teach error concerning the status of John the Baptist.
Luke 1:5-9 "There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. .....And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless......And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years...... And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,.....According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord."
Only once in my lifetime and that was not more than three months ago, have I ever heard anything mentioned pertaining to courses of the Levites. Zacharias, according to his genealogy, was of the eighth course; John the Baptist his son, was also a priest of the same course.
Acts 13:25 "And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose."
John served in the temple as did his father, performing the same task by lot and there is no argument about it. Ezra 6:18, makes it very clear that the book of Moses set the priest and Levites for service to God. This is the second time in this discussion we have learned the law of Moses was in effect during the lifetime of Christ and John.
Luke 2:21-28 "And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb......And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;.....(As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;).....And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons......And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. .....And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ......And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, .....Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,"
Luke 2:41 "Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover."
There are six things contained in these readings which are applicable to the fulfilling of the law of Moses:
Matthew 5:17-19 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. .....For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled......Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
The same in the Greek New Testament reads as follows:
"Think not that I came to abolish the law or the prophets: I came not to abolish, but to fulfil......For verily I say unto you, Until shall pass away the heaven and the earth, one iota or one tittle in no wise shall pass away from the law until all come to pass.....Whoever then shall break one of these commandments the least, and shall teach men so, least shall be called in the kingdom of the heavens; but whoever shall practise and shall teach [them], this [one] great shall be called in the kingdom of the heavens."
No stronger language could have been used by our Lord. The law would be in effect until all came to pass. Furthermore, those who taught and practiced contrary to it (in the present) would be called (in the future) the least in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:23-24 "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;.....Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."
Matthew 8:4 "And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them."
Mark 1:44 "And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them."
If the law was not in effect at this time, why waste the men's time and money? These were positive commands the Lord issued and were to be kept. For those who believe all of the gospels are the new testament, where is the altar, gifts, and priests today in our church buildings and assemblies? This is a classic case of picking and choosing what men like today from the sermon on the mount and leaving the rest.
Matthew 7:12 "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets."
John 7:19-23 "Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?..... The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?.....Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel......Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man......If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?"
First, our Lord cited the law of Moses whereby they should live. Second, he said, Moses gave you the law and none of you are keeping it. Third, our Lord also said, Moses gave you circumcision, and you circumcise a man on the sabbath day that the law should not be broken. Incidentally, the sabbath was not to be broken either. Their dilemma was: do we keep the sabbath by not working on that day, or do we circumcise on the sabbath, because the law of circumcision should not be broken?
Matthew 23:23 ";Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."
Mark 7:7-13 "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men......For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do......And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition......For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:.....But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. .....And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;.....Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye."
Matthew 15:1-9 "Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,.....Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread......But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? .....For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. .....But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;..... And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition......Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,.....This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me......But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
Mark 14:14 "And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?"
Luke 22:8 "And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat."
Why eat the passover? Because it was commanded by the law.
Now come the misunderstood verses:
Mark 1:4 "John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins."
Luke 1:77 "To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,"
The Greek New Testament renders both verses as follows:
Mark 1:4 "John came baptizing in the wilderness, and proclaiming [the] baptism of repentance for remission of sins."
Luke 1:77 "To give knowledge of salvation to his people in the remission of their sins."
The interlinear literal translation of the Greek New Testament is the best authority we have. Because of some improper word changes from the Greek to the KJV and others, the entire meaning has changed. However, in this case it doesn't matter, because the verses do not say John baptized for the remission of sins, but he baptized in the wilderness and proclaimed or preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. There is a vast difference in doing something and at the same time, predicting something else to come in the future. In both cases John was informing his recipients of what was to come later.
Matthew 11:12-13 "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force......For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John."
Greek "But from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of the heavens is taken by violence, and [the] violent seize it......For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John."
Thayer's Greek Lexicon, at p. 101, has this for the words "violence" and "violent":
"Violence: to use force, to apply force; to force, inflict violence on one, one; the Act. is very rare and almost exclusively poetic. the kingdom of heaven is taken by violence, carried by storm, i.e. a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought for with the most ardent zeal and the intensest exertion. The other explanation: the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence sc. from its enemies, agrees neither with the time when Christ spoke the words, nor with the context;"
"Violent: strong, forcible: using force, violent: In Matt.11:12, those are called violent by whom the kingdom is taken by violence, i.e. who strive to obtain its privileges with the utmost eagerness and effort."
Being rare and almost exclusively poetic, it cannot mean the people literally took the kingdom by force, but there were throngs of people who pressed to hear and wanted to be a part of it. We can understand why the masses wanted a change so much, because of the harsh treatment of their leaders.
The most difficult part to understand is "the kingdom of heaven." Whatever time had lapsed from the beginning of John's preaching to the time here mentioned is not known. It could not have been a very long period of time.
The phrases "kingdom of heaven" and "kingdom of God," are not found in the old testament or the prophets. The phrase "kingdom of heaven" is found 32 times only in the book of Matthew. The phrase "kingdom of God," is found 69 times; 5 in Matthew; 15 in Mark; 31 in Luke; 2 in John. Both phrases are synonymous.
We will exclude the kingdoms of the earth with the exception of king David. The literal kingdoms of Israel and Judah had come to nought hundreds of years before Christ. With the exception of the kingdom of David, all other references to the kingdom are spiritual. However, his disciples thought the literal kingdom of Israel would be restored, Acts 1:6.
Mark 11:9-10 "And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:.....Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest."
Greek "And those going before and those following were crying out, saying, Hosanna! blessed [be] he who comes in the name of [the] Lord......Blessed [be] the coming kingdom of our father David in [the] name of [the] Lord. Hosanna in the highest!"
These followers did not realize the kingdom that was coming was not the literal kingdom of David. Christ is sitting on the throne of David, but in spiritual Zion in heaven.
I have narrowed the field from 101 verses to 27. I will quote all 27 verses with comments after some of them. I will refer to the four kingdoms as the kingdom of heaven to save time and space.
The kingdom of heaven was something new for the children of Israel in that time period from John the Baptist to the cross. Repeating again, the kingdom of heaven and of God are not mentioned in the old testament and the prophets. There were no requirements to be in it, other than the fact they had to be Jews. This was by way of introduction to the kingdom of Christ, which would ultimately come on the day of Pentecost after his resurrection. Most importantly, the kingdom of Christ was his own which he purchased with his blood. There was no connotation to the kingdom of heaven under which he lived. The "kingdom of heaven" introduced by John and Christ can be appropriately compared to the baptisms they performed before the cross. John was the first to introduce the ritual act of baptism, whereby one man immersed another. Neither baptism offered salvation or entrance into a church which had not yet been established. After the cross, the same ritual act of baptism was employed, but for different reasons - remembrance of sins no more and as a birth into the kingdom of God's dear Son.
Since the Jews had learned from the prophet Micah that God planned a major overhaul within their system and would establish a kingdom, they were expecting a return of the literal kingdom, Micah 8:4. Therefore, when John and Christ began speaking about the kingdom of heaven, they could identify with it. This introduction of the kingdom of heaven was nothing more than a preparation for a second kingdom which would follow, that is, the kingdom of heaven, the church of our dear Lord, whereby all nations would flow into it.
The kingdom of heaven is also referred to within the confines of the teachings of Christ during his ministry and as an eternal kingdom after the end of time, wherein the saved will enjoy eternal rest from their labors.
Regarding the second kingdom that was brought to light during the life of Christ and John the Baptist, God made a promise to the Jews in Babylonian captivity that he would restore both kingdoms into one and there would be a king over it. From the return of Babylon to the cross was approximately 600 years. I did not happen until Jesus was born into the world to be king over the nation. However, this kingdom was spiritual in nature seeing that Christ did not sit upon the literal throne of David. Because the Jews did not understand the throne was not to be literal, on the whole they rejected Christ.
Ezekiel 37:24-25 "And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.....And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever."
Acts 2:29-30 "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.....Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne."
The David that God referred to in these passages was Christ. As further proof to understand how Christ did sit upon the throne of David, we cite four more verses.
Psalms 89:35-37"Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.....His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.....It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah."
Revelation 1:5"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood."
Hebrews 1:3 "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:"
The throne of David was established forever as a witness in heaven; the same as the moon is the witness and reflection of the sun. Next, the Lord Jesus Christ is the faithful witness who also as the moon is the reflection of his Father, God Almighty, who sits upon the throne of David before the Father in heaven.
Christ begin to sit upon the throne of David when he became the king of the Jews, but after his death, burial and resurrection, he was crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords, given his new kingdom, power and dominion by the Father.
Sorting out between the kingdom of heaven announced by John and the kingdom of Christ which came afterwards is not difficult. But one must be willing to devote some long hours of study by prayer.
Applied to that present time:
Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
Matthew 12:28 "But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you."
Matthew 23:13 "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in."
Luke 12:32 "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
Matthew 8:11-12 "And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. (12) But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Matthew 11:12 "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."
The testator giving his testament:
Matthew 4:23 "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people."
Matthew 4:17 "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Matthew 10:7 "And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Matthew 16:19 "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Luke 19:11 "And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear."
Mark 15:43 "Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus."
Luke 22:18 "For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come."
Mark 9:1 "And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power."
Many attempts have been made to have the Lord's prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem apply to the end of time. The facts are concrete from Matt. 24:1-34, where the statements of our Lord apply to the destruction of Jerusalem, whereas, verses 35-46 apply to the end of time.
Matthew 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
According to the apostle Paul, the gospel was preached to all nations as predicted, Col. 1:6,23. Why was it necessary for the gospel to be preached to every creature before the destruction of Jerusalem? No one could say they did not know the law of Moses had been taken out of the way.
Matthew 24:34 "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."
If the prophecy applies to the end of time, then that generation is still living today.
Matthew 16:28 "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."
Luke 21:31 "So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand."
The kingdom of Christ did come on the day of Pentecost, so what is meant by these prophecies, "the kingdom of God is nigh at hand and some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom?" This is not the time or place to discuss the return of Christ at the destruction of Jerusalem. There are solid facts in the scripture which uphold his return. However, the scripture does not even hint that Christ set his feet upon the earth.
Matthew 8:12 "But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
The only righteous judge, on the day of judgment, will gather out of his kingdom those who offend.
Matthew 25:34 "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:"
Acts 1:3 "To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:"
Acts 8:12 "But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women."
Acts 14:22 "Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."
Colossians 1:13 "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:"
Acts 13:15 "And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on."
Acts 13:27 "For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him."
Acts 15:21 "For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day."
The law and the prophets continued to be read in every city, in spite of the termination of the law of Moses by Christ. The majority of the Jews had no clue the law had been abolished. The Jews were not about to give up the law and that was to be expected. Therefore, it was necessary for God to step in and put an end to it, by destroying the temple and all the genealogical records.
1 Corinthians 15:24 "Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power."
Matthew 8:11 "And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven."
Luke 13:28 "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out."
1 Corinthians 15:50 "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption."
Galatians 5:21 "Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."
Luke 16:16-17 "The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it......And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail."
We wonder why verse 17 appears out of nowhere, unless it is to emphasize the law of Moses was in effect at that time. The law had not been fulfilled at this time and this verse is in connection with that.
Matthew 5:17-18 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. .....For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
Now for verse 16 in the Greek text:
"The law and the prophets [were] until John: from that time the kingdom of God is announced, and everyone forces into it."
We already see the problem: the word "were" is not in the original text. Brackets in the Greek testament equal the same as words italicized in the KJV and all other versions. That means the word is not in the original. The KJV also indicates the word "were" is not in the original. However, if the word "were" had been in the original, then the meaning would be, the law of Moses was terminated when John appeared, but that was not the case.
It is much easier to understand, "the kingdom is announced." In short, there were no prophets from Malichi to John; when John arrived, he announced the kingdom of heaven and began his preaching concerning it.
A Greek New Testament is quite necessary for the serious bible student. Most of the controversial subjects would have been avoided had it been taken seriously.
Colossians 2:14 "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;"
Ephesians 2:14-16 "For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;.....Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;.....And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:"
Galatians 3:13 "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"
Hebrews 9:8 "The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:"
Hebrews 8:13 "In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away."
Hebrews 10:9 "Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second."
Hebrews 9:16-17 "For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator......For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth."
Col.2:14: Christ took away the handwriting of ordinances which was the law of Moses, and nailed it to his cross.
Eph.2:14-16: Christ abolished the enmity of the law of commandments contained in the ordinances, through his flesh by way of the cross.
Gal.3:13: Christ was made a curse by hanging on a tree or the cross, which was a curse for anyone who hung there and redeemed those who were under the curse of the law of Moses.
Heb.9:8: The temple wasn't destroyed until some 37 years after the establishment of the church. However, the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom on the day Christ was crucified. This signified the breaking down of the middle wall of partition between the Jews and Gentiles. That is when God laid the law of Moses to rest. However, he didn't drive the final nail in the coffin until the destruction of Jerusalem. With that barrier (the veil) removed, every Christian is a priest who with boldness can directly approach the throne of God without any man as an intercessor.
Heb.8:13: At the time of this writing, Jerusalem had not been destroyed and the law of Moses was quite a hindrance, even though it had been officially been removed. That is why the writer said it was about to vanish.
Heb.10:9: As is the nature of testaments, a second testament could not be of force as long as the first one was in effect.
Heb.9:16-17: In spite of the verses, there is a great deal of
misunderstanding as to when Christ gave his testament. The answer
is obvious; when the testator lived and not after his death.
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