Jerusalem is a Desolate House

JERUSALEM IS A DESOLATE HOUSE

                                                                                                            

The King, the Wedding Feast and the Citizens

Matthew 22:1-14 records a Kingdom of Heaven (God) parable told by Jesus.  A king (God the Father) was giving a wedding feast for His Son (Jesus).  Those initially invited to attend (the Judeans) refused.  In addition they mistreated and killed the messengers (prophets).  The reaction of the King as found in Matthew 22:7 is one of fury and destruction.

Matthew 22:7 NET  The king was furious! He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death and set their city on fire.

The King sent His soldiers (Roman Military) and they set the city on fire (Jerusalem) and killed many of the murderers (Pharisees, Sadducees, experts of the law, and others).

Other messengers were sent into the streets (the nations) to invite others to the wedding feast.  Some attending were not properly dressed in garments of salvation and they were cast out.  The moral of the story can be found in Matthew 22:14:  “For many are called but few are chosen.”  This involves the first resurrection and the harpazo (catching away / rapture).  They will be the judges ruling with Christ during the Millennium. The remainder will await the 2^nd resurrection called the great White Throne Judgment.

Matthew 23 contains a series of “woes” given by Jesus to the Pharisees and the experts in the law residing in Jerusalem.  Jesus indicates, due to their knowledge concerning the death of prophets, they have the distinction of being the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.  Knowing He would soon be crucified by this group of legal experts and Pharisees, Jesus states, “Fill up then the measure of your ancestors”. 

All of Jerusalem at that time and today's current generation would be held liable for “all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah – Matthew 23:35”.  Jesus ends his discourse against the Pharisees and legal experts with the words recorded in verses 39 and 39, “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate”

Matthew 23:38-39 NET  Look, your house is left to you desolate!  (39)  For I tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!' "

Verse 39, “For I tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!' " may be saying they will not be included in the first resurrection but will have to wait for the second resurrection at the White Throne judgment occurring at the end of the Millennium.

Jeremiah’s Prophecy of the Destruction of Jerusalem

The desolation of Jerusalem first occurred when the city was destroyed by Babylon in 586 B.C.  It was again desolated in 70 AD by the Roman military. The third major desolation has yet to take place but it may be occurring soon.  This third desolation has been made known by Jeremiah who prophesied that the city would be destroyed so completely that it would not be repaired or rebuilt again.

The 18^th and 19^th chapters of Jeremiah contain a prophecy concerning the nation of Israel which was conquered and the inhabitants dispersed by Assyria around 640 BC.  The next section of the prophecy concerns the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem. 

For the nation of Israel, in chapter 18, Jeremiah is told to go to the potter’s house and watch the potter shape wet clay into any form he desired.  Because Israel is still malleable as wet clay (and open to the Gospel) God would shape Israel in their dispersion among the nations as a potter shapes wet clay.

Jeremiah 18:6 NET  "I, the LORD, say: 'O nation of Israel, can I not deal with you as this potter deals with the clay? In my hands, you, O nation of Israel, are just like the clay in this potter's hand.'

However, for the nation of Judah, Jeremiah was told to buy a previously made clay jar from the potter.  With several of the leaders of Jerusalem present to watch, Jeremiah was to take the jar and smash it to pieces in the valley of Ben-hinnom (Gehenna).  This clay jar would represent the nation of Judah and Jerusalem.  The pieces would not be put back together.

Jeremiah 19:11 NET  Tell them the LORD who rules over all says, 'I will do just as Jeremiah has done. I will smash this nation and this city as though it were a potter's vessel which is broken beyond repair. The dead will be buried here in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.'

Hagar and Sarai

The current city of Jerusalem will not be spared at the last minute, as so many exegetes and Bible teachers have claimed.  Its destruction has been prophesied and proclaimed by God, even prior to the rebuilt city and temple by the Babylonian returnees.  Paul states in Galatians chapter 4 that Jerusalem is the slave woman named Hagar and she represents Mt. Sinai and the Old Covenant.  Only the New Jerusalem from God represents Sarai and the New Covenant.

Galatians 4:24-25 NET  These things may be treated as an allegory, for these women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai bearing children for slavery; this is Hagar.  (25)  Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.

Verse 30 further proclaims that Hagar (Jerusalem) and her children (Jews / and currently self-proclaimed Jews) will be thrown out and will not share the inheritance with the Son (Jesus Christ) and the New Covenant which will be the New Jerusalem.

Galatians 4:26 NET  But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

It has been said the return of Christ (2^nd Coming) will occur somewhere around the time of the destruction of Jerusalem.  When He returns, everyone will see Him.

Revelation 1:7 LITV-TSP  (7)  "Behold, He comes with the clouds," and "every eye will see Him, and the ones who pierced" Him, and all the tribes of the earth "will wail on account of Him." Yes, Amen. Dan. 7:13; Zech. 12:10

Everyone on the planet will mourn (wail / be sad / beat their breasts / be grieving / have bitter sorrow) at various levels of intensity.  The Jews may be the biggest mourners because:  they will finally realize at being duped and lied to by their religious leaders and historians; they will understand the Kingdom of God has been lost to them and that it was never in their power to gain; their desire to rule the world will be forever gone.  The ones reigning with Christ will be the first fruits (also called the overcomers, and the remnant of grace).  They will be reigning over the survivors of the wrath of God.

Repentance at the return of Christ will not change the previous verdicts that Jesus rendered just before He was crucified. It will not change Jeremiah’s prophecy of the utter destruction of Jerusalem. Instead, repentance will give Jews (and all other people) the opportunity to become citizens of the New Jerusalem, whereby they may be blessed along with all of its citizens.

The Law of God for Today

THE LAW OF GOD

What is the purpose of the law?  Is the Christian free from the law?  The answer to both questions is NO.  The laws of God reveal the definition of sin and therefore righteousness as well.  John the Baptist began his ministry preaching:  Repent and be baptized.  Repent of what, you may ask?  Repent of your sin and lawlessness.

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! Certainly, I would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else if the law had not said, "Do not covet." But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires. For apart from the law, sin is dead.  (Romans 7:7-8 NET)

Sin is the transgression of the law (also translated as lawlessness).  No law, no sin, but the law of God is still present and it is not difficult to keep the law particularly with the assistance of the Holy Spirit of God.

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.   (1 John 3:4 KJV)

No one can be declared righteous by the works of law, because the purpose of the law is to give us the knowledge of sin.  We are also not saved by the works of the law.

For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.   (Romans 3:20 NET)

Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded! By what principle? Of works? No, but by the principle of faith! For we consider that a person is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law. (Romans 3:27-28 NET)

It is an individual’s duty to keep the law of God.  Even the unredeemed have a certain amount of ingrained sense of “right and wrong”.  Prior to the media peddling large quantities of porn, filth, and crime most people maintained an innate moral consciousness.  The individuals or group that owns and operates Hollywood and television media can be known.  I receive instant castigation when it is exposed so do your own research.  It is easy to find.

Having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion: Fear God and keep his commandments, because this is the whole duty of man. For God will evaluate every deed, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

(Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NET)

There is only one God in the entire Bible, not two:  one in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament.  The God of both testaments is the same God.  Some believe they worship Jesus Christ of the New Testament and not the law-giving God of the Old Testament.  Jesus is God.  Jesus and God the Father are the same God.  Yes, there was a separation of sorts when Jesus walked the earth as a man:  no one actually understands the separation of personages but it happened.  A commentator can expound to infinity but will never explain or understand the triune nature of God:  It is so unexplainable that a few individuals just merely deny it.

Who gave the law to Moses?  The triune God:  that is, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  Yes, Jesus, as God the Son, gave the law and statutes to Moses and the children of Israel.

What is the Greatest of the Commandments?

A Pharisee expert in religious law asked Jesus a question as a test of His abilities:  “Which commandment in the law is the greatest?”  Of course, Jesus, God the Son, who gave the law to Moses knew the answer from the creation of the world.

Jesus said to him, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40 NET)

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, and your mind, plus, love your neighbor as yourself.  The person who loves the Lord and his creation will desire to follow and uphold the law.  A deep love of God is the essence of the law.

Did Jesus Do Away with the Law?

Jesus’ purpose was not to abolish the law or the prophets but to fulfill all details of the law.  Some claim that Jesus fulfilled the law and therefore did away with the law.  However, He proclaims that only when heaven and earth are no more will any part of the law pass away.

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass from the law until everything takes place. (Matthew 5:17-18 NET)

Are We Justified by the Law?

The law of God gives us direction for loving God and our neighbor.  The law never gave justification, either in the Old Testament, the New Testament, or now.

Yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.   (Galatians 2:16 NET)

One is not justified by keeping the law and one is not justified without keeping the law.  A justified individual through one’s faith will keep the law which will be manifest in the show of works.  To love God and one’s neighbor will be manifested in acts of love (or the law or works).

So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself.  (James 2:17 NET)

For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.  (James 2:26 NET)

Which Commandments are Necessary to Keep?

It is necessary to keep all the commandments.  Even Paul admitted to breaking the law on occasion.  However, through repentance we are freely justified by the grace of God through the redemption of Jesus, the Son of God.

For the one who obeys the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.  (James 2:10 NET)

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

(Romans 3:23-24 NET)

The baptism of Jesus Christ (death and rebirth) into the Kingdom of God indicates we know God and we keep His commandments.  The person claiming to know God but willfully sins is mistaken and according to John, “is a liar and the truth is not in that person”.  Only by obeying the laws of God can one truly know the love of God and project that love into the world.

Now by this we know that we have come to know God: if we keep his commandments. The one who says "I have come to know God" and yet does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in such a person. But whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has been perfected. By this we know that we are in him. The one who says he resides in God ought himself to walk just as Jesus walked.   (1 John 2:3-6 NET)