And from the days of John
the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent
assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize—a [d]share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most
ardent zeal and intense exertion]. Matthew 11:12 (AMP)
But woe to you, scribes
and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in
men’s faces; for you neither enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are
about to go in to do so. Matthew 23:13 (AMP)
Under the law men pressed
to enter in but could not as their high priest and leaders stopped them from
entering by keeping them in their sin-consciousness even as the scriptures say
that those offerings could not perfect them. The cross became the judgement for
that system and offered another way; A sure and living way for men to enter.
“Behold, your house is
forsaken and desolate (abandoned and left destitute of God’s help).” The
end came for that age and temple that could not bring God to men. When now see
it you will discover that throughout
the New Testament, the “Last days” is not about the end of planet earth, but a
reference to the end of the age of Moses and the Old Covenant. Those were the
last days of Jerusalem, the Temple and the priesthood. We are not currently
living in the last days, but they were!
The kingdom of God was the expectation
of the Jews but they thought that it would restore their place in the promised
land. They dreamt a messiah that would restore the kingdom to them. God clearly
had a different plan. To begin with, God never intended to enter covenant with
based on the law but to continue with the Abrahamic covenant. They refused and
exchanged covenant on the Mount Sinai. This led to the led to the death of 3,000
souls on the foot of the mountain. Another problem in the brewing was that the
destiny of the people was now based on the status of their priesthood.
If the leadership was bad, they would
suffer a collective judgment. Jesus came and took our place so that we can
share His place in the heavenly places. John and Jesus including the disciples
kept warning about the last days. In those last days the church suffered great
persecution in the hands of Nero the Emperor which later led to the rebellion
of the Jews that caused the Roman army come against Israel. The end of that was
the outpouring of his wrath so that as the Old Covenant disappeared, it would
also distinguish with the wrath of God.
“Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and
amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of
God is finished.” Revelation 15:1(ESV)
This was fulfilling the prophecy in
Isaiah 54 just after the famous Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 53. Vs 9,10 “For
this is like the waters of Noah to Me; For as I have sworn That the waters of
Noah would no longer cover the earth, So have I sworn That I would not be angry
with you, nor rebuke you. For the mountains shall depart And the hills be
removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of
peace be removed,” Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.”
God is not mad at you! Relax and let God perfect His plan in your life. His plans are good which to bring you to an end expected end, one with hope and a bright future.
