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[0:00] Matthew chapter 1. That'll be the first place you'll end up, I think.! That's the plan. Matthew chapter 1. Matthew chapter 1. I'm going to put up on the screen one of the slides from our previous weeks.

[0:25] We've covered a lot of material in regards to the kingdom of heaven, what the Bible or Matthew refers to as the kingdom of heaven.

[0:36] And we looked at several passages. We looked a lot in the Old Testament showing you how this kingdom was promised and how it was going to be then fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ when their king arrived on the earth.

[0:51] And I showed you that the teachings that he had in that early on in Matthew, just as a for instance, I pointed that one out because that's like the sermon. That's the biggest sermon, if you want to call it that.

[1:03] They call it the Sermon on the Mount, chapter 5, 6, and 7. Those three solid chapters of his teaching, that's kind of the most famous one to go to. I showed you that that's doctrine and that's good teaching and it is under the New Testament, but it doesn't find its fulfillment or its application in the church age today.

[1:25] What we understand by rightly dividing is the doctrine is not for the church, but it is valid. It's just being postponed until that kingdom comes back into view or when the kingdom of heaven is once again at hand.

[1:37] And that day will come. And so I show you that to try to point that out to the future. Now, what that means is that the king's doctrine to the nation of Israel about their kingdom has not been voided because they crucified him.

[1:53] It's just been postponed. And what I believe this scene here is rightly dividing the New Testament. It's showing you how you can take the passages, you just have to understand where they apply.

[2:05] And just because Jesus said it does not mean that everything applies to you because Jesus is your Savior and you love the Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn't mean that everything he said is for you to follow and obey.

[2:16] Now, today I want to walk you through many of these passages. Instead of just giving you that snapshot of that chunk of Matthew, I want to take you through a little bit more slowly now and show you these passages that are doctrinally applicable to the kingdom that we've been discussing.

[2:34] We're not going to go back into the Old Testament, though, because I don't see any need to do that. That's prophetic material. And for the most part, anybody who handles the Word of God or studies it, they don't get misled because a prophet told of a future vision that he sees of the kingdom.

[2:50] It's pretty well understood. That's future stuff. However, when the Lord Jesus Christ shows up on the planet and starts addressing the nation of Israel and teaching them some things, that's where people today tend to place their flag and say, well, this is what I'm going to do because Jesus said it.

[3:10] And they'll not worry about what Isaiah said and Zechariah. That's fine. That's prophecy of the future. But if Jesus came and said it, then they get all wrapped up in it. And I want to show you, I want to take a little time today, and probably this will be the last time we deal with this particular part of it.

[3:27] But it may feel like it's a little bit of overkill to you, but my goal is to make you see it and believe it, and then you can receive this as a solid teaching that you can understand as you read through your Bible.

[3:42] The goal is for you to understand your Bible when you're reading it and when you're studying it on your own, to not be misled or confused. And when you hear some message on the radio or some message from other source, that you don't start to get a little twisted up and say, well, I never heard that at my church, but that's in the Bible.

[4:00] So I want you to have a sound handle on your New Testament explicitly. This is really kind of where this all started from, is that you can rightly divide the Word of Truth, but specifically the New Testament.

[4:13] And we'll use Matthew through Revelation as that kind of parameters. So when Jesus Christ comes to earth as the King of Israel, He is addressing a nation in the book of Matthew.

[4:28] If I could make a little bit of a, just a bit of a, not a division, but at least just, what's the right word? A comparison maybe, is that the book of Matthew presents the Lord Jesus Christ as the King of the nation of Israel.

[4:44] And that kingdom was pledged to the nation. And so what we read through this and what we pick out is not so much individual offering of salvation, but rather of the big picture kingdom and nation.

[4:57] So let's see the book as that, as a King, the Messiah, the Christ, coming to a people, the nation, the nation of Israel, Abraham's seed, and the offer of the kingdom to them.

[5:10] When we get into the book of John, now you're going to see a whole lot more personal Jesus dealing one-on-one with individuals, calling on them to believe that He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior that should come into the world.

[5:23] That is more of an individual thing, and you see that really clear in John. Matthew, not so much of an individual thing. And I'm being a little broad, it's not like you're going to find a place and say, Sue, no, you're wrong.

[5:34] Generally speaking, Christ is being presented as the King to the nation, fulfilling the prophecies. So I'm going to start with Matthew chapter 1, and I want to show you in this book, not every single verse on the subject, but I'm going to show you that this book has a strong theme of the kingdom of heaven carried throughout the entirety of the book.

[5:55] From the first 25 chapters all the way, it's carried through. When you get to 26, now he's being crucified in chapter 27, he's resurrected, 28, kind of the aftermath.

[6:07] But these chapters, the majority of this book is going to deal very clearly with the kingdom. And then secondly, along with that, it's an offer to a nation, not so much individual people, like we like to preach the gospel to people, individuals today.

[6:21] When we read Matthew, it's not exactly that slant. So we have to be careful going to it to preach the gospel. So look at Matthew 1, verse 1.

[6:32] Notice how the book is introduced. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Jesus Christ is the son of David.

[6:42] What does that mean? It means he's the king. He's coming from the kingly line. God promised to David a covenant that there would not want a man upon the throne, and that the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah, and it was specifically through David's seed.

[6:56] So that's a reference to the king. The son of Abraham, the last line, what does that mean? Well, he's a Jew. He's a Jew. Abraham's the father of the Jewish people.

[7:07] So Jesus is the son of David, the son of Abraham. Those two designations make him the king of the Jews. And that is not described in that. It's not, the words aren't there.

[7:18] But that's why those two men are being pointed out. Turn to chapter 2 and look at that, show up again in chapter 2 at his birth. And shortly thereafter, when the wise men follow a star that leads them to the nation of Israel.

[7:36] And in verse number 2, their statement to Herod is, where is he that is born? King of the Jews. King of the Jews.

[7:46] So he's introduced in this very book, the first two chapters, as that person. Before he ever shows up speaking, teaching, doing any works, he's identified as the king of the Jews.

[7:57] I forgot to advance this. So here's where I want to be. I'm going to park on this spot there that I highlighted there, the kingdom. After the king arrives, before he's crucified, in this time in his ministry, I'm going to highlight from the book of Matthew how this is the kingdom being offered to the nation.

[8:19] It's being explained and expounded in detail. Moses said this. He goes into Matthew chapter 5. But I say unto you this. And he starts laying down some laws. All right, look at chapter 3.

[8:31] Matthew chapter 3. And here comes John the Baptist. We know that he's a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophets in Malachi and in Isaiah.

[8:46] In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And now John has some preaching to go along with this message of preparing the way for this Messiah.

[9:01] One thing he says is in verse number 7. When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

[9:14] What's he talking about? Wrath to come. Look at verse number 12 as a reference to that one that will come, the Lord Jesus Christ. He says that, he says, Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor and gather his wheat into the garner, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

[9:33] John preaches, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And in the same vein, in the same hand, he says, There's wrath coming, and there's unquenchable fire for some of you.

[9:47] What wrath, what fire is John preaching of to this people? Why is he talking about that stuff? This is not, this is a warning not to be on the wrong side of when the king arrives, to prepare their hearts to seek him and to be ready for him.

[10:07] If they're on the wrong side of when he arrives, then it's going to match identically with what all the prophets said is going to happen to people when he comes. And he is going to destroy, and he is going to burn up.

[10:19] And so what John, what the prophets have already set the stage for when the king arrives, you want to be on his side. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered, Joel said.

[10:30] And the rest of them are going to get burned and stamped out, Malachi. And so John's message is matching right in tune with what the prophets said is going to happen with what we call the second coming.

[10:42] Because history shows us how the first one went. But if we could eliminate and just let them be one event at the moment as it was in their mind and as it was in prophecy and scripture, this is all lining up with that.

[10:56] And the point I'm going to get stronger to is that you're not going to see any church age and church rapture on the screen there because we're looking at it through the Jewish line of prophecy, Old Testament being fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ.

[11:08] I'm not telling you there's no church age or rapture. I believe that thoroughly. But this is the Jewish thing and the Jews and the church are two different people. And so let's continue on. Matthew chapter 4.

[11:21] Matthew chapter 4. When the prophets said that when the king comes, this is what he's going to do to his enemies. And that's the message that John's preaching. Matthew chapter 4.

[11:33] And now here's not just John but the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll see this in verse 17. From that time, Jesus began to preach and to say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

[11:44] Same message. A little bit later, verse 23. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Remember the word gospel means glad tidings.

[11:57] It means good news. So his preaching is good news about the kingdom. And the verse ends by saying, healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

[12:09] And I showed you last week and I read to you from Isaiah 35 and there's more to put to that if you need to. But there's healing, there's signs, there's proofs that he in fact is from God and that he's fulfilling passages that are messianic.

[12:26] That is, he has the healing and his, the healing touch to take away the diseases out of that land like God said would come in the kingdom. All right, now look in the next three chapters.

[12:39] I don't know if your Bible has the red letters, but if it does, these are solid red. And so this is the great sermon on the mount. And I've already pointed out several little indications of this as a reference to the context of the future kingdom that God promised.

[12:55] I showed you that verse number three, the kingdom of heaven and verse number 10 and there's several more throughout. I'm not going to go through these again, but there are three solid chapters about how someone can gain entrance into the kingdom.

[13:11] The point I want us to understand is never one time in this biggest sermon that he preached to his people, to Israel, early in his ministry. He never one time said, I'm going to die for your sins.

[13:25] You need to believe on my atonement or my substitutionary death. This is not a doctrine that he's preaching. He's telling them how to enter the kingdom where he is the king of the Jews.

[13:36] He is not going to preach a cross. There's no death, no burial, no resurrection in Matthew chapter 5 through 7. So he doesn't deal with that. He doesn't tell them to exercise faith in him.

[13:48] He tells them to do the will of the Father. Now look at chapter 7. Look to the end of this passage and look at verse 28. Matthew 7 verse 28.

[14:03] And it came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine. For he taught them as one having authority, not as the scribes.

[14:18] The scribes knew what was written. The scribes could tell them what was written. But the scribes didn't know how to make application. They didn't know how to show them that this, this, and this. When Jesus Christ gets up, he tells them the facts and he speaks with such truth, with such authority that he believes what he's talking about.

[14:38] He knows what he's talking about. He's making sense of what the Old Testament scribes and prophets said. And he's telling them this is how it is. And how many times does he mention the kingdom of heaven?

[14:49] You'd have to go through and underline and just take your own little study through that to see. He describes how somebody can enter into the kingdom of heaven. And some of them believed it.

[15:03] Some of them rejected it. But he's teaching them how somebody will gain access into this kingdom where God reigns over the earth. All right, look at chapter 9. It's not to say there's not something in chapter 8, but just don't have the time to hit it all.

[15:17] So look at chapter 9 and verse 35. Continuing in his ministry, 9.35, Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom.

[15:32] Now in chapter 4 it says he was doing this in Galilee. That's up in the north. So he's moved on from there and it's the same message. He's spreading it throughout Israel. The gospel of the kingdom and again, healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

[15:47] These are messianic signs that meaning he is the Messiah. Now he's going to give some men in chapter 10 this same power. He grants power to Jewish men to preach the kingdom and to heal and to have signs connected with it.

[16:05] The powers of the world to come. In chapter 10, verse 1, he called unto them his twelve disciples and gave them power against unclean spirits to cast them out to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

[16:17] If you don't understand that these signs given to these men accompany the message of the kingdom of heaven, then you might be tempted to say, well, Jesus gave signs to men and Jesus gave power to them and, you know, I think I'm one of these too and then start taking some scriptures and trying to stamp them on your own ministry and start claiming gifts of healing and they tie it to others but you don't see too many guys that go into 1 Corinthians 12 and others and talk about the gifts of healing.

[16:48] You don't see too many of them that don't try to connect it back to Jesus did it, Jesus did it, Jesus did it and that's a terrible place to connect. This is about the kingdom. How do we know?

[16:59] Well, let's review this one too. Verses 5, 6 and 7 here, chapter 10. These twelve Jesus sent forth and commanded them saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles and into any city of the Samaritans.

[17:12] Enter ye not but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and as ye go preach saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand and what follows is the signs, the signs, the signs.

[17:24] What's the point here? The Christ calls and commissions Jewish disciples to spread the message of the kingdom. He gave them the power and the signs to confirm that this is in fact the kingdom which he also himself did and it's to Jews only.

[17:44] Now, you have to sit on that point. You have to, you have to not just acknowledge it but you have to come to terms with that point that this is for Jews only.

[17:59] You can't just bypass that and pretend it's just not a big deal. Jesus is, I'm not trying to make a joke here, he's being a racist. Why?

[18:10] Because he's supposed to because the message is for one people on the planet. It's a promise given to one group of people, a nation. And so the preaching is only for that nation.

[18:22] The kingdom, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Only tell this to the house of Israel. Don't you dare tell this to the Gentiles. It has nothing to do with them. Don't even go to the Samaritans, this half Jew, Gentile.

[18:34] It's not even for them. This is for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. That should make sense if you understand what we've covered so far. If you're still wrestling with this, then why is Jesus Christ being racist toward others if he came, if he came to save the world?

[18:56] That's what John chapter 3 says. He didn't come to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved. If he came that the world through him might be saved, why is he not giving the message to the world?

[19:08] It's the gospel, right? It's called the gospel of the kingdom. Does that mean go to heaven when you die? Well, this gospel doesn't have anything to do with his death, burial, resurrection. It's not part of the message and it's to Israel only and I think you're getting the gist here.

[19:24] It's about a kingdom promised to the Jew. So, you have to get this right. You have to divide the scriptures and it'll make sense. If you try to put this passage with the rest of them about Paul's gospel and make it all one thing, then why is Jesus only giving this one to his people, Israel?

[19:41] Look at Matthew chapter 11, chapter 10. You could read that on your own. There's a whole lot more in there to discuss with this but we don't have the time. Chapter 11 and look at verses 10 through 14.

[19:56] Now he's going to talk about John the Baptist. This one that fulfilled the scriptures. Matthew 11, verse 10.

[20:06] This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you among them that are born a woman, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist, notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

[20:21] 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 and if ye will receive it.

[20:34] This is Elias which was for to come. Now not only does he mention the kingdom of heaven and describe that it is in fact a physical earthly kingdom from verse 12 that is taken by force, by violence, but here the point I want to get you to is this reference to Elias which is Elijah, the prophet Elijah of the Old Testament.

[20:57] Why in the world can Jesus say that John, if you'll receive it, his preaching and message, why can he say that this was Elias which was for to come?

[21:09] What in the world is he talking about? Now keep your place, just slip back a few pages to the left to Malachi chapter 3 and let's just see what he's talking about here.

[21:21] He's talking about a prophecy from over 400 years ago, a prophecy that Malachi penned about a messenger that would come and prepare the way for the Lord.

[21:39] Malachi 3 verse 1, Behold, I send my messenger. 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.

[21:54] Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord host. The one that's coming after John is the Lord. There's two advents in that verse but as it's written, they don't see it as anything but just one plain statement.

[22:08] There's more. Look at chapter 4. So there's a messenger that's going to come and prepare the way before me, the Lord says. In chapter 4, verse number 5, Behold, I will send 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, the heart of the children to their fathers.

[22:33] That's exactly what the angel said to Zacharias when he went into the temple and he said that your wife Elizabeth is going to have a son. You're going to call him John. He's going to turn the heart of the children to the fathers of the fathers to the children.

[22:47] And so Jesus said John's coming. This was that promise of Elijah to come back and to do this work. So what's the point in this?

[22:59] Well, when Matthew's writing this in chapter 11, Jesus is teaching this about John the Baptist and about Elijah coming. There we go again.

[23:09] EPH 321. When he sends him out there, what does this have to do with the death and burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ?

[23:22] What does this have to do with Jesus dying for our sins? This is Elias which was for to come. The answer is nothing at all. And it's getting plainer and plainer but you better be receiving this and understanding that these are just pieces of a bigger picture of prophecy of God's plan for Israel.

[23:43] And so that's why EPH 321. That's why on this screen I'm not showing the church. I'm not showing the rapture because God did foretell these other events to them but this is all they see.

[23:57] This is all that's coming down the pipe for them as a nation. As a nation. So Christ is not foretelling these other elements of some body of Christ that the church wants to so many people want to go back into Matthew and start digging out the doctrine and applying it to them.

[24:13] Let's just take it for what it says and believe it the way it's being laid out to them. So these are fulfilling scriptures of prophets regarding God coming to earth establishing his everlasting kingdom.

[24:27] The headquarters of that kingdom will be in Jerusalem where there will be a throne. The throne of David that Jesus Christ will take over. Look at chapter 13 of Matthew. 13.

[24:40] And now things start to get a bit more mysterious. And the thought being that as Jesus Christ spoke plainly to this people many of them were skeptics many of them were rejecters and so now some of his offer to them becomes veiled because their heart is waxed gross and their ears are dull of hearing.

[25:03] And so now he's going to give it to them the same teachings the same truths but this time it's in parable or mystery form. So Matthew 13 verse 3 he spake many things unto them in parables saying behold a sower went forth to sow and he gives them this parable.

[25:20] I'm not going to study this out in detail but look at verses 10 and 11. The disciples came and said unto him why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven but to them it is not given for whosoever hath shall be so forth.

[25:38] Why is that? Well I'm putting it forth it's falling on them but they're not hearing it they're not receiving it because there's the prophecy in verses 14 and 15 13, 14, 15 telling them that this is what God said about this people they're going to reject it when it's offered to their face and so this passage there's mysteries of the kingdom of heaven this is not mysteries of the body of Christ look at verse 18 and 19 hear ye therefore the parable of the sower when anyone heareth the word of the kingdom right there it is this parable this mystery is about the kingdom of heaven and he's teaching his disciples what others are not understanding or receiving not about the body of Christ now I'm just going to show you like all of these parables these verses have to do with the kingdom of heaven verse 24 another parable put he forth unto them saying the kingdom of heaven is likened unto and he gives it to them again it shows up in verse 31 the kingdom of heaven is like to verse 33 the kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven and he continues look at verses

[27:02] I'll come back to that look at verse 44 44 says the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hidden a field 45 the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man 47 the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net more more more 52 then said he unto them therefore every scribe that is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto and so just more and more illustrative content and you can't miss how many times he says the kingdom of heaven the kingdom of heaven if you've understood by now what that reference is then there's no problem and you get it you get he's describing something that's that's gonna kind of get postponed unfortunately for them but nevertheless it's gonna have its application out there not today alright I mentioned what did I mention 42 41 and 2 of 13 the son of man shall send forth his angels and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend he's gonna get them out of the kingdom and cast them into a furnace of fire and they'll be willing and gnashing of teeth that makes perfect sense with understanding the return of the king and the establishment of his kingdom and ridding the wicked out of his kingdom it's the meek that'll inherit the earth but the proud and they that do wickedly and on and on and on they're getting cast out and does that mean anything to do with today's preaching of the gospel of Jesus

[28:46] Christ and the church age no when you get it you'll see it it makes sense I'm gonna keep saying this till everybody in here gets this and understands we do not apply all of these doctrines to today and to people today as we offer them the gospel the grace of God I want to point one thing out verse 38 verse 38 as he's explaining the elements of this parable of the tares of the field 37 he answered said unto them he that soweth the good seed is the son of man the field is the world the good seed notice this are the children of the kingdom who is that who are the children of the kingdom you should know already based on some of the previous things we've looked at but let's see it clearly look at chapter 15 Matthew 15 let the Bible interpret the Bible the children of the kingdom are Jews and that should be pretty obvious okay verse 23 there's a woman that is not

[29:52] Jewish in verse 22 a woman of Canaan and she's crying unto him to heal her daughter vexed with the devil verse 23 he answered her not a word he's not here for you woman you're not the children of the kingdom and so the disciples say send her away verse 24 he answered and said I'm not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel then came she and worshipped him saying Lord help me but he answered and said it's not me to take the children's bread who's house of Israel it's not me to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs and there's the reference and the point where we call from at least the Jewish perspective of calling Gentiles dogs outcasts they don't belong with us we don't have any dealings with them we abstain from them Peter well yeah you know how Peter reacted to eating the thing and then God was using that unclean beast to show him I cleansed it and you can go to those Gentiles but otherwise

[30:54] Peter was never going to have business or handling anything to do with Gentiles they're dogs they're outcasts they would defile a Jew to be in company with keep company with Gentiles and so the Lord Jesus Christ doesn't even answer the woman and he says I'm here for the house of Israel he's not even talking to her he's talking to his disciples when they say send them away and she's there he's just ignoring her I'm not here for her I'm here for the lost sheep of the house of Israel it's like he's not even going to look at her and she continues on she came and worshipped him so she falls at his feet and she's saying Lord help me and now he does address her and he tells her it's not right woman it's not it's not meat it's not suitable for me to take the children's bread I'm here for the children of the kingdom and it's not meat for me to do this to you to do what to heal your daughter that's Jesus Christ the one that told him not to go to the Gentiles it's not right that I heal your Gentile daughter why that doesn't make any sense at all you have to talk your way around that and say well he was just trying to get her to see something like you have to pretend something is there that doesn't exist but when you just believe the words and see it for what it is understand it for what it is it comes so crystal clear that he is literally backing up what he preached and he's here for the lost in this distinction here the children of the kingdom keep your place and we're going to run out of time here but I'm going to take you a little bit look at

[32:27] Galatians 3 let's make a contrast quickly if you get that and that makes sense to you that he's there for the Jews and that is his primary business is to offer and to explain this kingdom to them fulfilling the scripture Galatians chapter 3 let's contrast that mindset and teaching with something the apostle Paul says years later to a different people to people in the region of Galatia these churches he says in verse 26 that ye are all the children of God not the children of the kingdom but ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ now we're dealing with the body of Christ a different entity completely than the children of the kingdom the sheep of the house of Israel

[33:31] Paul dealing with the church and he says that we're children of God by faith in Christ Jesus and in verse 28 there is neither Jew nor Greek in Jesus Christ in the body of Christ there's no distinction of nationality but back here in Matthew oh boy you better believe there's a distinction it is a very clear and the lines are drawn this is for Israel only but back here with this faith in Jesus Christ become a child of God under this gospel it's a difference and you have to see that it's not that hard to see okay let's wrap this up quickly here let's go to Matthew 18 I'm just going to skim and just point out for you just so I'm finishing my case to say that it's through the entirety of this book Matthew 18 verse 1 at the same time came the disciples unto Jesus saying who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven they're not talking about go to heaven and be with

[34:37] God with the angels and fall upon your face and worship the lamb that sitteth upon the throne they're saying who's the greatest in the kingdom of heaven which is taken by force meaning it's on the earth and who's the greatest in that kingdom in chapter 19 they're going to get told that they're going to sit on twelve thrones so it's in verse 1 kingdom of heaven verse 3 verse 4 you'll see this phrase the kingdom of heaven again you see in verse 11 the son of man has come to save that which was lost we know who that is that's the Jews and that's plain from the other passages look at verse 23 Matthew 18 23 therefore is the kingdom of heaven and he's going to go off what's he talking about the kingdom of heaven and now here's a very crucial point I know I'm going fast and this is a lot but the last two verses of this passage have been preached!

[35:47] I already pointed this out from Matthew 6 but this is the same thought that if you don't forgive your brother then your heavenly father is going to deliver you to the tormentors and you're going to have to pay for your sins this is where the Catholics one of which they get this doctrine of purgatory why because they don't rightly divide the word of truth they have no understanding at all about this kingdom offered to Israel and what Matthew 18 23 when he gives a story about forgiveness and he says it's the kingdom of heaven being likened unto this the doctrine of 34 and 35 applies to the kingdom of heaven is that plain enough for you do you understand that like do you read your Bible do you see that because if you're missing it and you get to that part and you say oh no my father in heaven won't oh no I'm in trouble so

[36:47] I better that's not the way your heavenly father deals with you Bible says he deals with us as with sons we are his child and he is not going to deliver us to the tormentors and there is no purgatory on top of that kingdom of heaven Matthew 19 look at verse 12 you see in the end of that the kingdom of heaven sake still the same context and theme is just running through this book entirely verse 23 the last part of that!

[37:26] talking about a rich man hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven and in verse 28 is where he promises his disciples they'd sit on some thrones verse 28 Jesus said unto them verily I say unto you that ye which have followed me in the generation when the son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory ye shall also sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel look at that national distinction it's in the kingdom it's not in Christ it's not in the body of Christ chapter 20 verse 1 the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man and he's going to go with an entire story about that chapter 21 and verse 21 there's two boys that are arguing about their place and they want to sit on the right hand and on the left in thy chapter 21 now we'll skip that chapter let's look at just quickly 22 2 you'll see the kingdom of heaven likened unto somebody else 22 2 skipping ahead chapter 23 and

[38:42] I'm flying now just to get this over with 23 we're getting to the end verse 13 wo unto you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men that's a problem he's still dealing with them regarding their role in rejection of the kingdom chapter 24 look at these verses this one everybody's messed up on this 24 13 and 14 you'll have to picture the screen in your mind and but he that shall endure unto the end shall be saved have you not heard that have you not seen that taught have you not had somebody confuse you with this look at verse 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 so the enduring to the end connected to the gospel the kingdom being preached this is nothing to do with this age or the apostle

[39:48] Paul's ministry or you believing on the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation and if you believe on Jesus then you have to endure and don't stop believing on Jesus until he comes back and go through the tribulation these people are messed up because they don't rightly divide let's get verse 15 there's something about Daniel the prophet so there's more prophecies being fulfilled verse 21 then shall there be great tribulation there's a time of Jacob's trouble coming on the earth verse 29 immediately after the tribulation of those days and there's references to Joel in verse 29 and then shows up the son of man coming in the clouds verse 31 he's back Jesus Christ comes back that's on the screen the king's return and this has nothing to do with the body of Christ and the gospel of the grace of

[40:48] God all right almost done chapter 25 verse 1 kingdom of heaven likened unto ten virgins which took their lamps and on and on and on verse 14 the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country and somebody is a good and faithful servant and somebody at the end is getting cast into outer darkness in verse 30 what is that that's the kingdom of heaven that's somebody who's on the wrong side of the king when he comes back John preached about the wrath to come and somebody is getting chunked into outer darkness where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth in verse 30 there's the son of man in verse 31 coming in his glory and all the only angels with him then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory last verse verse 34 then shall the king say unto him on his right hand ye blessed of my father inherit the kingdom that is on this earth that is not get to heaven that is earthly kingdom the king is bringing some in and some he's sending away to everlasting punishment and going to everlasting fire in verses 41 and 46 he's still preaching from

[42:08] Matthew 1 the king of the Jews Matthew 2 the king of the Jews Matthew 3 4 he comes on the scene preaching the kingdom of heaven and it did not stop in this book of Matthew till chapter 25 all the way to the end of 25 and then 26 picks up the account of his betrayal his crucifixion and it carries into his resurrection something that was hidden from them but nevertheless not hidden in prophecy now I'm closing with this thought Matthew is a tricky book and it is impossible for you to understand this if you don't rightly divide it impossible it's impossible for you to to connect these teachings to the detailed and so picky with this this morning is because you need to see how prevalent this theme is in the book of Matthew how it's carried from start to finish and this is not Old Testament doctrine it's New Testament doctrine and this intention of God is to bring in a new covenant with his people this nation of

[43:13] Israel but remember this last thing the New Testament I taught you before is like a big umbrella and under that umbrella is the nation of Israel being joined to the Lord under the New Testament and there's also the body of Christ where there's neither Jew nor Greek or any bond or free they're being joined the Lord we're both being joined under the New Testament but our joining is not identical and our relationship is not identical!

[43:38]  either yet it's still under the same testament as it were but we cannot pretend that the New Testament and the church are the same thing because then we have to bring Israel to it and we have to keep them separate God keeps them separate and he still has unfinished business with that people so I hope that much I know it's a lot to just take in I don't need you to know it all and be it that's the goal now you'll know when you get through that book doesn't mean that everything Jesus says in Matthew is only for the Jews and I can't take you you can learn from his words you can learn from yeah he says peacemakers well when Paul tells you to live peaceably with all man you can also say you know Jesus Christ came to his people and told them to be peacemakers it is definitely the will of God that we live peaceably so I don't have to be careful with the doctrine with telling somebody that they're going to go to hell because we have to be careful with that all right let's dismiss there phew phew