Disciples Global Network

The  Gospel of Mark  opens with a declaration based t he Hebrew Bible, providing the scriptural basis for the ministry of John the Baptist. It sets the stage for the Messianic mission of Jesus and his proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Thus, Mark’s account begins on a note of fulfillment. The Man from Nazareth was the Messiah and Savior promised by the God of Israel in the Scriptures.

One day, the disciples discovered that Jesus was the Temple of God . The era in which God “ dwelt ” in portable tents in the wilderness or stone buildings in Jerusalem had concluded with the arrival of the Messiah. No longer does God dwell in structures “ made by hand .”  His presence cannot be contained by physical walls or geographic boundaries.

The promises of God find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. “ IN HIM ,” they find their “ yea ” and “ amen .” The things that were once “ hidden ” are revealed in the life, words, death, resurrection, and exaltation of the Son of God, the one in whom all the shadows and types prefigured in the Hebrew Bible are actualized. All God’s “ mysteries ” are laid bare for all men to see in the Nazarene, especially in his death and resurrection.

Fulfillment is a prominent theme in the  Gospel of Matthew . With the arrival of Israel’s Messiah, the time of fulfillment commenced. But with his advent, what were the implications for the Law? In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus provided clear answers. He did not come to adjudicate the interpretive disputes between competing Jewish sects over the details of the Law, or to validate which oral traditions were correct, but instead, to fulfill the “ Law and the Prophets .”

SYNOPSIS :   Christians do not need to wait until History’s final years to understand the message of Revelation. The understanding of its visions was made plain to the first-century churches of Asia . Today, some voices claim that the correct understanding of many end-time prophecies will not be revealed until the “ last generation ” before the return of Jesus. Information still veiled will be decoded only in the last few years prior to the end of the age. Frequently, a key passage from the  book of Daniel  is cited to validate this claim.