Disciples Global Network

Fulfillment  is a key theme in the  Gospel of Matthew . With the arrival of the Messiah, the time of fulfillment began. What were the implications for the Law of Moses? In his ‘ Sermon on the Mount ’, Jesus provides clear answers. He did not come to settle the interpretive disputes between competing Jewish sects over the details of the Law but to  FULFILL  the “ Law and the Prophets .”

Paul concludes his first  Letter to the Thessalonians  with a series of exhortations calling on the disciples of Jesus to pursue righteous living in the interim between their conversion and his “ arrival ” from heaven. He ends by summoning the congregation to pursue complete sanctification, an exhortation with verbal links to the preceding sections of the Letter.

The biblical faith is forward-looking and foundational to its doctrine of salvation is the future resurrection of the righteous dead. That event will also mark the arrival of the New Creation. The New Testament links this to two events. First, the past Resurrection of Jesus. Second, his future arrival at the end of the age. Our salvation remains incomplete without our resurrection.

An eagle flying in mid-heaven announces the last three trumpets, the three woes unleashed against the inhabitants of the earth  – Revelation 8:13.  The first four trumpets have sounded. Now, an “ eagle flying in mid-heaven ” announces the final three and calls them “ woes .” Unlike the first four, the plagues unleashed by the last three trumpets afflict the “ inhabitants of the earth ” themselves, whereas the first four damaged the infrastructure on which human society depends – agriculture, commerce, freshwater supplies, and light.

During the “ thousand years ,” Satan is imprisoned, and the victorious saints reign as priests. Ironically, the “ rest of the dead ” do not live until the “ second death ” at the “ Great White Throne of Judgment .” Behind this image is Daniel’s vision of “ one like a Son of Man ” who receives the kingdom from the “ Ancient of Days .”

In his first vision, John “ came to be in the spirit ” on the Isle of Patmos where he saw a vision of “ one like a Son of Man ” standing among the “ Seven Golden Lampstands .” The “ lampstands ” represented the seven churches of Asia. In the fourth chapter, he again “ came to be in the spirit .” But this time, he was summoned to heaven to receive a vision of the “ Throne ” at the center of the creation, the “ Sealed Scroll ,” and the slain “ Lamb .”