Rejection of the Messiah-Part 2

This past Sunday, we continued with Matthew 12 and the rejection of the Messiah, noting the following Scriptures:

1. Matthew 12:38-40 which speaks about the sign of the Resurrection. I read portions of Jonah chapter 2 and it is my belief that Jonah actually died and God resurrected him out of the belly of the great fish. I mentioned that Israel would see a total of three signs concerning resurrection. First, Lazarus was resurrected, (purposefully on the fourth day-John 11:1-46). Secondly, Yeshua's own Resurrection, (Matthew 28:1-10), and thirdly, the raising of the two witnesses during the Tribulation period, (Revelation 11:3-13).
2. Matthew 12:41-45 which includes Jesus' words of judgment. We noticed how many times that the phrase "this generation" occurs and were reminded by Arnold that this contextually is the unpardonable sin, (see last week's post). I then quoted from Arnold's manuscript MBS003:

"The point of this story is often missed. The Messiah closed the story with the point that what was true of the man was also true of that particular evil generation. When that generation began, it began with the preaching of John the Baptist. John’s ministry was to prepare the people for the reception of the Messiah. By means of the preaching of John, that generation was swept, and garnished. But now that the Messiah had come, they rejected Him on the basis of demon possession. The nation that was swept and garnished now remained empty on account of the rejection of the Messiahship of Yeshua. And because it remained empty, the last state of that generation was to be worse that the first.
When that generation began, it was under Roman domination. Nevertheless, it had a national entity. It had a semi-autonomous form of government in the Sanhedrin. Jerusalem stood in all its Herodian glory, and the religious worship system in the Temple remained intact. But later, as a result of the rejection and judgment in a.d. 70, the national entity of Israel ceased to exist. In the place of bondage, they were dispersed by the Roman armies. The Temple, the center of Judaism, was completely destroyed so that not one stone stood upon another. Eventually, the Jews were dispersed all over the world. So, indeed, the last state of that generation became worse than the first. They went from bondage to worldwide dispersion."
Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (1983). The Messianic Bible Study Collection (3:7). Tustin, Calif.: Ariel Ministries.

Next week, we'll look at some more relevent Scriptures before we turn our attention to The

Prerequisite to the Second Coming.

Be blessed,

Your Chrbrotherist