Christ's deep declaration on the Mount.

[oak]

(17) "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill them 18) For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. 19) Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matt 5: 17-19

I actually was at first wanted to limit my post to the least and great in heaven but found that including verses 17 and 18 can make for a wonderful post question(s). I feel that comprehension of this scripture calls for a truly inspired heart

[mizzdy]

(17) "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill them 18) For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. 19) Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matt 5: 17-19

I actually was at first wanted to limit my post to the least and great in heaven but found that including verses 17 and 18 can make for a wonderful post question(s). I feel that comprehension of this scripture calls for a truly inspired heart

[oak]

Thank you for your reply Mizzdy. I was surprised by the multitude of differing opinions concerning this Scripture (on the web). On my level, I believe the word, fulfill, is pointing to a new covenant with Christ. The five books of the Torah therefore went through a transformation. For instance circumcision and the foods we eat for all practical purpose dont hold the validity due to the Epistles - that they had during the times of the Old Testament. With Christs death and resurrection we have a new relationship with God - one that leads to reconciliation. I guess my main disagreement with you is that I feel Christ truly fulfilled on the cross and His resurrection. Certainly the Torah laws were changed and Christ introduced some of His Commandments. Therefore I believe the law and the Prophets point to or are within Christ. I also, disagree with your statement that the Messiah has not come. He didnt re-appear to the world, but unfortunately the Messiah that the world is waiting for is the anti-Christ.

In other words Christ is the state of being sinless, He alone could do or fulfill what we as human beings could not do. So I would say that I feel that this passage seems to point to redemption in Christ, our chance is certainly not in abolishing the laws but to believe in Christ. This still leaves the least and great unanswered (for myself) but this is the best I could do.

[jodetoad]

fulfilled |foŏlˈfild|

adjective

satisfied or happy because of fully developing one's abilities or character.

fulfill |foŏlˈfil| ( Brit. fulfil)

verb

1 bring to completion or reality; achieve or realize (something desired, promised, or predicted) : he wouldn't be able to fulfill his ambition to visit Naples.

[mizzdy]

Thank you for your reply Mizzdy. I was surprised by the multitude of differing opinions concerning this Scripture (on the web). On my level, I believe the word, fulfill, is pointing to a new covenant with Christ. The five books of the Torah therefore went through a transformation. For instance circumcision and the foods we eat for all practical purpose don

[rollinTHUNDER]

(17) "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill them 18) For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. 19) Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matt 5: 17-19

I actually was at first wanted to limit my post to the least and great in heaven but found that including verses 17 and 18 can make for a wonderful post question(s). I feel that comprehension of this scripture calls for a truly inspired heart � meaning one can answer, without any �help� aside from The Holy Spirit. In my searches I found that this is a truly revolutionary scripture, one with countless interpretations. This passage created a Christian denomination as well as a huge debate about what is meant by the �Law and the Prophets.� Everything from Paul being the least of Apostle�s to the needfulness of the Old Testament.

The view I take is this leads to Christ�s Words on the Cross: ��It is finished�.� John 19:30 - meaning that Christ has fulfilled the Covenant, God had with Abraham and began a new one with Himself Being, the sacrifice; which makes me a stronger believer in Communion. Therefore some laws were finished in their relevance such as animal sacrifices etc. Now I know there is a great deal more since this leads Christ to give more life to the 10 Commandments by addressing anger, lust, divorce etc., during the Sermon on the Mount. In effect bringing those who believe in Him to a better understanding and obedience in regards to the Commandments. Of course this will lead to greater understanding of Paul�s Romans where it is explained that we are to live in the spirit and are no longer condemned by the law due to our faith in Christ. In essence this passage leads to love.

You can address any point you�d like however I would like someone to explain to me the least and the great in heaven. First, what are the laws that are either lessened or kept? Christ�s Commandments? Also will there be people that will be given less regard than others in Heaven? Also, this was influenced by George's becoming prepared post.

Oak

Hi oak,

Great questions. I am so tempted to jump in and throw in my two cents, but unfortunately I need to put my muzzle on. I wrote a book that will be coming out in a few months that answers these questions. All I will say is that these things have much to do with rewards/punishments that the righteous will receive when Christ returns. Most preachers and teachers don't go very deep into these things because they are not commonly understood, but in my book I go into great detail, and it is solidly backed by scripture.

I'll have to keep an eye on this thread. If you don't get the answers you're looking for, hopefully, I'll be able to dive into this in the future. But unfortunately, that probably won't happen until next year or so. The book won't be released until January, so be patient with me on this one.

Cheers!

[eph215]

(17) "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill them 18) For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. 19) Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matt 5: 17-19

I actually was at first wanted to limit my post to the least and great in heaven but found that including verses 17 and 18 can make for a wonderful post question(s). I feel that comprehension of this scripture calls for a truly inspired heart � meaning one can answer, without any �help� aside from The Holy Spirit. In my searches I found that this is a truly revolutionary scripture, one with countless interpretations. This passage created a Christian denomination as well as a huge debate about what is meant by the �Law and the Prophets.� Everything from Paul being the least of Apostle�s to the needfulness of the Old Testament.

The view I take is this leads to Christ�s Words on the Cross: ��It is finished�.� John 19:30 - meaning that Christ has fulfilled the Covenant, God had with Abraham and began a new one with Himself Being, the sacrifice; which makes me a stronger believer in Communion. Therefore some laws were finished in their relevance such as animal sacrifices etc. Now I know there is a great deal more since this leads Christ to give more life to the 10 Commandments by addressing anger, lust, divorce etc., during the Sermon on the Mount. In effect bringing those who believe in Him to a better understanding and obedience in regards to the Commandments. Of course this will lead to greater understanding of Paul�s Romans where it is explained that we are to live in the spirit and are no longer condemned by the law due to our faith in Christ. In essence this passage leads to love.

You can address any point you�d like however I would like someone to explain to me the least and the great in heaven. First, what are the laws that are either lessened or kept? Christ�s Commandments? Also will there be people that will be given less regard than others in Heaven? Also, this was influenced by George's becoming prepared post.

Oak

It helps me to remember that the Law exists only to reveal our need for a savior. All the law can do is expose our utter inability to satisfy what the law requires (see Romans 7). However, Christ came to do what we could never do, namely satisfy every righteous requirement of the Law. If he could not do this then he had no qualification to be our savior - take our sin upon himself and make the atonement for it that we could not. In this way he fulfilled the Law certainly, and also the Prophets. Remember, the mandate of a prophet is to point us back to God and Christ spent the entirety of His ministry pointing the way back to God.

Elsewhere Christ summed up the law in two concise statements - Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul & strength and love your neighbor as yourself. If you think about it , these encompass the ten commandments and the rest of the Law too. And Christ never commanded anything that could not be summed up in those two statements. One who does this, loves God and loves others and teaches others to do the same will be called great. One who tries to lessen these and teaches others to do likewise will be least. After all God has put forth the Law, who am I to try to lessen it? Am I presumptuous enough to claim I know enough to edit God's Law? No, a far better place for me is to 'trust and obey' and teach others to do the same.

Matthew 6 is full of references to reward which fit in well with your question. Those who favor hypocrisy and external show will have received their reward in full. Those who seek to honor God (give in secret, pray in secret, fast in secret etc)will be rewarded by the Father in heaven. Ephesians 6:7-8 "Serve wholeheartedly as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave of free." Revelation 11:18 "...The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small..." I'd say that Yes there will be rewards (regard if you will) in heaven apart from eternal life with God (though I can't imagine why anything else would matter).