So we're going to finish up Matthew 23 today, and then we're not going to go on to Matthew 24 and 25 yet. That'll be something we'll do at a future date. It's important to cover things pertaining to the Passover, so we'll go through those things and seek to better understand them. So we've done two sermons on Matthew 23. This will be the third sermon. The last time we covered, in the second sermon, we talked about the eight woes that Christ pronounced on the religious leadership of Christ time. In the first sermon, we addressed a number of places where God emphasized the accountability of his leadership. To be a leader in the Church of God is a privilege, but there's also accountability involved, and God holds those who are his teachers and his leaders accountable for the way that they do their jobs. And it is a very sobering thing to examine how God holds his leadership accountable. So today we're going to finish Matthew 23, but as we start into this final portion of that particular book, I'd like to recall something that we covered earlier in Matthew 23, and I'd like you to bring it to your attention because it will be important to how we finish up. In Matthew 23, verse 21, it says, He who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. So that seems to be a simple statement. However, there's more to it than that. And a question we might ask about this is, did God live in the post-exilic temple? Did God live in the post-exilic temple? Did God live in the tabernacle?
Yes. Did God live in Solomon's temple?
Okay. And then when they came back after the exile and built the temple, did God dwell there? He didn't. He didn't.
In the tabernacle was the Ark of the Covenant in the tabernacle. Yes. Was the Ark of the Covenant in the temple? Yes. But after the destruction of Jerusalem, was that placed back into the Holy of Holies? No. So things changed between when God called out Israel and brought them out of the land and when the temple was destroyed, things changed when they came back from the exile. But it's interesting as you look at that particular verse that I quoted, Matthew 23, verse 21, if you look at it like in my King James version, it says it has a little number there and you can go down and it says in the margin, based upon the majority text, which is the text on which the King James Bible and the New King James were based, it reads dwelt. It reads dwelt, past tense. And in the alt three summary of the majority text, it reads dwelt. So there is some basis on which dwelt is applicable. And as we go through the study today, I think you'll be able to see the significance of the word dwelt. There is some meaning to that and it fits in nicely. Let's go to, so let's begin in Matthew chapter 23 and pick up things in Matthew 23, beginning in verse 33. Matthew chapter 23 and beginning in verse 33. So it says in Matthew 23 verse 20, verse 33, serpents, brood of vipers, how can you escape the condemnation of hell?
So he tells them, he calls them serpents, brood of vipers, how can you escape the condemnation of hell? So does anybody remember where serpents and brood of vipers was mentioned earlier in the scriptures? Anybody you remember who said that to his audience? John the Baptist? Yes, he used a similar language, which you find at the beginning of Matthew and then you find this at the end of Christ's ministry. So he called them serpents, brood of vipers. Interestingly, in this section of scripture, he calls them blind five times and he calls them hypocrites six times. And as you think about them being blind, basically they were blind. They couldn't see the spiritual truths that Christ was putting before them and being blind and being leaders among the people. Basically, you have the blind leading the blind and they were leading the people into a ditch. The word translated hypocrite comes from the word for actor, a person who pretends to be a certain way and puts on basically a performance indicating I'm this way. But apart from the people that he's trying to impress, he's totally different. He's leading two lives and that's what they were doing. They were appearing as righteous, but as you looked at them outside of the context in which they were trying to impress the people, they were not living up to what God wanted them to do. They were hypocrites and people knew this. I mean, you can see an interesting example of hypocrisy today as you have all of the people that are all upset about the contact of Jeff Sessions, the Attorney General with the Russians. But it's interesting, all these people that are calling for his resignation and are attacking him, wait a minute, all these people have had contact with this guy. You're like, nobody sees that that's flawed, but we live in a world that's completely gone mad and nobody can see that that may be a touch on the hypocritical side. You're criticizing him, and then you've had contact with this fellow. Not so anyway. It's the world we live in.
Christ calls them, as I said, serpents, brood of vipers. Brood means offspring. He calls them brood of vipers and talks about them being offspring of the devil. Brood means offspring.
John the Baptist called them brood of vipers at the beginning of his ministry, as we mentioned. It talks about there in that verse, it says, how can you escape the condemnation of hell?
So what's the word there for hell? What's the group? Anybody recall the Greek word there? Gehenna. It's alluding to the lake of fire. How can you escape the condemnation of the lake of fire, the second death? As you look at what's said there in verse 32, it says, fill up then the measure of your father's guilt. Basically, it's talking about the concept that God is patient. God wants you to come to repentance, and God gives you time to repent. But there comes a time when you basically run out of time. And at that point, God said, enough. God says, enough. And God is being patient with these religious leaders, and unfortunately, they're on the path to filling up the measure of their father's guilt. If the teachers of the law and the Pharisees are filling up the measure of sin of their forefathers, how can they possibly escape the condemnation of the lake of fire? These people weren't converted, and yet they're so egregiously wrong, so presumptuously wrong, God says, you guys are on the brink of the lake of fire by seeing very clearly what God is doing and rejecting it, hardening your hearts to it. And that's the problem. They were hardening their hearts to what was very clearly taking place right before their eyes. So like Christ told them in Matthew 10, verse 28, it says, do not fear those who kill the body. They can kill the body, but that's not the big deal. Everybody dies. But what you do have to worry about is the one who can kill you both body and soul and end your life completely. Erase you from existence. That's what you have to worry about. And that's the position that these men were in, which is a very serious position.
Matthew 23, verse 34, it says, therefore indeed I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. So interestingly, Christ is saying this, and what were they going to do? They were going to kill the Messiah very shortly after this. That was their intention, to put God in the flesh to death. And Christ told them, I am about to send prophets, wise men, and scribes. Or I will send, I'm going to be sending, prophets, wise men, and scribes.
Even though that generation was about to execute Jesus, Christ was going to send people as his prophets, as his messengers, to get his message out to others. And Jesus Christ was sending them to benefit and strengthen those other people. Christ had told his disciples that he was sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves in Matthew chapter 10.
They were going out into the midst of wolves, and these wolves are going to seek to destroy you and persecute you. They've persecuted Christ unto death, and they're going to persecute you as well.
So he very clearly told them what was coming. He's saying, basically, if they persecuted me, they're going to persecute you. And you need to be aware of what's coming and not be surprised about it. I mean, we're told the very same thing. He says, if you practice my way of life, then it is likely that you will be persecuted. You will be persecuted because we live in a world that is not God's world, and sometimes people make note of the fact of our beliefs, and they don't like our beliefs, and so they will, sadly, take action against us. And I think that that is drawing ever closer to all of us. I know on our trip, I happened to, you know, I don't usually talk to anybody, but I started talking to this guy when we were in Cozumel, and he was actually Jewish and from Lithuania, so I started talking to him. And so he's basically saying, well, can't, you know, he asked me what really got it rolling was, he said, well, who were you for, basically, in the election? And so I said, well, I was for the winner of the election. Oh, really? So does this affect your, you know, your religious values and all that? So we got into the discussion of that. And it is interesting, like he said, what's going to happen to us when we can't keep the Sabbath and where we can't speak out and quote the Bible as it is written?
What happens to us? So he can see, as we're orthodox in our views from a Jewish perspective, and we're holding fast to the Scriptures, the Hebrew Scriptures, and we cannot quote them without persecution. That's, you know, it becomes a hate crime. Then not only anybody that takes that stance that the Bible is the truth, and it is immutable, and it is true, and we have to hold fast to it, you're in trouble. Those who are more flexible, well, if I'm going to be persecuted, maybe I'm not so hard and fast on that particular issue. And that's going to be the test.
It seems like we're drawing closer to that. Let's go to Matthew chapter. And, you know, Christ sent and did this come to pass? Were his disciples persecuted? What about Stephen? What about James? What about several others? Paul was killed, Peter was killed, and it's thought that all the apostles died in Christ's service except for the Apostle John. They were all persecuted, and it's just what came with the territory. Let's look at verse 35. It says that, on you may come all the rights of, on you, the religious leaders of the Jews, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth. Now does that mean that God is going to hold the religious leaders here accountable for all the shed blood, righteous blood that has been shed on the earth? Anywhere on the earth is He going to hold them accountable for that? I don't think so. What he's talking about, you can look at what it says in Barnes' notes. It talks about, on the earth refers specifically to the area of Israel, not the whole earth. It's a phrase that was used, but it is not talking about the whole earth as we would understand it. When he says, from the righteous blood, blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Barakiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
So it's interesting as you think about that. Abel is, you know, that name begins with what Hebrew letter? Aleph? It would be the first Greek letter. And then you notice his Zechariah?
Z? You know, so he, you know, it's interesting the way it comes out there, you've got A to Z. You know, he's going to hold them accountable for the righteous blood of all from Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Barakiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. So it's just not something that's overly important, but it is interesting. He talks about A to Z. A big question that people have about the section here where it talks about Zechariah, the son of Barakiah, that many people believe that Christ got this mixed up, and he's quoting the wrong Zechariah. He's mentioning the wrong Zechariah, because who was Zechariah, the son of Barakiah? Does anybody remember? Anybody know?
If you look at Zechariah chapter 1, he is the writer of the book of Zechariah. But when did he write? He wrote, you know, in post-exilic times, trying to rally the people of Judah to get their job done. But is that whom Christ was talking about? Was he murdered as Zechariah, the son of Barakiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar? So was the writer of the minor prophet, prophetic book Zechariah, was he murdered in the temple? In fact, he was not. In fact, he was not. So how do we understand this? What Zechariah is this talking about?
Yes.
Yes, well that's it, and we're going there right now. Let's go to 2 Chronicles chapter 24. That is the right answer. That is the Zechariah that he's talking about. Zechariah, and I'll explain why here in just a second. Let's go to 2 Chronicles chapter 24, and let's look at verses 1 and 2 to begin with.
Chapter 24, let's begin in verses 1 and 2. So we have the death of the lady who took over as queen in Judah. She was rather a difficult person and was executed or slain, and they had reserved one of the sons of the king. He was young, and it tells us in chapter 24 verse 1, Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zebiah of Beersheba. Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada, the priest.
So what's significant about that? He's seven years old, so at seven years old, would you trust him to be king? That would mean my grandson, Nolan, is seven.
So let's put him in charge. How would that work? It would probably be doing art, we'd be watching a lot of Star Wars and doing things that seven-year-olds like to do.
So for them to be king, that's a very momentous task for them. And so Joash's kingship was actually successful as long as Jehoiada the priest was his mentor and guiding him. And Jehoiada the priest was with him and helped him to be successful, and he did well during that time. Then we come down to verse 15, chapter 24 verse 15. But Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and he died. He was 130 years old when he died. So Jehoiada lived to a ripe old age, and he died. And things changed once he died.
They buried him, and then it goes down to verse 17. Now after the death of Jehoiada, the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king, and the king listened to them. So who were his counselors now? Jehoiada is God. So he begins to listen to these men who come before him, the leaders of Judah. Verse 18, Therefore they left the house of the Lord, God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols, and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass. So Jehoiada dies, and so the leaders of the Jews begin to give counsel to Joash, and they immediately move away from the temple, which they have collected money to repair and restore. And they leave that all behind, and they begin to worship all of these idols, images and idols. And God's wrath came upon the nation and the city.
Verse 19, Yet he sent prophets to them to bring them back to the Lord, and they testified against them, but they would not listen. So God saw what was going on, and he sent prophets to them to say, you need to turn it around. You're headed in the wrong direction. And then in verse 20, Zechariah comes into the picture. Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, the priest who stood above the people, and said to them, and the reason, and when it says he stood above the people, what does that mean? What does it mean that he stood above the people?
Does it mean he's better than the people? He's superior to the people? What does it mean?
Basically, it means when he spoke to them, he was usually would speak from a raised position. For instance, me. In a raised position. This does not make me better than you. It's just a position from which you can speak. Everybody can see you, and it's conducive to hearing and conducive to making a presentation. And that's why he was raised above them, not because he was superior in any way. And so he went to them, he stood above the people, and said to them, Thus says God, why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord so that you cannot prosper? You're breaking God's law, and you're not going to prosper following this path. Because you have forsaken the Lord, he also has forsaken you. There's a consequence to the decisions you've made. So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord.
So the king commanded that they kill Zechariah. And so interestingly, as you look at Christ speaks of Zechariah, the son of Barakiah. And interestingly, as you compare, if you go through and you look at Adam Clark, he points out in his comment on verse 20 that Jehoiada and Barakiah have this very same meaning. Both of those names mean the praise or blessing of Yahweh.
They mean the same. So Christ didn't get it wrong. He knew he was talking about.
And Jehoiada means the same thing as Barakiah. So he knew what he was talking about when he made that reference. On verse 21, Kyle in the Lich commentary says, he was slain between the temple and the altar of burnt offerings.
If you look at the temple, you had the building and you went in the doors and you entered the holy place. And outside the holy place, in front of it, was the altar of burnt offerings. So they killed him in between the building and this altar.
They killed him there at the command of the king. And so who killed him? Who killed Barakiah?
Who could go into the area where he was killed? Only the priest. Not just anybody could go in there. So the priest killed him at the command of the king. So you're betrayed by your own family, basically. You're all priests. You're all Levites and you're betrayed by those individuals. Interesting as you look at the 30 pieces of silver, where did Judas throw those? Where did he toss those back into?
He tossed them back into this area, the same area, and only the priest could retrieve that money, which they did. And then they bought the potter's field. So Zechariah was a Zechariah was killed because he spoke out and told the king that he was not doing the right thing. And so they defiled the temple. They desecrated the temple by this action.
And 2 Chronicles 24, verse 21, it says here that God has forsaken you. And then he says in verse 21, So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son. And as he died, he said, The Lord look on it and repay. The Lord look on it and repay. So Jesus Christ is saying here that Zechariah's prayer is about to be answered. The Lord look upon it and repay. And who is the Lord looking upon at this time? And as you look at the Hebrew Scriptures, what's the first book in the Hebrew Scriptures? Yes, Genesis, okay. And what's the last book in the Hebrew Scriptures?
Second Chronicles is not Malachi. And so we have Genesis and we have Second Chronicles. Which of the individuals was killed in Genesis that's mentioned by Christ? Abel. And who was killed in Second Chronicles? Zechariah. A to Z. Interesting, which is just in both and both of these men were killed by the wicked. Matthew 23 verse 36, it says, getting back to the book itself, it says, Assuredly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. So Jesus said that he would be rejected by his own generation, which he was. But he said that there's coming a time when the people of Sodom, the people of Tyre, the people of Sidon, would come up in a resurrection and they would tell the people of Christ's generation that they were way off, that they missed it.
They missed that the Christ condemned him. And Christ is pointing out that this would be the culmination of all the prophecies and warnings since the children of Israel entered into the Mount Sinai covenant. And God was no longer willing to dwell among the children of Israel. God was no longer willing to dwell among the children of Israel. The dreadful prophecies of what would happen if they forsook the covenant are found in Leviticus chapter 26 and Deuteronomy 28, and they were about to be fulfilled. Let's look at, let's just go to Luke chapter 19.
Luke chapter 19.
Luke 19, and let's look at verses 41 through 44.
So Christ loved the people of Israel. Christ loved the people of Judah, and he wanted only good for them. But he knew that the future was dire for the people of Jerusalem and the people of Judah. It says in verse 41, now as he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it. He knew what was going to happen to that city. And he says in verse 42, if you had known even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace, if you'd only understood what would bring about peace. And you know, if you read about the fall of Jerusalem, all of the people in Jerusalem were basically Jews. But there was anything but peace among the people in that city as they rebelled against Rome. They were divided into different groups, fighting like cats and dogs among themselves. They, in fact, were at war with each other to such a degree that they burned their food storage. And you're like, who thought up this idea? Basically, they destroyed themselves and made themselves vulnerable to the Romans. And that's the case. They didn't understand how to make peace. Just as we looked in the Middle East today, have they figured out the peace process yet? I don't think so. And he goes on to say here at the end of the verse, but now they are hidden from your eyes. You can't see it. You don't get it. Verse 43, four days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you, and close you in on every side and level you and your children within you to the ground, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another because you did not know the time of your visitation. So who was visiting?
They didn't know the time of their visitation. What's the significance of that?
Who were they being visited by? God was in their midst! He was right there with them, performing miracles, letting them know that He was the Messiah, that He was the Son of Man, looking back to Daniel, that He was the Son of David, looking back to the branch and other things. They had all of this, and all of the miracles were meant to spell it out for them. They even had the sign of Jonah and they didn't get it. That couldn't happen. It wasn't Him. So they didn't understand. They did not understand the time that they were in. And as you think about that, it talks about visitation. Let's go back to chapter one of Luke, and it is interesting what it says there. Luke chapter one, and let's look at verse 68. Luke 1 verse 68. It says, Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people.
That was a prophecy, a prophecy that Zacharias had given, and the He said, He has visited and redeemed His people. So He visited them. Look down in verse 78. Verse 78 says, Though through the tender mercy of our God, with which the day spring from on high has visited us. The day spring which was to come. He's come. He's visited us from on high.
And they didn't see it. They didn't get it. They did not know the day of their visitation, as it says in Luke 19 verse 44. Israel did not see the moment before them. They didn't see Christ and recognize Him for what He was. So it speaks later on of Jerusalem being surrounded by armies. And as that takes place, its desolation is near. That was true in 70 AD, and it's going to be true again. So Christ lament in chapter 23. Let's just go back there. Christ lament for Jerusalem in Matthew chapter 23. You know, Christ saw what was coming. And you know, sometimes we can say, you're getting everything you deserve. And we can be pretty hard-hearted about it. You did this, you're getting exactly what you deserve. And that's not how Christ was. I mean, they deserved what they got. But you know, He wept over it because He saw what was coming and how all of the death and destruction that was going to unfold. In chapter 23 verse 37, it says, Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. How many times had God sent prophets and wanted to save them and point them in the right direction and they didn't pay any attention to that at all? In verse 38, it says, See, your house is left to you desolate. See, your house is left to you desolate. For I say to you, you shall see me no more till you say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Now, even though they rejected Him, Jesus Christ, as I said, still loves His people and their principal city, Jerusalem, and He's going to eventually make it right, He was willing to gather them and protect them, but they were not willing. And it's good to understand what He's saying here. He says, See, your house is left to you desolate. Think of Exodus chapter 19, which unfolded at Mount Sinai, the giving of the covenant. Let's go back there and look at verses 3 through 8. Exodus 19 helps us to better understand what Christ is talking about here, because it goes back to the origin of what Christ is addressing. Exodus chapter 19, and let's look at verses 3 through 8. Exodus 19. It says, And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell all the children of Israel, You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people, for all the earth is mine. That's what He wanted them to be, a special treasure. And He wanted other people to look at them and look at the laws that they had and all of the blessings that came as a result, and see them, and say, You know what? I want to enjoy what they enjoy.
That's how it was to work, and eventually it will, in the time when there will be the restitution of all things. So He's speaking to them, and He says in verse 6, And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. Then all the people answered together and said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do. So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord.
So, okay, we accept everything God has said. And if they did and they were obedient, what would the result be? Let's go to Leviticus chapter 26. Leviticus chapter 26, it tells us what the outcome would be. Leviticus chapter 26, and let's look at first verse 3. Verse 3 says, If you walk in my statutes and keep my commandments and perform them, and then let's go down to verse 9, For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm my covenant with you. You shall eat the old harvest and clear out the old because of the new. I will set my tabernacle among you. What is this tabernacle? Isn't it his tent? I will make camp in your midst. I will set up my tabernacle among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. I shall walk among you and be your God, and you shall be my people. I will walk among you. I will walk among you. And so, as we come down to what's described here in Matthew chapter 23, that's all going to end as a result of breaking the covenant. God would leave their house desolate. He would shut down the temple. He would drive them off the land, and that is the way it will be until he comes back the second time. As you look at the parable about the king and his wanting to reign over them, it says that his citizens in Luke 19 said they hated him, and they didn't want him to reign over them.
And let's go back to Zechariah chapter 12. Since we've mentioned Zechariah, we'll go back to the book that Zechariah the prophet wrote because it sheds some light on things here. Zechariah chapter 12.
Zechariah 12 verse 6. He says, In that day I will make the governors of Judea like a fire pan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves, they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left. But Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, Jerusalem. Jerusalem is once again going to be the holy city. Verse 7. The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah.
In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the one who is feeble among them in that day of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem, which he will do. And then he says in verse 10, And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication, and they will look on me whom they pierced.
The Jews will look upon the one that they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning it had adriman in the plain of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn every family by itself, the family of the house of David by itself and the wives themselves. There will be all this mourning, and they will come to recognize that Christ is the Messiah and they got it all wrong. Let's finish here in Psalm 118.
Finish in Psalm 118 because Psalm 118 is where Jesus quoted from at the end of chapter 23. Psalm 118, and let's begin in verse 22. So they're going to see him whom they pierced, and they're all going to realize we got it wrong. Jesus was the Messiah. Psalm 118, verse 22. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. He was there, the one on which they could build, and they rejected him. They rejected him as the cornerstone, and in fact he became a stumbling block.
Verse 23, this was the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. And then in verse 25 it says, Save now, I pray, O Lord, O Lord, I pray. Send now prosperity. So going down to verse 25, save now, I pray, O Lord, I pray. Send now prosperity. You might say, save now, I beseech thee.
These words were sung by the Jews on the Feast of Tabernacles when carrying green branches in their hands and from the Hosanna. The way they pronounce it, we have the word Hosanna. And this was sung at the time that Christ was entering into Jerusalem. And a note from Adam Clark on chapter 21, verse 9. It says, When persons apply to the King for help or for a redress of grievances, they use the word Hosanna.
Save now or save we beseech thee. That is, redress our grievances and give us help from oppression. So both the words and the actions of the people prove that they acknowledged Christ as their King. That's what they did when he came into the city. But he didn't meet their criteria for the King they wanted. They wanted somebody to drive out the Romans and set up the kingdom. But that was not Christ's purpose at that time. And so after saying, For I say to you, you will see me no more till you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. There was a time when God dwelled in Israel. And he departed, as you can see in Ezekiel verse 9, but he came back.
He came to them. He came to them in the flesh and was right there among them. And they rejected him. And he walked out and he said, For I say to you, you will see me no more till you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And the God of Israel walked out of the temple for the last time. And he won't be back there until his second coming.
He will be back there, but not now. So when he said that Christ dwelled there in past tense, he used to dwell there. But he had stopped dwelling there and he did come back and was among them for three and a half years and was put to death. The good news is he is coming back. And you know, just like it says in Genesis 3.15, it's all going to work out. And we all know that even though it is not going exactly like we would like it to go, it is all going to work out in the most positive way. So hopefully going through chapter 23 here has been profitable for you and you've gained some things that will give you insight into God's way of life and God's expectations and what God is working out here below.
So thanks, everybody, for your attention. Please have a very pleasant remainder of the Sabbath day and we'll look forward to seeing you all again next week.
