"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." Matthew 5:17

Christ came to fulfill the Law which demanded 100% righteousness, the same righteousness that characterizes God and all of His actions. Christ was born of a virgin and had no sinful nature. He was a man without sin and also God, the second Person of the Trinity. As He took on the nature of man, He emptied Himself of all His powers and prerogatives. Then He was filled with the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. Through the power of the Spirit, He fulfilled the ministry His Father had given Him.

So God the Son became the perfect human being, fully righteous. Though He needed no law, He kept the Law, fully loving and obeying His Father. However, not only did the Law demand righteousness always, 24/7, it also demanded the death penalty for any infraction, even the least of the commandments. Death here means both physical and spiritual. Spiritual death is separation from God's Presence. Here too, Christ fulfilled the Law, as He died in the place of all Law breakers.

So we understand that Christ has fulfilled the Law completely in both its demands for complete obedience and its death penalty for Law breakers.

However, our Scripture also states that He will fulfill all of the Prophets' teachings as well. What does that mean? The Prophets foretold the birth, death and sufferings of the Messiah through His rejection by His own beloved people, Israel. The Prophets also told of His resurrection and His coming again in great power to establish His Kingdom on earth against all sinful resistance.

This will be the glorious Kingdom established right after the Tribulation, the rescue and redemption of Israel and the judgment of the Gentile nations. Israel will be converted to Christ and the New Covenant will replace the Old Covenant. The New Covenant will be successful in producing the inner and outer righteousness in Israel that the Old Covenant could not. A new heart in each Israelite will have God's law written on it; a new table of flesh will replace the old table of stone.

Christ will rule the kingdoms of the earth from Jerusalem, seated on the throne of David, even as promised to him. The 12 Apostles of the Lamb will be seated on the 12 Thrones of the tribes of Israel, even as promised them by Christ. All of these things will fulfill the Prophets' words because, in fact, they are God's words. The further words of the Prophets both of Old and New Testaments concerning the final culmination of all things will also come to pass. This will fulfill the words of the Greatest of the Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself, that we began with.