'Rightly Dividing the Word'
Luke 1:16-17 And he (John the Baptist) will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
John the Baptist was sent to prepare the Jews for the Lord in His presence. Just like the prophets of old, his mission was to turn the Jews back to the lord by leading them to repent of their evil ways.
With true repentance, the Jew will keep His law and commandments. Similarly, a born again Christian will joyfully keep His words and commandments.
II Kings 17:13 Yet the Lord testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His prophets, every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets."
Devout Jews were Saved
Luke 1:76-77 "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins,
Once a Jew has repented and keep the Mosaic law, he will be able to know and understand the salvation provided by the Messiah for the remission of their sins.
Our Lord Jesus also said that when a Jew believed and obeyed Moses, he would believed Him and be saved.
This was fulfilled in Act 2. When Peter preached the gospel of grace, 3,000 devout Jews believed and accepted Jesus as their Saviour and they were later baptized.
John 5:46-47 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"
Kingdom of Heaven is Near
Mal 4:5-6 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."
John the Baptist was sent in the spirit of Elijah to earn the Israel before the end of God's Covenant or Mosaic law.
John preached repentance and the kingdom of heaven is near meaning that the Jews will soon meet their judgments at the end of Mosaic law. The godly Jews would inherit the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 3:1-2 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"
Godly Jews Inherited Heaven
Mat 27:50-53 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
At the death of Jesus, the veil of the temple was torn into two - signifying the end of Judaism and the Old Covenant or Mosaic law made obsolete.
After the resurrection of Jesus, the Jewish saints of the Old Covenant were raised from the death to inherit the kingdom of heaven with Him.
