And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. Matthew 24:3-5.
The disciples came to Jesus wondering when He would return in accordance with Old Testament prophecies (as well as His own teachings), judge the Mosaic temple system, and usher in the new age.
His answer was very different from what they were expecting. He first warned them to be careful of deception, which is a warning we in the church today must heed. Many would come in the last days of that age and proclaim themselves to be Christ, deceiving and tempting new-found believers to shrink back from their faith and go back to the temple/sacrificial system.
We know today that there are so-called leaders in the Christian church who desire to rebuild a temple in Jerusalem so that temple sacrifices can be reinstituted. This is not biblical, as we shall see in studying God's Word!
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Matthew 23 - Woes to the Pharisees, Part 2
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Matthew 23:37-39.
Once Jesus stilled the mouths of the Pharisees and Sadducees, it was time to pass judgment. These scriptures where Jesus prophesied the impending doom of this wicked Jewish generation are particularly hard to read and study, but they are important because they show the righteousness and holiness of our God.
After numerous opportunities to repent and believe, the leaders of the nation of Israel would not accept this spiritual kingdom that God was offering. They still reject it today, but it is available! Still available...anyone who believes with their heart and confesses Jesus as Lord is born again as a new creation in Christ Jesus, they become a child of God with all the rights, honors, and privileges that come with being part of the godhead.
That's right! Salvation means you become filled with His spirit, you are part of the body of Christ, you have the mind of Christ, you spiritually hear His voice leading you and guiding you, and, amazingly, in the spirit realm, you are seated with Jesus Christ in heavenly places at the right hand of God the father! Study the Bible on your own and discover these wonderful truths!
Once Jesus stilled the mouths of the Pharisees and Sadducees, it was time to pass judgment. These scriptures where Jesus prophesied the impending doom of this wicked Jewish generation are particularly hard to read and study, but they are important because they show the righteousness and holiness of our God.
After numerous opportunities to repent and believe, the leaders of the nation of Israel would not accept this spiritual kingdom that God was offering. They still reject it today, but it is available! Still available...anyone who believes with their heart and confesses Jesus as Lord is born again as a new creation in Christ Jesus, they become a child of God with all the rights, honors, and privileges that come with being part of the godhead.
That's right! Salvation means you become filled with His spirit, you are part of the body of Christ, you have the mind of Christ, you spiritually hear His voice leading you and guiding you, and, amazingly, in the spirit realm, you are seated with Jesus Christ in heavenly places at the right hand of God the father! Study the Bible on your own and discover these wonderful truths!
Matthew 23 - Woes to the Pharisees, Part 1
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Matthew 23:13-15
Once Jesus stilled the mouths of the Pharisees and Sadducees, it was time to pass judgment. These scriptures where Jesus prophesied the impending doom of this wicked Jewish generation are particularly hard to read and study, but they are important because they show the righteousness and holiness of our God.
After numerous opportunities to repent and believe, the leaders of the nation of Israel would not accept this spiritual kingdom that God was offering. They still reject it today, but it is available! Still available...anyone who believes with their heart and confesses Jesus as Lord is born again as a new creation in Christ Jesus, they become a child of God with all the rights, honors, and privileges that come with being part of the godhead.
That's right! Salvation means you become filled with His spirit, you are part of the body of Christ, you have the mind of Christ, you spiritually hear His voice leading you and guiding you, and, amazingly, in the spirit realm, you are seated with Jesus Christ in heavenly places at the right hand of God the father! Study the Bible on your own and discover these wonderful truths!
Once Jesus stilled the mouths of the Pharisees and Sadducees, it was time to pass judgment. These scriptures where Jesus prophesied the impending doom of this wicked Jewish generation are particularly hard to read and study, but they are important because they show the righteousness and holiness of our God.
After numerous opportunities to repent and believe, the leaders of the nation of Israel would not accept this spiritual kingdom that God was offering. They still reject it today, but it is available! Still available...anyone who believes with their heart and confesses Jesus as Lord is born again as a new creation in Christ Jesus, they become a child of God with all the rights, honors, and privileges that come with being part of the godhead.
That's right! Salvation means you become filled with His spirit, you are part of the body of Christ, you have the mind of Christ, you spiritually hear His voice leading you and guiding you, and, amazingly, in the spirit realm, you are seated with Jesus Christ in heavenly places at the right hand of God the father! Study the Bible on your own and discover these wonderful truths!
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Matthew 22 - Jesus Answers the Pharisees
Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions. Matthew 22:42-46.
The Pharisees tried one last time to trip Jesus up in His words, but it was He who used their subterfuge against them to still their mouths. He asked them a very simple question - what did they think of Messiah - whose son is he? They knew from 2 Samuel 7 and other scriptures that David was the father of Messiah. Jesus then asked, how then could David, in the spirit (Psalms 110), refer to Messiah as his Lord? In particular, David spoke of a vision where he heard God the father tell Messiah to sit at His right hand until He had made His enemies a footstool.
David lived a thousand years before the time that Jesus stood there speaking to the Pharisees, and still (as far as the Pharisees believed), Messiah had not yet been born. How then could David have spoken of Messiah as his Lord? David was king and would never refer to any man as his Lord, much less an unborn son of his. No, this Messiah must be more than a flesh and blood son of David. He must also be a God-man, a spiritual being that existed long before David.
That makes most of us stop and think, doesn't it? And it made the Pharisees think as well. They shut their mouths and did not question Jesus again. I believe they knew He had crossed over into the spiritual realm, the realm of God, where they had absolutely no understanding and never would.
Religious people will always clam up when spiritual truths are espoused!
The Pharisees tried one last time to trip Jesus up in His words, but it was He who used their subterfuge against them to still their mouths. He asked them a very simple question - what did they think of Messiah - whose son is he? They knew from 2 Samuel 7 and other scriptures that David was the father of Messiah. Jesus then asked, how then could David, in the spirit (Psalms 110), refer to Messiah as his Lord? In particular, David spoke of a vision where he heard God the father tell Messiah to sit at His right hand until He had made His enemies a footstool.
David lived a thousand years before the time that Jesus stood there speaking to the Pharisees, and still (as far as the Pharisees believed), Messiah had not yet been born. How then could David have spoken of Messiah as his Lord? David was king and would never refer to any man as his Lord, much less an unborn son of his. No, this Messiah must be more than a flesh and blood son of David. He must also be a God-man, a spiritual being that existed long before David.
That makes most of us stop and think, doesn't it? And it made the Pharisees think as well. They shut their mouths and did not question Jesus again. I believe they knew He had crossed over into the spiritual realm, the realm of God, where they had absolutely no understanding and never would.
Religious people will always clam up when spiritual truths are espoused!
Monday, November 23, 2015
Matthew 22 - Resurrection into a Spiritual Kingdom
When the Pharisees failed to entrap Jesus in His speech, the Sadducees tried in their own way. They did not believe in the resurrection, and yet they came with a hypothetical question regarding the resurrection. In their scenario, a woman who marries seven brothers in quick succession after their untimely deaths dies herself and is then resurrected with all of her husbands. They asked, "Which husband would she belong to in the resurrection?"
Jesus answered by informing them that they erred, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. Can you imagine how insulting that was to these learned men of the Law? They probably smarted at being put in their place by such words, but Jesus was correct in His assessment. As He explained, in this new kingdom, people would not be given in marriage as in their earthly lives. Women would not be subject to their husbands with very little rights and privileges as was the practice in the Levitical/Mosaic system. As a new creation in Christ, all born again children of God become a new man in Christ without regard to gender, ethnicity, or religious background. Like the angels, new creations in Christ are only subject to God.
Jesus also challenged their beliefs regarding the resurrection, explaining that God is the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, the God of the living and not the dead. God had always referred to Abraham as being alive and not dead, even though his soul had left his earthly body long ago. Death was and always has been an enemy of God. God has always spoken of and embraced the preciousness of life.
The multitudes marveled at Jesus' teaching while the Sadducees were silenced into submission.
Friday, November 20, 2015
Matthew 22 - Surviving these Evil Days
Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way. Matthew 22:19-22.
Because the Pharisees could not kill Jesus in their own timing, they sought to discredit Him by entangling Him in His words. Anyone who has taught the Word for any length of time has come across modern-day Pharisees who desire to entangle us in our speech in order to discredit us as teachers, but more importantly, to discredit the truth of the Gospel.
The Pharisees came to Jesus with flattering words, a Roman coin in hand, and a question for which they believed there was no good answer; they showed Jesus the coin which bore Caesar's image and superscription and asked whether it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar. (We saw earlier how they had come to the disciples earlier and asked for their temple tribute, which Jesus paid). Their desire now was to have Him speak insurrection against Rome, thereby giving them a reason to call Him a traitor and lawbreaker. Jesus, knowing their wicked motives, called them hypocrites, and instead asked them a question - "Who's image and superscription is on this coin?" Well, of course, they answered "Caesar's." Then came the answer - "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's and what is God's to God."
This answer astonished them - they could not accuse Him of any wrongdoing with this reply. But what was He really saying to them? He was telling them that this kingdom of God was a spiritual kingdom, not an earthly kingdom where He, the Messiah, would come as a vanquisher, set on putting the Roman Empire down and restoring the earthly kingdom that Solomon once had. No, this was a spiritual kingdom that would coexist with the evil, earthly kingdoms of the world. All men would have the opportunity to exercise their free will, believe in Messiah, be born again and enter into this glorious spiritual kingdom.
We see that this has been true for the past 2000 years. As the kingdom advances, nations are influenced by the Gospel, and in turn, physical manifestation of spiritual truth is manifested on the earth! The problem is that so much false doctrine has crept into the church over the years, mixing the truth of God's wonderful grace with law, legalism, works, and heretical teaching called dispensational or end-times theology. None of that is supported by the Word!
Because the Pharisees could not kill Jesus in their own timing, they sought to discredit Him by entangling Him in His words. Anyone who has taught the Word for any length of time has come across modern-day Pharisees who desire to entangle us in our speech in order to discredit us as teachers, but more importantly, to discredit the truth of the Gospel.
The Pharisees came to Jesus with flattering words, a Roman coin in hand, and a question for which they believed there was no good answer; they showed Jesus the coin which bore Caesar's image and superscription and asked whether it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar. (We saw earlier how they had come to the disciples earlier and asked for their temple tribute, which Jesus paid). Their desire now was to have Him speak insurrection against Rome, thereby giving them a reason to call Him a traitor and lawbreaker. Jesus, knowing their wicked motives, called them hypocrites, and instead asked them a question - "Who's image and superscription is on this coin?" Well, of course, they answered "Caesar's." Then came the answer - "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's and what is God's to God."
This answer astonished them - they could not accuse Him of any wrongdoing with this reply. But what was He really saying to them? He was telling them that this kingdom of God was a spiritual kingdom, not an earthly kingdom where He, the Messiah, would come as a vanquisher, set on putting the Roman Empire down and restoring the earthly kingdom that Solomon once had. No, this was a spiritual kingdom that would coexist with the evil, earthly kingdoms of the world. All men would have the opportunity to exercise their free will, believe in Messiah, be born again and enter into this glorious spiritual kingdom.
We see that this has been true for the past 2000 years. As the kingdom advances, nations are influenced by the Gospel, and in turn, physical manifestation of spiritual truth is manifested on the earth! The problem is that so much false doctrine has crept into the church over the years, mixing the truth of God's wonderful grace with law, legalism, works, and heretical teaching called dispensational or end-times theology. None of that is supported by the Word!
Monday, November 16, 2015
Matthew 22 - The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. Matthew 22:4-9.
Jesus continues His confrontation of the Pharisees' unbelief with the parable of the marriage supper of the lamb, which is described in chapter 19 of the Book of Revelation.
In this parable, a king makes a marriage for his son and sends his servants to invite those who were bidden (Israel) to come, but they would not. The king sent other servants to the remnant (the last days generation of Israel during the time of Jesus), but they rejected the invitation and killed the servants. The king was very angry and poured out his wrath on the remnant, sending his armies to destroy their city. We know from history that this is exactly what God did in 70 AD. The Roman armies came and destroyed the city and literally dismantled the temple. That wicked generation who rejected their Messiah was destroyed and the kingdom was given over to those who would believe - mainly the Gentiles of the world.
What a tragedy! And yet, in the parable, a man improperly dressed tries to sneak into the marriage supper, obviously thinking that his lineal heritage and/or good deeds will get him a place at the table. But Jesus explained that the proper wedding garments are crucial; anyone found without the correct attire will be thrown outside, where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. God calls this the second death, which is a horrible spiritual demise that continues forever in the lake of fire.
God was offering something so wonderful and beautiful for His people, but they wanted nothing to do with it. As Paul explains in Romans 9-11, they sought a righteousness of their own, based on works and not faith.
All of us who have been born again IN HIM are clothed with the robe of God's righteousness, and we have a place at the table of this marriage supper! Dig into this Bible and find out all you have inherited IN CHRIST as His bride, the wife of the lamb!
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