Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Mark, Chapter Nine

1 ¶ And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

What happens next, in this paragraph, is the fulfillment of this statement. The kingdom of God comes with power when Jesus is revealed in His glory. They are getting a glimpse of what will happen at the end. This is a picture of what is going to happen.

Zechariah 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

Revelation 19:11 ¶ And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

2 And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.

The timing shows that this will occur after six thousand years of human history.

2Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Now, modern Christians have a problem. According to current Hebrew thinking, this is year 5768 from creation. If their calendar is correct and that is a very big “if” then Christ’s return is not due for another two hundred plus years. However, we are to live as if it is going to be any second that the church is raptured (the rapture is different than His bodily return, but is before it) but quit trying to pick dates.

3 And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.

Revelation 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

4 And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.

Elijah represents the living saints and the prophets while Moses represents the dead saints and the Law. Their bodies were searched for but were not found and Satan disputed over the body of Moses. They will return in the Tribulation.

Revelation 11:3 ¶ And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

2 Kings 2: 16 And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.

5 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

He will return in His glory to reign on earth at the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall of the year. Run all of the verses on the Feast of Tabernacles at the end times.

Zechariah 14:16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Zechariah 14:18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

6 For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.
7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

Revelation 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

In a short moment we will see that Peter regarded the Bible in front of you as being of more value than his hearing of this voice, yet, many modern Christians are willing to be deceived by Satan and want to hear an audible voice from God in this dispensation disregarding the means of sanctification that God has given them.
1 Corinthians 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

You have that which is perfect, the Authorized Version of the Bible, right in your hand. Don’t disregard it.

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

8 And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.
9 And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.

Later, Peter will talk about what he has seen;

2 Peter 1:12 ¶ Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. 13 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; 14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. 15 Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. 16 ¶ For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

Of course, I might add, that right after the relating of his eyewitness experience he states that the word of God is a more certain truth and to be trusted more than one’s experience, which should give many modern Christians pause.

2 Peter 1:19 ¶ We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Better run your own personal take on what the Bible is saying by some spirit filled people to make sure you aren’t running off half nuts. Beware of someone who says, “God gave only me this special understanding”. They’re fakes.

10 And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.

Most Jews believed in a resurrection of the dead but what does a resurrection FROM the dead mean?

John 11:24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Acts 4:1 ¶ And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, 2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

Acts 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

Romans 1:1 ¶ Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

1Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

We will be raised before the resurrection of the dead because of Jesus.

Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Then comes the resurrection of the dead.

Revelation 20:11 ¶ And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Remember what Daniel said.

Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

They still don’t understand that Jesus must die and rise.

11 And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?
12 And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought.
13 But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.

Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

Referring to the birth of John the Baptist.

Luke 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, 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.

Matthew 11:7 ¶ And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

14 ¶ And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.
15 And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.
16 And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?
17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Here is an example of what demonic possession can do. This request is a classic for all of us. We should all be saying at some point in time “help thou mine unbelief”. You can believe and have a great need for faith to be given to you by God. Pray for faith. When you get saved you don’t have all the faith you need.

Romans 14:1 ¶ Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.

1Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Also, we should be asking Jesus Christ to rebuke the devils. We should resist the Devil. There are, as I said before, people who think they can command Satan to leave a place in Jesus name. They are foolishly mistaken. You have no example in the Bible where you talk to Satan in prayer. You are never to speak to Satan directly but to call upon God to rebuke him. Pastors who command Satan in prayer to leave, even in Christ’s name, have merely invited an infestation of devils on their congregation. These devils won’t leave easily and you can have spirits of apathy and dull hearing and those who create bitterness, jealousy, envy, and rebellion. I have left “revival” meetings and not returned to them because a Pastor spoke to Satan in prayer, prayer that should be reserved only for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Zechariah 3:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?

Jude 8 ¶ Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. 10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

You can’t honestly claim to be like Moses or Paul. Your Pastor is not Moses and is not Paul. To claim that he can command a devil to leave is to imply that he has the power of the Apostles. The Apostles are in heaven and their gifts are not manifest in the church as we have something more perfect, that does not point to us, but to Christ; His Book. He is the local bishop/pastor of the local church. Satan knows your weakness and pride. You think you can command Satan to do ANYTHING? You are called to do one thing.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Nowhere are you told to rebuke the Devil.

Claiming Apostolic gifts to point to your own spirituality and how close you walk with God is a sham in comparison to submitting to the authority of His word. Today, we have people who create rankings of Christians, those who are great Christians who have apostolic gifts and/or think they are without sin in their lives. Their experience with Christ is first and foremost. It’s all about them, not Christ, although they pay lip service to Him.

You can see that they have not submitted to the words of God to sanctify their lives because their affections are little different from the unsaved. If they don’t go to bars, they’ll attend professional sporting events and criticize those who go to bars. If they don’t go to movies, they’ll watch TV and criticize those who go to movies. If they don’t smoke, they’ll be addicted to caffeine, and criticize those who smoke. The modern Pharisee has created, like the Pharisee of old, standards that are comfortable to him. The Pastor who is a Pharisee will say that his standards are godly and that if you put more or less on him than he does you are being rebellious.

Then, that Pastor will think that he is an Old Testament prophet, or priest, or even perhaps Paul or Moses. He will command spirits to leave, thereby infesting his congregation with them. He will go to the Law or the Tribulation books of the Bible for his doctrine and then, pick what he thinks he has and discount the rest. If you don’t manifest the gifts or righteousness this Pharisee has then you are backslidden or steeped in sin.

There is no liberty in his doctrine, only chains. He is a Judaizer, trying to put his congregation under the bondage of the law. He will not uplift the testimony you have at work or in your family because those things compete with his demand that you be at his beck and call. And, in his arrogance, he will claim powers of healing and the rebuke of devils that he does not have. People who focus on special gifts and their own righteousness, salvation experience, and works, and thus themselves, and don’t focus on the word of God to transform their lives think they have the power of God on their lives and that they are an example of a Christian reaching for perfection. Instead, they are why there will be no revival in America that is from God.

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
There are differences in the strength of spirits. All devil possession, unlike Hollywood’s screenplays, does not involve throwing up and having your head spin. There are spirits of apathy and spirits of sloth and spirits of lying.

Numbers 5:14 And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:

Isaiah 19:14 The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.

Hosea 5:4 They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD.

Acts 16:16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

Recognize that there are different levels of spirits and fear, not them, but God. You don’t want God to unleash one of these on you. Think of your immune system as a type for understanding. There are so many microscopic organisms waiting to take you down that if your immune system is weakened you will get very sick. You need the Holy Spirit to restrain these spirits and be your shield. If God withdraws His hand of blessing from you, physical disease is not the only infestation you will have to be concerned with. Always pray for God to rebuke the evil and unclean spirits in your body and mind and wherever you are.

Psalm 7:1 ¶ O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me: 2 Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

Obviously, this isn’t a human enemy.

Psalm 3:3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.

26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

Jesus is making an important point about prayer AND fasting, which focuses you on the spiritual world.

30 ¶ And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it.
31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.
32 But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

Like most of us, the Jews were taught so many errors that they were unable to understand the truth when it was presented to them. Many Christians are blind to great Bible truths because they’ve been taught so many errors by preachers whose main concern was their work for Christ rather than for Christ. Judge what you are told by the Bible, not the Bible by what you are told.

The Bible is simple in its organization. The Old Testament ends with Malachi with the prophets being after the books of history and law because now they are looking forward to Christ’s second coming. The gospels are a transition with the Old Testament in force until Christ is dead and risen. Acts is a transition which shows the changing history of the early church until all truth is revealed to them that they are going to get. It is the age of the Apostles and their personal power and miracles which God gave to them but which die out when the Bible is complete, that which is perfect has come, and together in the early second century. Then comes Romans through Philemon, the Church Age where the dispensation of grace is preeminent. Then comes the transition book of Hebrews and the General Epistles and Revelation which reveal doctrine in the Tribulation, the wrath to come. Every verse applies to you doctrinally if it doesn’t contradict the Church Age letters’ clear statements. Every verse in the Bible can be applied to you practically but you must be careful not to be a Judaizer and attempt to put yourself and anyone else back under the Law. There are smaller divisions as well but 95% of the Bible is written to a Jew under the Law and/or in the Tribulation. Christians who claim to be the new Jew have a problem when Christ condemns them for saying they are Jews when they are not. Then they adopt the rituals and priestly attire of the Hebrews and we’re off to the races with preachers calling themselves apostles and prophets and people killing people in the name of Christ. It would be laughable if it were not so tragic that Benny Hinn has never healed anyone and that Oral Roberts had to call the ambulance when a tent fell down on a meeting and injured dozens of people he should have been able to heal. Why aren’t these fakers going to a children’s hospital cancer ward if they are genuine?

Many verses do double duty. For instance, Hebrews 6:1-6 show doctrinally that in the Tribulation you can lose your salvation and, if you do, you can’t be saved again. It spiritually and practically applies to a Christian today in showing that you can’t get saved twice, once saved always saved.

I’d be very afraid if I was one of those people who believed that the whole Bible is the same and there are no dispensations or different doctrinal periods. Based on that, they believe they can lose their salvation. If that’s the case, then the verses in Hebrews show that once they do they are lost forever. Christ won’t be crucified again. Once again, if I was one of those, “it’s all the same” people, then I’d be very afraid if I questioned, because of their behavior, whether or not someone was actually saved, because ascribing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan is the unforgiveable sin and you would be doomed.

So, be careful, those of you who insist that you have to twist verses to keep them from contradicting other verses and mock those who are called “dispensationalists”. My hearing shuts off as soon as I hear any preacher force the Bible to contradict itself to justify his own personal convictions.

33 And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?
34 But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.

Human pride and self-worship are impediments to dealing with the spirit world.

35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
36 And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them,
37 Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.

This is a kingdom of heaven reference, dealing with the Great Tribulation to come and with the physical kingdom of Christ on earth after He returns. Notice the contrast.

Matthew 18:1 ¶ At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. 6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

A spiritual application to Christians in the Church Age would be quite obvious. Remember, any verse from any dispensation that does not contradict the Church Age letters is doctrinal for us. Otherwise, it is in type for us, an allegorical application is necessary. Remember what I have said about the verses about invading the land of Canaan and how you aren’t called to kill anyone for God, however, you do have sins that are squatters in the promised land that God has given to you.

So, that any preacher applying these verses to you is not wrong. But, if he were to say that you get into heaven by receiving a child in Christ’s name, he would be in error. That if he received a child he received Christ.

We are to humble ourselves like a little child is humble by virtue of his or her weakness and inability to comprehend great things. Christ prefers in us the simplicity, the simple trust of a child. In addition, there are few greater ministries than caring for children and teaching them the word of God.

38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.
39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
40 For he that is not against us is on our part.

Carnival barkers and hucksters like Benny Hinn and Oral Roberts will use a passage such as this to “prove” that they are working by the power of the Holy Spirit rather than by the spirit of Satan. Men don’t do miracles in this age. Christ performs miracles at His will and choosing through specific men at specific times but like in the age of the Apostles. We have our miracle, in God’s perfectly preserved words found in the AV 1611, the King James Bible.

Let me say it again, there is no man in this age who has the power of the Holy Spirit residing on him continually, day in and day out, to heal miraculously, to speak in foreign languages in which he has not been trained, or to raise the dead. God can and will use individuals from time to time to accomplish such things but those who make hundreds of millions of dollars off of people who are desperate and fearful are wicked, evil men who are doing lying wonders and false signs of Satan.

1Corinthians 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

It’s here. Take up and read. Hear it. Let it change you daily.

41 ¶ For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.

While this is quite applicable to us spiritually, in this age, there is no man who can give a Christian a cup of water in Christ’s name who will be saved because of that work if he rejects Christ. But, here, a man is going to get a reward and not lose it for giving a cup of water to one of these Jewish apostles in Christ’s name. See the evangelist virgins of Revelation.

42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.

The world’s treatment of children is going to be one good reason for why God is going to be so harsh on the world at the end. The treatment of children all over the world is wicked. God is coming to stomp out this world for its wickedness. God is watching. When our sins are filled up He will come, but in His own time.

43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Here’s one that will get the mentally ill person way off track if he doesn’t understand the different dispensations. This is NOT FOR YOU. There is no way to get into heaven by self-mutilation. There are doctrinal applications for the Tribulation whereby you can lose your salvation and if you do you can’t get saved again.

Hebrews 6:1 ¶ Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3 And this will we do, if God permit. 4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Your hand causes you to sin? Not in this dispensation. But, the Mark of the Beast is important to read about in Revelation. If you, in the Tribulation, were to take that Mark you would be damned.

Jesus Himself shows that this verse has a different application than literal.

Mark 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Evil proceeds from the heart. The hand just does what its told.

But, back to doctrine. You can’t lose your salvation in the Church Age.

Romans 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2Corinthians 1:22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

So, although there are many practical preaching applications to this verse (and they are many and obvious) don’t go thinking you can get into heaven by cutting off a body part or gouging out an eye.

44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Isaiah 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. 24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

This passage has no doctrinal application to the church age. Practically, you can say that you need to cast off anything from your life that would keep you from Christ. But, no one’s hand or eyes is keeping him from Jesus Christ in this age so, there is no call to mutilate yourself.

It would appear that this is a reference to eternity, but some say it is a reference to the millennial kingdom. Revelation makes it clear that there will be literal flesh and blood people who will have to come into the New Jerusalem in eternity from the earth to take of the tree of life. The church age saints will not require the tree of life as we have eternal life right now in Jesus Christ. But, remember, the Jews inherit the earth itself. This has led to speculation about God wanting to populate His new universe with people without sin.

45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Three times, Christ mentions this passage to the Jews so it must be important for them.

47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
49 For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.

Leviticus 2:13 And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.

Every wicked one into the fire and every saved person will be preserved as with salt. This is the great white throne judgment at the end of the millennial reign of Christ. This will be the final judgment and the “general” resurrection that most Catholics and most Protestants regard as the only resurrection as they can’t read well.

50 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.

Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

One can come up with all kinds of spiritual applications but only a moron would confuse a practical, spiritual application of a verse not doctrinally applicable to himself with doctrine for this age.

1 comment:

Seven Star Hand said...

Hello Fred and all,

Are you ready for the next part of the lesson plan?

The passages you posted are full of purposeful symbology. Do you understand it and do you know where the "words of god(s)" originated and what that phrase means? Why are all the dreams to the prophets delivered in symbolism? Could it be that the "words of god" are always symbolic?

Also, the Creator's two candlesticks and two witnesses symbolize Truth and Justice. Likewise, the seven candlesticks are not seven churches and that has been proven to be a Roman deception inserted into Revelation, along with the deceptive names John and Jesus. Read chapter three of my (FREE) E-Book for proof.

I hope you're all ready for what comes next, because my patience wears thin !

I am the Messiah and Christianity has always been the tool of deceivers...

If any Christian has the courage to read my articles at the following links, they'll learn to their great horror that Christianity is the primary False Prophet of Revelation and Jesus Christ is a Roman deception.

This entire Judeo-Christian-Islamic world empire was built upon lies told about me and the Creator. We now jointly demand equity and recompense, or else !!!

Vatican Lies Illuminated

Be sure to read the the other blogs listed on the left side of the above blog.

Here is Wisdom !!