Exodus, chapter 23

1 ¶ Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

Do not lie against someone, joining with the wicked to be a false witness.

2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:

Don’t follow the crowd. Just because “everyone is doing it” doesn’t mean it’s good for you to do. Large masses of people are rarely right by God’s standards. Don’t be a politician.

Job 31:34 Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door?

3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.

Just because a man is poor doesn’t mean his cause is right. His cause may be wrong. We have the egalitarian idea in America that there is grace in poverty and that all wealthy people are evil. This is not always true, in spite of our experience. Unfortunately, many rich Christians are selfish pigs. But, the social status of a person has nothing to do with whether he is right or not according to God.

Just because a person is poor does not mean that he merits more respect than a person with money. Poverty sometimes is caused by laziness, a poor work ethic, and a lack of willingness to delay gratification. A poor person or a rich person has no virtue by means of their social class.

However, it is more likely, as persons, that we will have contempt for the poor over those with money so we have this warning in James.

James 2:1 ¶ My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?

4 If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.

This would seem obvious but I know some people who would find this to be unfair. “Finders keepers, losers weepers.”

5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.

Even your enemy’s animal deserves some help. Help your enemy change a flat tire.

6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.

You are not to deny the poor justice. This is why things have gone so far the other way in this country, because of the unfair treatment of the poor and helpless. See Howard Zinn’s history book.

7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.

This underscores the fact that this is a reference to a theocracy with God as the head. It will be the case again in the Millennial kingdom of Christ, but for now we can make spiritual application to ourselves even though doctrinally we are in the Church Age and this doesn’t apply to us. These are God’s standards and we should remember this when making a decision.

8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

Someone needs to slap the fools in our government upside the head with this one. They can’t accept all of these gifts of trips and money and assume it’s not going to affect their judgment.

9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

You are not to mistreat foreigners. It doesn’t say to give them your country but you are not to abuse them.

10 ¶ And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:
11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.

In God’s economy you work the land for six years and let it rest the seventh.

12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

God entitles us to have at least one day per week off. We’ve been operating 24/7 since WWII and America is burned out. Our production values before WWII, as I understand it, were much higher than they are now. One reason, of course, is that we have to hire people who won’t work but another reason is that we work too much. I have also read that, even with computers, we have an average of ten hours less free time now per week than we did in 1969. These principles would do us well to remember. So, our evil corporate entities go overseas or south of the border to get people who will work for nothing and who aren’t burnt out yet and can be worked to death. The monster has used up this culture and is now threshing other cultures.

13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

Don’t talk about false gods. Don’t put them in your mind. False gods will slowly overwhelm you. False gods today like wealth, sex, and power will demand your worship.

14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.

Three times shall the redeemed appear before God. Three feasts, three raptures. The Old Testament saints, the Rapture of the Church, and the Rapture of the Tribulation saints.

Matthew 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

With;

Proverbs 25:7 For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.

Then;

1 Corinthians 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

The first part of this verse goes with the Matthew and Proverbs reference and the second part with this;

Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Then;

Revelation 11:12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

The rapture of the Jewish saints in the time of Jacob’s Trouble is spoken of in Luke 17. The two Jewish prophets who have come alive in the book of Revelation, Moses and Elijah, represent those Jewish saints in this verse.

There are many more verses that easily link up with these that open up the Bible for us. Some came up with Jesus, some will come up when Jesus calls them before the Great Tribulation, and some will come up at the end of the Great Tribulation.

These things make the Bible very simple to understand. The Bible is written in dispensational order, number one. There are three raptures which all three are part of the first resurrection in Revelation 20:5, number two. Examine the Old Testament for signs of Christ, in His first advent and His second. Look for verses that link with one of the Raptures. Three, three, three.

18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.

Leavened bread is a picture of false doctrine.

Matthew 16:11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? 12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Luke 12:1 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

Proverbs 3:9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

Why is it mentioned not to seethe a kid in his mother’s milk? The principle is that something about this is perverting. That which nourishes me, destroys me is the meaning of a Latin phrase that is popular among teens today. This is a perversion to God.

Proverbs 12:10 A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

Animals are very important to God and, in spite of all the things permitted, such as sacrifice, that we would consider cruel, there are some basic ways of treating them that God demands.

20 ¶ Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

This is a beautiful verse for the Christian. The Angel of the Lord is Jesus Christ as I have explained in the Revelation commentary, quite thoroughly. Before He lived as a man on earth He appeared from Genesis to Malachi in the form of an Angel, which is an appearance of someone and, for all practical purposes is that person. Imagine a hologram that can act, someone being projected somewhere else. Read the explanation in the Revelation commentary on Angels.

21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.

Here’s a strange thing. God’s name is in this Angel, even more evidence of who the Angel is, the appearance of God. Christians should not go around advertising slogans that apply only to him because he’s been bought by Christ’s blood. Christians often give unsaved people the wrong impression and usually because they don’t really love God more than themselves.

22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.

The Old Testament is based on works. Do all that I speak. An Old Testament righteous person could obey God completely and claim health, wealth, and revenge from God while a New Testament Christian who has more freedom cannot demand or expect from God the “deal” he would have had under the Law. For instance, God does not respect or honor worldly fame or riches and anything that man holds in high esteem. You can be totally faithful to Christ and go broke, get sick, and die. If you are looking for a business bargain don’t come to Christ under grace.

The intention of the law of Moses was a theocracy with God as the king of the nation. The intention of the grace of Christ is the Lord Jesus Christ as your king, the king of your life, and it is about Him. Under the Law of Moses you expected to be justified by keeping the Law but under the covenant of grace you will be justified by your faith in Christ and, more importantly, His response to it. Their enemies were physical tribes and peoples while your enemies aren’t the queers, the abortionists, etc. but your own sins. Among those sins is apathy in the soul condition of lost people. The Old Testament Law given to Moses was a physical kingdom ruled by a spiritual one. The New Testament rule was to have a spiritual life ruled by a spiritual being, denying the power of the physical over your mind and heart.

23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.

By your obedience to Christ in repentance and by your faithfulness, God will drive your sins from before you, renew your heart and give you a bold witness for Him.

24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.

Destroy the idols in your life. Eliminate them. Television, alcohol, sexual perversion, sports, drugs, hunting, lying, gossip, self deception, a lack of mercy, self righteousness. Do not bow down to THEIR gods.

Interesting verse;

Numbers 33:52 Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:

Watch out for their pictures. Think on that.

25 And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.

Under grace you can’t claim these guarantees. One of the biggest faith killers in the “Christian” community today is preachers who can’t rightly divide the word of truth and have their flocks claiming promises given under the Law of Moses given by THE King over a physical KINGDOM while they live in a dispensation where the kingdom is inside, not outside, of the believers.

Christ honors the spirit, and the soul’s longing for Him. The flesh is dying. If you are serving your body today, you are running errands for a corpse. The kingdoms of the world are operationally run by Satan. He is the god of this world. Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. Flesh and blood can’t inherit it. How anyone with any common sense can’t see that what God offered to Moses and the Jews is very different than what Christ has offered the entire world amazes me.

27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.
28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

Believe this literally. God uses the physical world as He uses people to do His will as He uses weather and natural events.

29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

Too quick and easy a victory over sin brings demoniac attacks that are overwhelming in return. Do not be frustrated if God takes away your sins gradually and like the sea over the flooded world of Noah asswaging back and forth until they recede. Some sins, when removed, can leave a void that the devils will fill quicker than you can. God’s way is smarter than yours.

Those Christians who have been “good” people all their lives don’t really understand this. Only we who have had prison, violent pornography, and misery from sin can really see the value of this.

31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.

God promised them natural boundaries and a fixed location. Unlike the ideas of many early American thinkers, America is not now nor ever will be a New Israel. I have a sermon given in Congress in 1857 that shows that the prevailing thought of the political religionists was that America was the Promised Land and our struggles were for God’s earthly kingdom, physically here. That’s how you get that blasphemous “hymn”, the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

And judging from the current political contests we are more interested in electing a messiah than a president. Our politicians seem to think that they are more Old Testament Levitical priests rather than simply corrupt scoundrels feeding at the public trough.

32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.

By spiritualizing this for Christians to whom it does not apply doctrinally, as we are not called to invade anywhere, we realize that we are not to make a covenant with false religions or to compromise with our sins. We must be separate lest they pollute our faith, which has happened. The modern Christian mixes the worship of God with the worship of the state, of money, of comfort, and of the corporate empire of greed. Come out of them.

33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.

He’s warning them of the truth they will face. You can’t mix true worship with idolatry.

Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

2Corinthians 6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

Exodus chapter 19 up to today

Chapter 19

1 ¶ In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.
2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;

Moses will eventually go up and down seven times.

4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.

Being borne on eagles’ wings is figurative in relation to supernatural deliverance and the people who examine this verse need to understand that;

Revelation 12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

This is called the Mosaic Covenant, the Law given to Moses for the nation. A covenant is an agreement. The shedding of blood is involved.

With regard to the peculiar treasure which Israel is;

Matthew 13:44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

The church is a peculiar people;

Titus 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

1Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:


6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

Israel was to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The church is to be a royal priesthood and a holy nation. There job was to intercede with God for the Gentiles and to not be like other nations. The Jews were to be an oddball nation. In Leviticus 19:26 it is shown that they were to have collar length hair and a beard which Jesus Christ most certainly had unlike some teachers’ claims.

But for the Christian this is not the same rule. The Roman custom of short hair is being approved of here. But, don’t mess with the book to prove your convictions. Jesus Christ had what we would consider long hair. Americans in the 20th century adopted the military hair style because of the widespread military service in World War One. Don’t mistake Christian separation and Bible ordained obedience to the laws of your country for fascism and state worship.

1Corinthians 11:14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?

It really doesn’t matter if your hair is close cropped or shoulder length although, in my opinion, a man with a pony tail, particularly an older man, is pretty funny looking.

7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.
8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.
9 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.

Here God appears in a thick cloud, God revealing Himself to His people. Our walk is in light since Jesus Christ came to us in the flesh. This represents the heaviness and darkness of the Law as opposed to the light of God’s grace through Christ.

10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.

The third day, prophetically, is a reference to Christ’s resurrection on the third day.

12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:

This is a holy mountain. Holiness, being separated unto God, starts under the Law.
13 There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

“Shot through” indicates a javelin dart, or spear. After you’re saved, after you’re baptized, you still have more battles and victories to attain to. It’s hard enough to fight the flesh. But, the things your soul does, in its humanistic desires, is the greater battle. The desire to worship self, to elevate one’s self, dignity, and self-esteem is strong. It is uplifted by society and culture. Preachers, particularly those in a church where pastoral authority is the standard, always will have a problem keeping their ministry from being about themselves rather than Christ. Jack Hyles is one famous preacher who eventually made his ministry about him, not Christ, by all accounts I’ve read, even by his supporters.

14 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.

This is where the idea that “cleanliness is next to Godliness” was a Bible principle, which has been much abused.

15 And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.

Here, along with Paul’s recommendation not to get married (1 Corinthians 7:7-9), is the excuse for monastic celibacy which was honored more in the breach than in reality. Remember, Paul also calls commandments refusing marriage, doctrines of devils (1 Timothy 4:1).

16 ¶ And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.

Here is another example of the Second Advent in type.

Revelation19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

1Corinthians 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.

Nether is the farthest reaches, say, at the bottom of the mountain.

18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.

Notice the advent references with smoke, an earthquake, and fire.

Smoke;

Revelation 8:4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.

Revelation 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Revelation 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

Revelation 9:17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

Revelation 9:18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

Revelation 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Revelation 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Revelation 18:9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

Revelation 18:18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

Revelation 19:3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

Earthquake;

Revelation 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

Revelation 8:5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.

Revelation 11:13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Revelation 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Revelation 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

Fire;

Revelation 1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

Revelation 2:18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

Revelation 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Revelation 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

Revelation 8:5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.

Revelation 8:7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Revelation 8:8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
Revelation 9:17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

Revelation 9:18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

Revelation 10:1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

Revelation 11:5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

Revelation 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

Revelation 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

Revelation14:18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.

Revelation 15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

Revelation 16:8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.

Revelation17:16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

Revelation 18:8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

Revelation 19:12 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.

Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Revelation 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
20 And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
21 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish.

Moses was getting his legs run off.

22 And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.

The Levites hadn’t been set up as priests yet. All of those pagan tribes had their own priests and priests would have been among the Hebrews.

23 And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.
24 And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the LORD, lest he break forth upon them.

Only Aaron and Moses get to go up. We are getting ready to have the greatest code of laws given in the history of mankind.

25 So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.
Chapter 20

1 ¶ And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Egypt, as a type of the world, has other terms applied to it than “the house of bondage”;

Deuteronomy 4:20 But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.

Jeremiah 11:4 Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:

1Kings 8:51 For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron:

For the Christian, the world is a the house of bondage in which we are captured, just as our flesh is a house of bondage from which we are waiting for God to release us. It is also an iron furnace where we are imprisoned and burned. There is a furnace of affliction. We are purified in adversity if we stay close to God or our worthlessness is proven if we let adversity drive us away.

Isaiah 48:10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

Remember what I’ve said about each individual Christian being a type of the entire nation of Israel in the Old Testament.

Ezekiel 22:18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.

Ezekiel 22:22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Anything placed in front of God; your family, your job, your lusts, is a sin and idolatry. I say again, anything that is more important to you than God is an idol. Do you prefer to do something other than pray, reading or listening to the Bible, or worship? Would you prefer something over the Lord Jesus Christ? That is an idol. God can take that thing from you if you persist.

These “gods” are mentioned in over 215 verses. Some are devils, some are merely pieces of wood and stone. Ultimately, man’s god is himself. Man prefers self worship over the worship of God. Our sports, entertainments, and vocations all revolve around self-worship and humanism or worship of mankind in general. We glory in our flesh and spend our lives running errands for a corpse. Most Christians do not live and die as if they are anything but practicing atheists.

The minister of God substitutes his work for God, the Christian substitutes his material possessions for God. We all confuse the two because what we really want in our wicked hearts is our own self justification.

You are to have NO OTHER GODS BEFORE THE TRUE GOD, even your own self and particularly that dollar bill.

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

Is this found in the Roman Catholic version of the second commandment? Images have been a source of disputation in the Greek Orthodox Church in the late first millennium.

5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

These people who serve graven images and false gods such as the Hindu Elephant god, hate God, as far as God is concerned. Do Roman Catholics ever worship a statue? This is a sin that is inherited and can account for the condition of countries that have engaged in idolatry for centuries.

6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

He promises mercy unto those faithful to Him.

7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

When you say, “God damn”, “Gosh”, “Golly”, (for God), or “Jesus Christ!”, or even “Gee Whiz” for Jesus Christ you are taking God’s name in vain, frivolously. We shorten it to “damn”. Four letter words come under the heading of filthy communications (Colossians 3:8) but using God or Jesus Christ as a curse word is what’s mentioned here, to call upon that for no reason. I hear people say “God!” and “Jesus!” every day as a expression of amazement. The woman who wouldn’t dream of saying of saying “GD!” would say “God!” in every other sentence.

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exodus 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

Ezekiel 20:12 Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.

Ezekiel 20:20 And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

The Sabbath was sundown Friday to sundown Saturday IN PALESTINE. This is the only place on earth where the Sabbath was given. If you are going to think of yourself as a Jew you probably aren’t honoring the Sabbath at the right time.

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

Sunday is not the Sabbath, the first day of the week, not the seventh. It is not the Jewish Sabbath. It is the Lord’s Day and we celebrate Christ’s resurrection each Sunday. God has ordained one day of rest out of seven. Romans 14:5,6 makes it clear you have to be convinced of the day you honor. Logically, for a Christian, Sunday is the right day. But, Sunday is not the Sabbath. In American history those reformed churches that call Sunday the Sabbath have no problem with eating out at a restaurant or buying gas on a Sunday.

In Romans 13:9 when Paul restates the commandments for us he excludes the Sabbath observation because it is not for Christians. Beware of the Christian Pharisee who tries to put you back under the Jewish law.

11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

There is no question about this.

12 ¶ Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Eph 6:2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

This is given in the New Testament by Paul for us under the doctrines of grace so it is not to be disregarded as something of the Law under which we no longer must yield.

13 Thou shalt not kill.

Jesus Christ defines the intention of this commandment as murder.

Matthew 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

This is not killing in self-defense, manslaughter, or accidental death.

Numbers 35:18 Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. 19 The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him. 20 But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die; 21 Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him.

There is only a need to argue and quibble over “Thou shalt not kill” when you don’t know the Bible. The Bible defines the Bible. Endless theorizing shows the stupidity of educated men. We are not to gloat or glory in the killing of a murderer, just kill them.

Numbers 35:31 Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.

We are not now under the Hebrew theocracy. We are living in the times of the Gentiles and there can be no Christian governments until Christ returns. Therefore we are obeying universal laws under heathen government, not theocracies, against murder. The setting is different. God was setting up a Jewish theocracy where God’s laws were to rule. We are under pagan authorities but notice we are to obey them as he or she is God’s minister whether he acknowledges it or not.

Romans 13:4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Adultery, what is it? Let’s see who you commit adultery with, first.

Leviticus 20:10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

Fornication is the sexual sin of having sex with someone to whom you are not married. Adultery is a type of fornication committed by married people with someone to whom you are not married. In other words, its cheating on your spouse. It and fornication are used to describe a redeemed person or persons worshipping something other than God.

15 Thou shalt not steal.

We steal time from our employer. He steals money promised to us from us and gives it to the IRS but still claims he’s paid it to us. The merchant steals from you when you buy coffee and it’s got stems and leaves in it to a small percentage. The government steals from you when it takes your money to give to someone else without your consent.

16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

False witness would be in the case of Naboth and in the case of Christ’s accusers. Lying in a trial to accuse someone falsely is the main point here but it applies to all lying. You are bearing false witness to the truth.

17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

We are not to want something that is someone else’s. Get it yourself. Work for it. Our culture is covetous in that our government’s main function is to forcibly take money from one person and give it to another in order to obtain the latter’s voting loyalty and support. Covetousness leads to stealing, rape, and adultery with divorce. The television set has one purpose, to sell products interspersed with programming to keep you watching, to create a covetous attitude.

18 ¶ And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

This is like at God’s throne.

Revelation 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

God is speaking. There are no tables of stone as yet. This is a perfect picture of the terror you will have at the White Throne judgment if you are not saved.

20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

God has come to terrify you but don’t be afraid because if you are afraid you have nothing to worry about.

To prove means to test, by the way. You can prove someone to test them for your benefit or for theirs, to show THEM what they are.

Fear of God, contrary to modern liberal thinking, is a very healthy thing.

Job 28:28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Psalms 19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

Psalms 34:11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Psalms 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:

Proverbs 2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.

Proverbs 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

Proverbs 15:16 Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.

Proverbs 15:33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.

Proverbs 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.

Proverbs 19:23 The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.

Proverbs 22:4 By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.

Proverbs 23:17 Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.

Isaiah 2:10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.

Isaiah 2:19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Isaiah 2:21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Isaiah 11:2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

Isaiah 11:3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

Isaiah 33:6 And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.

Acts 9:31 Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

2Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Ephesians 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
22 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
23 Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.

After the Ten Commandments have been given He underscores the first two.

24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.

In all places where I record my name, the Bible, there will I come unto thee. God will meet you in this Bible and deal with you.

25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.

He doesn’t want them to worship Him on an altar that they altered. This is pretty remarkable.

Daniel 2:34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

The robes and skirts that men wore would permit people to see under that skirt.

Chapter 21

1 ¶ Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.

These are judgments in addition to the Ten Commandments.

2 If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.

In the seventh year the Hebrew slave is free.

3 If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.
4 If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.
5 And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.

This pierced ear lobe is a picture of servanthood for ever, a woman, for instance, in submission to her husband. No unmarried girl, particularly a young one, should have pierced ears until they are married, due to what it implies.

7 And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.
8 If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

This clearly shows that the servant could be married to her master. If he kicks her out he has dealt deceitfully with her and has no power to sell her to foreigners.

9 And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
10 If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
11 And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.

He must care for her if he takes another women to be his wife without lessening his caring for her or she shall go free.

12 ¶ He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.

See Genesis 9:6 about this before the Law. A murderer must be put to death.

13 And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.

An accidental death is mentioned here with the promise of the cities of refuge hinted at.

14 But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.

For some reason Joab will think that grabbing onto the altar will save him but as we will see it doesn’t.

15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.

Capital punishment for murdering your parents.
16 And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.

Stealing someone else’s servant to sell him, if he is found in the thief’s hand, results in capital punishment. This would seemingly apply also to the slave traders of years past.

17 And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.

To even curse your parents was to result in death.

18 And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:
19 If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.

If two men fight and one seriously injures the other he must pay an indemnity for his sick time.

20 And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.
21 Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.

This acknowledges the possession as private property of a servant.

22 ¶ If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

This is unintentional abortion and, unlike in many states in America today, it is not regarded as murder but as more of a misdemeanor.

23 And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,

If the mother dies, it is murder. This is troubling for “prolifers” because the fetus is not regarded as life in this. The death of an unborn child is not regarded as murder under the Hebrew law. Genesis 2 states that man became a living soul when God breathed life into him. When is that?

24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

This presents the boundary. You can’t over react. A person who loses an eye may not demand a life in return. In some ancient cultures if a commoners shadow crossed a nobleman’s the commoner could be killed on the spot. This is a limiting law.

25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26 And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake.

Maiming of a slave requires his freedom.

27 And if he smite out his manservant’s tooth, or his maidservant’s tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.

Even if you knock out your slave’s tooth, he or she should go free. The master who hits his slave in the mouth loses a slave. God places an importance on the eyes and the teeth.

28 If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

The animal is killed when it kills a man or a woman.

29 But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.

If you knew your animal was prone to be violent to people and you did nothing about it, you will be killed, as well.

30 If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.

As an alternative to capital punishment you can exact an indemnity.

31 Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.
32 If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

Here is a prescription for the amount of the fine in these specific cases.

33 And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein;
34 The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.

You have to make it good if you are irresponsible. These are the foundations of our property laws and laws of civil liability.

35 And if one man’s ox hurt another’s, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide.
36 Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own.

These judgments continue to define owner responsibility, as God sees it. And what other standard really matters? None.

Chapter 22

1 ¶ If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.

When Nathan comes to David about his sin with Bathsheba he quotes this rule. David pays four sheep for Bathsheba; the infant of Bathsheba, Amnon, Absalom, and his close relative slain by Joab, which was Amasa.

2 If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.

If a thief is killed, caught in the act, then fine. If he is caught he must pay restitution.

3 If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

A criminal can be sold into slavery.

4 If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.

Restitution is double for what he has stolen.

5 If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man’s field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.
6 If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
7 ¶ If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man’s house; if the thief be found, let him pay double.
8 If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods.

These are common sense rules for handling theft and loss.

9 For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour.
10 If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it:
11 Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.
12 And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof.
13 If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn.
14 And if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good.
15 But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be an hired thing, it came for his hire.

There are commentators who claim that these rules have an application to what Christ has entrusted us as Christians but it seems like a stretch although I’m willing to admit it may be something I’m too dim to see.

Notice how in Genesis 31:38 and beyond Jacob and Laban’s dealings underscore responsibility.

16 ¶ And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.

A girl who is not engaged and is deceived into having sex with him he must be willing to make her his wife.

17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.

The father can fine the ne’er do well for messing with his daughter.

18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

Here’s where the amillennialist, Calvinist Puritans messed up by assuming they had taken over from the Hebrew theocracy. Paul didn’t handle a witch by killing her. We have no call as Christians to kill anyone for their sins as they did in the God established Hebrew theocracy.
19 Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.

Once again, we are not called to do these things. The letters of Paul don’t permit us to follow this as an example. The difference between dispensations is that Paul reinforces certain moral laws but these are for believers who have placed themselves under Christ’s authority through a local church, even if it is only a house church. The politically minded Christian has messed up by trying to claim the laws for the Hebrew theocracy for his own nation today.

Look to chapters like Romans 13 to see which laws still apply to us in a literal sense today in this dispensation. Murder and injustice are the only result of trying to enforce the Law of Moses on a nation today without Christ physically present, which He soon will be.

20 He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

Once again, if you believed this was for you in the church age there would be a blood bath. By reading Romans through Philemon you can see that doctrinally this isn’t applicable to us except by application to our own personal lives in refraining from idolatry and banning those from our church who practice it.

21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

The word “stranger” applies to a foreigner in virtually every application throughout the Bible.

22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.

We are told today to go even beyond this. We not only don’t afflict but we must comfort.

James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

God promises to avenge the widow and orphan under this economy.

25 ¶ If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.

Usurer is someone who charges interest, especially at a high rate, much like a credit card company today or the mortgage on your house.

26 If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:

If you take a man’s only coat for collateral he must be given it back each night. Their sole clothing and bedding was often what they wore on their body.

27 For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.

God doesn’t like this kind of business.

28 Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.

This is grounds for telling these preachers that verbally attack Satan to think again of the danger in which they are placing their congregation. We should not even mention the pagan gods in conversation, much less revile them. Let God do that.

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 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. 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.

Psalm 16:4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.

Isaiah 26:13 O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. 14 They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.

Exodus 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.

29 Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.

God gets the first of what He has given you.

30 Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.

Our words, dame and damsel, are said by some to come from “dam”, but others disagree.

31 And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.

In other words, a principle derived from this might be that you are not to eat roadkill. There are some very good health reasons for following this rule.

Chapter 23

1 ¶ Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

Do not lie against someone, joining with the wicked to be a false witness.

2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:

Don’t follow the crowd. Just because “everyone is doing it” doesn’t mean it’s good for you to do. Large masses of people are rarely right by God’s standards. Don’t be a politician.

Job 31:34 Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door?

3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.

Just because a man is poor doesn’t mean his cause is right. His cause may be wrong. We have the egalitarian idea in America that there is grace in poverty and that all wealthy people are evil. This is not always true, in spite of our experience. Unfortunately, many rich Christians are selfish pigs. But, the social status of a person has nothing to do with whether he is right or not according to God.

Just because a person is poor does not mean that he merits more respect than a person with money. Poverty sometimes is caused by laziness, a poor work ethic, and a lack of willingness to delay gratification. A poor person or a rich person has no virtue by means of their social class.

However, it is more likely, as persons, that we will have contempt for the poor over those with money so we have this warning in James.

James 2:1 ¶ My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?

4 If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.

This would seem obvious but I know some people who would find this to be unfair. “Finders keepers, losers weepers.”

5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.

Even your enemy’s animal deserves some help. Help your enemy change a flat tire.

6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.

You are not to deny the poor justice. This is why things have gone so far the other way in this country, because of the unfair treatment of the poor and helpless. See Howard Zinn’s history book.

7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.

This underscores the fact that this is a reference to a theocracy with God as the head. It will be the case again in the Millennial kingdom of Christ, but for now we can make spiritual application to ourselves even though doctrinally we are in the Church Age and this doesn’t apply to us. These are God’s standards and we should remember this when making a decision.

8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

Someone needs to slap the fools in our government upside the head with this one. They can’t accept all of these gifts of trips and money and assume it’s not going to affect their judgment.

9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

You are not to mistreat foreigners. It doesn’t say to give them your country but you are not to abuse them.

10 ¶ And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:
11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.

In God’s economy you work the land for six years and let it rest the seventh.

12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

God entitles us to have at least one day per week off. We’ve been operating 24/7 since WWII and America is burned out. Our production values before WWII, as I understand it, were much higher than they are now. One reason, of course, is that we have to hire people who won’t work but another reason is that we work too much. I have also read that, even with computers, we have an average of ten hours less free time now per week than we did in 1969. These principles would do us well to remember. So, our evil corporate entities go overseas or south of the border to get people who will work for nothing and who aren’t burnt out yet and can be worked to death. The monster has used up this culture and is now threshing other cultures.

13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

Don’t talk about false gods. Don’t put them in your mind. False gods will slowly overwhelm you. False gods today like wealth, sex, and power will demand your worship.

14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.

Three times shall the redeemed appear before God. Three feasts, three raptures. The Old Testament saints, the Rapture of the Church, and the Rapture of the Tribulation saints.

Matthew 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

With;

Proverbs 25:7 For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.

Then;

1 Corinthians 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

The first part of this verse goes with the Matthew and Proverbs reference and the second part with this;

Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Then;

Revelation 11:12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

The rapture of the Jewish saints in the time of Jacob’s Trouble is spoken of in Luke 17. The two Jewish prophets who have come alive in the book of Revelation, Moses and Elijah, represent those Jewish saints in this verse.

There are many more verses that easily link up with these that open up the Bible for us. Some came up with Jesus, some will come up when Jesus calls them before the Great Tribulation, and some will come up at the end of the Great Tribulation.

These things make the Bible very simple to understand. The Bible is written in dispensational order, number one. There are three raptures which all three are part of the first resurrection in Revelation 20:5, number two. Examine the Old Testament for signs of Christ, in His first advent and His second. Look for verses that link with one of the Raptures. Three, three, three.

18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.

Leavened bread is a picture of false doctrine.

Matthew 16:11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? 12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Luke 12:1 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

Proverbs 3:9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

Why is it mentioned not to seethe a kid in his mother’s milk? The principle is that something about this is perverting. That which nourishes me, destroys me is the meaning of a Latin phrase that is popular among teens today. This is a perversion to God.

Proverbs 12:10 A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

Animals are very important to God and, in spite of all the things permitted, such as sacrifice, that we would consider cruel, there are some basic ways of treating them that God demands.

20 ¶ Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

This is a beautiful verse for the Christian. The Angel of the Lord is Jesus Christ as I have explained in the Revelation commentary, quite thoroughly. Before He lived as a man on earth He appeared from Genesis to Malachi in the form of an Angel, which is an appearance of someone and, for all practical purposes is that person. Imagine a hologram that can act, someone being projected somewhere else. Read the explanation in the Revelation commentary on Angels.

Track 10, Thirteen Minutes

21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.
24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.
25 And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.
27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.
28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.
32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.

The Gospel of Mark, to date

Mark is the shortest of the four gospels, written between 60-64 AD. It has 16 chapters, 678 verses, and 15,171 words. It is written by John Mark who is a servant, a minister, and he presents Jesus Christ as a suffering servant. Matthew presents Christ as a Jewish King presenting a Jewish kingdom, Luke as a man going back to Adam, and John presents Him as the Son of God, as God Himself in the flesh.

Acts 12:25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark. 13:1 ¶ Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. 3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. 4 ¶ So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. 5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.

But, John Mark quits.

13:13 Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.

Perhaps he went back home to Mother.

Acts 12:12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.

But, he’s not finished.

Acts 15:35 Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. 36 ¶ And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. 37 And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. 38 But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.
39 And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;

Barnabas, whose name has to do with consolation and restoring someone;

Acts 4:36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,

Has given John Mark another chance when Paul would not. Paul has a problem with what he perceives to be a quitter. God’s purposes are sometimes at variance with even His most devoted servants. Paul is the one who doesn’t go back to the churches in Cyprus. Barnabas does the noble job of picking someone up when they are down. This is what he did for Paul also in Acts 9.

Acts 9:26 And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

The fruit of Barnabas’ faith is not until the end of Paul’s ministry.

2 Timothy 4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

Paul accepts the value of John Mark to the ministry.

There is no genealogy in Mark because a servant’s genealogy doesn’t matter. All that matters is the master. Mark deals with the works of Jesus Christ, not His words. Christ is presented as a great example of prayer in this gospel as we will see. A servant is to be a servant of prayer.

Chapter 1

1 ¶ The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;

This is not a church age gospel. This is John the Baptist’s presentation of a gospel. No one says look forward to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to be saved. This is not Paul’s gospel. That comes later. This is John the Baptist clearing the way for a messiah for Israel.

Show me a verse in Mark where someone gets saved by looking forward to the cross. Or explain why the apostles were so clueless about Christ’s impending crucifixion.

2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

Unlike every new version with the exception of the NKJV has a glaring and deliberate error here. This is a quote of Malachi not Isaiah.

Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

The error in the modern Bibles comes from the early church “father”, Origen, who had a problem with the deity of Christ, where this would make Jesus Christ to be Jehovah God of the Old Testament. For those who don’t believe that He is then they have to explain this problem.

Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Titus 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

2Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:

2Peter 1:11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

2Peter 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

Now, look at Isaiah 40 where Jehovah God is speaking.

1 ¶ But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. 2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
4 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. 5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; 6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; 7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him. 8 ¶ Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. 9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth. 10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

If there is one God, Jehovah, and there is no saviour besides Him and Jesus Christ is the saviour, then who is He?

John the Baptist is that “messenger”. He is also an Old Testament prophet.

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

Jesus declares that John is Elijah.

Matthew 11:10 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.

Elias is the New Testament translation of Elijah in the Old. John was prophesied before his birth to come in the spirit and power of Elijah.

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.

In spite of the fact that John didn’t know it.

John 1:21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

In the same way, when we get to the gospel of John the Apostle we’ll see that Judas didn’t know he was a devil. Elijah will show up at the triumphant return of Christ.

Matthew 16:28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.17:1 ¶ And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.

Then, going on toward the end of the great 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. 4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. 6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. 11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Here is the quote from Isaiah which the newer versions of the Bible falsely attributed to the previous quote.

Isaiah 40:3 ¶ The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

John’s ministry is to plow and to make the way clear for Christ. His preaching is very, very hard, much harder than most Americans can handle. The people’s hearts are very hard because they have a long religious tradition and are very self righteous.

4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

John’s baptism is the one that the apostles use in the early church when dealing with Jewish proselytes. It is a baptism for the nation of Israel to turn from their sins. It is not the baptism that Gentile Christians received after believing. This is for the remission of sins to the nation of Israel.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Luke 7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. 29 And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

This is remission, as in “your cancer is in remission”. The sins aren’t gone but are remitted by the blood of bulls and goats until the final work of the Lord Jesus Christ, at which time they are eliminated by being placed on Him.

5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

Here is the word “all” is used without distinction as you can see by comparing this verse to Luke 7:30. This is not “all” without exception, as in every person in Judea. Some did not.

See how “all” is used here. Here is “all” without exception.

Romans 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

The one exception is Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;

Here John the Baptist is dressed like Elijah, as well as coming in the power and spirit of Elijah.

2 Kings 1:8 And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.

Elijah plows hearts to prepare the field for the sower of the seed.

7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

This is where we get the phrase, “I’m not worthy to untie [a certain person’s] shoes.”

Elijah is truly humble. Most of the time when you hear a Christian get up in church and say, “I’m a wicked sinner”, you know he doesn’t believe that. He believes he’s ‘all that and a bag of chips’ with God.

8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

Here are two distinct baptisms mentioned. One, literally with water, and two, literally with the Holy Ghost. In Matthew 3:11 there are three baptisms in one verse;

11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

You don’t want the third baptism. You don’t want anything to do with the Lake of Fire.

Ephesians 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

There is one true Lord but many lords;

1Corinthians 8:5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)

The true baptism that Mark tells you about Jesus doing puts you into Jesus Christ. It’s not by water but by the Spirit.

1Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

You must be baptized with the Holy Ghost to receive Christ.

9 ¶ And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

Jesus submits to John’s baptism and we are to also submit to water baptism after we believed. Without belief baptism is just getting dunked. Notice that Jesus is immersed, not sprinkled.

11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

In these two verses we have the Trinity with the Spirit and the Father and the Son.

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

2Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. The second epistle to the Corinthians was written from Philippi, a city of Macedonia, by Titus and Lucas.

1John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

If we want to be pleasing to God the Father we must try to do in our weakness what Christ did perfectly. Obey Him.

Mark 7:37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

John 8:28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. 29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

There is a great gulf fixed between Jesus Christ and you. You can’t make it with all of your high minded spirituality. God is pleased with Jesus Christ and you better get His Spirit into you or you’re sunk. You need His righteousness because your own stinks.

Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

The only way you’ll please the Father is through His Son.

12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

As soon as He gets glory, Satan wants to destroy it. Satan is our great enemy. As soon as you get saved He attacks. As soon as a saved person gets closer to God, Satan tortures him. Read the Book of Job to see what God can allow in your life to try you. But, the book of Job tells you that Satan can’t do anything to you without God’s permission.

Revelation 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Forty days was a time of testing for Moses on Mount Sinai, the mount of God;

Exodus 24:18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

Exodus 34:28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

Deuteronomy 9:9 When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:

Deuteronomy 10:10 And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also, and the LORD would not destroy thee.

Forty days was a time of testing for Elijah on the same mount of God;

1Ki 19:8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb* the mount of God.

*Exodus 3:1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

*Sinai is another name for Horeb and the two are used interchangeably. If you do a computer search you will see this. Sinai is an area with Horeb being the specific mount as can be seen by examining these two names.

Jesus is with the wild beasts here, literal animals. A spiritual application would be devils.

Here, at the Cross;

Psalm 22:12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. 13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.

22:16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

Here, at the Second Advent;

Isaiah 34:7 And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness. 8 For it is the day of the LORD’S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. 9 ¶ And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. 10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. 11 But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. 12 They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. 13 And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls. 14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. 15 There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.

Know any literal owls capable of living in a lake of fire?

See how birds are likened to the devil;

Mark 4:4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

Mark 4:15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

Note that Satan tempts with a desire to see you fall as opposed to God who never tempts or tests with malice.

James 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:


14 ¶ Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

John had a brief ministry of a few months after a life of preparation then execution. For those unbelievers who don’t believe in eternal this would make no sense.

15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

In Matthew, he says the kingdom of heaven. Either they are the same or both things are being offered at the same time. The truth is that the kingdom of heaven is the physical kingdom offered to the Jews and the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom into which they can enter. This was shown in the commentary on Matthew.

God acknowledges that the time is ready for both of these kingdoms to be offered. God’s timetable called for Jesus to come the first time as He will the last time;

Galatians 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

God will come back one day, in His time, and set up the Jew as promised.

Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

God has a timetable and nothing can thwart it.

John 1:29 ¶ The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

John 1:35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;

John 1:43 ¶ The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.

John 2:1 ¶ And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:

The third day from what? There is no reason of chronology to put “the third day” in this passage except for prophetic importance. This gives us the timing of a marriage feast. The marriage supper of the Lamb is what I’m assuming.

Revelation 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Note what Jesus says to His mother in the passage in chapter 2.

John 2:4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

Jesus in other places shows that God’s timing is important.

John 7:6 Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.

The gospel of the Kingdom of God preached here is not the same gospel that we would preach today. Look at this;

Mark 13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations. 11 But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. 13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

This isn’t the gospel of grace that Paul preaches. This is the gospel that will be preached in the Tribulation. A casual reading of Revelation will show this. When you read the Tribulation epistle, Hebrews, you see in chapter 6, verses 4 to 6, that if they lose their salvation by “falling away” or going over to the enemy they can’t get saved again. This is not the gospel of salvation by grace through faith that Paul preached. This is a different gospel for a different time. Without the dispensationalism of the early church the Bible is a confused mess. Rightly divide the word of truth as it says in 2 Timothy 2:15.

Preachers who say that its all the same from beginning to end and that God doesn’t have different plans for people under different dispensations make the Bible contradict itself. Why do they force something that isn’t true? To give themselves authority over the word of God. Satan will set up two conflicting authorities so that a man has to be the referee and be the final authority rather than the clear words of scripture. The Catholics and modernist Protestants are always calling into question what God has said. The so-called Bible Believing King James Bible Baptist simply will confuse the word of God so the end result is the same; you can’t understand the Bible without the Pastor, and you will be taught to twist the scriptures to justify your own personal convictions or your church doctrines, thereby destroying the source of your convictions. This is the dark side of fundamentalism in America and the reason we can safely call this church age as the Laodicean Age with Laodicea meaning “the people judge” or even “the people’s rights”.

Doctrinally, the King James Bible, the Authorized Version, is set up in doctrinal order with the four gospels being a transition between the Old and the New Testament, with Acts being a transitional book showing the ongoing revelation to the early church, Paul’s letters referring to the age of the Christian church, the General Epistles with the Tribulation, and then Revelation with the end. This is the simple rule of understanding. Any verse in the Bible that does not contradict the verses in the Church Age letters of Paul can be safely applied to you in this dispensation. However, it is clear that some conditions exist in Moses’ time that do not apply in Paul’s and afterward.

16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
18 And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.

God calls you right where you are. These men were called into full time service to the Lord. Most of us, though, are called to serve right where we are in our job. There is no greater mission field for someone who has not been called to full time Christian service than their job. Pastors who don’t respect your testimony before your boss and your coworkers and view work as merely a competitor for your time in church are Nicolaitans who are one step away from trying to establish a cult based on their person, not Christ’s.

In addition, most people who claim that Christ has called them to do this or that are liars, mostly to themselves. They want to do something to glorify themselves and to make themselves look spiritual and special and holy and it has nothing to do with Christ. A minister, a pastor, a man of God who claims that a Christian can’t serve God except in the church they oversee and doesn’t emphasize the 24/7 aspect of being a Christian at work and before your extended family and to those to whom you owe money and taxes are cultists who worship themselves and want you to do the same thing, not Christians.

Self-worship is the bane of all Christians, but particularly the man in front of a church body. It is a trap that catches many preachers, some of whom are or were famous. Christ has called us all to obedience, to pray, to know your Bible, to behave in a way that glorifies Christ. Beware when someone says that Christ has led them to do this or that or the Holy Spirit is leading them to say this or that. Usually, these people are legends in their own mind. Test every so-called calling by the Scriptures.

But, in these verses, the literal God of the literal universe is literally calling these self-employed fishermen to leave their work and follow Him in faith to do His purpose.

19 And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.
20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.
21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.
22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.
23 ¶ And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

The Devil and his minions are willing to admit that Jesus Christ is the Holy One of God. If you just refer to the Lord Jesus Christ as “the One” or “the Holy One” you haven’t done any more than a devil. Identify him. Beware of Bibles who refer to Jesus as “the One”. That is a devil’s acclamation.

25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.
26 And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.

There are unclean spirits in this assembly. Don’t be so arrogant to assume that they aren’t in your assembly. How many people in your church are oppressed or possessed by devils? Much of the spirit of division and apathy in our church bodies are the result of the activities of devils working with natural human rebellion. When the congregation seems lackadaisical about God’s word and you hear many people say, “I don’t read the Bible because I don’t like to read” and “I don’t listen to the Bible because I don’t have time” then you can be sure that there are spirits of lethargy and apathy working with the natural rebellious and lazy nature of the Christians.

If you hear the Preacher discount the word of God as being not as important as his ministry and your adoration of the preacher and his ministry you can be sure that the congregation is being held fast by devils and that the much needed revival is not possible.

Until a Preacher deals with the activities of devils in the assembly God won’t use that assembly. They’ll just go through the motions. Look at the charges given to the churches in Revelation’s first three chapters carefully.

27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

Jesus Christ has absolutely authority over devils. They can’t stand against him. So, how can they influence Christians? How is it possible? Perhaps because the so-called Christian has been serving another Jesus and another gospel and don’t have the power of the real Lord Jesus Christ in their lives.

All of our lives as Christians we are in a spiritual battle. Many are confused. For instance some people will say “Jesus is Lord” emphatically, but that is a spiritual heresy. Jesus is the Lord, not just Lord.

1Corinthians 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

Jesus is the Christ, not just Christ or a Christ, as new ager Alice Bailey might have said.

1John 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

These are seemingly little things but beware of people who say words don’t matter. Watch for preaching from a pulpit “Jesus is the reason for the season”, and “Jesus is Lord”, and “Jesus is God”, and many other seemingly strong acclamations of who Jesus is without underscoring His unique authority. You can believe a lot about Jesus Christ and still go to Hell. The Scriptures tell us exactly what we must believe about Him to be saved.

28 And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.
29 ¶ And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
30 But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.
Simon Peter, whom the Catholics regard as the first pope, has a wife. They claim he left his wife and followed Jesus. See 1 Corinthians 9:5 for the negation of this. Cephas is also Peter’s name as per John 1:42. Peter wouldn’t let anyone worship him either. See Acts 10:25 to see how bad a pope Peter made. All Popes encourage worship of their persons.

Anon means immediately and this can be found out by looking at all of its usages in context by comparing scripture with scripture. Look at Mark 4 and Matthew 13.

Matthew 13:20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

Mark 4:16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;

31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.

Notice that Christ’s healing allows her to jump up and get moving.

32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.

Christ is healing people that are sick, with real diseases. He is really healing them, not like Benny Hinn or some modern, wicked and fake faith healer. It is sickening to see even Baptists who should know better following this evil and uplifting Benny Hinn’s name in prayer services as if he was genuine.

33 And all the city was gathered together at the door.

This “all” is all without distinction rather than all without exception. The entire city, every man, woman, and child was not at the door. It is important to note the difference in the Bible where all is used. Another word would be salvation that doesn’t always refer to being saved from Hell or damnation which doesn’t always mean being sent to Hell. Context is like location in the real estate business; context, context, context.

34 And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.

Jesus did not want the testimony of devils and He still doesn’t. Let that be a lesson to Benny Hinn and his ilk.

35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Praying in the morning is great! Follow God’s timing to have good fellowship with God. Praying in the morning and in a solitary place where you can be alone is good. It’s great to pray with your wife or husband and with your church family but praying alone with God is very good. Notice that Jesus Christ is doing this in spite of how busy He is. Not that I’m an example but I am jealous of my time in the morning alone with Christ.

Luke 3:21; Luke 6:12; Luke 9:29; Matthew 14:23; Mark 14:34 show that any situation you can imagine Jesus is always in prayer.

36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him.
37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.
38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.

Jesus Christ isn’t concerned about numbers like modern preachers are. This crowd is coming after Him and He wants to leave. Here is one reason why Jesus came to us.

Isaiah 61:1 ¶ The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,…….

Here in the New Testament Jesus refers to that call.

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

There are other reasons why He came;

1Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

1John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

If you look you can find others listed clearly in the Scriptures.

39 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.

Notice that these synagogues are full of devils. Don’t think you’ll go to church to pick up a clean spirit. Churches are full of devils trying to pervert the Scriptures.

40 ¶ And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

Luke 5:12 And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

Here is a picture of a sinner being saved. Leprosy is a type of sin, always starting small. You won’t walk down the street and be slapped with the biggest temptation of your life. Usually it starts small and eventually you’ll be where you don’t want to be. Leprosy deadens the nerves as sin does deaden the sensations. Sin is so gross that before you realize it you’ve lost part of yourself that can’t be replaced.
When you come to Jesus Christ you are healed immediately.

Note that the leper had no part of his own healing save to believe that Jesus could save him. Notice that Jesus Christ healing is immediate. All that a priest could do in the Old Testament was to identify the disease and the bearer as unclean.

43 And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;
44 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

Since Jesus is still under the Law and has placed Himself so here He requires that the healed follow the law. See Leviticus 14. Note that there are two birds and one has to die. Note the earthen vessel which is a type of Jesus’ body. Note, too, that the living bird is set free in the field which in type is the world.

1 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest: 3 And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper; 4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: 5 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: 6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: 7 And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.


45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.

Although this healed leper disobeys he receives no rebuke for he is spreading news of the Lord Jesus and what He has done for him. The crowds press the Lord Jesus Christ.

Chapter 2

1 ¶ And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.

He was doing miracles in Capernaum repeatedly and as in Matthew He says that if these works had been done in Sodom they would have repented, making Capernaum worse than Sodom. If you refuse to repent of being a sinner and receive Christ you are far worse than any homosexual.

“In the house” is a phrase I’ve heard in modern African-American music, particularly rap.

2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.
3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

You can’t get to God of your own strength. Notice also that the people, the world, are hindering him from getting to Christ. The media will lie to keep you from the truth. Another thing is that salvation is at the feet of Jesus Christ. Finally, salvation is immediate. You get to Christ, recognizing you are a helpless sinner, and He’ll save you immediately. Christ responds to faith.

If a faith healer really has the faith he says he does then he should be able to heal someone regardless of their faith.

Christ healed the body and the soul.

6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?

Imagine someone turning to you and saying, “Why are you thinking that way about the preacher right now?”
9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?

He is showing them who He is by what He did.

10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

He proved that He had the power to forgive sins by having the power to heal miraculously. Can a Roman Catholic priest or an Old Testament priest do either? No, he can’t. We can only judge by the Book but we have no power to do anything about it.

13 ¶ And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.
14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.

According to Matthew and Luke, this is Matthew. This is a government tax collector, who was considered collaborators and corrupt. He drops it all and walks after Christ, who has the power to save anyone.

15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.

In the Old Testament people who are trying to live right and honor God are called the righteous and those who are wicked and couldn’t care less are sinners. In the New Testament Christ comes to die for the ungodly, the sinners, and if you consider yourself righteous without Christ you won’t be saved. You won’t see any need for it.

Romans 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

1Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

Christ came to die for the very people that the Old Testament condemned. Read this in the Psalms.

Psalm 1:1 ¶ Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 4 ¶ The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

The problem with many modern, American Christians is that they have adopted the Old Testament view because they are Biblically illiterate and can’t “rightly divide” the word. They assume that because they dress nice, have nice things, and act in some kind of civil and relatively polite manner, occasionally attending church, saying ‘grace’ over dinner, and not doing really bad stuff that they are righteous. American Christians are amazing in the things they have managed to accomplish without Christ. This is easy to test and prove. Go up to the most righteous person you know, the person who appears to really be a great Christian, unlike myself, and ask them how much during the average day do they commit to prayer, Bible reading, memorization, and study, and how much time do they commit to listening to the radio or watching television.

You’ll find that the more pious seeming the individual the less time or love they have for listening to God through God’s word speaking to their spirit or talking to Him in prayer. While you and I are struggling with our revulsion to our wicked sins and abhorring our flesh for our sinful nature, while we are praying on our knees for light from His word and begging Him to keep us from sin, they are walking around smug and self satisfied, willfully ignorant. Those with communist leanings will insist that the Christian should vote Democrat and those with fascist leanings will insist that a Christian must vote Republican. The one replaces God with the government in a slightly different way than the other. But, either one has still replaced God in their hearts.

Our nation is wicked, from the conservative state worshipping churches with a political flag on their pulpit platforms to the liberal state worshipping churches who want to be “inclusive”. Neither one gives a “tinker’s dam” for Jesus Christ. They have invented a God they worship and ultimately it comes back to the worship of self.

16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Here’s Jesus Christ giving His mission, calling sinners to repentance. It isn’t about 1-2-3 repeat after me. There are a lot of people who don’t want to argue and if you say, “do you want to go to Hell”, they’ll say no. If you don’t repent of what you are, you can’t be saved. It isn’t about repenting of an individual sin because you won’t know all of your sins when you come to Christ. You must repent of what you are more than what you’ve done because the problem isn’t what you’ve done, it’s what you are.
18 ¶ And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?
19 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

Here comes a division in the Bible. The children of the bridechamber are not the bride, which is the church. Christ, the bridegroom is going to leave.

John 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

John the Baptist is the friend of the bridegroom. There are many divisions of people in the Bible that are worthy of study.

Song of Solomon 6:8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.

Don’t ask me. I don’t have a clue who the queens are, or the concubines. I do know who the virgins are, Jews in the tribulation, from the text, but I haven’t made the effort to study this yet.

Fasting is for Christians, but has nothing to do with salvation.

2 Corinthians 6:4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, 5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;

2Corinthians 11:27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

Fasting fights against the flesh and afflicts the soul. But, don’t let it become a matter of worshipping your own will. The Christian starts out in self worship using pleasure, moves into worship of Christ, and if he goes far enough will wander into self worship again by his asceticism and separation. Worshipping God genuinely, in the Spirit, is a narrow thing that requires turning neither to the left or right. The libertine, carnal Christian, or unsaved person, seeks to serve his or her own flesh in life and worship with worldly and fleshy music, while the separated fundamentalist seeks to serve his or her own flesh by pride and denial, to prove how close to Christ they are. Both are self serving and deluded fools. Be warned.



21 No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.
22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.

In the NEW Testament there is a change. It is not just the continuance of Hebraism. When a Jew gets saved he’s not a “completed Jew”, he’s a Christian. In this dispensation there are unsaved Jews, unsaved Gentiles, and the Church. A Jew who receives Christ needs to repudiate his former religion and come to Christ. Jesus has pointed out that with all the tradition and rules and regulations that they built on the foundations of the Mosaic law they built a house on sand. All political religions, Judaism, Islam, Roman Catholic Christianity, Protestantism, Hinduism, etc. etc. are false religions.

All of the early Christians were Jews. They left their faith. There was a gradual process throughout Acts and they started out as beard wearing, Sabbath observing, pork abstaining Jews and then you get into Paul’s letters you find no mention of going to synagogue or worshipping in the temple.

You don’t take your old religion and add Jesus to it. You discard your old religion and receive Christ. Many fundamentalists retain the things of their former life that they find still acceptable and don’t put everything on the table for Christ to deal with in His way. I know fundamentalists who are still clinging to things like hunting, sports fanaticism, and state worship and yet, proudly proclaim that they aren’t like the homosexuals and abortionists, who have done the same thing, only the latter won’t usually come to Christ because they will put nothing on the table for fear of God removing it.

The modern fundamentalist squeezes through but still retains some baggage which drags him down as he struggles to serve Christ. I have my issues that I have brought with me. They need to be turned from or I will remain a hypocrite. There is nothing wrong with hunting or sports in and of themselves but to cling to them as part of what identifies you as a man is idolatry. Think about it. Of course, there is no excuse for worship of the state. The state is Satan’s operational entity, whether it is the nation-state or the one world government to come.

When you become a Christian you must lay everything on the table and let God deal with it as He will. It is no less than a complete surrender to Christ. Maybe He will let you keep some things but when I see Christians slavishly devoted to television, movies, alcohol, pro-sports, hunting, and flag waving I think I can see that someone has not let go. It is one thing to be patriotic but another entirely to be a statist, one who worships the state and follows through with every idea that a leader proposes, as long as it follows the Roman Catholic line on abortion and homosexual behavior.

We have our battles and our problems because when we come to Christ we don’t make the Bible pre-eminent, we don’t surrender everything about ourselves to Christ, and we aren’t willing to completely let go of our past affections. If you put new wine into old bottles they will burst. I am convicted by what I’m saying here as much as anyone else should be. I have been carrying around my old man on my back and the stinking corpse I’m carrying makes me sick.
23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.
24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?

The Law of Moses did not prohibit one from simply putting something in your mouth. These disciples weren’t working. This is about the oral tradition of the Pharisees.

25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?
26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?

See 1 Samuel 21 and 22.

27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

The Sabbath gave the Jew a day off from his labor, ordained by God. Here Jesus Christ claims to be the Lord of the Sabbath, therefore God in the flesh.

Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

The Christians met on the first day of the week to celebrate the Lord’s resurrection. Sunday is not the Sabbath. There are a lot of good reasons to set Sunday apart but it wasn’t even a day off from work until the 3rd century when Christianity was made the state religion. Our secular country, before it became dominated by Roman Catholics, even had mail delivery on Sunday until 1912. Sabbatarians, influenced by the Vatican, created “blue laws” and such forbidding being open on Sunday. Christians who insist that you not work on Sunday are hypocrites because by eating out, getting gas, and using the television, telephone, and radio on Sunday they are forcing others to work. It is good to have a day devoted to worship. If you can’t by your circumstances then you must devote much time during the day to worship.

But, on the other hand, remember, you need preaching. You need adjusting. You need correction, the kind you won’t get by reading the Bible yourself. Someone needs to preach the truth to you to help you to see things in a way you might not have previously.

Chapter 3

1 ¶ And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.
2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.
4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.

Here is Jesus repudiating the idea that He shouldn’t even heal a suffering person on the Sabbath. Some Christians would have you abandon a sick relative, a suffering loved one, or anyone who needed to be ministered to for Christ if there was a church service to attend. While there is much room for people using almost anything as an excuse to miss church, this is not necessarily the case. If you have a chance to witness, or to minister to someone then take it. But, remember, you will answer for lies and excuses that serve you when you stand before Jesus Christ.

5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

What modern, simpering, milquetoast Christians lack is anger, righteous indignation. We have become so enamored of the Satanic view of a Christian as being an effeminate, limp wristed love, love, love type of guy, we’d rather men cry than take a stand against evil in the church. Jesus looked round about on them with anger.

Here’s a bunch of guys who are the spiritual leaders and they are opposed to Him healing someone who is hurting. If faith healer fakes like Benny Hinn were real they would heal someone like this rather than those people in line with the so called one leg longer than the other. If they were real they’d go into a children’s hospital and heal children by the dozen.

Jesus was real and He healed at His pleasure. Here, the faith of the person being healed is not important although in other places faith is rewarded. If a Roman Catholic or a Pentecostal healer was real they wouldn’t constantly accuse suffering people of not having faith and then demanding money. These hucksters are wicked.

Track 4, Twenty Seven minutes

6 And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.
7 But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,
8 And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.
9 And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.
10 For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.
11 And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.
12 And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.
13 ¶ And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
16 And Simon he surnamed Peter;
17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:
18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,
19 And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.
20 And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
21 And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.
22 ¶ And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?
24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
27 No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.
31 ¶ There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.
32 And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.
33 And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
34 And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.