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MATTHEW CHAPTERS 21 & 22 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel See previous page Mat 21,1-11 (215ia) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> Suddenly >> The Kingdom of Heaven appears suddenly >> Without warning >> Disciples expected the kingdom to appear immediately – Everyone in attendance on that day expected the Kingdom of God to suddenly appear, though there were no indications that this was about to happen. Even Jesus' twelve closest disciples believed this as a result of their former training starting from childhood. They were taught that God would send His Messiah and establish Israel over all the nations of the earth. This is the same teaching that the Church continues to believe to this day in the Millennium, the thousand-year reign of Christ. Everyone worshipped Him as He entered the city, because they were expecting Him to take over Jerusalem. They expected this for the same reason scientists expect a reaction when they put vinegar with baking soda. That was the relationship Jesus had with the religious establishment in Jerusalem. Either His kingdom would suddenly appear or His visit to the Holy City would end in tragedy. His disciples maintained their hope against the words that Jesus reiterated to them that He would be rejected by the chief priests and the elders, be scourged and crucified, and the third day rise again. Instead, they kept expecting Jesus to command myriads of angels to converge on His enemies, causing Israel to rule and reign in place of Rome with Jerusalem as the capital city of the world, but this was not God’s plan, not yet anyway. Jesus came to Jerusalem as the Lamb of God to be sacrificed and take upon Himself the sins of the world. The people didn’t care about sin that offended God or overcoming their spiritual enemy, Satan; they wanted release from their physical enemies. Their sins never surfaced in conversation, though the things they wanted Jesus to fix were the result of sin. Mat 21,1-3 (68b) Authority >> Doing God’s work under His authority >> Natural Ministry of helps Mat 21-2,3 (110a) Thy kingdom come >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit speaks through you >> Word of knowledge >> knowing their thoughts by the mind of Christ Mat 21-4,5 (141a) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Old Testament bears witness to the new >> It bears witness to Jesus >> Prophesy about Jesus’ ministry >> Jesus as the great shepherd Mat 21-8,9 (143j) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Jesus is popular because of His works – Jesus did what He could to keep His notoriety to a minimum; just the same, He became a household name to nearly everyone in Israel and surrounding districts, though very few knew what to think of Him. They were skeptical that He was the Christ, though they treated Him as such in His triumphal entry into the Holy City. They knew Him as a miracle worker, but denied His identity as the Christ, having every reason to believe He was in fact Israel’s Messiah. Jesus’ notoriety had escalated to a point that everybody knew Him as “the Lord.” Not only did they know about Him, they also loved Him, and so it seem curious why He was crucified. There were two kinds of people who lived in Israel: the poor who lived in the rural areas surrounding Jerusalem, Judea, Capernaum and Galilee, and the citizens of Jerusalem. People who lived in the city were vastly different from country folk. Many of them enjoyed better wages that reflected in a higher standard of living than those who lived and worked in the rural areas. Moreover, Jerusalem was the capital city of the Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees and chief priests of the temple, who all had a great influence on the city and its residents. These were the cheer leaders at His execution, rallying the people behind them shouting, “Crucify, crucify Him!” Ironically, people who lived outside of Jerusalem knew more about Jesus than the citizens of the city that “kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her” (Mat 23-37). In Jesus' younger days He probably ventured to Jerusalem with His family at least once a year to celebrate Passover; even during His ministry He did this. (252b) Trinity >> You shall put no other gods before Me >> Worship Jesus (Because He is equal with God) >> Jesus is worthy of our worship >> Worship Jesus for who he is -- These verses go with verses 15,16. Jesus rode into Jerusalem not as a great king but as a humble servant, and the people worshipped Him and glorified His name as he entered the city, which incited the religious leaders to condemn Him. This was to fulfill Old Testament prophecy. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 21-12,13 (69d) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Righteous anger >> God is angry at sin -- In chapter 24 Jesus gave His exposé on end-time prophesy regarding how the world intends to destroy itself, but in this chapter Jesus cast out the money changers from God's sanctuary, who were spiritual leaders of His time. What does that tell us? When we take these verses in context with His dissertation in later chapters it suggests that in the last days there will be a high concentration of spiritual leaders within the Church who will also be lovers of money. This will be the precursor for end-time prophesy to unfold and for the world to implode on itself through an unchecked passion for greed, since the Church abandoned its role in the world as salt of the earth, having lost its savor and its ability to act as the world's conscience toward sin. Mat 21-14 (145c) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Healing >> Jesus healed them all – It is significant that this occurred in the temple. There is a difference between the temple and the synagogue. Synagogues were peppered throughout all Israel like churches, and even outside the borders of the country, but the temple was the ultimate place of worship where they sacrificed animals and where they celebrated Passover and all the festivals and ceremonies. The temple in Jerusalem was home to the chief priests and the elders, ground-zero for the Scribes and Pharisees and hometown of Caiaphas the high priest and all the religious establishment. For Jesus to heal in the temple was like venturing into the lion’s den and pulling their tails, knowing it would enrage His enemies. Their greatest frustration was that they could not condemn Him for anything He did, except they did manage to complain that He healed on the Sabbath. There really was nothing else they could say, because they couldn’t explain how He performed miracles in the first place, which was the elephant in the room. They knew He was the Son of God, but they were unwilling to acknowledge this. Part of the reason for Jesus healing in the temple was to purposely offend His enemies, so there would be no question that they would eventually hang Him on a cross. He made sure to aggravate His enemies by doing His Father’s will, doing what is good and right, loving the people and speaking the truth and rebuking the religious establishment for spreading lies and deception about God. The whole purpose of Jesus visiting mankind was to die for the sins of the world, but He didn’t want to just die for the people; He wanted to be horribly tortured and flayed alive before He was nailed to a cross to die, because He knew there were people who lived before Him and others who would be born after Him who would endure much at the hands of their enemies for the cause of Christ, or else endure terrible diseases, some suffering for years. Jesus didn’t want to take the easy-way-out. He didn’t intend to save the people from their suffering but intended to allow them to endure their affliction so He could reward them for their faithfulness. The whole point of God leaving us here is so we can rack up rewards and make a distinction between each other, so He can create a hierarchy of authority in His kingdom by which we will rule His creation. Mat 21-15,16 (76d) Thy kingdom come >> Wicked motives >> Motives based on envy -- Jealousy is the single most destructive force in the human arsenal. It was the motive that crucified Jesus Christ, which was the single most wicked act of man's shady past. The children bystanders were worshipping Him for all the wonderful things He had done, and instead of Jesus stopping them, He quoted this passage from the Old Testament to the chief priests and Scribes, considering it the fulfillment of prophecy and thus confessing once again to His enemies that He was the Son of God. The chief priests and scribes didn't want Jesus to get any more popular with the people, because their popularity was declining, and they knew it would ultimately translate to fewer dollars in their pockets. (252b) Trinity >> You shall put no other gods before Me >> Worship Jesus (Because He is equal with God) >> Jesus is worthy of our worship >> Worship Jesus for who he is -- These verses go with verses 8,9. If Jesus never committed a sin, and if worshipping other gods breaks the first and foremost commandment, then why did Jesus let the bystanders worship Him without doing something to silence them as the chief priests and scribes warned Him? There is only one explanation, Jesus is God! Look at all the other instances in the New Testament where Jesus allowed people to worship Him, and He did nothing to stop them, in sharp contrast to instances where people worshiped angels and they immediately stopped the people, directing them to worship God (196c). This holds a strong case for the trinity. Mat 21-16 (141c) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Old Testament bears witness to the new >> It bears witness to Jesus >> Prophesy about Jesus’ ministry >> Jesus as the Son of God Mat 21-17 -- No Entries Mat 21,18-22 (49d) Judgment >> Those who are unfruitful in His kingdom are destroyed -- Here is a thought that is well supported by the Scriptures: God wants us to be fruitful, for this is the will of God, and Jesus' definition of fruitfulness is to live a miraculous life, as He taught in the Lord's prayer, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Mat 6-10). Either we are fruitful or we will dry up and die. Yes, our faith can die if we do not protect and maintain it. God Himself will terminate our faith if we put forth no effort to grow spiritually. He is offended when someone wants to go to heaven to avoid hell, but refuses to serve Him. (83a) Thy kingdom come >> Receiving from God through prayer >> Prayer of faith Mat 21-18,19 (147h) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> God uses His power to be destructive Mat 21-19,20 (215h) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> The judgments of God come suddenly >> Without delay – Everybody is familiar with gentle Jesus, who came to be a blessing and died for our sins that we might be saved and go to heaven and live in paradise with Him. That’s all good stuff, but do we know Jesus as one who spoke a curse over a fig tree and immediately it withered? Jesus told a story about a landowner who had fruit trees, and there was one tree that never produced any fruit (Lk 13,6-9). The landowner was intending to chop it down and plant another tree in its place, but the vineyard keeper asked for time that he might help it grow, saying to the owner that if the tree doesn’t produce fruit after working with it, then He can remove it. The vineyard keeper (Jesus) was acting as a mediator between the owner of the plantation and the fig tree. There is a point when God has waited long enough for us to bear fruit and loses His patience. What did John the Baptist say? “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Mat 3-10). Jesus spoke similarly in Jn 15-6, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.” We could think about this in terms of predestination and say that God knows the exact number of people who will occupy His heaven and their names. He looks in the Book of Life and if He doesn’t see the person’s name, he cannot go to heaven (Mat 22,11-13). The book of life is a very unique book in which God makes edits to it by the name simply disappearing off the page. His name was always written there before the foundation of the world; he was saved, and then his name vanished from the book along with the person's faith, and made room for someone else’s name to be etched in his place. There are people who go to church who may or may not be saved. Regardless, they should fear, because if they never bear any fruit, instead they have come to the conclusion that they are not required to bear fruit, they be cut down and throne into the fire. Mat 21-21,22 (114g) Thy kingdom come >> Working the grace of God >> Obeying the Holy Spirit >> Implementing the revelation of the Holy Spirit – For those kind of results in prayer, we must be fully committed to our faith in God, be diligent in study of His word and be frequent in sessions of prayer. In order for God to satisfy our every whim, we must satisfy His ever whim and know Him as we know our spouse. He would have to be in control of every aspect of our lives and we would be praying for His longings to be our longings. God would give us many revelations through a dynamic relationship with Him, and He would give us zeal to see His visions come to fruition. We believe in Jesus by a vision for something that is greater than this life. What He shows us in the Spirit about His kingdom is already attainable, indicated by the fig tree withering at once and the mountains removed in God's time, at our request and by His will. Mat 21-22 (85la) Thy kingdom come >> Belief >> Treating the knowledge of God as fact >> Believing the Son by obeying the Father >> Obeying the law by faith in the cross >> Obey God for answered prayer KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 21,23-27 (62a) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Being clever >> Responding with wisdom to your enemies >> Outwit them (75f) Thy kingdom come >> Motives >> Being manipulative >> Questioning God’s authority (89e) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Wise questions >> Questions from and about Jesus (179a) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for questioning His authority – The Pharisees controlled a religion that had ties with politics, with the economy and even with the Roman empire. Caesar Himself had to dicker with Israel's religious figures in order to keep the peace, yet Jesus never made any deals with the Pharisees or with the Romans but steered clear of politics. He was not about to put power in their hands to control His destiny or the destiny of the Church. Instead, Jesus let His Father do the talking for Him through convincing proofs of His identity, including wisdom to answer their abject rebellion against God. Jesus humbled them to such a degree that they had to make one of two choices: either they should sit at His feet and learn from Him or allow jealousy to consume them until they saw Him nailed on a cross. As authority figures, if anyone asked them a question, they would feel no obligation to answer, but when they asked Him a question, they expected an answer, or else they cited Him with contempt. Conversely, Jesus felt no obligation to answer the Pharisees and publicly demonstrated His contempt for them. By not answering their questions, Jesus made the point that they had no authority or control over Him, who came from God, whom they claimed to worship, yet responded adversely to Him and to His ways and teachings. See also: Jesus rebuked the Pharisees; 206j (206j) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Conditions to promises >> Conditions to getting your prayers answered -- We talk to the Father through Jesus when we pray, so in a way the conversations the Pharisees had with Jesus were like their prayers to Him. They obviously did not get their prayers answered, because their heart was not with Him. Many pray to God like the Pharisees, thinking their heart is with God, yet their prayers go unanswered, and they wonder why. They need to make peace with God. We should not be living this life but sacrificing it so we can truly live. Then we could pray and expect to receive what we asked from God. See also: Jesus rebuked the Pharisees; Mat 21,25-27; 17h (241c) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Obstacles in the way of the kingdom >> Ask but don’t receive >> Asking with wrong motives Mat 21,25-27 (17h) Sin >> Judging in the flesh >> Passing judgment without seeking truth – Instead of diligently seeking truth as something greater than themselves, the Pharisees strategized how to corral the truth and attempted to take control of it, but Jesus would have none of it. They made predictions, hoping to manipulate the circumstances in their favor, as opposed to allowing the Holy Spirit and their conscience to guide them through sacrifice and conviction to understand and obey the truth. Jesus put the Pharisees in a corner so there were no right answers no matter what they said. Thus, He flushed out the cruelty of their ways and exposed them to public scorn as religious villains. See also: Jesus rebuked the Pharisees; Mat 21-27; 222g (166e) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Wisdom of the world >> Nature Of Man’s Wisdom >> Man’s wisdom is fixed on gaining personal advantage Mat 21-27 (222g) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> God shares no intimacy with dogs >> God does not speak to dogs -- There were a number of reasons Jesus did not answer the Pharisees, primarily that they would not answer Him if He asked them a question. When they took Jesus by force to their mock trial and interrogated Him, He told them in Lk 22-67,68, "If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I ask a question, you will not answer...." Jesus was not in the habit of answering people's questions who did not reciprocate respect. His mission was not to submit to man's tyranny, but to set us free from such bondage. Jesus may have submitted to the Roman guards, to His murderers, and He even answered their question that night with the "good confession", but He did not live under their oppression. Instead, He submitted to the will of God, making it clear that He had nothing in common with them and lived free of their tyrannical religion. See also: Jesus rebuked the Pharisees; Mat 21,28-46; 178l KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 21,28-46 (178l) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Jesus rebukes the Pharisees >> Rebuked for having no love for God -- The Pharisees and many of the Jews made the ill-omened assumption that they were the chosen few who would find favor with God no matter what they did or how they lived. They could be sons of those who murdered the prophets, and they could contrive a plan to dispose of Christ while deliberating with Him and somehow God was not supposed to find fault with them. They thought they were special based on some genealogical evidence asserting that they were part of the lineage of the Levitical Priesthood, but Jesus taught that bearing the fruit for the Kingdom was better than being a link in an elite genealogical chain. The Pharisees took it hard, since they believed in their Jewish heritage. These religious leaders used their religion for profit, they shunned whomever they didn't like and killed whomever they couldn't shun. It is the religion of witchcraft to use good for evil, such as the Bible to distort the truth, and to believe something evil to be good. The end justifies the means they say, until their inheritance is taken from them and given to a nation producing the fruit of it. This too may happen to the developed nations of the world, who once believed in the gospel and have since turned apostate. See also: Jesus rebuked the Pharisees; Mat 21,28-32; 20m (211b) Salvation >> Jews and gentiles are being saved >> Gentiles included >> God gives the Gentiles Israel’s place Mat 21,28-32 (20m) Sin >> Disobedience >> Demonstrating unbelief in the validity of God’s word – Jesus’ conclusion to His parable that He posed to the religious establishment was that tax gatherers and harlots would get into heaven before them. Jesus was pointblank; He didn't mince any words. He had a boldness that we don’t see today; He was defending His Father’s honor, and he used the lowest elements of society to exalt above the Pharisees. Israel was a theocracy, which made the Pharisees also politicians, thus wearing duel hats, but Jesus told them that both hats were equally corrupt, being lesser than the people they despised. The Pharisees were the kind that gave lip service to God, but their hearts were far from Him, the kind that said, ‘Yes Lord,' but didn't do it, the kind that told people all about God but didn't know Him themselves. Jesus was not fond of hypocrites; He held them in utter contempt, and He didn't spare their feelings or care when He offended them. They were hurting people by teaching amiss as the worst sinners of their generation. See also: Jesus rebuked the Pharisees; 26a (26a) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Death >> Dead to God through sin – The Questions Jesus asked the Pharisees were so simple, they were rhetorical, being impossible to get the wrong answer. Perhaps Jesus had to ask questions like this, or they would get the wrong answer. He was demonstrating to His enemies that they knew the truth but were unwilling to believe it or obey it. Sin makes people arrogant, causing retardation when it comes to matters of the heart. See also: Jesus rebuked the Pharisees; Mat 21-28,29; 174k (50dd) Judgment >> Last Days >> Jewish Led endtime revival >> Jews become obedient in the last days -- These verses go with verses 42-44. Like so many of Jesus’ parables they are timeless and have a secondary implication for the future; this parable hints at a coming Great Endtime Revival. Many people today who claim to be Christians will be tested in these last days and will reject God’s purpose for themselves and refuse to partake of God’s revival; instead they will make excuses why they can't come. During the Great Endtime Revival, God will call another group who will be faithful to Jesus, mentioned in another parable: the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame (Lk 14,21-24), and there are millions of them in the world today. They will answer God’s call and partake of His endtime revival that will fill God’s house, but many of those who made grandiose claims about their faith in Jesus will reject God’s purpose for themselves. See also: Great endtime revival; Mat 21-43,44; 21e (87i) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Those who obey believe in God >> Those who obey the word – Jesus’ used of the word “believe” in verse 32 to mean the tax collectors and harlots were baptized; hence, Jesus equated believing with obedience. If we believe, we will get baptized; but if we don’t get baptized, we don’t believe. The first son loved his father, and for that reason he went and worked in the vineyard as he was told, but the other son told his father what he wanted to hear but didn’t do what he said, demonstrating that he didn't really believe in his father. The first son may have had his whole day scheduled in advance, but canceled all his plans to please his father, and Jesus equated that with belief. (172f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Hypocrites among the just >> Talkers among the walkers – The first son said he wouldn’t go but then regretted it and went. The second son said he would go, but he didn’t go. Jesus’ point was that it doesn’t matter what we say; it only matters what we do. He said to his sons, ‘Go into the vineyard,’ and then later he inspected the vineyard to see if the work was done. The second son would never dream of speaking against his father, but neither did he obey Him; what good is that kind of respect? Instead of serving him through obedience of faith, he tried to schmooze him with lip service. Jesus was saying that God would rather we did what He said than garnish our disobedience with flowery speech. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 21,28-31 (225f) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Parables >> Parables about wealth >> Parables about a father and his sons Mat 21-28,29 (63d) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Righteous deception >> God’s people deceive Jesus (174k) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Lip service – In this parable the man commanded his sons to go into his field; the one that went was obedient and the other gave him mere lip service. It is not what we say that matters; it is what we do; actions speak louder than words. Often religious people are those who talk about God, making themselves appear righteous, but Jesus said that the tax collectors and sinners would get into heaven before those who know the nomenclature of Christianity but act like sinners. Jesus considered everyone a "sinner", so when He used this word, He was referring to the Pharisees definition: someone who didn't (go to church) attend their local synagogue. John accompanied his baptism with the preaching of repentance, but the religious establishment wanted nothing to do with the plan and purpose of God. John was saying that if they were baptized, it meant promising God to lead a repentant life, and the Pharisees were not about to agree to that, since they didn’t see themselves as sinners. The tax collectors and sinners knew exactly what they were doing and got baptized promising God they would mend their ways, but the religious crowd slandered John as a heretic. Had they really believed he was a heretic, they would have imprisoned him, yet they saw no contradiction with the Old Testament Scriptures, nor did he speak against Moses. So why didn't they get baptized? First of all, John wouldn't baptize them, because he knew their heart was not right with God (this is a clue to the purpose of baptism). They could have lied and been baptized without intending to repent, but John saw through their hypocrisy, saying, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Lk 3-7,8). He rebuked them in public saying, “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Mat 3,7-10). Regardless of our zeal or religion, "what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God" (1Cor 7-19). See also: Jesus rebuked the Pharisees; Mat 21-38; 17e (182h) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Being deceptive with people >> Lying to others – Perhaps the central theme of this parable is keeping an honest and open heart to the Lord, as opposed to practicing deception. The first son showed a lack of integrity, telling his father what he wanted to hear without any intension of working in His vineyard. The second son didn't want to work in the vineyard either, but he was honest about it; and it was his good heart that made him regret turning down his father. Mat 21-30 (203d) Denying Christ >> Dishonor God >> Lying to God Mat 21-32 (191ba) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Baptism >> Baptism symbolizes death, burial and resurrection >> Baptism is a sign of faith – God has multiple purposes for everything he does. For example, trees have multiple purposes; they provide shelter for animals and a canopy for shade plants. They live for all the animals that use them and for all the birds that nest in their branches and for all caterpillars that eat their leaves, supporting an entire ecosystem. So also, baptism is a multifaceted ceremony; foremostly, it represents obedience. It also represents dying to self and then rising from the water to a new life in Christ. The water represents the Holy Spirit from which we are reborn. The fact that we get wet on the outside refers to the anointing, which clothes us with His power, called the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Do we have an anointing from God? Then, we are baptized in the Holy Spirit. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 21,33-44 (201c) Denying Christ >> Whoever is not with Jesus is against him >> You are against Christ when your unbelief materializes >> If your heart is not with Him your deeds are against Him (225d) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Parables about wealth >> Parables about a land owner and his farm Mat 21-38 (17e) Sin >> Judging in the flesh >> Based on greed – This parable is about the insanity of the Jewish mind, who thought they could kill Jesus and take His inheritance. Heaven was inaccessible to them; how could they attain it? The thought of killing Jesus and taking his inheritance is identical to the thought of Lucifer, when he decided to take God’s throne and was subsequently cast out of heaven. Satan was no more likely to succeed in his mission than the Jews had access to the Kingdom of God apart from Christ. See also: Jesus rebuked the Pharisees; Mat 21,23-27; 179a Mat 21,42-44 (50dd) Judgment >> Last Days >> Jewish Led endtime revival >> Jews become obedient in the last days -- These verses go with verses 28-32 (137c) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Jesus is the foundation of the Church >> Jesus is the cornerstone Mat 21-42 (141b) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Old Testament bears witness to the new >> It bears witness to Jesus >> Prophesy about Jesus’ ministry >> Jesus as head of the Church -- The Old Testament is a window into the past to help properly interpret the present. Without the Old Testament validating the New and giving it perspective, Jesus would have looked as though He appeared from nowhere without purpose, to do things that no one could have possibly understood. He came by invitation, giving us fair warning. He told us why He was coming and what He intended to do. The world still doesn't know what He did, but the Church believes Jesus came from heaven as God incarnate. He sacrificed His flesh to win a people for His own possession. We know these things because of the Old Testament. The New Testament filled in the details, but without the Old, there would be no legacy and no occasion to believe the New Testament. Consequently, the Old Testament is the foundation of our faith in Jesus. Mat 21,43-46 (95a) Thy kingdom come >> False perspective in the world Mat 21-43,44 (21e) Sin >> Disobedience >> Unfruitful – Church history proves that Jesus took management of the gospel from the Jews and gave it to the gentiles, but to say that the gentiles have born the fruit of the kingdom is only in comparison to the Jews who rejected it altogether. Jesus was saying that the Kingdom of God will be taken from anyone who does not bear the fruit of it and given to those who will, meaning that if the gentiles quit bearing the fruit of the kingdom, He will take it from them and give it back to the Jews. Jesus was prophesying that this would happen in the last days when He will effect a Great Endtime Revival through His Jewish people. God took the gospel from the Jews because they were disobedient, and now the gentiles cannot agree on anything regarding sound doctrine, so He will give management of the gospel back to the Jews, and they will disseminate the true doctrines of the faith to the gentiles who will believe in Jesus according to their teachings. The Jews will lead this revival in the last days, and the gentiles will be welcome to join them, under the condition that they receive their doctrines. These things will occur in the coming days when civilization collapses. Even then, many believing gentiles will not repent of their religious traditions and unbelief and will blaspheme, saying that God's Jewish-led ministry is of the devil, knowing it is from God. See also: Great Endtime Revival; 222b / Jews will manage the gospel at the end of the age; Mat 28,18-20; 84cb (49d) Judgment >> Those who are unfruitful in His kingdom are destroyed -- There is a difference between falling on this stone and this stone falling on us. If we fall on it, we may skin our knee, but if it falls on us, well, we know what happens when boulders fall on people. The difference is between the saved broken of their sinful ways, and the unsaved dying without faith in Jesus, facing a Christ-less eternity, whose life is blown away like dust in the wind. (222b) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> God does not entrust his treasures to dogs >> God retrieves his treasures when sheep revert to dogs -- God took the kingdom away from the Jews (Israel) because of their unbelief, but the promises He made to them are irrevocable (Rom 11-29). God never takes back His promises, though He can make sure they are not fulfilled in our lifetime. Jesus said, "He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces." This is in reference to the conviction of the Holy Spirit falling on the sinner until He repents. The Bible speaks of having a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51-17), but one whom the rock falls will pulverize him. This prophecy refers primarily to the Jews but is not exclusive to them. God scattered them like dust to the four corners of the earth, because they rejected their God, so He will do the same to the gentiles if they do not bear the fruit of His kingdom. In the last days, the religious establishment of God's Church will reject the ministry of the Jews once they turn from their unbelief. This revival is 2,000 years in the making, of longing to be restored, of horror apart from God. Now that they have reunited, the connection between the Jews and their God will be something the gentiles never had and never saw coming. Many of the nations will see this bond forming between God and His people and want to join it. They will attach themselves to the Jewish revival and become members of an act of God comprising billions of people, but many who call themselves Christians today who do not bear the fruit of the kingdom, who reject this Jewish-led endtime revival, will be crushed into powder and blown with the wind. See also: Great endtime revival; Mat 22,1-14; 50d Mat 21-43 (157d) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Being displeasing to God >> Leading a fruitless lifestyle Mat 21-44 (47d) God Judges the world >> Hell is a place of destruction -- To be scattered like dust is to be utterly destroyed. One of the descriptions of hell is that it is a place of destruction. The nation of Israel has been scattered throughout the world like dust in every corner. God has given us Israel as an example of what can happen to a people when they collectively disobey the Lord. They are also an example in that God will restore Israel to their faith, and they will come to believe in Jesus as their Messiah. God did not give up on His people as a nation, chosen according to the flesh, but He did make it hard on them, and He will make it hard on us if we resist Him, but if we die in our sin, all hope will die with us. See also: Hell; Mat 22,10-14; 172d _________________________________ MATTHEW CHAPTER 22 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 22,1-14 (21b) Sin >> Disobedient to the call – The worst enemies of God’s people in the last days will be those in the Church who are Christians in name only. When they are called to rally to the wedding feast, being not actually the children of God, they will politely decline the offer. This parable is suggesting how many unsaved Christians there are in the Church today. It almost sounds like the church as a whole will reject the calling of God in the last days. God intends to step over the contemporary Church who has rejected the call of God and will choose other people to be His worshippers. See also: Apostasy; 91i (50d) Judgment >> Last Days >> Great Endtime Revival >> Jews lead the world into revival >> Leading the harvest at the end of the age – In the last days there will be many twists and turns that most people will not see coming, one of them being the Great Endtime Revival. God will establish camps in various places around the world, where believers can go and be protected from the great tribulation that is coming. The criteria for being accepted into one of these camps is a vibrant relationship with God, and this relationship will be apparent as a mark upon their foreheads (Rev 7-3). Unbelievers will attempt to enter the camp of the saints and will be rejected, and so they will have to face the tribulation outside God’s protection. This corresponds with the parable of the Ten Virgins. There was a shout, and those who were prepared entered through the door, and the rest returned to the world, supposedly to buy more oil, and the door was shut. They wanted to be Christians, but they loved the world more. This kind of Christianity will not work in the last days. See also: Great endtime revival; 198c (91i) Thy kingdom come >> The called >> God’s calling transcends the will of man >> We are called by God through His choice of us – Verse 3 says, “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.” This would be a parable about Israel crucifying their own Messiah and then rejecting the gospel, except that there is a wedding feast, which occurs in the last days, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, making this a parable also about the Church rejecting their Savior at the end of the age. See also: Apostasy; 198c (198c) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Ungrateful – Only a couple centuries after the death of Paul the Catholic Church was formed (Act 20,29-32); they were the false church, and they ran Christianity into the mud. Paul knew if the Jews did not receive the gospel by the time he died, it would indicate a very long and dark period between the ascension of Christ and His return. So far it has been two thousand years and counting. It is written that at the end of the age the Jews will return to their faith and will acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Messiah and the gospel will return to the Jews, and there will be a Great Endtime Revival like no other revival in history. They will disseminate the true doctrines of the faith, abolishing all Christian denominations, and those who will not relinquish their religious traditions will be excluded from the last day’s revival, and they will be left behind with the unbelievers to face God's judgment. See also: Great endtime revival; 224e / Apostasy; 201a (201a) Denying Christ >> Whoever is not with Jesus is against him >> He is against Christ who does not receive Him >> Whoever does not receive God’s word is against Christ -- This is a parable about the gospel rejected by those it was initially intended, Israel. Note in verse 7 it says that God sent His armies (the Romans) to destroy the people of Jerusalem who rejected Him. God worked with Israel throughout history to bring about His vision and purpose to the world and they systematically rejected Him at every juncture. Finally they rejected their own Messiah, so He sent Rome to destroy them, a heathen nation that claimed no affiliation with the divine vision. It was the same Romans who stole the gospel and then pretended to look like the true Church. If God is willing to judge the nation to whom the promises were made, how much more willing is He to judge the nations that were grafted into its place as wild olive branches and then rebelled as Israel did (Rom 11,17-21)? See also: Apostasy; Mat 22,1-10; 61d (211b) Salvation >> Jews and gentiles are being saved >> Gentiles included >> God gives the Gentiles Israel’s place (224e) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> The joyful kingdom >> The marriage supper of the lamb -- This parable is about the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, which occurs at the end of the age in heaven, immediately after the last trumpet and the First Resurrection/Rapture of the Church (Rev 11-15). The angel blows seventh and last trumpet, the dead are raised, the Rapture occurs and God assembles His Church in heaven with everyone in attendance. Others will get saved after the Rapture, who have not taken the Mark of the beast, and they will become the seed by which God repopulates the earth in the Millennium. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb is therefore scheduled between the end of this age and the beginning of the millennium. This is a wedding feast to celebrate the long awaited joining of Christ with the Church, which will consist of all the people of faith since the beginning of time. This parable is about a people whom God will replace after the Church rejects God’s purpose for themselves in the Great Endtime Revival. As God stepped over disobedient Israel who rejected the gospel of Christ, so He will step over disobedient gentiles and put Israel back in charge. The Jewish led revival will offer the gospel to the gentiles and many of those belonging to the religious establishment will reject it, so God will bypass the contemporary church and elect others among the gentiles to become his true worshippers. According to the parable, Christ is about to be married to His people, and He sent out his prophets to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, but the people invited were unwilling to come. We know that Israel mistreated and killed their prophets over the centuries, which ultimately led to the crucifixion of Christ. In this parable the slaves are the 144,000 Jews whom God will call in the last days to manage His Great Endtime Revival. This parable is about the religious establishment of both Israel and the Church rejecting the invitation of Christ. They don’t want to get married to Jesus because they are involved with the world as the parable states, “one returned to his farm another to his business," etc. See also: Great endtime revival; 225k / Remnant of the Bowls will repopulate the earth; Lk 22,14-18; 224e (225k) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Parables about a wedding feast – When God calls them, their hearts will be a million miles away, but there will be multitudes of people in third-world countries who will abandon their Buddhist faith, their Hinduism and Muslim roots and cling to God for truth and protection from the antichrist. They will immediately graft onto this Great Endtime Revival and add millions of souls to the kingdom, for God will have his way at the end of the age. See also: Great endtime revival; Mat 22,1-6; 201j Mat 22,1-10 (61d) Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> Destroy the murderers and set their city on fire >> Jerusalem / Rome – This is obviously a parable about Israel, which happened in AD 70; the Romans came and destroyed their temple and set Jerusalem on fire. One day God will do the same to Rome (Revelation chapter 18). We have all heard about the burning of Rome on July 19, 64 AD. Just because it burned once doesn't mean it can't burn again. The things Jesus said often have two implied meanings, because there are two covenants, the old and the new, and He often spoke for both covenants. What He said about old covenant Israel came to pass, and the parable also was meant for the new covenant, not for His church, but for those who presume to be Christians but are not (Rev 3-9,10). Consider this, When He spoke about a city set on fire, isn’t that what happens to Babylon in the last days? Babylon represents a religious entity, the false church, Catholicism seated in Rome, who seized His slaves and mistreated them and martyred them. Israel did it to their prophets, and the false church has martyred the saints throughout the age of grace, Catholics burning true believers at the stake as heretics. God was patient with them, unwilling to intervene for the sake of the elect, for He had judgment prepared that will find them at the end of the age. See also: Burning of Jerusalem (Rome); Mat 22-7; 48m / Apostasy; Mat 22,1-6; 201j Mat 22,1-6 (201j) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Man’s will over God >> God permits man to go his own way – Israel was first-called; God sent His slaves to call those who had been invited, referring to the Jews. This scenario will repeat itself in the last days. God will first call the developed nations of the world, America and Europe, who first responded to the gospel after the reformation, but at the end of the age they will pay no attention. When endtime prophecy unfolds, these nations will have fallen-away from the faith; “they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.” This parable is about a wedding feast, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, that occurs after the great Tribulation, indicating that these things will happen at the end of the age, suggesting that many of the events that occurred in the first century will occur again in the last century. Just as the apostles preached to both Jews and gentiles and were mostly rejected and eventually martyred, so there will be an invitation at the end of the age. Those who give the invitation will be a 144,000 Jews, mirroring the apostles of the first century. Wicked men laid their hands on the apostles and mistreated and killed them, and the Jews rejected the gospel with the result that the Romans tore down their temple and burned their city with fire. This happened to Jerusalem in 70 AD, and very much the same thing will happen again in the last days to Rome. In Revelation chapter 18 it says that another city will be burned to the ground, which they say represents the true Church, and God will send His armies to tear down their temple (Vatican) and burn their city with fire (Rome). People today are interested in their temporal lives; they care more about the things of the world than they do about the things of God. The Church in the last days will go the way of Israel. God will send the 144,000 to the third-world countries, to the poor and destitute, the good and the evil, and He will call the nations to faith in Jesus, and the response will be in the hundreds of millions, and God will supply their needs until He comes for them at the First Resurrection. There will be a great ingathering of souls in the last days, but much of the contemporary Church will be left behind. See also: Great endtime revival; Mat 22,2-10; 8h / Apostasy; Mat 22,3-6; 18i / Catholic Church will host the antichrist; Rev 18-20,21; 39ja KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 22,2-10 (8h) Responsibility >> Preparing to interact with God >> Preparing for revival – There were three invitations to the wedding feast. The first was given by the Old Testament prophets; the second was given by New Testament prophets, and the third will be given by the 144,000 at the end of the age (see Revelation chapters 7&14). They will prophecy of a Great Endtime Revival, and everyone who wishes to be part of it will be saved, but those who reject it will be lost. The Two Witnesses will organize the 144,000 Jews, who in turn will organize the gentile Church, which will globally range in the hundreds of millions. The antichrist's growing hostility against this revival will foster martyrdom of the saints, after which the Two Witnesses' ministry will switch from benevolent leaders of a global revival to adjudicators of God's judgment, and they will protect the Church from further harm, instructing the saints to flee into the wilderness and away from the big cities that are controlled by the global monetary system that employs the antichrist's mark of the beast. Jesus is calling his people to prepare themselves for the great event of the First Resurrection/Rapture, which the Church has been anticipating since Jesus ascended to the Father. Now that it is here they want to abandon God’s plan, because they do not agree with the doctrines that the Jewish witnesses are teaching, also because endtime prophecy is not unfolding as they predicted. That is, they will reject the purpose of God because of the false teachings they had come to believe, while the Jewish witnesses will be laying down the true doctrines of the faith according to Scripture. See also: Great endtime revival; Mat 22,3-6; 18i Mat 22-2,3 (14f) Servant >> Ministry of helps >> Helpers obey Christ Mat 22,3-6 (18i) Sin >> Twisted thinking >> Unable to distinguish between good and evil >> God’s purpose is evil – The false church today believes in a gospel that does not require them to obey God, having accepted the doctrines of easy-believism, which is a distortion of the true faith. Jewish witnesses in the last days will preach the gospel in truth, and the apostate church will see a multitude amassing around the teachings of a 144,000 Jewish witnesses, all who have one faith and one mind, walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, and it will turn the heart of the apostate church jealous against the true Church. They will realize that God is sidestepping them because of their unbelief. They could have joined the revival, but their unbelief would not let them, having previously committed to the doctrines of demons, having become enslaved to their beliefs and were left behind. God will have called them, but they did not listen. Many in the Church who refuse to partake of this coming revival will become bitter, because of the adversity that God will allow them to suffer. There will be many aspects of endtime prophecy that will have already taken place. They didn’t expect to suffer, having trusted in a phony Pre-tribulation Rapture. As a result of their early Rapture theory failing to materialize, they will realize that God is willing to let His people suffer for the sake of the elect that will believe in Jesus during this Great Endtime Revival, and it will embitter them. They will not want to serve a God who lets them suffer. They want to serve a god that protects them from all harm, because this is what they were taught. Instead, they will serve the antichrist, who will strip them of their salvation, make them suffer a hundred times-over, and after death lose their soul in hell. What about the thousands of martyrs who gave up their lives for their faith throughout the age of grace? Many of them were burned at the stake after they were tortured in Catholic dungeons, "men of whom the world was not worthy" (Heb 11-38). People today who trust in an early Rapture think they shouldn’t have to suffer; in fact, God has every intention of protecting the vast majority of His people, but there will be martyrs in the last days. To them it was a privilege to suffer for His namesake, but this is not the mindset of the Church today. See also: Great endtime revival; Mat 22-3,4; 67n / Apostasy; Mat 22,4-7; 48m / Apostasy (Miss the second coming of Christ); 2Cor 3,14-16; 70h Mat 22-3,4 (67n) Authority >> Doing God’s work under His authority >> Ministry of helps >> Help God – This wedding feast refers to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb that occurs at the end of the age, when Christ and the Church are finally united and married. At the end of the age a Jewish-led ministry will invite the world to a Great Endtime Revival. They went and gathered both good and evil until the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. We know the Jews will return to their faith in the last days according to Romans chapter 11, and they will call many to salvation. Although the dinner hall has been filling over a course of 2000 years, there will be one last ingathering of souls that will call more to faith than were saved throughout the entire age of grace. Consider the analogy of Samson killing more people in his death than he killed throughout his life; only instead of people being killed, they were being saved (Jud 16,28-31). See also: Great endtime revival; Mat 21,28-32; 50dd Mat 22,4-7 (48m) Judgment >> Jesus’ enemies are destroyed >> Enemies of His grace are destroyed -- These verses go with verses 11-14. At the end of this age the religious whore of Catholicism will systematize their enthusiasm for martyrdom and round up hundreds of thousands of Christians and kill them. World Wars I and II happened and God lifted not a finger to stop them; if mankind wants to kill himself, God will not intervene; even during the holocaust God just sat there and watched it all. Why? They may have killed six million Jews, which were His chosen people according to the flesh, but they were not His people according to the Spirit. When man starts a campaign of systematically destroying those who believe in Him, His children whom He has personally chosen, man will have effectively picked a fight with God that he will not win. Jews are first in line to become members of His True Church. See also: Apostasy; Mat 22,1-14; 21b Mat 22-6 (242a) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecution to the death >> Killing God’s prophets KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 22,7-14 (64a) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Limits of God >> God cannot tolerate sin >> He cannot allow unbelief in His presence – The King asked the attendant not wearing wedding clothes, ‘How did you get in here without the proper attire?’ and they will cast him into outer darkness where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The wedding clothes represent our works (Rev 19-8). There are two tiers to God’s judgment, the judgment of the righteous and the judgment of the wicked. Jesus explained this in His parable of the Great Shepherd separating the sheep from the goats, based on their works (Mat 25,31-33). The unbelievers’ fate will be determined at the Great White Throne judgment, slated to occur between creations, after God destroys this present universe and before He creates the new one (Rev 20,11-15). It says, “Heaven and earth fled away, and there was no place found for them.” God will judge all the unbelievers at the Great White Throne judgment, and sadly none of them will ever see the Kingdom of Heaven. (218a) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> You cannot control the judgment of God >> You cannot control how God responds to rejection Mat 22-7 (69d) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Righteous anger >> God is angry at sin – This happened in AD 70; it says that God was enraged with the Jews, and when we look what happed to them over the last two millennia, we can see more clearly the level of anger God had for them. When they cried for help during Hitler’s rein of terror while they were tortured and murdered in his death camps, God just watched. He is long suffering, but when He finally comes to the end of his patience, His judgment can be just as long suffering. When we think of all the time Israel spent in rebellion against God, having the audacity to reject their own Messiah, who came four hundred years after their release from Babylon, they even gave Moses a hard time. This was Jerusalem, the city that God loved. They thought He would never let it be desecrated by the gentiles, but they were wrong. Turns out they loved their temple and their city more than God did, who prefers compassion over sacrifice. Over the next two millennia they would be hounded from city to city and from country to country, persecuted and systematically slaughtered. They lost their place and their nation, and they were made to live among foreign people who despised them, all because of rebellion. See also: Burning of Jerusalem (Rome); Mat 22,1-10; 61d / Israel (Holocaust); Rom 15-26,27; 2g Mat 22,8-14 (113a) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> The anointing >> Heaven’s clothes >> Protection >> Covering -- The Bible refers to the anointing more often that we think as in this example. The wedding clothes represent our good works, but it also represents the anointing that enables us to obey the Lord. Mat 22,8-10 (150a) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Invitation to the Kingdom of God Mat 22-9,10 (51i) Judgment >> Judging the Church with the world >> Do not show partiality to one another Mat 22,10-14 (172d) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Communion between the world and the Church >> Worldliness in the Church – These wedding clothes represent our works (Rev 19-8). A person goes to heaven or hell based on his works, which is different from what Paul taught. He said, “By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2-8,9). However, the very next verse says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (v10). This refers to the narrow way. Performing the good works along this trail makes the difference between heaven and hell. God has called us all to acquire the hearing ear and to do whatever he says, which guarantees our place in heaven. The problem with Christianity today is that the majority of those who go to church are not students of God’s word or disciples of prayer. They have handpicked a couple verses in the Bible, such as Eph 2-8,9, and ignore the rest. See also: Hell; Mat 22,11-14; 48m (193j) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Repent >> Consequences of not repenting KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 22,11-14 (30c) Gift of God >> God knows our needs >> He is the source of our obedience – Anybody who enters heaven must be dressed in wedding clothes, which represent our good works. Many sinners do good things; they give to charities; they do volunteer work; some spend their whole lives helping others, but Jesus said, “He who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God” (Jn 3-21). Sinners do good works, but they don’t attribute their good works to Jesus Christ. The Christian dedicates his good works to Christ, testifying that if it weren’t for Him, he wouldn’t have any good works to show. This may sound like a petty difference, but it wasn’t petty for the one who was physically removed from the wedding feast and cast into outer darkness. (48m) Judgment >> Jesus’ enemies are destroyed >> Enemies of His grace are destroyed -- These verses go with verses 4-7. On the one hand the Bible says that God will throw everybody in the lake of fire who does not belong to Him, and on the other we see people thrown into outer darkness with no mention of fire; instead it speaks of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Revelation speaks of a New Jerusalem, and it says there is a high wall surrounding it with the implication that it is made to keep out the riff-raff, saying, “Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying” (Rev 22-15). This is meant figuratively, since the damned do not dwell just outside the gate of the holy city. The New Jerusalem dwells on the new earth, which has the curse removed. The damned will have no opportunity to scale the city walls and attempt a coo; instead, they live somewhere else. They are not on the new earth at all, but perhaps under it. People have postulated the location of hell, and the general consensus is that it exists under the earth; currently, this may not be true, but it probably will be true in eternity. Psalm 110-1 says, “The Lord says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” We could say that this is just figurative, but we could also take it literally and say that hell is in the center of the new earth. See also: Hell; 222h / Levels of judgment; Rev 20,10-15; 50m (90i) Thy kingdom come >> Keeping the law >> Righteousness of the law >> All righteousness is covered by the law -- These verses go with verses 36-40. There is not a single good work we could name that is not covered by the law, partly because the law is spoken in general. When it says we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Deuteronomy 6-5), this could be expressed in a hundred different ways. Then the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” taken from Lev 19-18, which is an obscure verse indeed, summarizes the law that pertains to human relations. These wedding clothes that represent good works appear to have been produced by the law, but in fact they were not. The law and the Spirit parallel one another, so a person can follow the Spirit and inadvertently fulfill the law, but not the other way-round. The Spirit does not use the law to determine how we should behave, for the Holy Spirit has a will of His own about the things we should do and how we should live. The good works that comprise these wedding clothes were not performed through the works of the law, but as Paul said in Gal 3-2, “by hearing with faith.” (113c) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> The anointing >> Heaven’s clothes >> Clothe yourself with good works -- This hypothetical situation of a man sneaking into the wedding feast without proper attire is about his clothes representing good works according to Rev 19-8, “It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” If we accept Jesus as our savior but don’t live for Him, we are without wedding clothes, and Jesus would say to us“Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” In contrast, Paul said in Phi 3-9 “… that I may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.” How do we understand the righteousness of faith? On the one hand, if we don’t have good works, we won’t make it to heaven, and on the other hand Salvation is a gift (Eph 2-8,9). Good works are a natural offshoot of our faith in Jesus. These “Righteous acts of the saints” refer to the good works that God has prepared for us, according to Eph 2-10, suggesting that our wedding clothes comprise not just of any good work but His specific works that if we walk in them will lead us to heaven. See also: Wedding clothes 233i / Trail of good works (works that God has prepared for us) walk on this trail or perish; Lk 8-13; 207a (158i) Counterfeit (Key verse) (159c) Works of the devil >> Counterfeit godliness >> Counterfeit Christian -- We do not embrace the doctrines of easy-believism to think we can be Christian but not produce the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This list refers to the acts of the anointing, and be sure to distinguish them form the works of unbelief. It is the Spirit of God Himself that makes the distinction, we must discern between flesh and Spirit, hint: one is sweet and the other is bitter. (222h) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> God shares no intimacy with dogs >> God does not let dogs in His house – Jesus wasn’t saying this scenario would ever happen; it is comforting to know that no one will sneak into heaven. The king called him friend and then cast him into outer darkness, indicating there was no personal vendetta the king had against the sinner, but neither was he allowed to stay. It was the same relationship that any groomsman would have with a person who crept into his reception party uninvited, not wearing the proper attire. This person was trying to avoid hell, and apparently he didn’t fit in the crowd of heaven either. This is the very meaning of angst; there is just no place for some people; there must be no worse feeling than to be caught between two opposite worlds and feel uncomfortable in both. See also: Hell; Mat 22-13,14; 47g / Anxiety (angst); 1Jn 4-18; 119d (233i) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the glory of God >> Seek His glory without wavering >> Seek His glory through obedience – There is a big difference between the works of our wedding clothes and the works of the sinner. The works that pertain to our wedding clothes represent the good works that God has prepared for us “beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph 2-10). They are the good works that we perform along the narrow way. These good works are the result of hearing the Holy Spirit and doing what He says. The works that a person does apart from the hearing ear are not holy to the Lord. His good works may be benefiting someone, but not the person doing them, because they are not designed by God for His glory but by the person for his own glory. Some people have the attitude that God is a glory seeker, but it only seems that way, for if we are not seeking the glory of God we will seek our own glory. The sinner does good works to glorify himself, but the one who seeks the glory of God walks by the Spirit and attributes his good works to Him. See also: Wedding clothes 113c KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 22-13,14 (47g) Judgment >> God Judges the world >> Hell is a place of darkness – The wicked are thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 20,13-15), yet there are aspects of hell other than the lake of fire. The way we might make sense of this is that this lake has finite dimensions, meaning it has a shore like any lake, where people can escape this horrible torment. Sin is upon each person in varying weights, and when they get thrown into the lake of fire, their weight of sin pulls them deep into the liquid-hot magma, making it difficult for some to swim to shore and impossible for others. If they can escape the torment of this fiery lake, they must endure the horrors that await them in a place called outer darkness. Apparently, underneath the new earth there are caverns, suggesting that it will be somewhat hollow, and many of the damned will inhabit these caverns. Although the outer darkness may be better than the lake of fire, it will still be a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Rev 16-10 says that one of the bowls of God’s wrath will be darkness, and it says that men will gnaw their tongues because of pain. We know that one of the trumpet judgments was a demonic scorpion-like locust that crawled from the abyss and was loosed on the earth that it might torment those who do not have the mark of God on their foreheads. When it stung a man, it caused him to long for death (Rev 9,1-11), and it could be that these creatures exist in hell and will sting its inhabitants while they are blinded by the darkness. See also: Hell; Mat 21-44; 47d Mat 22-14 (219g) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> The elect >> God chooses us as we choose ourselves >> God chooses us as we fulfill His calling – Many are called, but few accomplish the things they were called to do, and those who fulfill their calling were predestined to do so. This leaves no room for human will to obey God without Him. There are three kinds of people in the world: those who are not called, those who are called, and those who are called and chosen. We know that those who are chosen are also predestined by Him to inherit eternal life. Unfortunately, not everybody who has been called answers the call. There are some who have not been called at all, so what can we say about them? The person called-but-not-chosen actually heard the voice of the Holy Spirit in his heart calling him to faith in Christ but resisted Him. Then there are others who are so distant they cannot hear His voice. Therefore, we can say that everybody is called, but not everybody hears the call, and not everybody who hears the call answers Him, but there are some who both hear and obey, and these are the ones who are saved. Therefore, salvation is a combination of God and man working together. Moreover, predestination is divided into two categories: God merely foreknowing the future and God actually determining outcomes by exercising His sovereign will. He actually visits the future to see what will happen and then reports to his prophets what must take place. Prophecy is not a prediction, but something that is absolutely inevitable. Prophecy is so powerful that not even announcing the future can change it, though it notifies both man and demons ahead of time, giving them opportunity to shift the circumstances off course to prove God wrong, yet they can't stop prophecy from coming to pass. Mat 22,15-46 (178k) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Jesus rebukes the Pharisees >> Rebuked for accusing Jesus of Sin Mat 22,15-22 (7h) Responsibility >> Defend God’s cause >> Protecting the Church -- There is something in Jesus' response to the Pharisees that is largely overlooked. When Jesus said, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's," everyone understands that He concurred with paying Caesar's poll-tax, but what else did Jesus mean by, 'Render to God the things that are God's?' Most people interpret this statement as Jesus advocating to 'paying tithes,' and maybe He was suggesting this, but wait there's more. He was talking to the Pharisees and told them to "render to God the things that are God's," that is, render to God the people who are trying to enter the kingdom of heaven. Luke 11-52 says, "Woe unto you, lawyers! [Pharisees and lawyers are in one basket] for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered." If you don't believe in heaven, that is your prerogative, but don't persecute the truth and hinder those who are trying to be saved. (61h) Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's (Their money — Their people) (179b) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Jesus rebukes the Pharisees >> Rebuked for loving money Mat 22,15-21 (25j) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Thief >> Stealing from God Mat 22-18 (68i) Authority >> Discernment >> Judging truth and error >> Perceiving wicked motives KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 22,29-32 (39b) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Characteristics of the resurrection -- The world says they don't want to go to heaven just to pick up a harp and stand on a cloud playing boring music, but they "are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures or the power of God." We are saddened when we read this passage to learn that in the next life the union between a man and a woman no longer exists. Our first impression is that it would be an inferior existence. However, we were not God's counselors when He made them male and female, yet we think He did well on His own. Why then don't we trust Him to make a creation that He promises to be better than the first? Ps 16-11 says, "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." (224a) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> Describing the kingdom after he makes all things new >> Description of the resurrection Mat 22-29,30 (136c) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Similarity in the body >> No distinction between male and female Mat 22-29 (79l) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word as a sword in spiritual warfare >> To defend yourself from religion (109j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit the teacher >> Spirit of truth is our teacher – If we don’t understand the connection between the Scriptures and the power of God, then we cannot properly interpret the Bible, for we cannot work with the Holy Spirit apart from His word. Both are required if we are going to interact with God. The Spirit and the word operate in tandem, the New Testament being dotted with this concept throughout its discourse, no doubt far more frequently than anyone would dare to imagine, though it is almost never mentioned in any pulpit. Jesus Christ is the word of God and the Spirit speaks through Him. The cause of the Pharisees and Scribes misinterpreting their Old Testament was from their ignorance of this truth, and if we choose to remain ignorant of it, we will not be able to rise any further in relation to God than the Pharisees. (177g) Misunderstanding (Key verse) (177i) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Misunderstanding the word of God (182f) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Three causes of interpreting Scripture falsely >> Because they do not understand the Scriptures -- Jesus told the Sadducees there were two reasons they were mistaken: They didn't understand the Scriptures and they didn't understand the power of God. They didn't understand either one because they work together as a team. Scripture works to lead us in the dark while the power of God acts to illumine our way. Jesus used these tools throughout His ministry, since He was the word of God in bodily form as the power of God worked through Him. Mat 22-30 (3e) Responsibility >> To the Family >> Pattern your marriage after Christ and the Church – Someone might say that having no marriage in heaven is the worst news ever, but there is a reason for this: there is only one family in heaven, and we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. In this life there are many millions of families, each consisting of a mother, a father and their children, and when those children marry and have children of their own, they add a generation to the family, but as layers are added, previous layers are subtracted through death, and so families are allowed to grow only so big. In heaven there is only one family, the Church. Those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life are members of the family of God, and we are all members of one body, the wife of the Lamb. We might think that Jesus is our Father, but He is the Husband of the Church, and we are His bride, and His Father is our Father. Since children result from the husband and wife on earth, it stands to reason that children should result from the marriage relationship between Christ and the Church. Those children will be the people whom God will create after us. He will create another race of man after He creates a new heavens and a new earth, and there will be no sin, and they will live forever. God will give them only one commandment to be fruitful and multiply, and this they will do, and we will be their mother, Christ will be their Father, and His Father will be their grandpa, and their numbers will infinitely grow throughout eternity as the family of God. See also: New heavens and a new earth (Church is wife of the Lamb); Gal 4,21-31; 33c KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 22,31-46 (62a) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Being clever >> Responding with wisdom to your enemies >> Outwit them Mat 22-31,32 (57f) Paradox >> Opposites >> To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord – This passage totally dispels the multitude of ideas about what happens to a person after he dies. When we look at the Scriptures, we see that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are not dead but alive (Exodus 3-6). There are some who would argue that they are alive but are currently asleep. They say the dead are in a state of hibernation over the millennia, until the First Resurrection; then God will awaken them with new bodies. Agreed, Jesus often said that when a person died, his body went to sleep, but that was His perspective, being the very embodiment of the "resurrection and the life" (Jn 11,11-13,25). In our view, though, their bodies are literally dead. Things have changed since Jesus' resurrection and ascension, for on the way to heaven he made His rounds, first visiting hell to tell the people there just how big a mistake they made (1Pet 3-19,20), then on to Abraham's bosom and escorted its inhabitants to heaven with Him as disembodied spirits (Eph 4,8-10), and they are there now, alive and awake. God can interact just as well with spirits as with living flesh, because God is Spirit. They don’t need a body in heaven, because heaven (the New Jerusalem) is as much a spiritual place as it is a physical place. (239k) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Let not many of you become teachers >> Dividing accurately the word of truth -- Jesus interpreted these well known verses, and brought them to light in a way that no one before Him ever could, accentuating the idea that God does not rule over dead people, and suggesting that the patriarchs of ancient times are alive and well. He did not go over a long, blown-out dissertation, but spoke a few small words about one of the most popular verses of the Old Testament and it caused His listeners to take a new, fresh look at the God they served. He showed them what they have overlooked for centuries regarding their most fundamental beliefs. The word of God is full of epiphanies such as this, lost knowledge just waiting to be re-realized as did other generations before them. An example of this is with Martin Luther and his revelation of faith. One of Jesus' advantages to interpreting Scripture was that He Himself saw Abraham in heaven (Jn 8-56). We do not have the advantage of seeing heaven yet, but we currently experience the things of the God through the word of God and prayer. Mat 22,36-40 (90i) Thy kingdom come >> Keeping the law >> Righteousness of the law >> All righteousness is covered by the law -- These verses go with verses 11-14. These two commandments are not located together in the Bible. The first, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…” is not even one of the Ten Commandments (Exodus chapter 20); instead it is located in Deuteronomy 6-5; and the second, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” is in Leviticus 19-18. The Ten Commandments make no mention of either one of these, yet the passages Jesus quoted express the very essence of the Law, and they do just as much to summarize the new covenant. So what is the difference between the old and new covenants? The distinction is best seen in our understanding of fulfilling the law. In the old covenant they were commanded to fulfill it in the flesh by sheer determination, but it was totally ineffective. In the new covenant Jesus inaugurated with His own blood the means by which God forgives our sin in order to empower us with His Spirit, and since then we have been working with the Holy Spirit to fulfill the Law. Mat 22,41-46 (37e) Judgment >> Jesus’ humanity >> He was part of the lineage of David – Joseph, an ancestor of David, was not Jesus’ real Father, but was actually His stepfather. His real Father was God in heaven. Jesus put His enemies to silence because they knew in their hearts that in fact He was the Son of God. They didn’t ask Him any more questions because they didn’t want to hear any more of His answers. They asked Him questions to stump Him for the purpose of swinging the momentum in their favor as the first step in arresting Him with the goal of putting Him to death, but they soon learned that they would not win any arguments with Him. He had done nothing wrong and they had no way of condemning Him. He untwisted their minds, and the moment He let go, their minds returned to a knotted obfuscation. Mat 22-44 (67b) Authority >> Jesus is at the right hand of the father >> He is above all other authorities See next page