Hi ValleyLil111. That's a very good question. And you might remember that Jesus also referred to this Psalm when questioning the Pharisees (the religious leaders) about it; and you'll find it in Matthew 22:41-46.
So Jesus' question to them was: 'Who is the Christ (the Messiah), whose Son is He'? They obviously knew that when the expected Messiah would come, He would be born into the world in a Jewish family and would be their Savior (leading them to freedom from their enemies and rule over them righteously). But as we know, Jesus came first to free them from bondage to their greater enemy, the Devil, who kept them blind, ignorant, in sin, and estranged from the God Whom they worshiped. But even in their blindness to their sin and Who Jesus really was, they did answer Him correctly to a point: that the Christ would come from the loins of King David.
Taking them from this word of confession that the Messiah would be the son of David, Jesus then asks them another question (similar to your question): 'If the Messiah is David's son (i.e. in the lineage of David), how then could David call Him, Lord?' And here Jesus took them back to the Psalm they knew well: Psalm 110. If King David, speaking by God's Spirit calls his son 'Lord', how can he then be his son as well? He can only be one or the other: either a biological son or the Lord from Heaven, not both. Or could it be?
So Matthew 22:46 tells us that no one could give Jesus the answer to that question. Because if they were astute, yet humble enough, reason would tell them that the Son of David Whom they expected as their Messiah was also the Lord from Heaven ( John 3:13). Yes, the Divine Birth was shown to them through this Psalm: God came in the flesh through the lineage of King David, and He was standing before them - as the Son of Man and the Son of God. So King David could well say, "The LORD (God) said unto my Lord (Jesus, my Messiah)..". David could see Him in the distance but the Jews were blinded.
Tithing is very good, if it helps towards building up the real church, the body of Christ. Tith is only one- tenth; But what about the remaining 9? ( Luke 17:17).
We are created in God's image and we bear Christ's name and seal on us ( Matthew 22:19-21). We are requested to offer ourselves (fully, not one- tenth) as a living sacrifice to God ( Romans 12:1). Then the people in our contacts may get the message of the Good News and turn to God. To live a Christian life (means complete surrender to His will) is the way to win our dear ones for Christ ( 1 Peter 3:1-2) The Cross may be heavy, but the end is glorious beyond imagination ( Psalms 126:5)
It is interesting to look at my life when I was in my teens. I always envied my grandmother who lived nearby because she had a place to herself and talked to the Lord somewhat about that situation in my life. Well; circumstances came to pass to allow for that before I came here; and now that my mom has passed and my Dad is in a facility. My situation has allowed me to do a lot of thinking since I was young and I guess so much introspection and some natural writing ability has helped me on this forum.
Now I have known some who have had issues; even being upset when they didn't have someone and friends were getting married.
I can't say that there aren't disadvantages along with the advantages here. It seems more like a foreign concept or world to me seeing others living near me who have; more or less "normal" relationships of husband; wife and children. Of that I am alway grateful as so many are in disfunctional families today. I am also blessed to live in an area heavily policed with decent people no less in that capacity in general; although I am aware of some things from sources I will leave anonymous that certain things were overlooked which shouldn't have been. Nonetheless having a quiet place to sleep is something I am blessed to have after many years of contentious people with apartment living.
Being able to take the time; sometimes several hours such as with my one friend talking; and shopping; taking walks; etc is something I couldn't do in a different setting; nor could I have spent several years when I did first come home taking care of my parents who needed the help.
Overall; I know that Jesus said in Matthew 22:30 that people in heaven wouldn't marry; and there are other verses which say the eunich and those without children will still be blessed even more (See Isaiah 54:1). Other scripture talks about God's faithfullness in Psalms even if our mother and father forsake us; and I assume wives also.
A study of death and the proper approach to this subject.
Death is an enemy ( 1 Corinthians 15:26); but God aso states that He is the God of the living not the dead ( Matthew 22:32).
We read in 1 Corinthians 15:55-57
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
It may seem like overstating the obvious here; but death for a believer; TRULY BORN AGAIN is a victory while for the unsaved is anything but. It may be true at funerals that relatives claim that their loved one is with the Lord; but for someone who is clearly saved should have a more demonstrative rejoicing in that regard than the world in their feigned attempt to convince everyone of the same fact when it is likely the person is suffering in hades.
I state this after seeing a reaction at a funeral for someone in our church the other week; apparently someone there was very uncomfortable hearing scriptures related to where we go as a believer after death. This is probably why many dumb down what should in reality be an atmosphere of joy. I am not saying that grief shouldn't occur but as Paul stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15
13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord's word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
(Whew thought I lost all this work)...
All this discussion at the funeral led to this particular concept of sleep; but our Pastor does NOT believe in "soul sleep". We certainly rest from our works and for a while in His presence ( Rev. 6:11)
We are not far apart. First, to answer your question, will I walk away? The answer is NO! I know Romans 1:28 didn't fit, but it reflects what I was thinking of someone I knew when I wrote it. Only God knows the heart of man. What was in my mind was a person I knew, and anyone who knew them would say this person was a true Christian.
This person lost a child, and they completely changed. Over time, they turned into the opposite of who they were, and this verse fits what I saw happen to this person. This is one of the reasons I believe someone can fall away; only God knows if that is what happened. John 6:44, we may see this as the gospel today, the words of God are preached, which draws people, but that is not coming to Christ himself.
Then we have Matthew 22:14: Many are called, but few are chosen. Some who hear will fully embrace it and be accepted by God, while others will not. We are drawn or called, but is it not up to us to go and believe?
How do we understand verses like Hebrews 3:12-14? This is directed at those in Christ. 1 Timothy 4:1-2, My understanding, this goes with 2 Thessalonians 2:3 and Revelation 13:7-10; here is the patience of the saints. This is a true falling away, John 1.5:4-6; we must continue to abide in Him. Romans 11:19-22, we can be cut off.
James 1:12 is another blessed is a man that endureth, if he does, he will receive a crown of life. As in Revelation 2:10, faithful unto death. I respect you, but to me, there are too many warnings to endure and overcome until our death. We cannot ignore that; we must encourage each other to stay strong in our faith.
Not to spark another debate, I believe the great falling away is connected to when the beast rises and the persecution begins. Many think they will be taken out, but are not; they will be here. My understanding is Christ will never forsake us; the only thing that can separate us from Him is us.
Daniel 9, there are 69 weeks from the commandment unto the Messiah. I understand this is when Jesus was baptized and anointed with the Holy Spirit, becoming the Messiah. In verse 26, Jesus's ministry was 3.5 years when Jesus was cut off/crucified, this would be 69.5 weeks. It is the people/army of the prince that will come and destroy, not the prince. We see a parable relating to this very thing, Matthew 22:1-7.
In verse 27, Jesus is the one who came to confirm the new covenant to the house of Israel, Jeremiah 31:31-34. His ministry was 3.5 years, which is in the middle of the 70th week when He was cut off. Jesus, through His apostles, confirmed the covenant to the house of Israel for the remaining 3.5 years until the death of Stephen, Acts 7:54-60. The confirming of the covenant to the house of Israel ended, and the gospel was then given to the Gentiles. 1 Corinthians 11:25, Hebrews 12:24, Hebrews 13:20.
It is not a beast that makes it desolate, we see in Matthew 23 Jesus was addressing the leaders of the Jewish nation, He was retorting to their rejection of His saving work on their behalf. They refused His call for repentance, because of their overspreading of abominations, Jesus said, "Behold your house is left unto you desolate".
This refers to the coming judgment on Jerusalem and the temple for their rejection of Jesus and the saving work of God. "even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured out on the desolate". What Jesus said your house is left unto you desolate, the consummation, the complete destruction poured out on the desolate in 70 AD.
In the King James Bible, the word love is mentioned over 300 times. There are two types of love, human love (PHILEO) and Godly love (AGAPE). Human love is a type of love that is expressed by both believers and non-believers. Godly love can only be expressed by believers. This type of love in the bible is called AGAPE love, and it is a fruit of God's Spirit, meaning it is produced by God ( Galatians 5:22).
A person who has been born of God's Spirit expresses Godly love (AGAPE) because His Spirit in them produces this type of love. A human being cannot produce this type of love.
We also know from 1 John 4:8 that love is a person, and that person is God. AGAPE is a noun that is strictly associated with God Himself. He is love!
We see in the bible ( Matthew 22:37) where is says love the Lord thy God., and love thy neighbor, and this is the word AGAPE, not PHILEO, meaning it is not human love. The only way we are able to love the Lord thy God, and love our neighbor is if we have God's Spirit in us. He gives us the ability and capacity to do so. This type of love also causes us to have a deep concern for the spiritual wellbeing of others.
The crowds as usual rejoiced in what Jesus said. This could be for several reasons; since many no doubt hated the religious establishment and perhaps non Jews were scattered about that felt the same way. They also could rejoice that there is a resurrection or just the fact that they perceived Jesus as a very clever guy.
Matthew 22:34-38
Jesus responded to the Pharisees in their third attempt to confuse or trap Him. The greatest commandment was listed as an amalgamation of the Old Testament commands. The first command was the literal first command of the Ten Commandments. The second appears in Leviticus 19:18 which many may not know.
Studying scripture further we see two examples of the 10 Commandments; both in Deuteronomy and Exodus. The idea of not coveting anything of your neighbor such a His wife (commandment #10); or committing adultery (7th Commandment) certainly show how the idea of a neighbor can tie together as one example. Sins are against God in all cases but may or may not affect other people. As to who a neighbor is we see that illustrated in Luke 10:29 which goes beyond just caring for fellow Israelites.
Matthew 22:39-end
Jesus then asks the Pharisees who the Son of man is; and quotes Psalm 110. Their concept of being a physical son of David was only in regard to the descendants of Joseph. Some of course accused Christ of being illegitimate; but the truth was that He also was NOT a physical descendant of David as we would think. This interesting truth comes from a promise made to Jeconius in Jeremiah 22 that NONE of his descendants would be king. This is another explanation of the need for a Virgin birth. No doubt Satan was watching things very carefully as we see the many attempts to destroy God's people in this lineage not the least of which was prophesied in Jeremiah 31:15 and fulfilled in Matthew 2:16-18.
It appears after this that no one asked Him any questions. His greatest trial was soon to come.
This section involves the religious rulers in the first of 3 attempts to trap Jesus. Verse 16 states "Teacher," they said, "we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are.
Sounds like a compliment but the idea was for Jesus to say something that could allow them to accuse Him of. Caesar's tax was something that could get the Romans to pursue Jesus if He stated that it wasn't necessary to pay it. We are reminded somewhat of His comments in Matthew 17:27 where Jesus asked Peter to fish a coin out the mouth of a fish so as not to insult the person asking for tribute tax. Is it possible someone heard Him and the response to Peter? At any rate if He said that it should be paid then the Pharisees and others would be upset since they hated the Romans and for the bigger reason; no doubt that they were covetous for everything they could get their hands on. Jesus simply stated to pay what is obligated to both.
This situation could be extrapolated to those today who wish to circumvent the law of the land in not paying taxes. There are taxes also which allow one to live in many Muslim nations which no doubt are unjust but it beats death; at least premature to God's timing in being a witness for Christ. My point would be that unjust subjugation isn't the issue; but unjust use of money collected if directly going against Scripture is an issue. That is not something I am going to pursue further here.
Test #2 Matthew 22: 23-32, crowd response verse 33
The Pharisees used the Herodians to test Christ; in this case we had the Sadducees who didn't believe in a Resurrection asking a question about that very subject regarding whose wife someone would have if a woman married seven times and each husband died before she did. Whatever their aim; the Resurrection was justified along with an explanation of a heavenly body
To conceive of the great Wedding Feast of all the saints of God from all parts of the earth who no doubt have suffered many things including hunger while living on the earth should be sobering to those who are at ease in this nation in a large degree. To be with Christ is really well; stupid not to be willing to give up everything on earth when He comes to take us home. It doesn't make a lot of sense really; I mean if the Disciples could leave with Christ immediately giving up their jobs and means of family support for guaranteed persecution shouldn't we want to go to be with the Lord when there is nothing but heavenly bliss to look forward to?
Surely the alarms beforehand however long they may last shouldn't allow us to be calloused; like the story of the boy crying "wolf". In this case Jesus really is coming; it isn't a fairy tale. If He comes later than we can accumulate heavenly treasures; but one day He will come and that being on a day we do not expect. ( Matt. 24:44).
We certainly don't want to end up at the other feast mentioned in Revelation 19 where the birds of the air gorge themselves on the remains of those who fight against Christ upon His return.
As His Covenant children it is much like espousal; we are part of the Body of believers and belong to Him as His purchased possession. ( Eph. 1:14). He can; as the Jewish tradition and the groom did return unexpectantly. Much as we want to be occupying until He comes doing His work ( Luke 19:13) we also don't want to be so caught up in activities; even church activities that we aren't in remembrance that He is coming. The Great Commission notwithstanding; it is too easy to be used to our routine and forget the part of it that is only a constraint while in these bodies of flesh. Such things as elaborate building projects; committee meetings; and other routine and necessary upkeep and service projects should bring us closer to God not further away.
Matthew 22:1-14 reflects the story of Luke 14 but apparently there are some differences. The summary of the parable in Matthew is this in verse 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
There is much analysis as to how this pertained to the Pharisees and the Jews rejecting Christ. I would say this also applies in other ways too; such as those who hear the Gospel message say decades ago whose hearts have dulled and those today who convert. We have to search ourselves to see if we are truly saved; but also not try to add our own righteousness which could signify not wearing the proper attire no doubt referring to the white garments we receive being needed. The need not to have our garments stained is another issue; perhaps not focused on here.
There is no doubt some reference was made here to the final call of the good and bad here; much as those who are summoned in the highways and hedges in Luke 14:23. The issue of the cares of this world or thorns that entangle us to prevent fruit from being produced is a concern here too. We are reminded of John 10:2 about the thief and robber that attempts to enter the sheepfold in a way other than the door (or Christ).
Verses such as this must be studied; with the idea of not terrifying a new believer with thoughts of our Lord throwing them out of heaven; but more importantly exhorting us with the truth of the fact that anyone can have their heart dulled and their minds distracted slowly over time. Exhortations such as this are readily accepted by those mature in the faith; just as rebuke and exhortation are. Something doesn't have to apply to us personally; but as Romans 11:22 states Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. This passage is describing the Jews who rejected the Messiah and Gentiles grafted in. True believers have faith to the end even if weak.
This seemingly insignificant tale of Peter finding a fish with a coin in it to pay for his and Jesus' expected tax (other versions say 4 Drachma coin; so it covers for 2 each due) surely has some meaning. The point Jesus brings up is for the children to make others pay tribute; in some "token" if I can use the pun true children of God shouldn't be subject to others but others subject to them.
Christ shows in His humanity that insulting someone should be avoided at all costs so greater good can be accomplished.
Matthew 22:15-22 discusses rendering to Caesar what is owed and to God the same. This shows again the same theme that we can also extend to Romans 13:7 for the church. This isn't a subject I will go into in great length here; I will say in short it is the exception rather than the rule when situations arise which we must take a stand for God and against the rules of men; particularly as Acts 5:29 illustrates when told to keep our mouths shut about Christ.
From here on several things are apparent. The miracles Christ was doing are shut down; except for the healing of the blind mentioned in Matthew 20:29-34. Secondly Jesus spoke almost exclusively in Parables at this point and third His greatest excoriation of the Pharisees was about to commence and this takes up the entire chapter 23 of Matthew.
Jesus was basically in his last weeks at this point which takes up about a third of the Gospels as far as I know (my estimate).
It reminds me in a strange way of Revelation as the final judgments seem to take the same space or more than the first but encompass weeks or maybe a few months at most. Our Lord had to focus on the Disciples knowing they would abandon Him and need to have strength to continue until Pentecost after the shock of the death of Christ who they had communed with and been shepherded by for several years. Surely Jesus didn't minimalize their grief but showed them it was for their greater good to die
The reason some don't believe the trinity is because they don't believe the scriptures and they don't believe Jesus Christ is God.
When you read this verse, Jesus Christ is the Word. The three are one and that means trinity.
1 John 5:7
For there arethreethat bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and thesethreeare one.
Jesus Christ is the Word and the Word is God.
John 1:1
In the beginning was theWord, and theWordwas with God, and theWordwas God.
Jesus Christ the Word became flesh on earth.
John 1:14
And theWordwas made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Remember that Jesus Christ is the Word of God.
Matthew 24:35
Heavenandearthshall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Matthew 28:18
AndJesus cameandspake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me inheavenandinearth.
Jesus Christ said that He is God.
Matthew 22:32
IamtheGod of Abraham, andtheGod ofIsaac, andtheGod of Jacob? Godis nottheGod ofthedead, but oftheliving.
Jesus Christ said that the Father in Heaven is one with Him in the Trinity.
John 10:30
IandmyFatherareone.
Jesus Christ is our great God and Saviour.
Titus 2:13
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Jesus Christ is the Godhead.
Colossians 2:9
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Jesus Christ is God manifested in the flesh.
1 Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
Ray, in Christ Jesus 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 God died for us on the cross.
Who is God that we should worship ? Does God really answers our prayers ? Will God save us from Hell Fire ? We never hear God's voice, so why should we believe God?
I hear those questions all the time. People just want to go on with their life and be not bothered. People love the world more then the maker of this world.
Jesus Christ said that He is God.
Matthew 22:32
IamtheGod of Abraham, andtheGod ofIsaac, andtheGod of Jacob? Godis nottheGod ofthedead, but oftheliving.
John 10:30
IandmyFatherareone.
Titus 2:13
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Now we all know who is God. Jesus Christ
Ray, in Christ Jesus 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 may Jesus Christ save you today by believing these verses , just believe only
Matthew 22:3 - And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
Notice in the King James that it says to call them that were bidden. In the Greek text, it is called the Perfect Tense. And it's literally translated, "The ones who had been invited." So, you see the invitation has already taken place. That's how the Perfect Tense works there.
From the Greek, it is telling us that they are in the condition of already having been invited, and they are there now to say okay, this is the culmination of it all, the fulfillment of it all. So, to call the ones that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Literally, they did not desire to come. Just to say no at the calling is an insult because they sent the invitations out and nobody replied back and said we are not coming. They planned all the food. But this is a king too! You don't have any choice with the king. They said, no, tell them we are not coming. So, it went back and got reported.
Matthew 22:5 - But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
First of all, they made light of it. In the Greek text, it literally means "they did not care," Zero! So, when the servants came and said, look it is all ready, they said we don't care. We don't want to go. They didn't care!
Matthew 22:38 - This is the first and great commandment.
Well, it is not a commandment. Some say that God commanded it, just like He said let there be light. He says in the OT, that my people WILL LOVE, because I will put my Spirit in them, and I will write my laws on their heart, and they will love me.
You see, God gives us the ability to love Him because in the natural, we do not have that capability. So, Jesus says this is the first commandment. Now, how many years have we gone thinking that the first commandment is a commandment? But the commandment is YOU WILL. There is no choice there! It is not an invitation like I hope you will, or could you, or should you.
You will, because God's Spirit is the one who has the love. He is the one who loves. And when you have God's Spirit in you, you are in God's love. Plus, we have to be sensitive to the fact that AGAPE love is not an action, it is a person.
Matthew 23:5 - But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
A phylactery is a small box. In the OT, God told the children of Israel to keep the commandments of God fresh in their minds, and fresh on their foreheads. So, what they did was they took a strap, and they took a little box, and they put the Hebrew Scriptures on a little tiny scroll, and they put it in a box.
And they closed the box, and they walked around with this little box on their head to keep reminding them to keep the commandments of God. Very interesting! Maybe you have seen some pictures? Orthodox Jews will do it today.
So, what He is saying is, and it is called a phylactery. They don't just have a little box here. The Pharisees have like "apple crates" you know? That is how spiritual I am, look at my phylactery!
Matthew 22:18 - But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?
Jesus is not name calling. Hypocrite is a theater term, or an acting term. Every time an actor/actress would read their script, or perform according to the script, they were called HUPOCRISIS, hypocrites. It wasn't a bad word. But when applied to religious people, what you're saying is "you're just acting!" You're just acting out according to the script, but inside it's not true, it's not real. What the Lord is saying is that you actors come in here with all of this flattery, and all of your craftiness, and you're trying to set me up.
Matthew 22:37 - Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Two things I'd like to emphasize: First, the term "Thou shalt love" is not in command form. It is a Future Active Indicative in the Greek text. It's not a command. It's a factual statement. You will love!
Secondly, if you understand the concept, you can apply it to every teaching that applies to the church, and to believers today. For instance, believers are supposed to love one another. But, neither in the OT, nor in the NT, is it in command form. It's interesting that when the Lord quotes Deuteronomy 6:5, He quotes it exactly and says the first commandment is this: "You shall love the Lord your God."
But taking it a little further from a Greek perspective, notice the word "with." Love the Lord your God WITH all your heart and WITH all your soul and WITH all your mind. Well, it is the Greek word EN, which means in. All three prepositional phrases are "in." You will love the Lord your God in your whole heart, in your whole soul, and in your whole mind.
Do you see the location? I am not going to love with it. I am going to be in it. It is going to be in me, in my inner being. That is how it is literally translated in the Greek.
Matthew 22:9 - Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
Go ye therefore into the highways, literally in the Greek Text, it's a phrase that means the connective highways outside of the city. Outside of cities, they had these connecting links where you could go down the main road and there would be an off-road that would come into the city.
But at the intersection of all these highways and roads out there is where all the traffic was going. It's much like our freeway systems that go right by town, if you want to get off at a certain town, you just take the off ramp. If you want to do any kind of good business, you go out on highways and you go outside the city to all this traffic that's going by. Most people walked or they took wagons, or horses, or something so they would see you off on the side of the road. But it's that connecting link of highways outside of the city that's mentioned in the Greek text.
Matthew 22:10 - So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
Bad is the word PONAYROS. These are not bad people. These were evil people! And the good is AGATHOS, Good people. So, its God's people, and the evil, sinners. He says to gather everybody up.
It says that the wedding was furnished with guests. Our English text makes it sound like the wedding was furnished with people. The word guests here means recliners. They would always recline. They would lean on one elbow and have their feet lying backwards away from the table and with one hand they would eat.
That's why in John's Gospel, it talks about the disciple leaning back on Jesus' bosom to ask Him a question. It's because he's leaning back, and Jesus was right behind him so he could ask Him the question. They were all reclining at the table.
Matthew 21:9 - And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
Hosanna is a Hebrew word that means "save now." It is a compound Hebrew word HOSHEA, which means save, and NA which means now. So, they are saying Hosanna to the Son of David. And again, that is a term for Messiah. "Save Now Messiah" is what they are singing. Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. They are singing praise to Him.
Matthew 21:10 - And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
The Greek word for moved is SEISMOS. That is where we get seismology from, the study of earth movement. You have to remember that there are a few million people in Jerusalem, wall-to-wall people. And they're going who is this? What is going on here? Singing messianic praises to this man and giving him a dignitary's welcome into Jerusalem. So, they are saying, who is this?
Matthew 22:2 - The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king (so this is now royalty), which made a marriage for his son.
I want to emphasize the word GAMOS that is used here, because it is not a wedding. It is a wedding feast. The wedding is part of it, but we are talking here about the festivities that are at least seven days and can be 10 or 14 days.
I do not want to drag this out, I did not mean to insinuate that angels have sex in heaven, Matthew 22:30 and Mark 12:25 have nothing to do with the biological sex of angels. All I said is this verse says when we are resurrected, we will be as the angels, immortal. There will be a day when the last baby is born on this earth.
Devils/demons and angels are two different beings, the Bible does not really tell us how devils/demons came to be, they do not have bodies and have to possess one as we see in Matthew 12:43-45 and other places, Angels have bodies and can attack us in our surroundings outside of our bodies, they can hurt us on the outside but they cannot possess our body, I can testify to that I have had personal confrontations with both, that is something I pray I do not have to go through again but if so, my Lord will be there with me as He was then.
Just me, if the ones locked in chains of darkness refused to obey a command from God Satan would have already been locked up but he is still disobeying and creating havoc. Were there actual Giants, to my studies they are not of the human race their size is outside of any human, it is up to one's own belief, this is just a discussion that has no relevance to salvation.
Thanks for your reply, I know many have the understanding the sons of God in Genesis 6 are the line of Seth and the daughters of men are of Cain and those not following God. I will just give a little of my understanding not in debate.
Scripture tells us there were Nephilim/giants in the world before and after the flood Genesis 6:42 Samuel 21:16Joshua 12:4Numbers 13:33Deuteronomy 2:19-21Amos 2:9 Also in Joshua 13, 15, 17, 18, 2 Samuel 21 and 1 Chronicles 20 Also, in the Old Testament, there is the Rephaim or Rephaites, and the context describes them as giants. so, where did they come from?
2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 1: 6 tell us of a group of angels who left their first estate and are locked in darkness. Many other fallen angels we battle including Satan are on this earth 2 Corinthians 11:14-15. But these angels are locked in darkness until judgment, and we see in Revelation 9:11 they have a king. These angels had to do something far greater than rebelling against God, my understanding is they adulterated God's creation, we see how corrupt it got.
We know from Jude and 2 Peter angels sinned, kept not their first estate, and left their habitation. Estate means condition, status, and dominion, and habitation means residence or dwelling place. I understand how many takes Matthew 22:30 and Mark 12:25 but Jesus is not referring to sex He is saying when we are resurrected, we will be like the angels in heaven who are immortal. We are mortal, we have to marry and reproduce when we are resurrected, we will be raised immortal same as the angels no more need to marry and reproduce, and we will be on the earth not heaven.
We see angels come down on earth that have bodies, they can eat and drink, Genesis 18:1-8 and other places like Hebrews 13:2. To me the angels who left their estate is where these giants came from, and we see when Israel went into the promised land God wiped out the giants or had them kill them all even the children.
I have been following this discussion I would just ask this, I believe your understanding is everyone is predetermined to be saved or not. What kind of justice is that and why would there even be a judgment? 2 Cor. 5:10 God knows the end from the beginning, and we have been given the way to eternal life with Him and His Son Jesus Christ.
When all is over we read in Rev. 20:11-15, is the final judgment, if our final destination is predetermined and we do not have a choice to accept and believe or reject God's word and the gospel of Christ that God sent His Son to die for our sins and was resurrected from the dead and is setting on the right hand of God that gives us our only hope of salvation and eternal life, why and what for are we going to be judged if we had no obligation to believe and be obedient.
Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen. We must answer the call and believe to be saved, believing is on us, God's mercy and grace are what saves us. God wants all to be saved but not all will accept His gift that we do not deserve or cannot earn by anything we can do but believe.
Some say, look at Abraham, look at Paul, God revealed Himself to them directly like He has not done in other people. Yes but He knew they would accept and obey Him. The same way He revealed Himself to Saul the king (as well to other kings), to Judas, to Balaam, to Demas, to name a few. To the Pharisees and Sadducees that had seen so many miracles but still paid the guards of Jesus' tomb to say that the disciples had stolen His body or they wanted to kill Lazarus together with Jesus because they understood that people would believe to Jesus. So it is not a matter of God's will but a matter of people's response to Him. Others say that if God doesn't grand repentance to people, nobody will repent. This is true but we have to understand how that repentance is granted by God. Not in a "magical" (again) way. Miracles are something that God uses for this purpose. His word is another way. His appearance to one is another way God uses, and so on. Often healings is also another way God uses to soften people's heart.. But again the response is not always acceptance by people.
And something else. There are verses in the scriptures where the word "chosen" in grk has the meaning of "precious, valuable". Like in Matthew 22:14, "For many are called, but few are chosen". Here the proper translation of the grk "eklektos" is precious. Which means that many have been called but few have accepted that invitation and for God they are precious, valuable. It is our response to Him that makes us precious to Him, not a somehow discriminative approach of God whom He selects and whom not.
Thank you, Jesus shamed the leaders of Jerusalem about traditions, Matthew 15:3 and we are told in Colossians 2:8. My understanding is when we believe in our heart that Jesus is the Son of God and the only way to salvation we are justified by God's grace, Romans 3:24 and being baptized is being obedient to God's word, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: We then start the road to sanctification by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, Titus 3:5.
Jesus Christ has done everything necessary for our salvation and all we do we do in is name including being baptized, Colossians 3:17. He paid the penalty that our sins deserved by His sacrificial death on the cross. His death satisfied God's justice and turned away His wrath from us. God calls us but we must answer we must believe and be obedient to Him to be chosen, Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
When we are baptized in the Name of Jesus we have put on Christ, Galatians 3:27. Being baptized is obedience, Ephesians 2:102 Thessalonians 1:8, every believer who has opportunity will be baptized in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism is the result of salvation, not the means to it.
Our obedience strengthens our faith, obedience shows our love for God, and our obedience to God's word is essential and it is not works. Those who are obedient are imitators of Christ and are willingly submitting to the authority, His will, and the word of God.
We are called by God, Matthew 22:14, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and the only way to the Father, John 14:6. Anyone can be baptized but he that believeth and is baptized will be saved, Mark 16:16. This is on us, it is our obedience to the Father, we must truly in our heart believe Jesus is the Son of God the Messiah/Christ, and our only hope of salvation, we cannot do that as a baby. It is not a ritual we can check a box on the way to salvation it is between us and God and it must be done in the name of Jesus that we see in the entire New Testament.
When we are baptized in the name of Jesus, what we see in the Bible, we are submerged in water, we die to sin, and are buried in death with Jesus, and when we are raised from the water we are raised into a new life in Christ. We are justified and our journey then begins with sanctification in our walk in the Holy Spirit.
For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
This was brought up recently in a video about the end times; and since I never noticed this verse before, and its importance to what is going on at present I thought I should expound on it a bit. I have trouble finding the history on YouTube but the concept was separation that God is using which will come to fruition starting at the Rapture and during the Tribulation as well.
This is all part of the bigger concept that God uses all things; including the Devil for His own purposes. A strong God fearing church will be able to withstand heresies when they come. Now in this verse those being approved could refer to those who will be elevated to church leadership roles; but of course it also could mean that it shows those who are true saints (wheat) as compared to the tares.
In considering this topic; I also have been contemplating the misuse of the term "love" as compared with the AGAPE which should supercede any affections we have personally and toward others. Matthew 22:42 asks what do ye think of Christ (speaking to the Pharisees). Whether a legalistic approach of pride toward being one of Abraham's natural descendants or a lax liberal mentality toward anything that was regarded as moral standards a couple generations ago Christ is reduced to the level of whatever best suits our imagination rather than held as God in the flesh; high and lifted up our Creator and the sustainer of our natural and eternal existence. 1 Corinthians 13:6 gives further emphasis to this concept; we are not to rejoice in evil but in the good. We also see in the surrounding verses in chapter 13 further details on God's type of love which is helpful for restoration in marriages in particular.
The big picture here shows how the final one world religion is coming; the first part of the Tribulation with Mystery Babylon.
The one and only purpose of mankind is to love and worship God and to treat others as we would want to be treated. If we choose to do this we are promised by our Creater an eternal life of unimaginably bless with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Hello Adam. I consider your question through two separate perspectives: one, before the incarnation of the Word of God and the other, after it. From my readings of the whole Word of God, I don't believe that the writers of the OT nor their hearers would have understood any other concept or acceptance of the God's Nature other than 'He is One & there is none beside Him' (e.g. Isaiah 45:5.6).
Even the "Shema Yisrael" ( Deuteronomy 6:4,5) is Israel's central belief & affirmation on the singularity of God's Person, & any suggestion of a 'compound' Nature of God would be anathema. Also Isaiah 53:1-12 and Isaiah 9:6,7 references to a coming Messiah, which should clearly reveal the Divine Nature of a Coming One, is discarded by them, then & now. So, anything of a Triune God must be rejected by the Jew, & only the operation of God by His Spirit (i.e. God revealing Himself & working before them) should be acceptable to them (e.g. Psalm 51:10,11; Isaiah 11:2; & many others). As believers though, we can see the Triune God in operation in the whole Bible, but Israel is blinded to this Truth & their hearts hardened.
When Jesus came & spoke (e.g. John 16:27,28; John 17:5), He declared His Divine Nature, that which was not revealed before. So your reference ( Matthew 22:32), speaks primarily of the One Nature of God; but to those who believe, having received salvation through Jesus Christ, know that the God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob was always the Triune God, Who would one day manifest Himself fully to a needy world: God's Word first by the prophets, now given through His Word made flesh ( Hebrews 1:1-3) . What Israel knew of the One God then, should have revealed the full Nature of a Triune God at the appearance of their Messiah. But their eyes were blinded & hearts hardened. Therefore, as Christians, I believe that we should see God (in the OT & NT) as a Triune God, manifesting Himself also as His Word and His Spirit going forth to accomplish His Will over His creation.
"Hello Giannis: I appreciate your comments but I politely disagree with both. The names (not quotes) you gave me were Catholics not Christians. Big difference. If you don't mind, would you be able to respond with quotes to show historical proof of what you say.
Galatians 4: 9-11 Again this deals with the corruption of the laws, statues and ordinances that Moses gave; the Laws of Moses, not the Commandments of God. Moses' laws were done away with through the Cross, Jesus summed up the Commandments of God into 2, Matthew 22: 37-40 "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. (First 4 of God's commandments) And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. (Last 6 of God's commandments). On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Verse 40 is referring to the real laws and words from the prophets that God gave, not the corrupted versions of the people. Just like today as most people use the modern translations of the bible written by men instead of the one true translation written by the Holy Spirit. Those true believers who go to church on Sunday and read modern versions of the bible are doing NO wrong, not unless God has revealed the truth to them and they deny it. I'm not talking about these discussions I am presenting to this group, as being revealed to you, I am talking about a real conviction of the Holy Spirit as I have received. Those experiences are between the believer and God, but I won't remain silent on the subjects either. God Bless :)
PS As I said, these postings were premature. They need corrections. More later."
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So Jesus' question to them was: 'Who is the Christ (the Messiah), whose Son is He'? They obviously knew that when the expected Messiah would come, He would be born into the world in a Jewish family and would be their Savior (leading them to freedom from their enemies and rule over them righteously). But as we know, Jesus came first to free them from bondage to their greater enemy, the Devil, who kept them blind, ignorant, in sin, and estranged from the God Whom they worshiped. But even in their blindness to their sin and Who Jesus really was, they did answer Him correctly to a point: that the Christ would come from the loins of King David.
Taking them from this word of confession that the Messiah would be the son of David, Jesus then asks them another question (similar to your question): 'If the Messiah is David's son (i.e. in the lineage of David), how then could David call Him, Lord?' And here Jesus took them back to the Psalm they knew well: Psalm 110. If King David, speaking by God's Spirit calls his son 'Lord', how can he then be his son as well? He can only be one or the other: either a biological son or the Lord from Heaven, not both. Or could it be?
So Matthew 22:46 tells us that no one could give Jesus the answer to that question. Because if they were astute, yet humble enough, reason would tell them that the Son of David Whom they expected as their Messiah was also the Lord from Heaven ( John 3:13). Yes, the Divine Birth was shown to them through this Psalm: God came in the flesh through the lineage of King David, and He was standing before them - as the Son of Man and the Son of God. So King David could well say, "The LORD (God) said unto my Lord (Jesus, my Messiah)..". David could see Him in the distance but the Jews were blinded.
Tithing is very good, if it helps towards building up the real church, the body of Christ. Tith is only one- tenth; But what about the remaining 9? ( Luke 17:17).
We are created in God's image and we bear Christ's name and seal on us ( Matthew 22:19-21). We are requested to offer ourselves (fully, not one- tenth) as a living sacrifice to God ( Romans 12:1). Then the people in our contacts may get the message of the Good News and turn to God. To live a Christian life (means complete surrender to His will) is the way to win our dear ones for Christ ( 1 Peter 3:1-2) The Cross may be heavy, but the end is glorious beyond imagination ( Psalms 126:5)
It is interesting to look at my life when I was in my teens. I always envied my grandmother who lived nearby because she had a place to herself and talked to the Lord somewhat about that situation in my life. Well; circumstances came to pass to allow for that before I came here; and now that my mom has passed and my Dad is in a facility. My situation has allowed me to do a lot of thinking since I was young and I guess so much introspection and some natural writing ability has helped me on this forum.
Now I have known some who have had issues; even being upset when they didn't have someone and friends were getting married.
I can't say that there aren't disadvantages along with the advantages here. It seems more like a foreign concept or world to me seeing others living near me who have; more or less "normal" relationships of husband; wife and children. Of that I am alway grateful as so many are in disfunctional families today. I am also blessed to live in an area heavily policed with decent people no less in that capacity in general; although I am aware of some things from sources I will leave anonymous that certain things were overlooked which shouldn't have been. Nonetheless having a quiet place to sleep is something I am blessed to have after many years of contentious people with apartment living.
Being able to take the time; sometimes several hours such as with my one friend talking; and shopping; taking walks; etc is something I couldn't do in a different setting; nor could I have spent several years when I did first come home taking care of my parents who needed the help.
Overall; I know that Jesus said in Matthew 22:30 that people in heaven wouldn't marry; and there are other verses which say the eunich and those without children will still be blessed even more (See Isaiah 54:1). Other scripture talks about God's faithfullness in Psalms even if our mother and father forsake us; and I assume wives also.
Death is an enemy ( 1 Corinthians 15:26); but God aso states that He is the God of the living not the dead ( Matthew 22:32).
We read in 1 Corinthians 15:55-57
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
It may seem like overstating the obvious here; but death for a believer; TRULY BORN AGAIN is a victory while for the unsaved is anything but. It may be true at funerals that relatives claim that their loved one is with the Lord; but for someone who is clearly saved should have a more demonstrative rejoicing in that regard than the world in their feigned attempt to convince everyone of the same fact when it is likely the person is suffering in hades.
I state this after seeing a reaction at a funeral for someone in our church the other week; apparently someone there was very uncomfortable hearing scriptures related to where we go as a believer after death. This is probably why many dumb down what should in reality be an atmosphere of joy. I am not saying that grief shouldn't occur but as Paul stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15
13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord's word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
(Whew thought I lost all this work)...
All this discussion at the funeral led to this particular concept of sleep; but our Pastor does NOT believe in "soul sleep". We certainly rest from our works and for a while in His presence ( Rev. 6:11)
We are not far apart. First, to answer your question, will I walk away? The answer is NO! I know Romans 1:28 didn't fit, but it reflects what I was thinking of someone I knew when I wrote it. Only God knows the heart of man. What was in my mind was a person I knew, and anyone who knew them would say this person was a true Christian.
This person lost a child, and they completely changed. Over time, they turned into the opposite of who they were, and this verse fits what I saw happen to this person. This is one of the reasons I believe someone can fall away; only God knows if that is what happened. John 6:44, we may see this as the gospel today, the words of God are preached, which draws people, but that is not coming to Christ himself.
Then we have Matthew 22:14: Many are called, but few are chosen. Some who hear will fully embrace it and be accepted by God, while others will not. We are drawn or called, but is it not up to us to go and believe?
How do we understand verses like Hebrews 3:12-14? This is directed at those in Christ. 1 Timothy 4:1-2, My understanding, this goes with 2 Thessalonians 2:3 and Revelation 13:7-10; here is the patience of the saints. This is a true falling away, John 1.5:4-6; we must continue to abide in Him. Romans 11:19-22, we can be cut off.
James 1:12 is another blessed is a man that endureth, if he does, he will receive a crown of life. As in Revelation 2:10, faithful unto death. I respect you, but to me, there are too many warnings to endure and overcome until our death. We cannot ignore that; we must encourage each other to stay strong in our faith.
Not to spark another debate, I believe the great falling away is connected to when the beast rises and the persecution begins. Many think they will be taken out, but are not; they will be here. My understanding is Christ will never forsake us; the only thing that can separate us from Him is us.
Thanks again, brother,
God bless,
RLW
Part 2
Daniel 9, there are 69 weeks from the commandment unto the Messiah. I understand this is when Jesus was baptized and anointed with the Holy Spirit, becoming the Messiah. In verse 26, Jesus's ministry was 3.5 years when Jesus was cut off/crucified, this would be 69.5 weeks. It is the people/army of the prince that will come and destroy, not the prince. We see a parable relating to this very thing, Matthew 22:1-7.
In verse 27, Jesus is the one who came to confirm the new covenant to the house of Israel, Jeremiah 31:31-34. His ministry was 3.5 years, which is in the middle of the 70th week when He was cut off. Jesus, through His apostles, confirmed the covenant to the house of Israel for the remaining 3.5 years until the death of Stephen, Acts 7:54-60. The confirming of the covenant to the house of Israel ended, and the gospel was then given to the Gentiles. 1 Corinthians 11:25, Hebrews 12:24, Hebrews 13:20.
It is not a beast that makes it desolate, we see in Matthew 23 Jesus was addressing the leaders of the Jewish nation, He was retorting to their rejection of His saving work on their behalf. They refused His call for repentance, because of their overspreading of abominations, Jesus said, "Behold your house is left unto you desolate".
This refers to the coming judgment on Jerusalem and the temple for their rejection of Jesus and the saving work of God. "even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured out on the desolate". What Jesus said your house is left unto you desolate, the consummation, the complete destruction poured out on the desolate in 70 AD.
Thank you, brother.
God bless,
RLW
In the King James Bible, the word love is mentioned over 300 times. There are two types of love, human love (PHILEO) and Godly love (AGAPE). Human love is a type of love that is expressed by both believers and non-believers. Godly love can only be expressed by believers. This type of love in the bible is called AGAPE love, and it is a fruit of God's Spirit, meaning it is produced by God ( Galatians 5:22).
A person who has been born of God's Spirit expresses Godly love (AGAPE) because His Spirit in them produces this type of love. A human being cannot produce this type of love.
We also know from 1 John 4:8 that love is a person, and that person is God. AGAPE is a noun that is strictly associated with God Himself. He is love!
We see in the bible ( Matthew 22:37) where is says love the Lord thy God., and love thy neighbor, and this is the word AGAPE, not PHILEO, meaning it is not human love. The only way we are able to love the Lord thy God, and love our neighbor is if we have God's Spirit in us. He gives us the ability and capacity to do so. This type of love also causes us to have a deep concern for the spiritual wellbeing of others.
I hope this helps!
The crowds as usual rejoiced in what Jesus said. This could be for several reasons; since many no doubt hated the religious establishment and perhaps non Jews were scattered about that felt the same way. They also could rejoice that there is a resurrection or just the fact that they perceived Jesus as a very clever guy.
Matthew 22:34-38
Jesus responded to the Pharisees in their third attempt to confuse or trap Him. The greatest commandment was listed as an amalgamation of the Old Testament commands. The first command was the literal first command of the Ten Commandments. The second appears in Leviticus 19:18 which many may not know.
Studying scripture further we see two examples of the 10 Commandments; both in Deuteronomy and Exodus. The idea of not coveting anything of your neighbor such a His wife (commandment #10); or committing adultery (7th Commandment) certainly show how the idea of a neighbor can tie together as one example. Sins are against God in all cases but may or may not affect other people. As to who a neighbor is we see that illustrated in Luke 10:29 which goes beyond just caring for fellow Israelites.
Matthew 22:39-end
Jesus then asks the Pharisees who the Son of man is; and quotes Psalm 110. Their concept of being a physical son of David was only in regard to the descendants of Joseph. Some of course accused Christ of being illegitimate; but the truth was that He also was NOT a physical descendant of David as we would think. This interesting truth comes from a promise made to Jeconius in Jeremiah 22 that NONE of his descendants would be king. This is another explanation of the need for a Virgin birth. No doubt Satan was watching things very carefully as we see the many attempts to destroy God's people in this lineage not the least of which was prophesied in Jeremiah 31:15 and fulfilled in Matthew 2:16-18.
It appears after this that no one asked Him any questions. His greatest trial was soon to come.
This section involves the religious rulers in the first of 3 attempts to trap Jesus. Verse 16 states "Teacher," they said, "we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are.
Sounds like a compliment but the idea was for Jesus to say something that could allow them to accuse Him of. Caesar's tax was something that could get the Romans to pursue Jesus if He stated that it wasn't necessary to pay it. We are reminded somewhat of His comments in Matthew 17:27 where Jesus asked Peter to fish a coin out the mouth of a fish so as not to insult the person asking for tribute tax. Is it possible someone heard Him and the response to Peter? At any rate if He said that it should be paid then the Pharisees and others would be upset since they hated the Romans and for the bigger reason; no doubt that they were covetous for everything they could get their hands on. Jesus simply stated to pay what is obligated to both.
This situation could be extrapolated to those today who wish to circumvent the law of the land in not paying taxes. There are taxes also which allow one to live in many Muslim nations which no doubt are unjust but it beats death; at least premature to God's timing in being a witness for Christ. My point would be that unjust subjugation isn't the issue; but unjust use of money collected if directly going against Scripture is an issue. That is not something I am going to pursue further here.
Test #2 Matthew 22: 23-32, crowd response verse 33
The Pharisees used the Herodians to test Christ; in this case we had the Sadducees who didn't believe in a Resurrection asking a question about that very subject regarding whose wife someone would have if a woman married seven times and each husband died before she did. Whatever their aim; the Resurrection was justified along with an explanation of a heavenly body
To conceive of the great Wedding Feast of all the saints of God from all parts of the earth who no doubt have suffered many things including hunger while living on the earth should be sobering to those who are at ease in this nation in a large degree. To be with Christ is really well; stupid not to be willing to give up everything on earth when He comes to take us home. It doesn't make a lot of sense really; I mean if the Disciples could leave with Christ immediately giving up their jobs and means of family support for guaranteed persecution shouldn't we want to go to be with the Lord when there is nothing but heavenly bliss to look forward to?
Surely the alarms beforehand however long they may last shouldn't allow us to be calloused; like the story of the boy crying "wolf". In this case Jesus really is coming; it isn't a fairy tale. If He comes later than we can accumulate heavenly treasures; but one day He will come and that being on a day we do not expect. ( Matt. 24:44).
We certainly don't want to end up at the other feast mentioned in Revelation 19 where the birds of the air gorge themselves on the remains of those who fight against Christ upon His return.
As His Covenant children it is much like espousal; we are part of the Body of believers and belong to Him as His purchased possession. ( Eph. 1:14). He can; as the Jewish tradition and the groom did return unexpectantly. Much as we want to be occupying until He comes doing His work ( Luke 19:13) we also don't want to be so caught up in activities; even church activities that we aren't in remembrance that He is coming. The Great Commission notwithstanding; it is too easy to be used to our routine and forget the part of it that is only a constraint while in these bodies of flesh. Such things as elaborate building projects; committee meetings; and other routine and necessary upkeep and service projects should bring us closer to God not further away.
There is much analysis as to how this pertained to the Pharisees and the Jews rejecting Christ. I would say this also applies in other ways too; such as those who hear the Gospel message say decades ago whose hearts have dulled and those today who convert. We have to search ourselves to see if we are truly saved; but also not try to add our own righteousness which could signify not wearing the proper attire no doubt referring to the white garments we receive being needed. The need not to have our garments stained is another issue; perhaps not focused on here.
There is no doubt some reference was made here to the final call of the good and bad here; much as those who are summoned in the highways and hedges in Luke 14:23. The issue of the cares of this world or thorns that entangle us to prevent fruit from being produced is a concern here too. We are reminded of John 10:2 about the thief and robber that attempts to enter the sheepfold in a way other than the door (or Christ).
Verses such as this must be studied; with the idea of not terrifying a new believer with thoughts of our Lord throwing them out of heaven; but more importantly exhorting us with the truth of the fact that anyone can have their heart dulled and their minds distracted slowly over time. Exhortations such as this are readily accepted by those mature in the faith; just as rebuke and exhortation are. Something doesn't have to apply to us personally; but as Romans 11:22 states Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. This passage is describing the Jews who rejected the Messiah and Gentiles grafted in. True believers have faith to the end even if weak.
This seemingly insignificant tale of Peter finding a fish with a coin in it to pay for his and Jesus' expected tax (other versions say 4 Drachma coin; so it covers for 2 each due) surely has some meaning. The point Jesus brings up is for the children to make others pay tribute; in some "token" if I can use the pun true children of God shouldn't be subject to others but others subject to them.
Christ shows in His humanity that insulting someone should be avoided at all costs so greater good can be accomplished.
Matthew 22:15-22 discusses rendering to Caesar what is owed and to God the same. This shows again the same theme that we can also extend to Romans 13:7 for the church. This isn't a subject I will go into in great length here; I will say in short it is the exception rather than the rule when situations arise which we must take a stand for God and against the rules of men; particularly as Acts 5:29 illustrates when told to keep our mouths shut about Christ.
From here on several things are apparent. The miracles Christ was doing are shut down; except for the healing of the blind mentioned in Matthew 20:29-34. Secondly Jesus spoke almost exclusively in Parables at this point and third His greatest excoriation of the Pharisees was about to commence and this takes up the entire chapter 23 of Matthew.
Jesus was basically in his last weeks at this point which takes up about a third of the Gospels as far as I know (my estimate).
It reminds me in a strange way of Revelation as the final judgments seem to take the same space or more than the first but encompass weeks or maybe a few months at most. Our Lord had to focus on the Disciples knowing they would abandon Him and need to have strength to continue until Pentecost after the shock of the death of Christ who they had communed with and been shepherded by for several years. Surely Jesus didn't minimalize their grief but showed them it was for their greater good to die
When you read this verse, Jesus Christ is the Word. The three are one and that means trinity.
1 John 5:7
For there arethreethat bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and thesethreeare one.
Jesus Christ is the Word and the Word is God.
John 1:1
In the beginning was theWord, and theWordwas with God, and theWordwas God.
Jesus Christ the Word became flesh on earth.
John 1:14
And theWordwas made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Remember that Jesus Christ is the Word of God.
Matthew 24:35
Heavenandearthshall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Matthew 28:18
AndJesus cameandspake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me inheavenandinearth.
Jesus Christ said that He is God.
Matthew 22:32
IamtheGod of Abraham, andtheGod ofIsaac, andtheGod of Jacob? Godis nottheGod ofthedead, but oftheliving.
Jesus Christ said that the Father in Heaven is one with Him in the Trinity.
John 10:30
IandmyFatherareone.
Jesus Christ is our great God and Saviour.
Titus 2:13
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Jesus Christ is the Godhead.
Colossians 2:9
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Jesus Christ is God manifested in the flesh.
1 Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
Ray, in Christ Jesus 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 God died for us on the cross.
I hear those questions all the time. People just want to go on with their life and be not bothered. People love the world more then the maker of this world.
Jesus Christ said that He is God.
Matthew 22:32
IamtheGod of Abraham, andtheGod ofIsaac, andtheGod of Jacob? Godis nottheGod ofthedead, but oftheliving.
John 10:30
IandmyFatherareone.
Titus 2:13
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Now we all know who is God. Jesus Christ
Ray, in Christ Jesus 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 may Jesus Christ save you today by believing these verses , just believe only
Matthew 22:3 - And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
Notice in the King James that it says to call them that were bidden. In the Greek text, it is called the Perfect Tense. And it's literally translated, "The ones who had been invited." So, you see the invitation has already taken place. That's how the Perfect Tense works there.
From the Greek, it is telling us that they are in the condition of already having been invited, and they are there now to say okay, this is the culmination of it all, the fulfillment of it all. So, to call the ones that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Literally, they did not desire to come. Just to say no at the calling is an insult because they sent the invitations out and nobody replied back and said we are not coming. They planned all the food. But this is a king too! You don't have any choice with the king. They said, no, tell them we are not coming. So, it went back and got reported.
Matthew 22:5 - But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
First of all, they made light of it. In the Greek text, it literally means "they did not care," Zero! So, when the servants came and said, look it is all ready, they said we don't care. We don't want to go. They didn't care!
Matthew 22:38 - This is the first and great commandment.
Well, it is not a commandment. Some say that God commanded it, just like He said let there be light. He says in the OT, that my people WILL LOVE, because I will put my Spirit in them, and I will write my laws on their heart, and they will love me.
You see, God gives us the ability to love Him because in the natural, we do not have that capability. So, Jesus says this is the first commandment. Now, how many years have we gone thinking that the first commandment is a commandment? But the commandment is YOU WILL. There is no choice there! It is not an invitation like I hope you will, or could you, or should you.
You will, because God's Spirit is the one who has the love. He is the one who loves. And when you have God's Spirit in you, you are in God's love. Plus, we have to be sensitive to the fact that AGAPE love is not an action, it is a person.
Matthew 23:5 - But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
A phylactery is a small box. In the OT, God told the children of Israel to keep the commandments of God fresh in their minds, and fresh on their foreheads. So, what they did was they took a strap, and they took a little box, and they put the Hebrew Scriptures on a little tiny scroll, and they put it in a box.
And they closed the box, and they walked around with this little box on their head to keep reminding them to keep the commandments of God. Very interesting! Maybe you have seen some pictures? Orthodox Jews will do it today.
So, what He is saying is, and it is called a phylactery. They don't just have a little box here. The Pharisees have like "apple crates" you know? That is how spiritual I am, look at my phylactery!
Continuation in Matthew, (Part 28):
Matthew 22:18 - But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?
Jesus is not name calling. Hypocrite is a theater term, or an acting term. Every time an actor/actress would read their script, or perform according to the script, they were called HUPOCRISIS, hypocrites. It wasn't a bad word. But when applied to religious people, what you're saying is "you're just acting!" You're just acting out according to the script, but inside it's not true, it's not real. What the Lord is saying is that you actors come in here with all of this flattery, and all of your craftiness, and you're trying to set me up.
Matthew 22:37 - Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Two things I'd like to emphasize: First, the term "Thou shalt love" is not in command form. It is a Future Active Indicative in the Greek text. It's not a command. It's a factual statement. You will love!
Secondly, if you understand the concept, you can apply it to every teaching that applies to the church, and to believers today. For instance, believers are supposed to love one another. But, neither in the OT, nor in the NT, is it in command form. It's interesting that when the Lord quotes Deuteronomy 6:5, He quotes it exactly and says the first commandment is this: "You shall love the Lord your God."
But taking it a little further from a Greek perspective, notice the word "with." Love the Lord your God WITH all your heart and WITH all your soul and WITH all your mind. Well, it is the Greek word EN, which means in. All three prepositional phrases are "in." You will love the Lord your God in your whole heart, in your whole soul, and in your whole mind.
Do you see the location? I am not going to love with it. I am going to be in it. It is going to be in me, in my inner being. That is how it is literally translated in the Greek.
Matthew 22:9 - Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
Go ye therefore into the highways, literally in the Greek Text, it's a phrase that means the connective highways outside of the city. Outside of cities, they had these connecting links where you could go down the main road and there would be an off-road that would come into the city.
But at the intersection of all these highways and roads out there is where all the traffic was going. It's much like our freeway systems that go right by town, if you want to get off at a certain town, you just take the off ramp. If you want to do any kind of good business, you go out on highways and you go outside the city to all this traffic that's going by. Most people walked or they took wagons, or horses, or something so they would see you off on the side of the road. But it's that connecting link of highways outside of the city that's mentioned in the Greek text.
Matthew 22:10 - So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
Bad is the word PONAYROS. These are not bad people. These were evil people! And the good is AGATHOS, Good people. So, its God's people, and the evil, sinners. He says to gather everybody up.
It says that the wedding was furnished with guests. Our English text makes it sound like the wedding was furnished with people. The word guests here means recliners. They would always recline. They would lean on one elbow and have their feet lying backwards away from the table and with one hand they would eat.
That's why in John's Gospel, it talks about the disciple leaning back on Jesus' bosom to ask Him a question. It's because he's leaning back, and Jesus was right behind him so he could ask Him the question. They were all reclining at the table.
Matthew 21:9 - And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
Hosanna is a Hebrew word that means "save now." It is a compound Hebrew word HOSHEA, which means save, and NA which means now. So, they are saying Hosanna to the Son of David. And again, that is a term for Messiah. "Save Now Messiah" is what they are singing. Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. They are singing praise to Him.
Matthew 21:10 - And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
The Greek word for moved is SEISMOS. That is where we get seismology from, the study of earth movement. You have to remember that there are a few million people in Jerusalem, wall-to-wall people. And they're going who is this? What is going on here? Singing messianic praises to this man and giving him a dignitary's welcome into Jerusalem. So, they are saying, who is this?
Matthew 22:2 - The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king (so this is now royalty), which made a marriage for his son.
I want to emphasize the word GAMOS that is used here, because it is not a wedding. It is a wedding feast. The wedding is part of it, but we are talking here about the festivities that are at least seven days and can be 10 or 14 days.
I do not want to drag this out, I did not mean to insinuate that angels have sex in heaven, Matthew 22:30 and Mark 12:25 have nothing to do with the biological sex of angels. All I said is this verse says when we are resurrected, we will be as the angels, immortal. There will be a day when the last baby is born on this earth.
Devils/demons and angels are two different beings, the Bible does not really tell us how devils/demons came to be, they do not have bodies and have to possess one as we see in Matthew 12:43-45 and other places, Angels have bodies and can attack us in our surroundings outside of our bodies, they can hurt us on the outside but they cannot possess our body, I can testify to that I have had personal confrontations with both, that is something I pray I do not have to go through again but if so, my Lord will be there with me as He was then.
Just me, if the ones locked in chains of darkness refused to obey a command from God Satan would have already been locked up but he is still disobeying and creating havoc. Were there actual Giants, to my studies they are not of the human race their size is outside of any human, it is up to one's own belief, this is just a discussion that has no relevance to salvation.
Thank you, brother God bless,
RLW
Thanks for your reply, I know many have the understanding the sons of God in Genesis 6 are the line of Seth and the daughters of men are of Cain and those not following God. I will just give a little of my understanding not in debate.
Scripture tells us there were Nephilim/giants in the world before and after the flood Genesis 6:4 2 Samuel 21:16 Joshua 12:4 Numbers 13:33 Deuteronomy 2:19-21 Amos 2:9 Also in Joshua 13, 15, 17, 18, 2 Samuel 21 and 1 Chronicles 20 Also, in the Old Testament, there is the Rephaim or Rephaites, and the context describes them as giants. so, where did they come from?
2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 1: 6 tell us of a group of angels who left their first estate and are locked in darkness. Many other fallen angels we battle including Satan are on this earth 2 Corinthians 11:14-15. But these angels are locked in darkness until judgment, and we see in Revelation 9:11 they have a king. These angels had to do something far greater than rebelling against God, my understanding is they adulterated God's creation, we see how corrupt it got.
We know from Jude and 2 Peter angels sinned, kept not their first estate, and left their habitation. Estate means condition, status, and dominion, and habitation means residence or dwelling place. I understand how many takes Matthew 22:30 and Mark 12:25 but Jesus is not referring to sex He is saying when we are resurrected, we will be like the angels in heaven who are immortal. We are mortal, we have to marry and reproduce when we are resurrected, we will be raised immortal same as the angels no more need to marry and reproduce, and we will be on the earth not heaven.
We see angels come down on earth that have bodies, they can eat and drink, Genesis 18:1-8 and other places like Hebrews 13:2. To me the angels who left their estate is where these giants came from, and we see when Israel went into the promised land God wiped out the giants or had them kill them all even the children.
God bless,
RLW
I have been following this discussion I would just ask this, I believe your understanding is everyone is predetermined to be saved or not. What kind of justice is that and why would there even be a judgment? 2 Cor. 5:10 God knows the end from the beginning, and we have been given the way to eternal life with Him and His Son Jesus Christ.
When all is over we read in Rev. 20:11-15, is the final judgment, if our final destination is predetermined and we do not have a choice to accept and believe or reject God's word and the gospel of Christ that God sent His Son to die for our sins and was resurrected from the dead and is setting on the right hand of God that gives us our only hope of salvation and eternal life, why and what for are we going to be judged if we had no obligation to believe and be obedient.
Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen. We must answer the call and believe to be saved, believing is on us, God's mercy and grace are what saves us. God wants all to be saved but not all will accept His gift that we do not deserve or cannot earn by anything we can do but believe.
God bless,
RLW
Some say, look at Abraham, look at Paul, God revealed Himself to them directly like He has not done in other people. Yes but He knew they would accept and obey Him. The same way He revealed Himself to Saul the king (as well to other kings), to Judas, to Balaam, to Demas, to name a few. To the Pharisees and Sadducees that had seen so many miracles but still paid the guards of Jesus' tomb to say that the disciples had stolen His body or they wanted to kill Lazarus together with Jesus because they understood that people would believe to Jesus. So it is not a matter of God's will but a matter of people's response to Him. Others say that if God doesn't grand repentance to people, nobody will repent. This is true but we have to understand how that repentance is granted by God. Not in a "magical" (again) way. Miracles are something that God uses for this purpose. His word is another way. His appearance to one is another way God uses, and so on. Often healings is also another way God uses to soften people's heart.. But again the response is not always acceptance by people.
And something else. There are verses in the scriptures where the word "chosen" in grk has the meaning of "precious, valuable". Like in Matthew 22:14, "For many are called, but few are chosen". Here the proper translation of the grk "eklektos" is precious. Which means that many have been called but few have accepted that invitation and for God they are precious, valuable. It is our response to Him that makes us precious to Him, not a somehow discriminative approach of God whom He selects and whom not.
Blessings
Thank you, Jesus shamed the leaders of Jerusalem about traditions, Matthew 15:3 and we are told in Colossians 2:8. My understanding is when we believe in our heart that Jesus is the Son of God and the only way to salvation we are justified by God's grace, Romans 3:24 and being baptized is being obedient to God's word, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: We then start the road to sanctification by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, Titus 3:5.
Jesus Christ has done everything necessary for our salvation and all we do we do in is name including being baptized, Colossians 3:17. He paid the penalty that our sins deserved by His sacrificial death on the cross. His death satisfied God's justice and turned away His wrath from us. God calls us but we must answer we must believe and be obedient to Him to be chosen, Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
When we are baptized in the Name of Jesus we have put on Christ, Galatians 3:27. Being baptized is obedience, Ephesians 2:10 2 Thessalonians 1:8, every believer who has opportunity will be baptized in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism is the result of salvation, not the means to it.
Our obedience strengthens our faith, obedience shows our love for God, and our obedience to God's word is essential and it is not works. Those who are obedient are imitators of Christ and are willingly submitting to the authority, His will, and the word of God.
God bless,
RLW
We are called by God, Matthew 22:14, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and the only way to the Father, John 14:6. Anyone can be baptized but he that believeth and is baptized will be saved, Mark 16:16. This is on us, it is our obedience to the Father, we must truly in our heart believe Jesus is the Son of God the Messiah/Christ, and our only hope of salvation, we cannot do that as a baby. It is not a ritual we can check a box on the way to salvation it is between us and God and it must be done in the name of Jesus that we see in the entire New Testament.
When we are baptized in the name of Jesus, what we see in the Bible, we are submerged in water, we die to sin, and are buried in death with Jesus, and when we are raised from the water we are raised into a new life in Christ. We are justified and our journey then begins with sanctification in our walk in the Holy Spirit.
God bless,
RLW
For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
This was brought up recently in a video about the end times; and since I never noticed this verse before, and its importance to what is going on at present I thought I should expound on it a bit. I have trouble finding the history on YouTube but the concept was separation that God is using which will come to fruition starting at the Rapture and during the Tribulation as well.
This is all part of the bigger concept that God uses all things; including the Devil for His own purposes. A strong God fearing church will be able to withstand heresies when they come. Now in this verse those being approved could refer to those who will be elevated to church leadership roles; but of course it also could mean that it shows those who are true saints (wheat) as compared to the tares.
In considering this topic; I also have been contemplating the misuse of the term "love" as compared with the AGAPE which should supercede any affections we have personally and toward others. Matthew 22:42 asks what do ye think of Christ (speaking to the Pharisees). Whether a legalistic approach of pride toward being one of Abraham's natural descendants or a lax liberal mentality toward anything that was regarded as moral standards a couple generations ago Christ is reduced to the level of whatever best suits our imagination rather than held as God in the flesh; high and lifted up our Creator and the sustainer of our natural and eternal existence. 1 Corinthians 13:6 gives further emphasis to this concept; we are not to rejoice in evil but in the good. We also see in the surrounding verses in chapter 13 further details on God's type of love which is helpful for restoration in marriages in particular.
The big picture here shows how the final one world religion is coming; the first part of the Tribulation with Mystery Babylon.
Matthew 22:: 37-39. God Bless :)
Even the "Shema Yisrael" ( Deuteronomy 6:4,5) is Israel's central belief & affirmation on the singularity of God's Person, & any suggestion of a 'compound' Nature of God would be anathema. Also Isaiah 53:1-12 and Isaiah 9:6,7 references to a coming Messiah, which should clearly reveal the Divine Nature of a Coming One, is discarded by them, then & now. So, anything of a Triune God must be rejected by the Jew, & only the operation of God by His Spirit (i.e. God revealing Himself & working before them) should be acceptable to them (e.g. Psalm 51:10,11; Isaiah 11:2; & many others). As believers though, we can see the Triune God in operation in the whole Bible, but Israel is blinded to this Truth & their hearts hardened.
When Jesus came & spoke (e.g. John 16:27,28; John 17:5), He declared His Divine Nature, that which was not revealed before. So your reference ( Matthew 22:32), speaks primarily of the One Nature of God; but to those who believe, having received salvation through Jesus Christ, know that the God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob was always the Triune God, Who would one day manifest Himself fully to a needy world: God's Word first by the prophets, now given through His Word made flesh ( Hebrews 1:1-3) . What Israel knew of the One God then, should have revealed the full Nature of a Triune God at the appearance of their Messiah. But their eyes were blinded & hearts hardened. Therefore, as Christians, I believe that we should see God (in the OT & NT) as a Triune God, manifesting Himself also as His Word and His Spirit going forth to accomplish His Will over His creation.
When God is mentioned in the Bible, does it mostly mean the Godhead (trinity 1 John 5:7) or does it mostly mean God the Father?
"I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." Matthew 22:32 KJV
Jesus is saying this and quoting scripture.
Is God in this verse, for example, the Godhead or the Father?
Galatians 4: 9-11 Again this deals with the corruption of the laws, statues and ordinances that Moses gave; the Laws of Moses, not the Commandments of God. Moses' laws were done away with through the Cross, Jesus summed up the Commandments of God into 2, Matthew 22: 37-40 "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. (First 4 of God's commandments) And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. (Last 6 of God's commandments). On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Verse 40 is referring to the real laws and words from the prophets that God gave, not the corrupted versions of the people. Just like today as most people use the modern translations of the bible written by men instead of the one true translation written by the Holy Spirit. Those true believers who go to church on Sunday and read modern versions of the bible are doing NO wrong, not unless God has revealed the truth to them and they deny it. I'm not talking about these discussions I am presenting to this group, as being revealed to you, I am talking about a real conviction of the Holy Spirit as I have received. Those experiences are between the believer and God, but I won't remain silent on the subjects either. God Bless :)
PS As I said, these postings were premature. They need corrections. More later."
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