The American Wisdom Series 
 http://www.americanwisdomseries.com

Presents 

MARK
Chapter 3

Caution to students of God's Word - Please remember two things when using our studies: #1. Our commentary is not God's Word. It is only our interpretation or understanding of "His Word" and even though we try our best to be accurate we may or may not be correct. #2. The King James translation, or any other translation, of the original Hebrew text has some words which were given different translations at different places probably because of the interpreters preconceived ideas of what they think God meant to say. For example: According to the notes in the "Dake's Annotated Reference Bible" the Hebrew word hayah in the KJV is Trans. (became) 67 times, (becamest or came to pass) 505 times, (become) 66 times, and (come to pass) 131 times, but for some reason in Genesis 1:2 it is translated (was)! That sure changes the way a person perceives the original creation of the earth, doesn't it?  Gen. 1:2 And the earth was (became) without form, ... Having said that, let us continue with our "Key Knowledge" lessons. These are pamphlets containing knowledge, we believe, you must have to fully and accurately unlock and understand the Word of God.

John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:13-14
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [14] He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

This Bible Study was originally written by Roger Christopherson,
 published at http://www.theseason.org/ 

You can view it at the season`s web site (address above) as originally published
or here, as now edited by people at
 
The American Wisdom Series  

Without the leading by the Holy Spirit, there is no understanding of the truths, for all the truth of the Scriptures are revealed to us by God's Spirit.

 Now here is our revised study of:



MARK

Chapter 3

"Many Miracles."

Mark 3:1 "And He entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand."

This is now dealing with a handicapped person, here.

Mark 3:2 "And they watched Him, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath day; that they might accuse Him."

It is the Sabbath day, and the people including the scribes and Pharisees where present, seeking for a chance to bring charges against him. These are the leaders of the religious community which are plotting against Jesus, seeking to do Him harm. It is no different today as it was in Jesus day, for this type of mindset is so narrow that if you get out of focus on one little issue, according to their understanding.

Satan is the accuser, and he is the head of these types of people. Their minds and thoughts are so narrow that these people just can't see the truth when it right before their eyes.

The law was a shadow of the things that would come in the New Testament, which is to say, the Messiah. Don't let anyone put you in bondage, once you have been freed by the blood of Jesus Christ. So we find Jesus wanting to do a very good deed by healing this man's withered hand, however because of the scribes and Pharisees that are standing by and needling Jesus, they would rather not have the healing take place on the Sabbath. Jesus Christ the Messiah was standing before them, and these religious Jewish leaders put their man made traditions over the workings of the Messiah.

Mark 3:3 "And He saith unto the man which had the withered hand, "Stand forth."

You can see Jesus taking charge here, and he ordered the man with the withered hand to stand before Him.

Mark 3:4 "And He saith unto them, "Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?" But they held their peace."

Notice that Jesus is bringing the law into this. This was the Sabbath, and the reason that Jesus asked these questions is that these scribes and Pharisees were seeking a way to kill Him. Jesus was going to save life, and the scribes and the Pharisees wanted to take a life. Jesus wanted them to state in public which was according to the law. What these Kenite scribes called the law was nothing more than a set of rules established by their traditions. It was not the law according to the laws of God.

Remember that the offices of the scribes and Pharisees, as well as the priests had long ago been taken over by the offspring of Cain, the Kenites, while in captivity in Bablyon. The three families of the scribes of the Kenites are named in I Chronicles 2:55 "And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez [Jerusalem in its unclean state], The Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab." It is the offspring of these sons of Rechab, not of Jacob or Judah, but of Cain that are doing the accusing of Jesus. The duties of the scribes were to keep the records, and the very Word of God; So what you have here is the offspring of Satan, through Cain keeping the records of who they are, and what you are to do under their set of rules or traditions.

Editor's Note: To this day! Question: Is the Christian church that you attend teaching the Bible, book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse; or is your pastor a "one verse rev,? is your Sunday school class taught out of a denominational quarterly written by people whose major interest is membership and fund raising?

Their leaders, the chief priest are not appointed by God, but the priesthood had become a political position, and the chief priest himself was appointed and approved by the Roman government. The Priesthood had fallen from the Levites to the Kenites over four hundred years prior, and Ezra notes this in Ezra 8:15. Ezra was leading a group of forty three thousand of the house of Judah out of Babylon, and back to Jerusalem to reestablish the Temple and the worship of the Temple. However, there was a problem, there was not one Levite priest in the group, because the entire priesthood had been taken over by these Kenites, Nethinims [strangers], that had mixed in with the tribe of Judah. These Kenites numbered about half of all those of Judah that returned out of the Babylonian captivity.

Ezra 8:15 "And I [Ezra] gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the People, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi."

Editor's Note:Not one Levitical priest in the bunch! These are the ancestors of the founders of our Christian churches of the 21st century.

Ezra is going back to establish the Levitical priesthood with over two hundred and twenty priests, and not one of them were of Levi. How in the world can you worship in God's way when the Levites were the very ones that God ordered to be priests before His altar, but those returning were all these strangers, the Kenites that had infiltrated into the House of Judah while they were in captivity. The offspring of these Nethinims were the very ones that sat in the seat of judgment in the temple in Jerusalem, and gave the orders to these scribes and Pharisees that followed Jesus to give Him trouble at every turn. So how did they get established in the house of God in the first place?

Editor's Note: Don't you even think we are talking about those people who now live in that litle country in the middle east called Israel today. We're are talkinh about the "House of Israel" . The northern kingdom! see live Links below

Live Link to-"Do you know who you really are?"  Are you a Israelite?
Live Link to-
"Israel's Lost Tribes"

Live Link to-What Does Your Church Teach

Ezra 8:20 "Also of the Nethinims [Kenites], whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name."

the Kenites entered into the service of the Levites cutting wood for the sacrifices, and now some six hundred years later, coming out of Babylon, the Kenite people had completely taken over God's house, the priests duties and were in complete control of the written documentation [scribes] of both the temple and the government. There forefathers were the Zidonians, of Tyre that assisted Solomon in building the Temple, and queen Jezebel, the wife of Ahaz, was the one that sought to kill all the priests prophets of God, and replace them with her Baal and groves prophets. It was not God's laws that they were teaching but their own traditions. They had taken over the seat or the position controlling which law should be taught, and Jesus noted this in Matthew 23:2.

Matthew 23:1 "Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to His disciples,"

Matthew 23:2 "Saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:"

Matthew 23:3 "All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not."

Matthew 23:4 "For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers."

All this is given so that we can better understand just who these scribes and Pharisees are that are questioning Jesus about His healing of this handicapped man on the Sabbath. It was the Sabbath and Jesus was seeking to heal and make this sick man whole again. Jesus was seeking to give life, while these scribes and Pharisees were plotting death of Jesus Now if you want to see a little of the emotion of Jesus Christ watch what He is about to say.

Mark 3:5 "And when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, He saith unto the man, "Stretch forth thine hand." And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other."

Didn't you know that Jesus got angry? Jesus saw right into their minds and what they were thinking. He saw the hatred and hardness of their thinking, then looked at the man standing before him, and said, "Stretch forth thine hand." and on the spot the mans hand was healed. Just so we can understand the emotions of Christ a little bit more, lets go into the word "hardness" in the Greek. It is # 4457 in the Strong's Greek dictionary: "Porosis, po'-ro-sis; from 4456, stupidity or callousness: blindness."

Now lets go back and reread the verse; "And when He [Jesus] looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the stupidity and callousness of the scribes and Pharisee's minds, He saith unto the man,.." Jesus Christ is very restless when confronted by stupidity and callousness especially when one presents himself to be one of understanding of God's Word, and they can't focus on even the simplest of the subjects that is before them. These Pharisees prided themselves on being the authority, yet they didn't even have the knowledge to know the most simplest of things written in God's law. Why? They did not follow God's law, but their own traditions, their law by precedence, created in the minds of men just like themselves.

Christ did not come to put people in bondage but to set them free. Naturally it is good to do good on the Sabbath. The priest had to work every Sabbath, for that is his main work day. If you are looking for a rest in a certain day, or a holiday, you missed the whole point of Jesus teaching. Our rest is not in any day, but in Christ, as is pointed out in detail in Colossians 2, read it and check it out in the Greek. Don't be directed from what any man has to say, but what God's Word has to say.

Live Link to-Colossians chapter 2

Mark 3:6 "And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him."

If you don't think that the Pharisees were political more so than religious, the first thing that they did when Jesus left them, is they went to the Herodians to plot and take counsel against Jesus for the sake of murdering Jesus. The Herodians were the partisans, the political bureaucrat followers of king Herod. They were plotting murder in the name of God. The charge they bring against Jesus is for the healing of a withered hand on the Sabbath. For doing good on the Sabbath. When their sin is the plotting to do murder on the Sabbath, to kill Jesus.

It is necessary that people know that Christ was angered at the people that claimed to be great men of knowledge of God's Word, when in fact they were stupid and calloused in their minds towards Christ and His Word. Rather than spend their time studying the Word to know how to apply it, they used the Word to gain their favors and make money out of it. That is what is stupid about it. It is no different today than it was in Jesus day; the one verse Preachers would rather do their plotting with the Herodians or political bureaucrats, than studying the Word. "

There is nothing new under the sun," as Solomon stated in Ecclesiastes 1:9; "what has happened, will happen again."

Jesus told us exactly who these people are and why they simply cannot understand any of what Jesus is saying in John 8:44.

John 8:43 "Why do ye not understand My speech? even because ye cannot hear My Word."

There has always been people that just cannot understand the simplicity that Christ taught, and this is because their spiritual eyes are blinded. These Kenites accept the traditions of men that has been in their family and synagogues for many generations, even when it goes against what God's Word teaches. Jesus is going to identify their heritage now.

John 8:44 "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

Do you know who the devil is? The devil is Satan, and he goes by many other names. In Revelation 12:9; "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world;" In the garden of Eden Satan was called the "old serpent", and the "Tree of the knowledge of good and evil."

Please read Live Link to-What happened in the garden

Jesus is telling these Kenites that their father is the devil, who is Satan, the dragon, or all of his other names that Satan has played the role of. Jesus is also telling these Kenites that the lust, and murder in their hearts are inborn from their father Satan, and you are driven in your spirit to do murder, because Satan is their father.

Editor's Note: The Jews as in descendants of the southern tribes "The House of Judah" didn't crucify Christ. No, It was the descendants of Cain, who had by then taken over the church, who killed Christ. But the descendants of Judah get the blame, Well, is it any wonder! After all, today they share a country with those same Kenites! 

This is as false a thinking as we, in the Christians nations of today, thinking we are gentiles; not even knowing that we are descended from Israelite stock, i.e.  the northern tribes, "The House of Israel"

We call ourselves spiritual Christians. Well that is true, but if we read our Bibles and rightly divided the "Word of Truth", like we were told to do in 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.; we would also know where we came from..We would read our Bibles and learn how to "Find and Fill in the Gaps"

Live Link to-"Find and Fill in the Gaps" 

This is why Jesus could not be speaking to brethren of the house of Judah, for their lineage is not of Satan, and this is also what the plan of God is all about. It is the keeping the pure lineage in the house of Judah, that would bring forth the coming Messiah in birth. This is stressed in Genesis 6:9.

Live Link to-Noah's Flood & the reason for it

Genesis 6:9 "THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF NOAH; Noah was a just man and perfect in his generation,..." In the Hebrew text the word for "perfect" is "tamim", which means "without blemish, as to breed or pedigree". Noah's blood line was pure, and free from the intermixing of with the fallen angels [sons of God] that had come to earth and mixed with the daughters of men.

In the end times which we are in today, Jesus warned our Generation of what to look out for.  In Matthew 24:32 He compelled us "to learn the parable of the fig tree", so that we would not be deceived in the latter days. The root of understanding that parable is to know and understand what happened in the Garden of Eden. There was not an eating of an apple or any fruit that caused the sin there, but a sexual affair between Eve and Satan [a man], and out of that sexual union came a son named "Cain". 

Live Link to-TheParableoftheFigTree

There is one more prophecy to look at here, and that is in Genesis 3:15.

Genesis 3:15 "And I [God] will put enmity between thee [Satan] and the woman [Eve], and between thy [Satan's] seed [the Kenites] and her Seed [Jesus Christ]; It [Christ] shall bruise thy [Satan's] head, and thou [Satan] shalt bruise His [Christ's] heel."

Live Link to-"Two Sowers of seed; both the good and the bad"

The "seed" of Satan, as given in this verse can not be mixed up with apples or any other fruit, for in the Hebrew text the word is called "zirmah", it is given in Strong's numbered Hebrew dictionary as # 2233; "Posterity, carnally, child, fruitful", In the Greek is is called "sperma" while in our English tongue it is "sperm". We are told in Genesis 6:1-5 that the "sons of God", the fallen angels came to earth and took the daughters of men to wife. They had children by them, and Satan was in the same form as those "sons of God" were. They had children and so did Satan, who was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil". The first child born came from that union between Eve and Satan, and His name was Cain. Cain is the father of the Kenites, and the word for Kenite in Strong's Hebrew dictionary is # 7014.

# 7014; "Qayin, kah'-yin; the same as 7013; Kajin, the name of the first child, also a place in Palestine, and of an oriental tribe: Cain, Kenites (s)." The first child was Cain, and the second Abel. After Cain slew his brother Abel, he left for the land of Nod, to the east, to take a wife from the sixtn day creation.

Live Link to-Sixth day man

Live Link to-Eighth day man

Cain's offspring have tried to attach themselves to the lineage of Adam, and Abraham all through the years. When you understand who these people of Hamath are, and that they are not of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, nor Judah, then you are starting to understand the "parable of the fig tree". If this disturbs you, then just put this study down, for you are not intended to understand and just go back to Buddha, "the rapture theory" that has most all of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH DECEIVED, or what ever makes you feel good.

We are not to destroy these Kenites? Definitely not, but they are part of all the parables, especially dealing with the end times. Truth will set you free, and we are to become wiser than the serpent, and his people the Kenites. The Kenites are playing a role within the plan of God, to bring those prophesies to pass exactly as God has said that be. God has given us the power over them through His Holy Spirit. The spiritual battle is real, and we have the victory.

Editor's Note: I ask again, Are we to destroy these Kenites? Jesus gave us the answer to that question in Matthew 13:30  Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

So what Jesus was doing here in Capernaum was to heal a man, and bring comfort, but what these Kenite scribes and Pharisees were doing was straight from the pits of hell.

Mark 3:7 "But Jesus withdrew Himself with His disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judaea,"

So this is what these Kenites were really upset about, if the people wanted to learn more of what Jesus was saying, the offering plate at the temple that they controlled would lose out. These Kenites didn't like it when the flow of money stopped coming. Jesus could produce those spiritual acts of casting out demons, and healing the sick, and not one of their tribe could cast out a single evil spirit, nor heal anyone. It wasn't a matter of being a certain day of the week, for they would have come up with another problem and charge against Christ. The matter was that Jesus was giving spiritual healing and making people whole again. Jesus could produce and they could not.

Mark 3:8 "And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things He did, came unto Him."

"Idumaea" was in the land of Esau, and today it is the Russian people. Jesus fame is spreading fast all over many nations around Judaea. Jesus was a man of God that could get the job done. This is what had these Kenite scribes and Pharisees upset, when the people heard what Jesus had to say, and saw the healings take place, they were believing and turning from their traditions taught in the temple. God's Word and the deeds of Christ will always make its own way. When you teach the Word of God, you do not have to be a beggar, because people are drawn to truth when the Word is taught and made alive in the teaching.

Mark 3:9 "And He spake to His disciples, that a small ship should wait on Him because of the multitude, lest they should throng Him."

So many people had come from all directions that Jesus and His disciples taught, and they had to use these measures for their safety.

Mark 3:10 "For He had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon Him for to touch Him, as many as had plagues."

The urge to even touch Christ made it dangerous to all those around Him. We have seen people killed in rock concerts when people wanted to be near their star, and the crowds would push in closer and closer to the point that the people on the inside would have the air pressed out of them. This is as it was when the people were pressing just to touch Jesus. There were many sick and with plagues, and they thought that just to touch Jesus would heal their sickness.

Mark 3:11 "And unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell down before Him, and cried, saying, "Thou art the Son of God."

Underline in your mind the word "saw" him. These "evil spirits" observed Jesus and they knew exactly who He was. Unlike this religious community that was out to kill Jesus, here these evil spirits knew Him and were trying to worship Him. Why? Because every soul comes from God, and certainly, Jesus the "only Begotten of the Father" also did, and those that are in their supernatural mind, and not born of woman knew Christ from the very throne of God itself. Because in heaven where all souls come from, Christ is on the throne. These evil spirits knew Christ and they recognized who Christ was.

Mark 3:12 "And He straitly charged them that they should not make Him known."

Jesus charged these evil spirits that they should not make His identity known to mankind. Why would Jesus not want His identity known? Because if people would have know that He truly was God, the crucifixion would not have taken place and the entire plan of God would have been foiled. If the Kenites would have had the eyes to see and understand who Christ was, they would not have killed him, for in Christ's death, came their destruction and that of their father Satan.

Hebrews 2:14 "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil."

Jesus had the power to tell these evil spirits to keep their mouths shut, that all prophecies concerning Christ death might come to pass, and through Christ death He might destroy Satan that had the power of death over mankind. Jesus, just like the power that He has given you and me, had the not only the power to throw them out, but to order them to obey Him, and make them speechless at the same time.

Luke 10:18 "And He said unto them, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven."

Satan is going to be cast out of heaven very shortly, as Recorded in Revelation 12:7-9, and he will be cast out onto the earth, along with all of his fallen angels.

Revelation 12:7 "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,"

This war is taking place today in heaven.

Revelation 12:8 "And prevailed not, neither was there place found any more in heaven."

Yes, War in heaven! And, When that war ends, Satan will no longer be in heaven as our accuser, but right here on earth in the role as "instead of Christ" or what many refer to as the Antichrist.

Revelation 12:9 "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out with him."

When Satan arrives on earth it will start the short time called the hour of temptation, that time of the stinging spoken of in Revelation 9:5; "And unto them [these fallen angels] it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man." So in Luke Jesus is taking about the protection that His sealed would have.

Luke 10:19 "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

The "serpents" spoken of here are the "Kenites", the offspring of Satan through Cain, while the "scorpions" are the ones spoken of in Revelation 9:5, that have the power to sting like the scorpion for the five month period, yet not kill a single person. They are the fallen angels and the evil spirits. The stinging is as the scorpion stings, rendering mankind unable to defend themselves spiritually. The people of the world will give themselves over to Satan willfully in ignorance, because they will not know the difference between SATAN AND THE REAL CHRIST! All that is except for God's elect, those sealed with the seal or Word of God in their mind.

Just as the Holy Spirit is allowed to walk to and fro upon the earth, so to speak, so are evil spirits. For every negative there is a positive, whereby man is judged. The point here is that we know that we have the power over all our enemies including evil spirits and that that is negative.

Mark 3:13 "And He goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto Him whom He would: and they came unto Him."

Jesus didn't just say, all you that want to come, I'll be up on the mountain." No, Jesus called them by name, and they came, and when He went up, they went up with Him. There was no volunteering on the matter, He chose those that were to be there, and excluded the others. These of course were those that would be His twelve disciples.

There is free-will given to those that will volunteer and by faith and through repentance in Jesus name, call to Him to be saved and have their sins forgiven, and they become sons of God. However there are others, the "elect", that are called and chosen by God for a certain purpose. The elect also must be saved exactly as the free-willed have been, by faith and in repentance in Jesus name. However, the elect of God are selected just as the twelve were chosen, selected by God for a mission or purpose.

There are many that know that there is more to God's Word than what you were taught, even from your childhood. Christ calls those that had proved themselves from before the foundation of this earth age His elect.

Ephesians 1:4 "According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world [Earth age], that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:"

Ephesians 1:5 "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,"

Mark 3:14 "And He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach,"

To "ordain" is to "appoint", God appointed each of the twelve for the purpose of being with Him, learning all there is about Jesus and then going out to tell others what they have learned. The graduated in the great seminary in the sky, so to speak. Jesus taught each of the twelve first hand to go forth with the unction and the presence of the Holy Spirit with them. God does the calling for those that He expects to go forth with the Word. It is not some band of men, but by the leading of the Holy Spirit of God. This has nothing to do with free-will, but it has every thing to do with destiny and election.

Mark 3:15 "And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:"

Jesus gave His disciples the same power to heal sicknesses and cast out devils that He had, and that power was to posses the presence of the Holy Spirit within them. When you have that same faith in Jesus and have received the ordination from Him and His Spirit, this power of the Holy Spirit is within you also. As knowledge is learned from the Word of God, wisdom comes from that knowledge, and that wisdom that you retain in your mind can only come from God. It is the Holy Spirit that reveals what you know to be true in your mind from God's Word.

Mark 3:16 "And Simon He surnamed Peter;"

Jesus changed the name of Simon to "Peter", which means rock. Jesus Christ is the Rock, and Peter is a chip off the true Rock. When Peter came to the understanding that Jesus Christ was the True Rock, Jesus told him that this understanding of who Christ is, This Rock Christ will be the very foundation that the church will be build upon, and all the forces of hell could not stand against it.

Matthew 16:15 "He saith unto them, "But whom say ye that I am?" 

People were saying all sorts of things in identifying exactly Who Jesus was, but Jesus wanted Simon Peter to tell Him who he thought Jesus was.

Matthew 16:16 "And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God."

"Christ" means "The Anointed one", the Son of God.

Matthew 16:17 "And Jesus answered and said unto him, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father Which is in heaven."

Jesus was telling Simon that it wasn't some elder or church board that caused you to understand this in your mind. It was Almighty God revealing it through His Spirit, the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, that "Thou [Jesus Christ] art Peter" [the Rock], and upon this Rock [Jesus Christ] I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Now instead of calling Peter, Simon Bar-jona, Jesus has given him a new name, Peter. Peter means rock. The Rock is the foundation that the church is built on; and that Rock is Jesus Christ. Jesus is telling Peter that it is on the Rock Jesus Christ that His church is built and even the gates, or powers from hell, which is Satan and his systems cannot prevail against Jesus Christ. The Rock is not an church system, or any building or group of buildings, but it is made up of a body of believers, and the one thing that they all have in common is that they believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. They have all come to God by faith and repentance in the name of Jesus, and have been saved and given eternal life. The church is established in the minds of the believers, which goes to make up the body of Christ.

Matthew 18:19 "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

The "keys of the kingdom of heaven" are the truths of understanding which allow us to see, hear and understand the full realm of the kingdom of heaven. When you take that key and unlock the minds of those that are held captive by the traditions of men, by the leaven of the doctrine of the elders of church systems and sin itself; then God will also free them in heaven. As the freedom of Christ comes on earth, so also is the freedom and salvation brought in heaven.

Mark 3:17 "And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and He surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:"

When James and John were two big fishermen and went out to preach they made a difference, they made a noise. They preached the Word with boldness.

Mark 3:18 "And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,"

"Thaddaeus" is the another form of the word Judas, However Thaddaeus is not the same Judas Iscariot that betrayed Jesus and later repented. Simon the Canaanite is better know as Simon the Zealot.

Mark 3:19 "And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed Him and they went into an house."

Mark 3:20 "And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread."

Jesus and His disciples were so busy with these disciples that they did not even take time to eat.

Mark 3:21 "And when His friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, "He is beside Himself."

The word "friends" as given here is his "kin folks". Jesus own family did not understand who Jesus was, and they were saying that Jesus had lost His senses. In Jesus day it was dangerous to start new beliefs and as far as His family was concerned this was new. This healing of the sick that had never been done before, and the casting out of demons was causing quite a commotion where ever Jesus and His disciples went. The least little thing that you did against the Roman government, they could nail you to a tree or take your head off to cause your death.

Mark 3:22 "And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, "He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth He out devils."

This really made the religious community mad, when they sat by and watched Jesus do spiritual things that they had no power to do, and they had to tolerate it. The name "Beelzebub", in Aramaic Hebrew was "Beelzeboul", and translated meant "lord of the flies". It is also referred to as "the lord of the dunghill" where the flies hung out, and thence used of the prince of the demons". What these scribes are saying about Jesus, is that what the only begotten Son of God is doing are the workings of Satan himself. This is a very serious charge, and is next to the unforgivable sin. It is saying that the things of the Holy Spirit are the works of the devil.

However, in that Jesus called them stupid and callused in this same chapter, what they were saying and charging, they were doing in complete ignorance. To sin the unforgivable sin is to know the work and power of the Holy Spirit, and then attribute it to Satan, and to refuse the working of the Holy Spirit through you.

Mark 3:23 "And He called them unto Him, and said unto them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan?"

Jesus didn't run from this tribe of Kenite scribes, but he called them to Himself, and asked them questions in parables. Jesus knew from the start that these scribes wouldn't get the meaning, but He asked them; "How can Satan cast out Satan?" How can any man cast his own spirit out of himself? Of course it is impossible, yet that is what they were charging Christ with. As we read in verse twenty two, these scribes were not just the local boys, the men of the local church [synagogue], but they were the big guns, from the big Temple in Jerusalem. Things are getting pretty serious now, and Jesus is starting to make a big difference in the church budget and the funds were starting to dwindle, so something had to be done immediately.

This is why Christ is so strict with these so-called religious leaders, because they represent themselves to be more than just the country parson that has been misled a little bit. They represent themselves to be the final authority of the religious community, straight out of Jerusalem. They are the head guru from the systems establishment.

Mark 3:24 "And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand."

It is just unnatural to have any kingdom or person working against itself. Even logic will tell you that.

Mark 3:25 "And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand."

Mark 3:26 "And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end."

Jesus is telling them that He is here to make a stand and destroy Satan, and when you call me Messiah and master, and then accuse me of being Satan, you are contradicting yourself. You are all mixed up even with your own facts and what you are saying.

Mark 3:27 "No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house."

What Jesus is telling these Keinte scribes, is that these demons or evil spirits are in the physical bodies that are Satan's house. They are in the bodies that Satan has possession of and control over. Even the religious community will not deny this fact. Jesus then is saying that before I could force myself into these people's bodies, or the house of Satan, I would have to bind the strong man [Satan] of the house [the body of the possessed one], before I could spoil his goods, which is the evil spirits.

Jesus had to bind Satan before the evil spirits could be thrown out, and this is why the religious leaders could not throw the evil spirits out, they could not bind their own father Satan.

Mark 3:28 :Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith so ever they shall blaspheme:"

God the Father will forgive all sin and blaspheme that is against the Father and Jesus Christ, when those sins are repented of by faith, in Jesus name.

Mark 3:29 "But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:"

This again refers back to Luke 10:12. As long as Jesus Christ was walking the earth in the flesh, the office of the Holy Spirit that was present could be blasphemed, and these scribes were getting close to the blasphemed that is spoken of there. Then after Jesus Christ was crucified and had joined the Father, then the Holy Spirit would come, and to blaspheme it when you knew who He is, would be unforgivable.

The discussion here happened in the synagogue, and the subject being discussed at this time was "the binding of Satan". This then is looking forward to that time when Satan appears as the false messiah, and the people that know better, still blaspheme the Holy Spirit, for there is no forgiveness to them. Yet those that worship Satan, and in ignorance and stupidity deny the Holy Spirit to work within themselves, it can be forgiven them in the Millennium age.

With the subject being the Devil, the Antichrist, the point that matters here is what did the person knows in his mind and believes to be true. These scribes are of the synagogue of Satan, and it is impossible for them to know and understand about this house being dividing and falling of Jesus' parable. You have to be of God, and of the Holy Spirit to bind Satan and to destroy Satan's house. Satan would not do it to his own house and these Kenite scribes could not destroy it because they were of Satan's house.

Mark 3:30 "Because they said, "He hath an unclean spirit."

This is the reason. They accused Jesus of having an unclean spirit, an evil spirit, for if they were of God they would have known that the Spirit of Jesus was not unclean. Their declaration is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit of God. That blasphemy is attributing the things of God and His Spirit to the Devil and unclean spirits.

Mark 3:31 "There came then His brethren and His mother, and standing without, sent unto Him, calling Him."

While Jesus is inside reasoning with the scribes, as the door is His mother Mary, and his brothers and sisters, waiting for Him to come with them.

Mark 3:32 "And the multitude sat about Him, and they said unto Him, "Behold, Thy mother and Thy brethren without seek for Thee."

Those that are there are aware of who the members of Jesus' family are, and they remind Jesus that His family are outside waiting for Him. Those family members are the same ones that told these scribes that Jesus was beside Himself, and didn't know what He was doing. Jesus' family loved Him, and they didn't want Jesus to get in trouble with the religious leaders and the community. The rumors and the actions of the religious community toward Jesus was quite obvious, they wanted to kill Him. Mary and the brothers and sisters were seeking the safety for Jesus life.

Mark 3:33 "And He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brethren?"

Jesus in turn asks them, "Who are my kin folks?"

Mark 3:34 "And He looked round about on them which sat about Him, and said, "Behold My mother and My brethren!" "

Jesus looked at those that sat around Him that believed that He was the Christ, and love Him and served Him, and Jesus said, "This is my family."

Mark 3:35 "For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and mother."

Jesus had an earthly mother, Mary, and he also had brothers and sisters, and these are spoken of in Matthew 13:55, when Jesus returned to His home town, after being gone for much time.

Matthew 13:54 "And when He was come into His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, "Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works:"

Matthew 13:55 "Is not This the carpenter's son? is not His mother called Mary? and His brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?"

Matthew 13:56 "And His sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things."

When Jesus came home to preach His wisdom in His families synagogue, the neighbors knew the family, and what they were like, but the wisdom that flowed from Jesus mouth astounded the family friends.

Matthew 13:57 "And they were offended in Him, but Jesus said unto them, "A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house". 

This is important to keep in mind when you are going to start planting seeds. Many times your own family and those around you will reject what you have to say, for the simply reason that they think of you as common to them. They put you on their level of understanding of the Scripture. Those around you know your faults, and the fact that you are a sinner, just like them. They prefer to take the word of an outsider and they will accept him as pure because of not knowing the truth about him. They simply prefer to overlook his faults, and refuse to overlook yours.

It doesn't matter what family you belong to here on earth, all souls are created by the Father and He is the Father of all. In God, and in Christ we are all kinsmen. Jesus Christ's mother [the Virgin Mary] knew exactly who Jesus was, because the Father through His Holy Spirit revealed Himself to her. The Father told Mary to name Him "Emmanuel", which means "God with us". However human nature is a strange thing, and sometimes we give Satan and the outsider the advantage, because of our kin.

Those that we grew up with and have known for a long period of time, naturally we cannot help but want them to be saved also. However don't ever let it interfere with the progress, and what must be done for the sake of spreading the Word of God, and doing the work of God.

                        
To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.  We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.


The American Wisdom Series

is

Published by:

Rhine Publishing Co.
E-mail address - americanwisdomseries@verizon.net

Here at the American Wisdom Series our goal is to make you think about and question the wisdom of the current:
doctrine of many of our Christian churches, (The Man on a White Horse)
political direction of our country, (The Man on a Red Horse)
economic direction our country has taken, (The Man on a Black Horse)
 and teaching of our schools and media, (The Man on a Pale Horse)

The Four Hidden Dynasties of the New World Order Revelation 6:1-8
"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"
Did you know all four are being ridden by Satan?
Click #1848, &#1011 or #1012 to learn more.