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

Presents 

Chapter 16

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 "Drake'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/ 

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:

The

GOSPEL ACCORDING TO

MATTHEW 

Chapter 16

."Effects of Discernment, Teaching, and Opposition."

Matthew 16:1 "The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired Him that He would shew them a sign from heaven."

The Pharisees and the Sadducees are two different groups of the Jews. The Pharisees believed their was a God, where as the Sadducees did not. These two groups had witnessed the feeding of the five thousand and the four thousand, they had seen the healing of many, as well as many other miracles. Now these bunches of tree stumps have the gall to come to Jesus and ask Him for a sign. They want to see a miracle.

How in the world could anyone with common sense ask for a sign from Christ? They want one from heaven. Something quite out of the ordinary. It is important that we understand something of the doctrines of these two cults.

The Pharisees believed that there is life after death, and they were good students of God's Word, only they were a cult because of their particular belief. A "cult" is a group that has a certain belief, and sticks with it, in an honorable way. The Pharisees simply liked to add to that Word, and form religious ceremonies that were not in the Scripture. They formed traditions to go by.

To the Pharisee the supernatural ideas of it's beliefs were from the Old Testament, and the beliefs and rituals of that teaching they wanted to spread abroad, and for everyone to observe the rituals. The rituals were more important to them than seeing the Messiah in the flesh, and the gospel that Jesus Christ taught. These Pharisees preferred to attach rituals to their foundation of teachings, making them of the traditions of men. This was definitely now an occult, for an occult is when their is a focus on the supernatural, and it is in the form of a secret. The members reach stages of understanding, and the secret controls their lives. It is more important then family, friends, and all physical things. The physical world simply becomes tools for the advancement of their supernatural rites, and system

Editor's note:: The Pharisees beliefs stemming from the old testament, with their rituals added, becoming the preferred foundation of their teaching, reminds me of most of our Christian churches of today only in a new testament way. Most Christian churches today, although they come in Christ's name, value their self imposed traditions more dearly than what the Bible actually teaches. Our 21st century Christian church leaders have become the Pharisees of our generation! 

Sadducees, on the other hand, did not believe in the supernatural in any form, or life after death. They believed that you live through this life one time, and then you go into the ground and stay there. They were more like the evolutionists or an atheist of today, and both Christ, and His apostles use this knowledge, when there was a presence of both religions in the same crowd. The wise person, such as the Apostle Paul had them fighting against each other when he was under fire.

In fact, the wise teacher today can have the denominations fighting against themselves, when they know the doctrines that each were established on, rather then Christ.

These two groups have asked for a sign from Jesus Christ.

Matthew 16:2 "He answered and said unto them, "When it is evening, ye say, 'It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.'"

Jesus answers them with the an old seaman's expression, "red in the morning, sailors take warning; red at night is a sailors delight."

Matthew 16:3 "And in the morning, ' It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring.' O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times."

Jesus did not give them a sign, only He did call attention to their stupidity. They have watched for many months all of Jesus Christ's miracles, yet they still don't believe. Jesus sure did know how He was getting under their skin, and driving them nuts. Remember in the twelfth verse in the last chapter when the disciples came to Him in fear, "Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying." Jesus knew very well how much He was getting to them.

If God's Word offends someone then they need offending.

Matthew 16:4 "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas." And He left them, and departed."

Jesus gave them all that they had the right to know, and He went out the door, and He was gone. I don't think that they were wise enough to know what He meant.

Jesus was referring to the three days that Jonah was in the belly of the great fish. Jesus is referring to Jonah 1:17; "Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Johah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights."

  Editor again: A perfect example of a church tradition, made by man (666), being more important to church leaders than what the Bible actually says, no matter how they spin it, by claiming the Bible says, "he arose on the third day", and it does say that at some places. But I remind you. it does not say on the third day before the third night had passed. Matthew 16:4 reference to Jonah 1:17 makes it very clear.  AND THIS TRADITION CAME ABOUT LONG BEFORE THE KENITES SAW THE FINANCIAL VALUE OF HOLIDAY WEEKENDS! Well maybe not, who knows? Christ knows! 

Live Link to-   easter

God told Jonah to go and preach to the Ninevites, and repent, or He was going to destroy the city. Remember there was a prophecy given years before, and Jonah knew that Assyria was to be God's sword of judgment against Israel (the ancient "House of Israel", But not the ancient "House of Judah"). Jonah figured that if Nineveh perished God would spare Israel, and Jonah was pleased to sacrifice his life for brother Israel.

Dates of captivities: #1004
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The northern kingdom, "House of Israel", along with many from the southern kingdom, "House of Judah" were taken by Assyria, in 721 B.C. well over eight hundred thousand Israelite men  2 Samuel 24:1 - 9 and their families from ten different tribes (2 Kings 17, 18, and 19.)  In 2 Kings 19:32-34 we learn that only Jerusalem was spared.

(All total approximately 1,300,000 men plus their wives and children were carried away)

Live Link to-  "Do you know who you really are?"
Are you a Israelite?
Be thoughtful before you answer.
(Maybe you only think you're a Gentile!)

However God's plans were deeper then Jonah's, and He made a fish to bring Jonah to shore. Jonah was not a coward, but he was compassionate for the ten tribes to the north, the House of Israel. The twist that most preachers overlook, is that the Ninevites religion was the worship of Dagon, the fish; and when the big fish brought Jonah to the shore, and the people say Jonah stumbling down the beach, the word got out, and the city was ready to do whatever Jonah said.

Jonah said repent, and the king decreed that everyone repented, and that is exactly what happened. Though Jonah didn't know it, what he did played right into God's plan, and the whole city thought Jonah came from Dagon, after all, to them Dagon was God, and he sent them Jonah, and left him on the beach.

That three days that Jonah was in the great fishes belly, is the the only sign that Jesus will give them, and they will have to wait until after these Kenites [not of brother Judah] kill Him. Christ was three days and three nights in the tomb.

Editor's note:: This is only speculation on my part, because I don't find it recorded in the Bible anywhere, But, did it ever occur to you that if God travels by spaceship; He also may have used a submarine as Jonah's great fish? That would have gotten the Ninevites attention, just as the space ship got Ezekiels!
Live Link to- God's space ships
Rightly dividing the "Word of God" can be so mush fun, you should read it more often!

Matthew 16:5 "And when His disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread."

Though the disciples had forgotten to take bread to eat, get a lot deeper into this then it appears on the surface. This is a spiritual lesson.

Matthew 16:6 "Then Jesus said unto them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees."

The Pharisees and the Sadducees just happened to be the religious community at the time of Christ, and this warning "take heed and beware of the leaven" was directed at the leaven, or what they were teaching. You add leaven to the bread to make it get bigger; and the bread is the Word of God, what Jesus was teaching. Christ is the Bread of Life.

Jesus is telling His disciples, and even the elect of this day, beware of the false teachings and those that that present themselves as being of God, when in fact, what they are giving out are the traditions of men and their own opinions. They do not follow the Word of God.

 Editor: When we speculate we always try to make it a point to let you know I am doing so. I don't print it in a Sunday School quarterly!

Leaven is yeast, and when mother works that yeast into the dough in a short time that flat piece of dough starts to rise and pour over the pan. Then she kneads it again, and it rises until it puffs up and makes beautiful bread. The leaven penetrates the whole loaf.

If you listen to false teachers, that take man's traditions, and the twisting of the Word of God by any denomination or church system, backed by the words of so-called authorities to penetrate your mind, then this warning by Jesus Christ is to you. Don't let any teaching be acceptable to you, without checking it out in the Word of God. The Bible is our authority, and if you are a Bible teacher, then teach the Word of God, Book by Book, Chapter by Chapter, and verse by verse; rightly dividing the word of truth.

Jesus is saying, Don't listen to men, but listen to me. Is that complicated? Jesus performed two great miracles to point out one little fact, and that fact is so important that it will be ruining the entire Christian world if it is not followed. We are approaching the day where the entire loaf is leavening with false teaching, and false teachers coming in Christ's name, and they do not teach in Christ's Word, but the words of men. They lie to Christian souls starving for the truth, when they make their statements to be of God, but having twisted truth, making it a lie.

Live Link to- The famine is coming!

When these preachers stand and say, "God spoke to me today", and then give out their own twisted message, and take your money. If that Word cannot be backed by the Word of God, they are false preachers, are filling your ears with lies.

God does speak to us today. He speaks to us from His Word (THE BIBLE). He reveals His truths from that Word, and makes them come alive in our minds. We put on our gospel armor of Ephesians 6:10-20 to fight against the spiritual war that is taking place in these latter days with Satan, and his demons, that armor comes wholly out of God's Word, and as we study the Word, it is the Holy Spirit of God that opens up the understand within our minds, or hearts.

Ephesians 6:10-13; "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.[10] Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. [11] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.[12] Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." [13]

Beware of the leaven.

Matthew 16:7 "And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."

Jesus is saying, Don't you let them put even the smallest part of their lies in my bread of Life.

Matthew 16:8 "Which when Jesus perceived, He said unto them, "O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?"

Jesus is trying to wake the disciples up to what He is trying to teach them. O ye of little faith, wake up, and think, can't you see what I am trying to teach you? The lesson is not over the fact that they have left the bread from the miracles behind, but Christ is trying to get them to focus in on what is His bread. His bread is what He is trying to teach them, It is His words.

Matthew 16:9 "Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?"

Matthew 16:10 "Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?"

Jesus is asking the disciples, can't you keep track of what is my leaven and my bread? Any time you have a multitude (read Christian church), you are going to pick up some filth, some false teachings, and wrong opinions. Jesus is really downing these men that call themselves followers of Christ. Can't you keep the tally of what is mine, and what is not mine? 

 Editor's note:: You must read His Word to keep your tally straight!

Matthew 16:11 "How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?"

Jesus is telling them, face to face, don't you even remember what I told you about in explaining to you the parable of the sower, and the tares. I am not talking about bread here, get your mind on the subject, the leaven is the teachings of the Pharisees, and the Sadducees.

The disciples were wondering, is He getting on us for leaving the bread over there on the other shore, and leaving behind our supplies?

The leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees are the lies that come from the multitude, when you meet and have a "religious experience", shall we call it. Any time you have a meeting, and the sharing of religious experiences, that is not of God's Word, it is the leaven of the Pharisees. It is not the leaven of Christ that will lift up, but the lard of Satan that will weight you down, it is unclean, and unfit for consideration.

"lard" is not a typo, it is what I meant to say because; It comes from swine! It is unclean!

Matthew 16:12 "Then understood they how that He bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees."

These twelve disciples finally got the message. Jesus is not talking about bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The doctrine that comes forth today, that is claimed to be from God, by idiots that are not even familiar with the Word of God. They can't even use the proper tools of study, and yet they set themselves up to be prophets and teachers.

In Ezekiel 34:1-16; we read that God has His eye on these false shepherds, and they will be the first and the most severe to be judged on on judgment day. God doesn't like it when someone misleads His flock.

There is a copy of the Word of God that is clear and cannot be changed, in the "Massorah", and that is the only form of God's Word that is precise. When these false shepherds run around and say things that do not check out with it, they lie, and are a disgrace to God.

 Editor's note:: You really need to obtain a copy of the Companion Bible and study from it. The Companion Bible, along with it's appendix can be downloaded free. Just do a search for "Companion Bible free download"

Matthew 16:13 "When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?"

Ninety nine percent of what is taught in the churches today is the mechanics of church systems. The more the sayings and traditions of these systems are repeated, the more children, and the spiritual babes in Christ think it is Biblical. Many times these teachings and doctrines are even contrary to God's Word.

Matthew 16:14 "And they said, "Some say that Thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets."

The religious world then was just as confused as most of the Christian world today.

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

Jesus wanted the disciples to answer who they thought Jesus was, as it just isn't important who the world thinks Christ is, they don't have the eyes to see, and the ears to hear and understand anyhow.

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

"The Christ", means "the Anointed One", and this is correct.

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 is telling them, it wasn't some group of elders that revealed this to you, but the Almighty God revealed this through His Holy Spirit.

Matthew 16:18 "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Now instead of calling Simon Bar-jone, 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 of Jesus Christ that His church is built, and even the gates, or powers of Hell, Satan and his systems can not prevail against Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ was foretold as the "foundation-stone" in Isaiah 28:16; "Therefore thus saith the Lord God, "Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste."

Jesus is that corner stone, precious and tried, and those that know Him, will wait on Him, and His return at the appointed time, and not make haste to follow the fake-christ that comes first. Jesus fulfilled the role to perfection, for He is the only begotten of the Father.

There are many conflicts over this one verse, as one church states our church is built of Peter, who was the founder of our Church, which was true in Smyrna and Philadelphia. They miss the doctrine of this verse. Christ is the immovable rock [Petra], in the Greek. The church is the assembly of believers wherever they are, they are the elect of God, and not some building on a corner, or the intricate system that does it's business inside those walls. The church are the body of believers, of which there are many members, which have many different tasks to do, all within that one body of believers.

Matthew 16:19 "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 shall 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 understanding 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 and church systems, and of sin itself: When you unlock their minds, and free them of that, 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.

On the other hand, when you as part of the elect of God bind something or some person on earth that have misused the Word of God, that binding will also stand in heaven. This gives an under shepherd or lay person a lot of power. This power is in the hands of those who know the Word, have their foundation on Christ, and use the power designated to them. It is not given to a system, but to the individual.

However you have to have the key, We know that the door is Christ, and the key to that door was David. You have to know the "key of David". You either have it, or you don't. You find in only in the church of Philadelphia, and Smyrna, which were the only two, end time, churches that God found no fault with. This is found in Revelation 3:7 "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; 'These things saith He That is Holy [Christ], He that is True, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth;"

If you have the key of David, you don't have to be afraid of any of the traditionalist, for they certainly don't have it. You have God's word locked in your mind, and the key of David. The key of David reveals these traditionalists, these modern day Pharisees that call themselves of God, but are of the synagogue of Satan. That is exactly how Satan works, he uses the Word of God, and twists that Word for his own pleasure. It is the mind of Satan's children, the Kenites which say they are Jews, but are not. Now apply this to today, they say they are of Christ, yet they do not teach the Word of God, but traditions.

Revelation 1:9, 10; "Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. [9] Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." [10]

These traditionalists are the ones that change their doctrines, and the popularity of their systems change, one day they are against something, and later they are for it. Whatever they believe they take Scripture out of context, and even out of the dispensation it is applied to, to twist theWord to make it say what they want it to say.

Friend, we are at the door of the "hour of temptation". That hour is when Satan comes to earth, at the sixth trump, and in physical form, ruling as the Antichrist, and the entire world will believe him to be the true Christ, Jesus Christ. They will believe it because they do not have the key of David. The foundation to the understanding of the Key of David, is in Matthew 13; the parables of the sower and the tares.

Live Link to- "The Parable of the Sower" and "The Parable of the Tares" combined into one pamphlet.

Matthew 16:20 "Then charged He His disciples that they should tell no man that He was Jesus the Christ."

Jesus has just revealed to His disciples that He is the Christ, the Messiah or coming Savior. Then He turned right around and told them not to reveal this to anyone else. Why? Because Jesus told the religious people of the day, that the only sign that they would be given was the sign of Jonah, being in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Jesus hadn't been in the heart of the earth yet, nor had He been crucified yet. It wasn't time for Jesus to go to the cross yet, and what would take place will be as it was written, and prophesied by the Prophets from God.

When Jesus went into the grave, and rose three days and three nights later, then it could be told who Jesus was.

Matthew 16:21 "From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed, and be raised again the third day."

So once the twelve disciples finally know for a fact that Jesus is the Christ, He will now give the disciples the facts and details how He will enter into Jerusalem, to suffer the things prophesied, to be crucified, and raised on the third day. Why the third day? That is the sign of Jonah that Jesus gave to the Pharisees, and scribes, concerning who He was.

This is the plan of God, as written in 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;" It is only through the death of Christ of the cross, that the hold that the devil has on us can be broken. That is why the sign of Jonah is important; and that is also why the things that Jesus was going to do, and go through in Jerusalem be hid from the very people that were going to do it. Jesus is telling His disciples; "This is God's plan that the Son of God die crucified, whereby salvation can come into the world.

So that when those who understand, repent and take Jesus into their hearts and minds, and their sins become as white as snow. Friend, there is no sin that you can commit that Jesus will not forgive you of, if you just repent it to Him. He will blot it out of his book, where it counts, and He will make you over into a new creature. His Spirit will dwell with your spirit, and the old things just will not matter any more.

Matthew 16:22 "Then Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Be it far from thee Lord: this shall not be unto thee."

The moral of what Jesus is trying to teach His disciples is that God's plan must come to pass. It is our duty, as a child of God to learn that plan, and learn what is written, then recognize it when you see it come to pass, and not argue against it.

Once again, Peter shows the fact that he just wasn't listening, and didn't understand what Jesus had just told him. That He had to go to the cross and die, and be in the tomb three days and three nights. This was Satan's spirit speaking through Peter, for this is exactly what Satan did not want to happen. Christ's death, and resurrection, was Satan's death sentence.

Matthew 16:23 "But He turned, and said unto Peter, "Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art an offence unto Me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."

Peter has just said that he would not allow this to happen, for he is speaking out against God and His plan. Jesus said to Peter, after these words came out of Peter, "Get thee behind me, Satan". Man's emotions many times can cause them to go against what God's Word dictates. This is why Christianity is disciplined, and we must be disciples which is one who learns and then puts what he has learned towards discipline. Be a student of God's Word in the plan of God.

When the events of the end times prophecies pass before you, be a wise student and and learn by them. They are sign post that God has placed to let you know just where we are in His perfect plan. When you are one of God's elect, and your emotions go against what God's Word says will come to pass, then these words of Christ would apply to you also, "Get behind me, Satan."

It was Peter's love for Christ that caused Peter to blaspheme God. Satan had used Peter's emotions and love to turn him against Christ and to stumble. Love caused him to do it. This would be no difference then someone steps up to you and says, I'm going to kill your brother. Then you would say to your brother, I'm not going to let it happen, we are going to make a stand against them. This is human nature. Had Peter been disciplined in the teachings, he would not have argued against them.

It was the religious community that killed Christ, and it is the religious community today that persecutes the true children of God.

Matthew 16:24 "Then said Jesus unto His disciples, "I any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

Jesus is now saying that a man must deny his own emotions that would cause you to break your discipline to God's word, simply to please the flesh nature within you. Your cross is your study of the Word, and the discipline that you show in following what it teaches. A cross is something you die on, and when you take up your cross, you place all your self notions, and pleasures beneath that which is part of the Christian's discipline as set forth in His Word. Don't play church, and let your emotions rule you, but do as Christ says. You must make the teaching, and the church, and your emotions a reality that if it was called upon you to die for Christ, you would be willing to sacrifice your own life, for the Word of God. Any thing short of that is play acting, and the cross becomes nothing but a trinket worn around your neck. If you were one of the two witness of the final days, you would gladly die for Christ.

Matthew 16:25 "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."

Whosoever shall lose his life as far as the flesh body is concerned, in the service of our Lord, shall have eternal life. The soul is eternal, and only God can destroy the soul at judgment. The flesh body will decay at death, however very shortly this flesh age will come to a close, and on the "day of the Lord", that day when the Jesus Christ will return as King of kings, and Lord of Lords, all flesh both good and bad will be gone, and we will be changed in the wink of an eye.

I Corinthians 15:51, 52; "Behold I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [51] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." [52] This is the same sleep that Paul addresses in I Thessalonians 4, where he is addressing the subject,"Where are the dead". Paul is stating that at the sounding of the last trump, in an instant, all souls will shed their physical bodies, and be changed to their incorruptible bodies.

Death and hell fire of the soul does not come on this day, nor is there going to be a fly away, or rapture of the flesh body. Why? Because Christ is coming to earth to set up His kingdom on earth, that is what the Millennium age is all about. When the flesh body dies, it is gone, but the soul lives on.

Matthew 16:26 "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

"The whole world" is this cosmos, this earth age of the flesh. The Bible tells us that this earth age, or flesh age shall end with this current generation. The exact time left is unknown, but we have the events spelled out in prophecy that are our guideposts to inform us of the seasons, and the sequential order of what shall come to pass. Though you gain all the power, and physical wealth of the world age now, once Christ returns, it will cease to exist, and for that short pleasure of wealth, you have given up your very soul.

Never trade your soul for something in this world. Can you be bought? Well there has been a price so great already paid for your soul, and that price was the death of Christ on the cross. He made it possible for you to live eternally. Would you barter for anything that could cause you to lose your eternal life? It just isn't worth the wealth of the world, and a short pleasure, to lose what God has offered to you.

You must follow Christ, and stay disciplined to His Word, for those that stay true, though they be poor, are rich in the world to come. Jesus addressed this in His promises to the church of Smyrna, in Revelation 2:10; "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."

My fellow Christisn, that "crown of Life" is eternal life and there is nothing that Satan can offer you that can match the value of your crown of Life. That crown allows you to live eternally as a son of God, and be joint heirs with Jesus Christ in His eternal kingdom. It is your crown, and the mind of the flesh simply cannot understand what it's full meaning is. The pay scale for serving Christ on earth is tremendous, and is beyond the value of man's money system. The retirement benefits include a body that never grows old, a home that never ages, the fresh rivers of water that flows right from the throne of God, and those waters will never give you thirst. You just can not compare anything to your crown of Life, in this earth age.

And you will have the love of God poured upon you, for serving in His service, and being faithful in the things that He has you do.

Matthew 16:27 "For the son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works."

First notice that there is no gender to every man. It applies to men and women in their spiritual, incorruptible bodies. When Jesus Christ returns as the King of kings, and Lord of lords, He will come with His angels, and in the glory and power of the Almighty Father. Remember back in I Corinthians 15:52, Paul told us exactly when that day would be, "At the last trump" the seventh trump.

At that time Jesus will be handing out the rewards that you have earned while you were in the flesh, in this flesh earth age. The Millennium age will also be here on earth, but it will not be part of this flesh age, for all flesh will be changed in the wink of an eye. Then it will be payday. Payday for your faith or belief? Yes you will then be awarded eternal life, But, you will also receive your  PAY FOR YOUR WORKS, those works for Christ in planting seeds, and showing kindness in the name of the Lord. For studying His Word, and being a doer of the Word that God has instructed us in. Rewards for the discipline in tending to the gifts that the Heavenly Father has placed in our hands to complete His work while in this earth age.

This has nothing to do with the legality of saved by works or faith; it has everything to do with whether you were faithful in the things where God has placed you. Those things may consist of praying for the ones that the Holy Spirit of God has placed on your heart, or the development of your voice to where you can be used in the choir, and your tending to that some other gift. It may be the serving food at the mission weekly or monthly, with a warm smile, or even giving a glass of water in love and with a smile to the neighbor, as unto the Lord. Those are your works, my friend, it is not what you gave, but how you gave them. Was it in love, unto the Lord. That is what the rewards of your works are based on.

Stop and evaluate your motives of what you do, and how and why you do it. That is all part of the discipline Christ is trying to instill in His disciples, and if you claim the name of Christ, it's aimed at you. Without works, you will be scantily clad in the life to come, for that is what your garment is made of. Nothing else gains those  rewards.

Matthew 16:28 "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom."

A lot of people have difficulty with this verse, however with the rest of God's Word it is simple. Jesus spoke of His crucifixion, and that He would rise on the third day, and when He rose He had His kingdom with Him. And all but Judas would see Him in His glorified body, the King of the kingdom. When Christ came out of the tomb, He became the King of His kingdom, and all those that claim the name of Christ are of the kingdom of God.

The reason that Jesus did not say that all of them that stood there would "not taste of death" till they saw Jesus, the Son of man in His kingdom, is that When Judas betrayed Christ, the money was throne back at the Kenites then Judas went out and repented. We know from The Acts 1:18 that the Kenites killed Judas after his repentance, for they not only hung him, but slit him wide open. "Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out."

The Kenite religious leaders had the money, and it was the religious leaders that bought the potters field with the thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave, and after they bought the field, they did their job on Judas. Many today believe the Kenite lie and traditional doctrine that Judas hung himself and slit himself wide open. This is why Jesus told the disciple that "some standing here", all but Judas saw Jesus Christ in that upper room, after His resurrection.

"Are you able to discern the times (season) in which we now live?"

In this 16th chapter of the Book of Matthew, Jesus Christ is going to give His disciples, including and especially those in this final generation, an important lesson in spiritual discernment. So far we have seen how the traditions of men run contrary to and transgress the laws of God and we have also witnessed how that the feeding of the multitudes by His disciples is to be accomplished whereby the bread is taken directly from Jesus Christ, from the Word of God, and distributed in an orderly fashion. The lesson to be learned from this is that when the bread comes directly from the rightly divided Word of God, it is pure and unadulterated for it has been blessed by Him, even as we saw in the example He provided for us in Matthew 14:19, "... and looking up to heaven, He blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to His disciples, and the disciples to the multitude."

Now once again here come the Pharisees, only this time they come with the Sadducees, a sect who does not believe in the resurrection, i.e. life after death. One who is a disciple of Christ and a servant of the Living God should always take heed and beware of the approach of religious leaders.

Matthew 16:1
The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired Him that He would shew them a sign from heaven.

Let's see how much discernment these Pharisees and Sadducees are capable of as Christ addresses them.

[2] He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.

[3]And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

The point is, the signs of the advent of Messiah were happening all around them even as the abundance of the prophecies contained in the law and the prophets were being fulfilled moment by moment by the wondrous miracle, Emmanuel, standing presently before them.

*discern, diakrino, dee-ak-ree'-no, Greek 1252; from Greek 1223 (dia) and Greek 2919 (krino); to separate thoroughly i.e. (literal and reflexive) to withdraw from, or (by implication) oppose; figurative to discriminate (by implication decide), or (reflexive) hesitate :- contend, make (to) differ (-ence), discern, doubt, judge, be partial, stagger, waver.

**hypocrites - G5273 hupokrite?s hoop-ok-ree-tace'
From G5271; an actor under an assumed character (stage player), that is, (figuratively) a dissembler (“hypocrite”): - hypocrite.

*times, kairos, kahee-ros', Greek 2540; of uncertain affinity; an occasion, i.e. set or proper time :- × always, opportunity, (convenient, due) season, (due, short, while) time, a while. Compare Greek 5550 (chronos).

[4] A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And He left them, and departed.

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Editors note:The sign of Jonas is three full days and three full nights in the whale's belly, i.e. Jesus to spend three full days and three full nights in the tomb. That's the sign, Not Good Friday until Sunday before sun rise!  See Pamphlets #1071   &   #7082

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This is important because Satan and his crowd love to put on a show of miracles to deceive people and when he is cast out of heaven to this earth to play the role of Messiah, though he will be the "Instead-of-Christ", the false messiah), he will perform mighty miracles in the sight of men as "signs" that he is the true Christ.

Take heed for it is so written:

2 Thes. 2:8
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

[9] Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

[10] And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

[11] And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

But the Big Lie that they are going to swallow hook, line, and sinker, is that the first supernatural entity who comes to this earth, which will be the false messiah, Satan himself (Rev. 12:7-9), is Jesus Christ.

Why will they believe he is Christ?Because they do not know and love and believe the truth of His Word! (All they know is the milk) However, many of them love to go to church and follow the iniquitous traditions of men which are unrighteousness indeed because, as we have already learned, they make void the Word of God.

 [12] That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

pleasure, eudokeo, yoo-dok-eh'-o, Greek 2106; from Greek 2095 (eu) and Greek 1380 (dokeo); to think well of, i.e. approve (an act); specially to approbate (a person or thing) :- think good, (be well) please (-d), be the good (have, take) pleasure, be willing.

Matthew 16:4 A *wicked and * *adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And He left them, and departed.

*wicked, poneros, pon-ay-ros', Greek 4190; from a derivative of Greek 4192 (ponos); hurtful, i.e. evil (properly in effect or influence, and thus differing from Greek 2556 (kakos), which refers rather to essential character, as well as from Greek 4550 (sapros), which indicates degeneracy from original virtue); figurative calamitous; also (passive) ill, i.e. diseased; but especially (morally) culpable, i.e. derelict, vicious, facinorous; neuter (singular) mischief, malice, or (plural) guilt; masculine (singular) the devil, or (plural) sinners :- bad, evil, grievous, harm, lewd, malicious, wicked (-ness). See also Greek 4191 (poneroteros).

* *adulterous, moichos, moy-khos', Greek 3432; perhaps a primary word; a (male) paramour; figurative apostate :- adulterer.

Main Entry: ¹adul·ter·ate
Pronunciation: &-'d&l-t&-"rAt
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): -at·ed; -at·ing
Etymology: Latin adulteratus, past participle of adulterare, from ad- + alter other -- more at ELSE
Date: 1531
: to corrupt, debase, or make impure by the addition of a foreign or inferior substance or element; especially: to prepare for sale by replacing more valuable with less valuable or inert ingredients. See Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Matthew 16:5
And when His disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.

[6] Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

take heed, horao, hor-ah'-o, Greek 3708; properly to stare at [compare Greek 3700 (optanomai)], i.e. (by implication) to discern clearly (physical or mental); by extension to attend to; by Hebrew to experience; passive to appear :- behold, perceive, see, take heed.

[7] And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.

Oh, there is good news though! At least the disciples did not bring polluted and adulterated bread with them, right? Now for the chastisement and instruction in spiritual discernment which is given for our benefit "upon whom the ends of the world are come (1 Cor. 10:11)".

[8] Which when Jesus perceived, He said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?

Side Note: Have you ever taken notice of the actual physical "bread" processed by man in this Baby Boomer generation of the fig tree, for the spiritual analogy is fitting indeed? You "see", the bread makers take the pure grain of wheat and strip the nutritious outer shell from the inner kernel and then they bleach that kernel with a toxic poison to make it appear so "white" but in the process it is stripped of any beneficial nutritional elements that might have existed. Then they take a lump of niacin, thiamin, vitamin B1, etc., and throw it into the dough mixture and call it "fortified". Then it is leaven and puffed up with so much air that if you take a slice of it and squeeze it down, you are left with nothing but a fragment. But "oh baby", it really tastes great and once it is all packaged up bright and pretty and labeled "bread" our people believe that lie, and they take it, and they eat it! God help them!

Nevertheless, here is Christ's analogy using a reminder (remember this example) of the feeding of the multitudes with few loaves while many baskets of fragments were gathered up.

[9] Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?

[10] Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?

[11] How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? (church)

[12] Then understood they how that He bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Consider what Paul wrote in Galatians chapter five:

Galatians 5:6
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

[7] Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?

[8] This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.

[9] A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

So here are the words of the apostle Paul as he instructs us how to get rid of and purge out old leaven.

1 Cor. 5:7-8
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

[8] Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened breadof sincerity and truth.

sincerity, eilikrineia, i-lik-ree'-ni-ah, Greek 1505; from Greek 1506 (eilikrines); clearness, i.e. (by implication) purity (figurative) :- sincerity.

truth, aletheia, al-ay'-thi-a, Greek 225; from Greek 227 (alethes); truth :- true, × truly, truth, verity.

alethes, al-ay-thace', Greek 227; from Greek 1 (a) (as a negative particle) and Greek 2990 (lanthano); true (as not concealing) :- true, truly, truth.

Matthew 16:6
Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. (your church)

It is written and we have already learned in this great Book of Matthew that not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Let's review Christ's words in Matthew chapter seven:

Matthew 7:21-23
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

[22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

They were simply going to church and following what their churches and denominations taught them to do, which is to follow after the traditions of the elders. Uh oh! Didn't we learn that the traditions of men make void the Word of God? Yes we did (Mat. 15:6)! However, the sad fact is that many Christian churches, which should be houses of God (Bethels) built and established upon the foundation stone which is the Rock, the Word of God, are built upon the traditions of men which are likened unto sand that quickly erodes and washes away when the floods come and the winds blow and the rains beat down upon the houses (Mat. 7:27).

So you "see", the problem with those who cried Lord, Lord, Jesus is Lord, Praise the Lord, is that they were so busy doing their wonderful works in the name of Christ that they never quite got around to studying and knowing the Word of God that they might come to really know Him.

One MUST understand that in order to come to know the Living Word of God and the works He would have us do one must come to know the Written Word of God!  Here is what Christ will say to those who do not know Him when they try to cash in on their "wonderful works":

[23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

So the question to be considered and answered in today's study is, "Do you know who Jesus Christ is?"

Matthew 16:13
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

Question: How do you suppose most of our brothers and sisters today "see" Jesus Christ? As a man? Well, it should be obvious from their works, not their words "Lord, Lord", that they do not relate Him to the Word of God for it is that Word which they ignore. To wit, it is beyond dispute that the multitudes who profess Christianity are almost totally Biblically illiterate. Think about it as we continue with Christ's teachings.

[14] And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

Next question...

[15] He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

[16] And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

[17] And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Perhaps we can gain some insight into this by understanding the name by which Jesus purposely and teachfully referred to Peter. He said "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona. Simon means "hearing", Bar means "son of", and Jona (Jonah) means "Dove" which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 1:32). Simon Bar-Jonah thus means “The hearing of the Spirit” or “One who hears the Spirit”! Kind of reminds you of what Christ said to all seven churches in Rev. 2 & 3: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith...". Nevertheless, because Simon Bar-Jonah did hear he became a rock, petros, Peter, and was blessed (fortunate, happy) indeed! For that matter, whosoever will open their ears and hear the Word of God and keep it, shall be blessed!

Luke 11:28
But He said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

With that understanding and to that end, Christ is now going to teach us how His church is built up!

Matthew 16:18
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

petros, pet'-ros, Greek 4074; apparently a primary word; a (piece of) rock (larger than Greek 3037 (lithos)); as a name, Petrus, an apostle :- Peter, rock. Compare Greek 2786 (Kephas).

petra, pet'-ra, Greek 4073; feminine of the same as Greek 4074 (Petros); a (mass of) rock (literal or figurative) :- rock.

Here is your documentation:

John 1:42
And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, He said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

Isaiah 28:16
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

1 Peter 2:4-6
To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,

[5] Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

[6] Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded.

Matthew 7:24-25
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

[25] And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

We should also take note of the fact that there is a false rock, which unfortunately is the rock which most Christians "see", i.e. those who are Biblically illiterate and follow after the traditions of men which blinds them to the true Rock. This apostate rock is known as the king of Tyre in Ezekiel 28 and is none other that the soon coming false messiah, the son of perdition, Satan himself, who shall appear and deceive the whole world with his signs and great wonders which he shall perform in the sight of men (Rev. 13:13-14). Do you know what Tyre means in Hebrew? Would you believe "rock"?

Tyre, Tsor, tsore, Hebrew 6865; or Tsowr, tsore; the same as Hebrew 6864 (tsor); a rock; Tsor, a place in Palestine :- Tyre, Tyrus.

Deut. 32:31
For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.

1 Peter 2:8
And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

And by now you should know that to be disobedient is to follow the traditions of men (which are contrary to and make void the Word of God) and do it in the name of Christianity!

In our next study we will read and understand how truly blessed those are whose houses are founded upon the Rock! In fact, we will discover that Jesus Christ, the Word of God, actually gives them "the keys of the kingdom of heaven"!

Wow! How would like to have those? You can you know!

You might ask yourself ,"What will you take for your soul?"
So be careful what you do and who you follow!

We opened our last study with Matthew 7:21 where Christ said that not everyone who claims to be a Christian shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of His Father which is in heaven.

They who do His will are those Christians who have ears to hear Father's Word, as did Simon Barjona, and have come to KNOW Christ by becoming rock solid in their faith and belief through establishing their houses upon the foundation stone (Isa. 28:16), that chief cornerstone (1 Pet. 2:6), who is our Rock, Jesus Christ the Word of God. One who becomes such a petros and a "lively (living) stone (1 Pet. 2:4)", i.e. one who has life, is truly blessed of God even as Christ told Peter in Mat. 16:17!

You see, one must come to KNOW Christ as did Peter, which is why the Lord asked His disciples "Who do men say I am?" and "Who do you say I AM?" Those who follow after the traditions of men, never really come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ. It is those who hunger and thirst and seek Him through studying Father's Word who do know Him and thus become "living stones".

John 17:3
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Here is your documentation:

Matthew 23:13
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

Luke 11:52
Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

hindered, koluo, ko-loo'-o, Greek 2967; from the base of Greek 2849 (kolazo); to estop, i.e. prevent (by word or act) :- forbid, hinder, keep from, let, not suffer, withstand.

Most Christians do not even know that this informative letter exists because the church systems have had it "taken away", removed from the preface of the Bibles so that you wouldn't read it. Why?

Because for one thing the translators expose the fact that back then in order for a member of the predominant church to gain access and read the scriptures, one had to obtain a "license."And in order to get that one had to show himself "approved" to his confessor! The bottom line was that they did NOT want the people to have access to God's Word whereby they could come to an understanding of the truth and be set free from the captivity of their traditions.

Here is an excerpt from that "Letter to the Reader":

"Now the Church [name of church withheld] would seem at the length to bear a motherly affection towards her children, and to allow them the Scriptures in their mother tongue: but indeed it is a gift, not deserving to be called a gift, an unprofitable gift: [Sophecles] they must first get a License in writing before they may use them, and to get that, they must approve themselves to their Confessor, that is, to be such as are, if not frozen in the dregs, yet soured with the leaven of their superstition. Howbeit, it seemed too much to Clement the Eighth that there should be any License granted to have them in the vulgar tongue, and therefore he overruleth and frustrateth the grant of Pius the Fourth. [See the observation (set forth by Clemen. His authority) upon the 4. rule of Pius the 4. his making in the index, lib. prohib. pag. 15. ver. 5.] So much are they afraid of the light of the Scripture, (Lucifugae Scripturarum, as Tertulian speaketh) that they will not trust the people with it, no not as it is set forth by their own sworn men, no not with the License of their own Bishops and Inquisitors. Yea, so unwilling they are to communicate the Scriptures to the people's understanding in any sort, that they are not ashamed to confess, that we forced them to translate it into English against their wills. This seemeth to argue a bad cause, or a bad conscience, or both. Sure we are, that it is not he that hath good gold, that is afraid to bring it to the touchstone, but he that hath the counterfeit; [Tertul. de resur. carnis.] neither is it the true man that shunneth the light, but the malefactor, lest his deeds should be reproved [John 3:20]: neither is it the plain dealing Merchant that is unwilling to have the weights, or the meteyard brought in place, but he that useth deceit. But we will let them alone for this fault, and return to translation."

With that background in mind, let us continue our study of Matthew 16 where Christ has just told Peter that He will build His church upon this Rock (Petra), which is Christ. Notice what He gives to those who know Him and are founded upon that Rock.

Matthew 16:19
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.

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

John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Galatians 5:1
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Remember that the subject Christ has been addressing here in Matthew 16 concerning the "rock" and the "keys" is the building of the church. Let us document concerning those keys given to His church, that the opening and shutting on earth (to the truth of His Word) is done in heaven by the One who holds the keys.

By the way, here is Strong's definition of the word "keys".

keys, kleis, klice, Greek 2807; from Greek 2808 (kleio); a key (as shutting a lock), literal or figurative :- key.

Rev. 3:7-8
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

Do you have that key of David?

[8] I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

name, onoma, on'-om-ah, Greek 3686; from a presumed derivative of the base of Greek 1097 (ginosko) (compare Greek 3685 (oninemi)); a "name" (literal or figurative) [authority, character] :- called, (+ sur-) name (-d).

Rev. 3:9-10
Behold,I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

It is because...

[10] Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

Matthew 16:20
Then charged He His disciples that they should tell no man that He was Jesus the Christ.

Here (hear) then is something that was already revealed from heaven, meaning it was written in the scriptures.

Matthew 16:21
From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Jesus Christ has just declared to His disciples the will of God, even that which was already written and foretold of in the Word of God, e.g. Psalms 22, in that He came to suffer and to pay the price on the cross! However, immediately upon hearing this, with Satan's influence Peter allows his emotions to be aroused by the fact that he did not want Christ to be harmed in anyway. He therefore began to rebuke (as in hinder) Jesus Christ, the Word of God. You could even say that by allowing the spirit of his emotions to take charge, because it seemed so negative and didn't "feel good", Peter would have locked the scriptures and prevent them from coming to pass. Imagine that! Peter didn't want the Lamb of God to be slain! Where would that have left you and me? Answer: Dead in our sins!

[22] Then Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

Notice what happens next.

[23] But He turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Here is the point Christ wants us to learn from the event we just witnessed:

[24] Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

John 15:20-21
Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

[21] But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not Him that sent me.

Luke 23:33-34
And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

[34] Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

[25] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

[26] For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Matthew 4:8-10
Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

[9] And saith unto Him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

[10] Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.

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

So be careful what you do and who you follow! If you take the easy route and follow after the traditions of men, doing the "wonderful works" that preachers and pastors tell you to, then it is written (Mat. 7:21) that you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven! If you take up your cross and follow the Word of God and come to know Christ, then you shall be given the keys to the kingdom and the door shall be opened unto you and you shall become a "living stone" and make up the temple of God.

The choice is yours and when Christ returns you shall receive exactly what you have coming to you!

Matthew 16:27
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.

[28] Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Matthew 16:13
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

You might ask yourself ,"What will you take for your soul?"
So be careful what you do and who you follow!

We opened our last study with Matthew 7:21 where Christ said that not everyone who claims to be a Christian shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of His Father which is in heaven.

They who do His will are those Christians who have ears to hear Father's Word, as did Simon Barjona, and have come to KNOW Christ by becoming rock solid in their faith and belief through establishing their houses upon the foundation stone (Isa. 28:16), that chief cornerstone (1 Pet. 2:6), who is our Rock, Jesus Christ the Word of God. One who becomes such a petros and a "lively (living) stone (1 Pet. 2:4)", i.e. one who has life, is truly blessed of God even as Christ told Peter in Mat. 16:17!

You see, one must come to KNOW Christ as did Peter, which is why the Lord asked His disciples "Who do men say I am?" and "Who do you say I AM?" Those who follow after the traditions of men, never really come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ. It is those who hunger and thirst and seek Him through studying Father's Word who do know Him and thus become "living stones".

John 17:3
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Again, the point is that those who simply go to church and blindly listen to preachers and ministers who teach and follow after the traditions of the elders and then do the works they tell them to do, shall NOT enter into the kingdom of God. Why? Because as we have seen, those traditions are contrary to the Word of God which make them iniquitous indeed and they prevent our people from ever coming to a knowledge of the truth. Therefore, as it is written, those false shepherds "shut up the kingdom of heaven" to those who would enter in!

Here is your documentation:

Matthew 23:13
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

By teaching false doctrines and promoting fairy tales, like snakes and apples, etc., they have "taken away the key of knowledge" to the truth of God's Word and thus they hinder (prevent) our brothers and sisters from ever knowing Him and entering into the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 11:52
Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

hindered, koluo, ko-loo'-o, Greek 2967; from the base of Greek 2849 (kolazo); to estop, i.e. prevent (by word or act) :- forbid, hinder, keep from, let, not suffer, withstand.

And lest someone say that Christ is referring only to the Jews and their Rabbis, I challenge you to read the letter that the translators of the King James Bible, back in 1611, wrote unto you, the English reader, regarding this very subject of hindering (among many others).

Most Christians do not even know that this informative letter exists because the church systems have had it "taken away", removed from the preface of the Bibles so that you wouldn't read it. Why?

Because for one thing the translators expose the fact that back then in order for a member of the predominant church to gain access and read the scriptures, one had to obtain a "license."And in order to get that one had to show himself "approved" to his confessor! The bottom line was that they did NOT want the people to have access to God's Word whereby they could come to an understanding of the truth and be set free from the captivity of their traditions.

Here is an excerpt from that "Letter to the Reader":

"Now the Church [name of church withheld] would seem at the length to bear a motherly affection towards her children, and to allow them the Scriptures in their mother tongue: but indeed it is a gift, not deserving to be called a gift, an unprofitable gift: [Sophecles] they must first get a License in writing before they may use them, and to get that, they must approve themselves to their Confessor, that is, to be such as are, if not frozen in the dregs, yet soured with the leaven of their superstition. Howbeit, it seemed too much to Clement the Eighth that there should be any License granted to have them in the vulgar tongue, and therefore he overruleth and frustrateth the grant of Pius the Fourth. [See the observation (set forth by Clemen. His authority) upon the 4. rule of Pius the 4. his making in the index, lib. prohib. pag. 15. ver. 5.] So much are they afraid of the light of the Scripture, (Lucifugae Scripturarum, as Tertulian speaketh) that they will not trust the people with it, no not as it is set forth by their own sworn men, no not with the License of their own Bishops and Inquisitors. Yea, so unwilling they are to communicate the Scriptures to the people's understanding in any sort, that they are not ashamed to confess, that we forced them to translate it into English against their wills. This seemeth to argue a bad cause, or a bad conscience, or both. Sure we are, that it is not he that hath good gold, that is afraid to bring it to the touchstone, but he that hath the counterfeit; [Tertul. de resur. carnis.] neither is it the true man that shunneth the light, but the malefactor, lest his deeds should be reproved [John 3:20]: neither is it the plain dealing Merchant that is unwilling to have the weights, or the meteyard brought in place, but he that useth deceit. But we will let them alone for this fault, and return to translation."

With that background in mind, let us continue our study of Matthew 16 where Christ has just told Peter that He will build His church upon this Rock (Petra), which is Christ. Notice what He gives to those who know Him and are founded upon that Rock.

Matthew 16:19
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.

Christ's servants do not teach nor follow the traditions of men and therefore they do NOT as the false shepherds do and shut up the kingdom of heaven. They both "hear" and "do" their Father's will, which is to keep His Word. You see, it is Jesus Christ, the Word of God, that gives them "the keys of the kingdom of heaven", those keys to the door that leads to salvation, which is entrance into the kingdom of heaven. You "see", Jesus Christ is that "door"! John 10:9 "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." It is Christ, the Anointed One of God, who "binds up the broken hearted" and "opens the prison to them that are bound"! That is what the "binding" and "loosing" has to do with... salvation and entrance into the kingdom.

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

Therefore BEWARE of false shepherds from any church or denomination who would tell you that Mat. 16:19 gives the authority to "men" to do as they please, to bind and loose their traditions and their false doctrines upon people! They place "yokes of bondage" upon our brothers and sisters in many areas of their lives and claim the very verse that tells us how to loose one from traditions and bind them to His truth as their authority! Good grief Charlie Brown! The keys of the kingdom which unlock the truth and pure knowledge of His Word give us "liberty" (Isa. 61:1) and free us from the yoke of bondage which are the traditions of men... NOT the other way around!

John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Do you know the truth of His Word? If you stand fast upon that Rock and believe Him, not preachers and men who come in the name of Christ and deceive the multitudes, then He will set you free indeed!

Galatians 5:1
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Again, the "keys" that are entrusted to His servants come directly from Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the One whose keys they are, and NOT from men and their traditions. Do not let the "scribes and Pharisees" and the scripture lawyers of today take away those precious keys of His truth and prevent you from entering in at the door! Luke 11:52 "Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered."

Remember that the subject Christ has been addressing here in Matthew 16 concerning the "rock" and the "keys" is the building of the church. Let us document concerning those keys given to His church, that the opening and shutting on earth (to the truth of His Word) is done in heaven by the One who holds the keys.

By the way, here is Strong's definition of the word "keys".

keys, kleis, klice, Greek 2807; from Greek 2808 (kleio); a key (as shutting a lock), literal or figurative :- key.

Rev. 3:7-8
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

The key of David is one of those keys of knowledge that one must receive from He that is holy, He that is true, He that has the keys to give out! And there are only two churches out of the seven (seven denotes completeness in Biblical numerics, i.e. all the churches) that have the key of David which unlocks the true lineage of Christ and the House of Israel and identifies the kenites, those who claim to be Jews and God's chosen people but who are not! Christ finds no fault with these two churches (Philadelphia and Smyrna) but the rest have some serious overcoming to do in order to please Him. "He that hath an ear, let him hear (Simon means hearing) what the Spirit (symbolized by the dove, Barjona) saith unto the churches.

Do you have that key of David?

[8] I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

The door (Jesus Christ) is open to His disciples, those students of His Word who both "keep His Word" and do not deny His name, meaning the authority of His Word.

name, onoma, on'-om-ah, Greek 3686; from a presumed derivative of the base of Greek 1097 (ginosko) (compare Greek 3685 (oninemi)); a "name" (literal or figurative) [authority, character] :- called, (+ sur-) name (-d).

Rev. 3:9-10
Behold,I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Jesus Christ both knows and loves those of the church of Philadelphia and Smyrna for a very special reason!

It is because...

[10] Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

It is because they love to study His Word (i.e. hear the truth from Him) and they keep that Word (i.e. they do it). Therefore Christ gives them the keys that "unlock" the scriptures and reveal His truth to them. That's all there is to it and nothing more need be said.

Matthew 16:20
Then charged He His disciples that they should tell no man that He was Jesus the Christ.

Most scholars point out that at this time Christ had not paid the price on the cross and given the sign of Jonah, so that it was not time yet to declare that Christ was Messiah (See also Mat. 17:9). And while that is certainly true, consider also that the subject is still the building of His church and how one comes to know who Christ is. To that end, we just learned that He gives the keys of the kingdom of heaven which lock and unlock the truth which no man can open or shut to His servants. In other words, man cannot reveal to you who Christ is, only the Father which is in heaven... remember? That is how you become a "petros" and a "living stone". You "see", you can go around all you want and cry "Lord, Lord" and tell people that Jesus Christ is Messiah, even now after His crucifixion. But unless and until one receives the keys of the kingdom of heaven from Christ, that one shall not enter in! Therefore, share the keys of knowledge and truth with whosoever will hear and do Father's Word.

Here (hear) then is something that was already revealed from heaven, meaning it was written in the scriptures.

Matthew 16:21
From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

"From that time forth" marks the beginning of "the third period of the Lord's ministry, the subject of which is the rejection of the Messiah" (See pg. 1346 and appendix 119 in the Companion Bible) . We begin that period by learning how easily Satan can use even a disciple's love for the Lord to interfere and hinder the will of God and His purposeful plan.

Jesus Christ has just declared to His disciples the will of God, even that which was already written and foretold of in the Word of God, e.g. Psalms 22, in that He came to suffer and to pay the price on the cross! However, immediately upon hearing this, with Satan's influence Peter allows his emotions to be aroused by the fact that he did not want Christ to be harmed in anyway. He therefore began to rebuke (as in hinder) Jesus Christ, the Word of God. You could even say that by allowing the spirit of his emotions to take charge, because it seemed so negative and didn't "feel good", Peter would have locked the scriptures and prevent them from coming to pass. Imagine that! Peter didn't want the Lamb of God to be slain! Where would that have left you and me? Answer: Dead in our sins!

[22] Then Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

"THIS SHALL NOT BE!" Peter, Peter! That's the plan... written in the scriptures, written in the Word of God, and even written in the stars! The Lamb of God shall be slain. If Christ would not have been crucified we would not have forgiveness and would be lost forever.The point to keep in mind as we read the next few verses is that it is a serious offence to hinder the plan of God for it affects the lives, even the eternal lives, of others.

Notice what happens next.

[23] But He turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Christ speaks to Peter but is directly addressing Satan when He says, "Get thee behind me, Satan!" In other words, He is not calling Peter Satan but is rebuking Satan and driving him out, as in giving the old serpent the boot! You see, Satan was present and trying to "hinder" the Word of God through Peter!

Here is the point Christ wants us to learn from the event we just witnessed:

[24] Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

"IF" you want to be a disciple and follow of Jesus Christ, then you better be willing to deny your own personal feelings and beliefs and take up your cross and teach and follow the Word of God as it is written... regardless of whether or not it pleases men, even you, yourself.You see, it is "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven", NOT our will! In other words, a "cross" is taken up to be crucified upon. If you are not convicted to the point that you are willing to die for Him, for the truth of His Word, then you are not really convicted at all! This is Satan's hour and you had better expect persecution to come your way, if you are one who "keeps His Word"! That is not to say that you will be killed or crucified, but a true Christian and disciple of His does not fear those who can kill the flesh, but rather fears (loves and reveres) He who can kill both the soul and the body in "gehenna", i.e. in the lake of fire (Matthew 10:28).

John 15:20-21
Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

Persecution comes with the territory!

[21] But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not Him that sent me.

Again, they do not know Christ, the Anointed One of God. Therefore as Christ would even say as He hung on His cross... "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

Luke 23:33-34
And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

[34] Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

So the choice is yours.If you are willing to compromise with Satan to spare your own life then you are not worthy of Him for you are not a true follower of Christ, one who stands steadfast upon the Rock and cannot be shaken.

[25] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

You might ask yourself ,"What will you take for your soul?" Satan will use whatever your individual desires and weaknesses are, even your love (phileo) for the Lord Jesus Christ or even your own family, to throw you off track and hinder you from following Jesus Christ and doing His Will. In fact, it is written in the great Book of Daniel that Satan as the false messiah who is cast out of heaven (Rev. 12:7-9) and comes to this earth to deceive the whole world, will enter in peaceably and prosperously with an entitlement program designed just for you! What will you take for your soul or to sell out your family and friends as so many of our religious leaders and politicians have already done?

[26] For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Consider carefully the hypothetical, "What if Satan offered you the whole world?" He did to Jesus Christ, you know? Remember back in Matthew chapter 4?

Matthew 4:8-10
Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

[9] And saith unto Him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

He will make you an offer also!

[10] Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.

Christ said the same thing to Satan then as He said to Satan when he tried to influence Peter. "Scram, your outta here!" There were NO negotiations either! Do not argue nor compromise with Satan when he tries to tempt or hinder you! Even Michael, the archangel, when Satan confronted him he did not argue with him but said, "The Lord rebuke thee!"

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

That's how it is done! Take heed and let Jesus Christ, the Word of God, rebuke Satan.

So be careful what you do and who you follow! If you take the easy route and follow after the traditions of men, doing the "wonderful works" that preachers and pastors tell you to, then it is written (Mat. 7:21) that you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven! If you take up your cross and follow the Word of God and come to know Christ, then you shall be given the keys to the kingdom and the door shall be opened unto you and you shall become a "living stone" and make up the temple of God.

The choice is yours and when Christ returns you shall receive exactly what you have coming to you!

Matthew 16:27
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.

Hopefully your reward will be that which is given to the overcomers in Rev. 2 & 3, those of the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia who both know Christ and keep His Word. Therefore, become familiar with the "works" of all seven of those churches Christ addressed and make sure your works align with His will and are not the iniquitous works of Churchianity made up of the traditions of men. Pay attention to the fact that He says to ALL seven churches, "I know your works"! That means He knows your works and my works and everyone else's too! So go to Him and seek Him and become established upon the Rock and He will give you the keys to kingdom of heaven and "the door" shall be opened unto you.

[28] Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

It is true that the disciples, all but Judas, saw Christ resurrected before they tasted death and in our next study Peter, James, and John will "see" Christ in His glory standing with Moses and Elijah (symbolic of the law and the prophets) on the mount of transfiguration. It is also true that Christ will return in the glory of His Father with His angels at the sound of the seventh trump and reward every man according to his works. However, let those with "eyes to see" and "ears to hear" also be reminded of the question Christ asked in verse 13 as He began this teaching:

Matthew 16:13
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

The next question to Peter, His disciple, was, "Who do you say I am?" Well, if you know who Christ is, that means He has given you the keys of the kingdom of heaven... and the door has been opened to you, then you know also who makes up His kingdom, don't you?

In our next study we will see Jesus take some of His disciples "up into a high mountain"! I wonder just how "high" that mountain will be!

You might ask yourself ,"What will you take for your soul?"
So be careful what you do and who you follow!

We opened our last study with Matthew 7:21 where Christ said that not everyone who claims to be a Christian shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of His Father which is in heaven.

They who do His will are those Christians who have ears to hear Father's Word, as did Simon Barjona, and have come to KNOW Christ by becoming rock solid in their faith and belief through establishing their houses upon the foundation stone (Isa. 28:16), that chief cornerstone (1 Pet. 2:6), who is our Rock, Jesus Christ the Word of God. One who becomes such a petros and a "lively (living) stone (1 Pet. 2:4)", i.e. one who has life, is truly blessed of God even as Christ told Peter in Mat. 16:17!

You see, one must come to KNOW Christ as did Peter, which is why the Lord asked His disciples "Who do men say I am?" and "Who do you say I AM?" Those who follow after the traditions of men, never really come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ. It is those who hunger and thirst and seek Him through studying Father's Word who do know Him and thus become "living stones".

John 17:3
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Again, the point is that those who simply go to church and blindly listen to preachers and ministers who teach and follow after the traditions of the elders and then do the works they tell them to do, shall NOT enter into the kingdom of God. Why? Because as we have seen, those traditions are contrary to the Word of God which make them iniquitous indeed and they prevent our people from ever coming to a knowledge of the truth. Therefore, as it is written, those false shepherds "shut up the kingdom of heaven" to those who would enter in!

Here is your documentation:

Matthew 23:13
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

By teaching false doctrines and promoting fairy tales, like snakes and apples, etc., they have "taken away the key of knowledge" to the truth of God's Word and thus they hinder (prevent) our brothers and sisters from ever knowing Him and entering into the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 11:52
Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

hindered, koluo, ko-loo'-o, Greek 2967; from the base of Greek 2849 (kolazo); to estop, i.e. prevent (by word or act) :- forbid, hinder, keep from, let, not suffer, withstand.

And lest someone say that Christ is referring only to the Jews and their Rabbis, I challenge you to read the letter that the translators of the King James Bible, back in 1611, wrote unto you, the English reader, regarding this very subject of hindering (among many others).

Most Christians do not even know that this informative letter exists because the church systems have had it "taken away", removed from the preface of the Bibles so that you wouldn't read it. Why?

Because for one thing the translators expose the fact that back then in order for a member of the predominant church to gain access and read the scriptures, one had to obtain a "license."And in order to get that one had to show himself "approved" to his confessor! The bottom line was that they did NOT want the people to have access to God's Word whereby they could come to an understanding of the truth and be set free from the captivity of their traditions.

Here is an excerpt from that "Letter to the Reader":

"Now the Church [name of church withheld] would seem at the length to bear a motherly affection towards her children, and to allow them the Scriptures in their mother tongue: but indeed it is a gift, not deserving to be called a gift, an unprofitable gift: [Sophecles] they must first get a License in writing before they may use them, and to get that, they must approve themselves to their Confessor, that is, to be such as are, if not frozen in the dregs, yet soured with the leaven of their superstition. Howbeit, it seemed too much to Clement the Eighth that there should be any License granted to have them in the vulgar tongue, and therefore he overruleth and frustrateth the grant of Pius the Fourth. [See the observation (set forth by Clemen. His authority) upon the 4. rule of Pius the 4. his making in the index, lib. prohib. pag. 15. ver. 5.] So much are they afraid of the light of the Scripture, (Lucifugae Scripturarum, as Tertulian speaketh) that they will not trust the people with it, no not as it is set forth by their own sworn men, no not with the License of their own Bishops and Inquisitors. Yea, so unwilling they are to communicate the Scriptures to the people's understanding in any sort, that they are not ashamed to confess, that we forced them to translate it into English against their wills. This seemeth to argue a bad cause, or a bad conscience, or both. Sure we are, that it is not he that hath good gold, that is afraid to bring it to the touchstone, but he that hath the counterfeit; [Tertul. de resur. carnis.] neither is it the true man that shunneth the light, but the malefactor, lest his deeds should be reproved [John 3:20]: neither is it the plain dealing Merchant that is unwilling to have the weights, or the meteyard brought in place, but he that useth deceit. But we will let them alone for this fault, and return to translation."

With that background in mind, let us continue our study of Matthew 16 where Christ has just told Peter that He will build His church upon this Rock (Petra), which is Christ. Notice what He gives to those who know Him and are founded upon that Rock.

Matthew 16:19
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.

Christ's servants do not teach nor follow the traditions of men and therefore they do NOT as the false shepherds do and shut up the kingdom of heaven. They both "hear" and "do" their Father's will, which is to keep His Word. You see, it is Jesus Christ, the Word of God, that gives them "the keys of the kingdom of heaven", those keys to the door that leads to salvation, which is entrance into the kingdom of heaven. You "see", Jesus Christ is that "door"! John 10:9 "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." It is Christ, the Anointed One of God, who "binds up the broken hearted" and "opens the prison to them that are bound"! That is what the "binding" and "loosing" has to do with... salvation and entrance into the kingdom.

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

Therefore BEWARE of false shepherds from any church or denomination who would tell you that Mat. 16:19 gives the authority to "men" to do as they please, to bind and loose their traditions and their false doctrines upon people! They place "yokes of bondage" upon our brothers and sisters in many areas of their lives and claim the very verse that tells us how to loose one from traditions and bind them to His truth as their authority! Good grief Charlie Brown! The keys of the kingdom which unlock the truth and pure knowledge of His Word give us "liberty" (Isa. 61:1) and free us from the yoke of bondage which are the traditions of men... NOT the other way around!

John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Do you know the truth of His Word? If you stand fast upon that Rock and believe Him, not preachers and men who come in the name of Christ and deceive the multitudes, then He will set you free indeed!

Galatians 5:1
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Again, the "keys" that are entrusted to His servants come directly from Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the One whose keys they are, and NOT from men and their traditions. Do not let the "scribes and Pharisees" and the scripture lawyers of today take away those precious keys of His truth and prevent you from entering in at the door! Luke 11:52 "Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered."

Remember that the subject Christ has been addressing here in Matthew 16 concerning the "rock" and the "keys" is the building of the church. Let us document concerning those keys given to His church, that the opening and shutting on earth (to the truth of His Word) is done in heaven by the One who holds the keys.

By the way, here is Strong's definition of the word "keys".

keys, kleis, klice, Greek 2807; from Greek 2808 (kleio); a key (as shutting a lock), literal or figurative :- key.

Rev. 3:7-8
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

The key of David is one of those keys of knowledge that one must receive from He that is holy, He that is true, He that has the keys to give out! And there are only two churches out of the seven (seven denotes completeness in Biblical numerics, i.e. all the churches) that have the key of David which unlocks the true lineage of Christ and the House of Israel and identifies the kenites, those who claim to be Jews and God's chosen people but who are not! Christ finds no fault with these two churches (Philadelphia and Smyrna) but the rest have some serious overcoming to do in order to please Him. "He that hath an ear, let him hear (Simon means hearing) what the Spirit (symbolized by the dove, Barjona) saith unto the churches.

Do you have that key of David?

[8] I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

The door (Jesus Christ) is open to His disciples, those students of His Word who both "keep His Word" and do not deny His name, meaning the authority of His Word.

name, onoma, on'-om-ah, Greek 3686; from a presumed derivative of the base of Greek 1097 (ginosko) (compare Greek 3685 (oninemi)); a "name" (literal or figurative) [authority, character] :- called, (+ sur-) name (-d).

Rev. 3:9-10
Behold,I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Jesus Christ both knows and loves those of the church of Philadelphia and Smyrna for a very special reason!

It is because...

[10] Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

It is because they love to study His Word (i.e. hear the truth from Him) and they keep that Word (i.e. they do it). Therefore Christ gives them the keys that "unlock" the scriptures and reveal His truth to them. That's all there is to it and nothing more need be said.

Matthew 16:20
Then charged He His disciples that they should tell no man that He was Jesus the Christ.

Most scholars point out that at this time Christ had not paid the price on the cross and given the sign of Jonah, so that it was not time yet to declare that Christ was Messiah (See also Mat. 17:9). And while that is certainly true, consider also that the subject is still the building of His church and how one comes to know who Christ is. To that end, we just learned that He gives the keys of the kingdom of heaven which lock and unlock the truth which no man can open or shut to His servants. In other words, man cannot reveal to you who Christ is, only the Father which is in heaven... remember? That is how you become a "petros" and a "living stone". You "see", you can go around all you want and cry "Lord, Lord" and tell people that Jesus Christ is Messiah, even now after His crucifixion. But unless and until one receives the keys of the kingdom of heaven from Christ, that one shall not enter in! Therefore, share the keys of knowledge and truth with whosoever will hear and do Father's Word.

Here (hear) then is something that was already revealed from heaven, meaning it was written in the scriptures.

Matthew 16:21
From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

"From that time forth" marks the beginning of "the third period of the Lord's ministry, the subject of which is the rejection of the Messiah" (See pg. 1346 and appendix 119 in the Companion Bible) . We begin that period by learning how easily Satan can use even a disciple's love for the Lord to interfere and hinder the will of God and His purposeful plan.

Jesus Christ has just declared to His disciples the will of God, even that which was already written and foretold of in the Word of God, e.g. Psalms 22, in that He came to suffer and to pay the price on the cross! However, immediately upon hearing this, with Satan's influence Peter allows his emotions to be aroused by the fact that he did not want Christ to be harmed in anyway. He therefore began to rebuke (as in hinder) Jesus Christ, the Word of God. You could even say that by allowing the spirit of his emotions to take charge, because it seemed so negative and didn't "feel good", Peter would have locked the scriptures and prevent them from coming to pass. Imagine that! Peter didn't want the Lamb of God to be slain! Where would that have left you and me? Answer: Dead in our sins!

[22] Then Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

"THIS SHALL NOT BE!" Peter, Peter! That's the plan... written in the scriptures, written in the Word of God, and even written in the stars! The Lamb of God shall be slain. If Christ would not have been crucified we would not have forgiveness and would be lost forever.The point to keep in mind as we read the next few verses is that it is a serious offence to hinder the plan of God for it affects the lives, even the eternal lives, of others.

Notice what happens next.

[23] But He turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Christ speaks to Peter but is directly addressing Satan when He says, "Get thee behind me, Satan!" In other words, He is not calling Peter Satan but is rebuking Satan and driving him out, as in giving the old serpent the boot! You see, Satan was present and trying to "hinder" the Word of God through Peter!

Here is the point Christ wants us to learn from the event we just witnessed:

[24] Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

"IF" you want to be a disciple and follow of Jesus Christ, then you better be willing to deny your own personal feelings and beliefs and take up your cross and teach and follow the Word of God as it is written... regardless of whether or not it pleases men, even you, yourself.You see, it is "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven", NOT our will! In other words, a "cross" is taken up to be crucified upon. If you are not convicted to the point that you are willing to die for Him, for the truth of His Word, then you are not really convicted at all! This is Satan's hour and you had better expect persecution to come your way, if you are one who "keeps His Word"! That is not to say that you will be killed or crucified, but a true Christian and disciple of His does not fear those who can kill the flesh, but rather fears (loves and reveres) He who can kill both the soul and the body in "gehenna", i.e. in the lake of fire (Matthew 10:28).

John 15:20-21
Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

Persecution comes with the territory!

[21] But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not Him that sent me.

Again, they do not know Christ, the Anointed One of God. Therefore as Christ would even say as He hung on His cross... "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

Luke 23:33-34
And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

[34] Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

So the choice is yours.If you are willing to compromise with Satan to spare your own life then you are not worthy of Him for you are not a true follower of Christ, one who stands steadfast upon the Rock and cannot be shaken.

[25] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

You might ask yourself ,"What will you take for your soul?" Satan will use whatever your individual desires and weaknesses are, even your love (phileo) for the Lord Jesus Christ or even your own family, to throw you off track and hinder you from following Jesus Christ and doing His Will. In fact, it is written in the great Book of Daniel that Satan as the false messiah who is cast out of heaven (Rev. 12:7-9) and comes to this earth to deceive the whole world, will enter in peaceably and prosperously with an entitlement program designed just for you! What will you take for your soul or to sell out your family and friends as so many of our religious leaders and politicians have already done?

[26] For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Consider carefully the hypothetical, "What if Satan offered you the whole world?" He did to Jesus Christ, you know? Remember back in Matthew chapter 4?

Matthew 4:8-10
Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

[9] And saith unto Him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

He will make you an offer also!

[10] Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.

Christ said the same thing to Satan then as He said to Satan when he tried to influence Peter. "Scram, your outta here!" There were NO negotiations either! Do not argue nor compromise with Satan when he tries to tempt or hinder you! Even Michael, the archangel, when Satan confronted him he did not argue with him but said, "The Lord rebuke thee!"

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

That's how it is done! Take heed and let Jesus Christ, the Word of God, rebuke Satan.

So be careful what you do and who you follow! If you take the easy route and follow after the traditions of men, doing the "wonderful works" that preachers and pastors tell you to, then it is written (Mat. 7:21) that you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven! If you take up your cross and follow the Word of God and come to know Christ, then you shall be given the keys to the kingdom and the door shall be opened unto you and you shall become a "living stone" and make up the temple of God.

The choice is yours and when Christ returns you shall receive exactly what you have coming to you!

Matthew 16:27
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.

Hopefully your reward will be that which is given to the overcomers in Rev. 2 & 3, those of the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia who both know Christ and keep His Word. Therefore, become familiar with the "works" of all seven of those churches Christ addressed and make sure your works align with His will and are not the iniquitous works of Churchianity made up of the traditions of men. Pay attention to the fact that He says to ALL seven churches, "I know your works"! That means He knows your works and my works and everyone else's too! So go to Him and seek Him and become established upon the Rock and He will give you the keys to kingdom of heaven and "the door" shall be opened unto you.

[28] Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

It is true that the disciples, all but Judas, saw Christ resurrected before they tasted death and in our next study Peter, James, and John will "see" Christ in His glory standing with Moses and Elijah (symbolic of the law and the prophets) on the mount of transfiguration. It is also true that Christ will return in the glory of His Father with His angels at the sound of the seventh trump and reward every man according to his works. However, let those with "eyes to see" and "ears to hear" also be reminded of the question Christ asked in verse 13 as He began this teaching:

Matthew 16:13
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

The next question to Peter, His disciple, was, "Who do you say I am?" Well, if you know who Christ is, that means He has given you the keys of the kingdom of heaven... and the door has been opened to you, then you know also who makes up His kingdom, don't you?

In our next study we will see Jesus take some of His disciples "up into a high mountain"! I wonder just how "high" that mountain will be!

You might ask yourself ,"What will you take for your soul?"
So be careful what you do and who you follow!

We opened our last study with Matthew 7:21 where Christ said that not everyone who claims to be a Christian shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of His Father which is in heaven.

They who do His will are those Christians who have ears to hear Father's Word, as did Simon Barjona, and have come to KNOW Christ by becoming rock solid in their faith and belief through establishing their houses upon the foundation stone (Isa. 28:16), that chief cornerstone (1 Pet. 2:6), who is our Rock, Jesus Christ the Word of God. One who becomes such a petros and a "lively (living) stone (1 Pet. 2:4)", i.e. one who has life, is truly blessed of God even as Christ told Peter in Mat. 16:17!

You see, one must come to KNOW Christ as did Peter, which is why the Lord asked His disciples "Who do men say I am?" and "Who do you say I AM?" Those who follow after the traditions of men, never really come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ. It is those who hunger and thirst and seek Him through studying Father's Word who do know Him and thus become "living stones".

John 17:3
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Again, the point is that those who simply go to church and blindly listen to preachers and ministers who teach and follow after the traditions of the elders and then do the works they tell them to do, shall NOT enter into the kingdom of God. Why? Because as we have seen, those traditions are contrary to the Word of God which make them iniquitous indeed and they prevent our people from ever coming to a knowledge of the truth. Therefore, as it is written, those false shepherds "shut up the kingdom of heaven" to those who would enter in!

Here is your documentation:

Matthew 23:13
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

By teaching false doctrines and promoting fairy tales, like snakes and apples, etc., they have "taken away the key of knowledge" to the truth of God's Word and thus they hinder (prevent) our brothers and sisters from ever knowing Him and entering into the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 11:52
Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

hindered, koluo, ko-loo'-o, Greek 2967; from the base of Greek 2849 (kolazo); to estop, i.e. prevent (by word or act) :- forbid, hinder, keep from, let, not suffer, withstand.

And lest someone say that Christ is referring only to the Jews and their Rabbis, I challenge you to read the letter that the translators of the King James Bible, back in 1611, wrote unto you, the English reader, regarding this very subject of hindering (among many others).

Most Christians do not even know that this informative letter exists because the church systems have had it "taken away", removed from the preface of the Bibles so that you wouldn't read it. Why?

Because for one thing the translators expose the fact that back then in order for a member of the predominant church to gain access and read the scriptures, one had to obtain a "license."And in order to get that one had to show himself "approved" to his confessor! The bottom line was that they did NOT want the people to have access to God's Word whereby they could come to an understanding of the truth and be set free from the captivity of their traditions.

Here is an excerpt from that "Letter to the Reader":

"Now the Church [name of church withheld] would seem at the length to bear a motherly affection towards her children, and to allow them the Scriptures in their mother tongue: but indeed it is a gift, not deserving to be called a gift, an unprofitable gift: [Sophecles] they must first get a License in writing before they may use them, and to get that, they must approve themselves to their Confessor, that is, to be such as are, if not frozen in the dregs, yet soured with the leaven of their superstition. Howbeit, it seemed too much to Clement the Eighth that there should be any License granted to have them in the vulgar tongue, and therefore he overruleth and frustrateth the grant of Pius the Fourth. [See the observation (set forth by Clemen. His authority) upon the 4. rule of Pius the 4. his making in the index, lib. prohib. pag. 15. ver. 5.] So much are they afraid of the light of the Scripture, (Lucifugae Scripturarum, as Tertulian speaketh) that they will not trust the people with it, no not as it is set forth by their own sworn men, no not with the License of their own Bishops and Inquisitors. Yea, so unwilling they are to communicate the Scriptures to the people's understanding in any sort, that they are not ashamed to confess, that we forced them to translate it into English against their wills. This seemeth to argue a bad cause, or a bad conscience, or both. Sure we are, that it is not he that hath good gold, that is afraid to bring it to the touchstone, but he that hath the counterfeit; [Tertul. de resur. carnis.] neither is it the true man that shunneth the light, but the malefactor, lest his deeds should be reproved [John 3:20]: neither is it the plain dealing Merchant that is unwilling to have the weights, or the meteyard brought in place, but he that useth deceit. But we will let them alone for this fault, and return to translation."

With that background in mind, let us continue our study of Matthew 16 where Christ has just told Peter that He will build His church upon this Rock (Petra), which is Christ. Notice what He gives to those who know Him and are founded upon that Rock.

Matthew 16:19
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.

Christ's servants do not teach nor follow the traditions of men and therefore they do NOT as the false shepherds do and shut up the kingdom of heaven. They both "hear" and "do" their Father's will, which is to keep His Word. You see, it is Jesus Christ, the Word of God, that gives them "the keys of the kingdom of heaven", those keys to the door that leads to salvation, which is entrance into the kingdom of heaven. You "see", Jesus Christ is that "door"! John 10:9 "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." It is Christ, the Anointed One of God, who "binds up the broken hearted" and "opens the prison to them that are bound"! That is what the "binding" and "loosing" has to do with... salvation and entrance into the kingdom.

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

Therefore BEWARE of false shepherds from any church or denomination who would tell you that Mat. 16:19 gives the authority to "men" to do as they please, to bind and loose their traditions and their false doctrines upon people! They place "yokes of bondage" upon our brothers and sisters in many areas of their lives and claim the very verse that tells us how to loose one from traditions and bind them to His truth as their authority! Good grief Charlie Brown! The keys of the kingdom which unlock the truth and pure knowledge of His Word give us "liberty" (Isa. 61:1) and free us from the yoke of bondage which are the traditions of men... NOT the other way around!

John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Do you know the truth of His Word? If you stand fast upon that Rock and believe Him, not preachers and men who come in the name of Christ and deceive the multitudes, then He will set you free indeed!

Galatians 5:1
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Again, the "keys" that are entrusted to His servants come directly from Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the One whose keys they are, and NOT from men and their traditions. Do not let the "scribes and Pharisees" and the scripture lawyers of today take away those precious keys of His truth and prevent you from entering in at the door! Luke 11:52 "Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered."

Remember that the subject Christ has been addressing here in Matthew 16 concerning the "rock" and the "keys" is the building of the church. Let us document concerning those keys given to His church, that the opening and shutting on earth (to the truth of His Word) is done in heaven by the One who holds the keys.

By the way, here is Strong's definition of the word "keys".

keys, kleis, klice, Greek 2807; from Greek 2808 (kleio); a key (as shutting a lock), literal or figurative :- key.

Rev. 3:7-8
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

The key of David is one of those keys of knowledge that one must receive from He that is holy, He that is true, He that has the keys to give out! And there are only two churches out of the seven (seven denotes completeness in Biblical numerics, i.e. all the churches) that have the key of David which unlocks the true lineage of Christ and the House of Israel and identifies the kenites, those who claim to be Jews and God's chosen people but who are not! Christ finds no fault with these two churches (Philadelphia and Smyrna) but the rest have some serious overcoming to do in order to please Him. "He that hath an ear, let him hear (Simon means hearing) what the Spirit (symbolized by the dove, Barjona) saith unto the churches.

Do you have that key of David?

[8] I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

The door (Jesus Christ) is open to His disciples, those students of His Word who both "keep His Word" and do not deny His name, meaning the authority of His Word.

name, onoma, on'-om-ah, Greek 3686; from a presumed derivative of the base of Greek 1097 (ginosko) (compare Greek 3685 (oninemi)); a "name" (literal or figurative) [authority, character] :- called, (+ sur-) name (-d).

Rev. 3:9-10
Behold,I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Jesus Christ both knows and loves those of the church of Philadelphia and Smyrna for a very special reason!

It is because...

[10] Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

It is because they love to study His Word (i.e. hear the truth from Him) and they keep that Word (i.e. they do it). Therefore Christ gives them the keys that "unlock" the scriptures and reveal His truth to them. That's all there is to it and nothing more need be said.

Matthew 16:20
Then charged He His disciples that they should tell no man that He was Jesus the Christ.

Most scholars point out that at this time Christ had not paid the price on the cross and given the sign of Jonah, so that it was not time yet to declare that Christ was Messiah (See also Mat. 17:9). And while that is certainly true, consider also that the subject is still the building of His church and how one comes to know who Christ is. To that end, we just learned that He gives the keys of the kingdom of heaven which lock and unlock the truth which no man can open or shut to His servants. In other words, man cannot reveal to you who Christ is, only the Father which is in heaven... remember? That is how you become a "petros" and a "living stone". You "see", you can go around all you want and cry "Lord, Lord" and tell people that Jesus Christ is Messiah, even now after His crucifixion. But unless and until one receives the keys of the kingdom of heaven from Christ, that one shall not enter in! Therefore, share the keys of knowledge and truth with whosoever will hear and do Father's Word.

Here (hear) then is something that was already revealed from heaven, meaning it was written in the scriptures.

Matthew 16:21
From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

"From that time forth" marks the beginning of "the third period of the Lord's ministry, the subject of which is the rejection of the Messiah" (See pg. 1346 and appendix 119 in the Companion Bible) . We begin that period by learning how easily Satan can use even a disciple's love for the Lord to interfere and hinder the will of God and His purposeful plan.

Jesus Christ has just declared to His disciples the will of God, even that which was already written and foretold of in the Word of God, e.g. Psalms 22, in that He came to suffer and to pay the price on the cross! However, immediately upon hearing this, with Satan's influence Peter allows his emotions to be aroused by the fact that he did not want Christ to be harmed in anyway. He therefore began to rebuke (as in hinder) Jesus Christ, the Word of God. You could even say that by allowing the spirit of his emotions to take charge, because it seemed so negative and didn't "feel good", Peter would have locked the scriptures and prevent them from coming to pass. Imagine that! Peter didn't want the Lamb of God to be slain! Where would that have left you and me? Answer: Dead in our sins!

[22] Then Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

"THIS SHALL NOT BE!" Peter, Peter! That's the plan... written in the scriptures, written in the Word of God, and even written in the stars! The Lamb of God shall be slain. If Christ would not have been crucified we would not have forgiveness and would be lost forever.The point to keep in mind as we read the next few verses is that it is a serious offence to hinder the plan of God for it affects the lives, even the eternal lives, of others.

Notice what happens next.

[23] But He turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Christ speaks to Peter but is directly addressing Satan when He says, "Get thee behind me, Satan!" In other words, He is not calling Peter Satan but is rebuking Satan and driving him out, as in giving the old serpent the boot! You see, Satan was present and trying to "hinder" the Word of God through Peter!

Here is the point Christ wants us to learn from the event we just witnessed:

[24] Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

"IF" you want to be a disciple and follow of Jesus Christ, then you better be willing to deny your own personal feelings and beliefs and take up your cross and teach and follow the Word of God as it is written... regardless of whether or not it pleases men, even you, yourself.You see, it is "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven", NOT our will! In other words, a "cross" is taken up to be crucified upon. If you are not convicted to the point that you are willing to die for Him, for the truth of His Word, then you are not really convicted at all! This is Satan's hour and you had better expect persecution to come your way, if you are one who "keeps His Word"! That is not to say that you will be killed or crucified, but a true Christian and disciple of His does not fear those who can kill the flesh, but rather fears (loves and reveres) He who can kill both the soul and the body in "gehenna", i.e. in the lake of fire (Matthew 10:28).

John 15:20-21
Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

Persecution comes with the territory!

[21] But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not Him that sent me.

Again, they do not know Christ, the Anointed One of God. Therefore as Christ would even say as He hung on His cross... "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

Luke 23:33-34
And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

[34] Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

So the choice is yours.If you are willing to compromise with Satan to spare your own life then you are not worthy of Him for you are not a true follower of Christ, one who stands steadfast upon the Rock and cannot be shaken.

[25] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

You might ask yourself ,"What will you take for your soul?" Satan will use whatever your individual desires and weaknesses are, even your love (phileo) for the Lord Jesus Christ or even your own family, to throw you off track and hinder you from following Jesus Christ and doing His Will. In fact, it is written in the great Book of Daniel that Satan as the false messiah who is cast out of heaven (Rev. 12:7-9) and comes to this earth to deceive the whole world, will enter in peaceably and prosperously with an entitlement program designed just for you! What will you take for your soul or to sell out your family and friends as so many of our religious leaders and politicians have already done?

[26] For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Consider carefully the hypothetical, "What if Satan offered you the whole world?" He did to Jesus Christ, you know? Remember back in Matthew chapter 4?

Matthew 4:8-10
Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

[9] And saith unto Him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

He will make you an offer also!

[10] Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.

Christ said the same thing to Satan then as He said to Satan when he tried to influence Peter. "Scram, your outta here!" There were NO negotiations either! Do not argue nor compromise with Satan when he tries to tempt or hinder you! Even Michael, the archangel, when Satan confronted him he did not argue with him but said, "The Lord rebuke thee!"

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

That's how it is done! Take heed and let Jesus Christ, the Word of God, rebuke Satan.

So be careful what you do and who you follow! If you take the easy route and follow after the traditions of men, doing the "wonderful works" that preachers and pastors tell you to, then it is written (Mat. 7:21) that you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven! If you take up your cross and follow the Word of God and come to know Christ, then you shall be given the keys to the kingdom and the door shall be opened unto you and you shall become a "living stone" and make up the temple of God.

The choice is yours and when Christ returns you shall receive exactly what you have coming to you!

Matthew 16:27
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.

Hopefully your reward will be that which is given to the overcomers in Rev. 2 & 3, those of the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia who both know Christ and keep His Word. Therefore, become familiar with the "works" of all seven of those churches Christ addressed and make sure your works align with His will and are not the iniquitous works of Churchianity made up of the traditions of men. Pay attention to the fact that He says to ALL seven churches, "I know your works"! That means He knows your works and my works and everyone else's too! So go to Him and seek Him and become established upon the Rock and He will give you the keys to kingdom of heaven and "the door" shall be opened unto you.

[28] Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

It is true that the disciples, all but Judas, saw Christ resurrected before they tasted death and in our next study Peter, James, and John will "see" Christ in His glory standing with Moses and Elijah (symbolic of the law and the prophets) on the mount of transfiguration. It is also true that Christ will return in the glory of His Father with His angels at the sound of the seventh trump and reward every man according to his works. However, let those with "eyes to see" and "ears to hear" also be reminded of the question Christ asked in verse 13 as He began this teaching:

Matthew 16:13
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

The next question to Peter, His disciple, was, "Who do you say I am?" Well, if you know who Christ is, that means He has given you the keys of the kingdom of heaven... and the door has been opened to you, then you know also who makes up His kingdom, don't you?

In our next study we will see Jesus take some of His disciples "up into a high mountain"! I wonder just how "high" that mountain will be!

In our next study we will see Jesus take some of His disciples "up into a high mountain"! I wonder just how "high" that mountain will be!

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