The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Pamphlet #4432

Matthew 22:23  The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,
24  Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
25  Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:
26  Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.
27  And last of all the woman died also.
28  Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.
My Hi-lite: Matthew 22:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

Now Jesus Christ is going to show us how to handle a Biblically illiterate religious sect who uses faulty reasoning and a farfetched analogy to support to their own unfounded traditions, which in the case of the Sadducees is that there is no life after death. You "see", religionists are not at all interested in seeking truth from the Word of God for often their group identity is based on their tradition, even if it is unscriptural, and they are not about to let the truth of God's Word change their religion! It is so sad-u-see!

Matthew 22:23
The same day came to Him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked Him,
This was the "same day" for the opponents and adversaries of men and women who teach the truth of God's Word are relentless in their pursuit and attempts to entangle, discredit, and tempt them. Here we see a religious sect who quotes scripture but who holds fast to an unscriptural doctrine.
[24] Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
Oh "Master", as in "Great Teacher", they say sanctimoniously thinking they've got Him on this one! They even use a quote from Deuteronomy 25:5 to create an unrealistic and hypothetical scenario which makes a mockery of the law designed to keep one's seed alive and prevent his family tree from dying off.
Deut. 25:5
If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her.

[6] And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.

Here is the hypothetical scenario the Sadducees create:
Matthew 22:25
Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:

[26] Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.

I know of a Hollywood movie star who had seven-plus husbands but she didn't outlive them all... she just outlived their usefulness!
[27] And last of all the woman died also.
Hey, she probably would have lived longer had there been eight or more brothers instead of only seven! Nevertheless, here is the question the Sadducees asked Christ which exposes their ignorance of God's Word and of the exceeding greatness of His power to resurrect the dead.
[28] Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.
One must have a working knowledge of the overall Plan of God beginning with what happened (Rev. 12:4) in the "world that then was" (2 Pet. 3:6) that caused our Father to completely destroy that first earth age whereby it became "void and without form (tohu va bohu)" (Gen. 1:2), and why He subsequently created flesh man and "made them male and female". It was so that each child (son of God) could come down from above to be born innocent, meaning without any prior knowledge of the first earth age, and dwell in a flesh tabernacle whereby he or she could choose to love God or worship Satan.Then upon the death of the flesh, that child (son) would return home to the Father who sent him here in the first place. We who have the gospels of the New Testament are well blessed in that John in chapter three of his book explains this process in detail, i.e. being born again which is to be born from above (anothen in Greek) into the sac of water and then return to heaven in their spiritual body. John writes in 3:13 that even the Son of man, Jesus Christ, was willing to come down from above and be born of woman, showing us that God didn't ask His children to do something He wasn't willing to do Himself.

However, it is also written in the Old Testament concerning what happens when a person dies. "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it (Eccles. 12:7)". The Sadducees were ignorant of the scriptures such as this one and Christ let them know that was the reason they "erred", for it is only in the scriptures, the Word of God, that correct doctrine can be established. That is why one must acquire the proper tools, like a King James Bible and a Strong's Concordance for openers, and check out the things he or she hears taught by men. Only then can one know whether or not His voice is being spoken.

[29] Jesus answered and said unto them,Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
Christ did not ridicule nor make fun of the Sadducees but rather used the opportunity to make the point of their Biblical ignorance and to teach them the truth concerning the matter, even though He knew that they would most likely not "stretch the old wineskin" to allow new truth to expand in their minds (Mat. 9:17). Those who allow themselves to be sore deceived (seduced) by listening to and holding fast to preacher's words who teach the religious traditions of men instead of "hearing His voice" by studying and rightly dividing the Word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15) shall always end up way off track (out of the way) and err from the truth that is written.
err, planao, plan-ah'-o, Greek 4105; from Greek 4106 (plane); to (properly cause to) roam (from safety, truth, or virtue) :- go astray, deceive, err, seduce, wander, be out of the way.
And what of His power? Does it not even make common sense that He who is "Life", the very Creator of the universe and the Maker of man, He who has all power over life and death, should also have the power to raise the dead? The apostle Paul would later speak of God's miraculous power (dunamis) and the working (operation) of His mighty power (kratos), which is His marvelous plan of salvation in raising up Jesus Christ from the dead.
Ephes. 1:18-20
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

[19] And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

[20] Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places,

"Set Him at His own right hand" is a reference to Psalm 110 which Christ will quote to the Pharisees a few verses hence. However, the point Christ is making here to the Sadducees is that those who know the scriptures know that angels are all alike as sons of God and that woman (womb-man, i.e. a man with a womb) was formed for this flesh age only, whereby those sons could be born into this dimension. Then when the flesh body dies and they return home in their spiritual body, they are the same as before, i.e. one gender. In other words, God created all of His children 'ere the earth was even formed (Job 38:4-7) and so they were all with Him before He placed them in their mother's womb to be born of water. Read what God said concerning Jeremiah in Jer. 1:5, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Then too, we learned a few chapters ago when the subject of divorce and remarriage came up, that the union of a man and a woman symbolizes our marriage to Jesus Christ who is the One His bride shall be married to in the resurrection.
Matthew 22:30
For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
You "see", they will already be married and the exceeding joy of that union will far surpass any physical pleasure some fear they might miss out on in the resurrection!And now for a Bible lesson after the manner of the watchman, i.e. "Thus saith the Lord God" and "It is written" (Ezek. 3:4, 11), concerning (touching the subject of) the resurrection of the dead. Christ shows us this as an ensample of how to handle questions posed by religionists and then to go on and teach them from His Word, i.e. what God has to say on the matter, not man!
[31]But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
Christ told the Sadducees that God had "spoken unto them" concerning this matter of the resurrection of the dead. If they would just take the time to listen to what He has to say (hear His voice) they would no longer be "in the dark" concerning such doctrines. So after declaring that the reason they have no answer to their question is because they lack the knowledge of His Word, Christ then takes the opportunity to teach them concerning the resurrection and the power of God by quoting what God has to say in His Word.
[32] I AM the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
Christ quoted this from the great Book of Exodus whereby we know from the "God of our Fathers", Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that they are alive and well just like you and me!
Exodus 3:6
Moreover he said, I AM the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

Exodus 3:15
And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

The fact is that no one has died the real death yet, which is the second death, the perishing of the soul in the lake of fire.Even Satan who is called the "son of perdition", i.e. the one son who has already been judged and sentenced to perish (Ezek. 28:18-19), is still alive and in heaven (Rev. 12:7). You "see", it is given unto all men once to die (the flesh death that is) before the final judgment takes place when others could receive the same judgment and sentence as Satan. It is written... Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." In other words, it is given unto all men to come down from above (anothen), having already been with God, and "walk through the valley of the shadow of death"! We know that the death of the flesh is not the real thing but rather just a "shadow of death", which is a type of the real death which is the death of the soul in the lake of fire whereby one perishes for ever and ever! That is why Christ said not to worry about those who can kill the flesh (cause the first death) but rather fear (revere) the one who has the POWER to destroy both soul and body in gehenna, the lake of fire. The death of the flesh is NOT the perishing or death of the person. They simply go back home where they were before they came down here to earth school.
Matthew 10:28
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Do not be ignorant of God's Word. Only your heavenly Father, the God of the living, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Moses and Elijah who also appeared alive and well on the mount of transfiguration, has the POWER to either destroy the soul in hellfire or grant eternal life!
Matthew 22:33
And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at His doctrine.
Amazing, isn't it? Christ's doctrine that He taught was simply to quote with clarity directly from the scriptures, the Word of God. Even people today are indeed astonished when they hear His Word correctly taught and rightly divided. Not only that, but His words, the Word of God after the manner of "Thus saith the Lord" and "It is written", silences those who claim to be believers but are Biblically illiterate, because they must now refute His Word... not the words of men!

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

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