Presents
Matthew 16
"Are you able to discern the times (season) in which we now live?"
Presents
Matthew 16
"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.
Christ told us in the last chapter that these religious hypocrites were blind leaders of the blind and here we are going to get a glimpse of just how blind they (and their counterparts today) really are. Imagine having the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Living Word of God who has cast out evil spirits and performed many healings among the people, standing right before your very eyes and not be able to "see" Him! Now that is blind indeed! Of course a mere basic understanding of the hearts of tares gives one the ability to discern that these religious play actors were not really seeking proof that Christ was the Messiah so that they could worship Him and follow His ways. On the contrary, in their "tempting" of Him they were trying to get Him to perform some spectacular supernatural act so that they could cunningly disavow the miracle in some way and use that to discredit Him, just as their offspring do today in trying to explain away and discredit the miracles already contained in His Word. You see, what these religious leaders really desire is to keep their church traditions and perpetuate the "good thing" they've got going for themselves, which is a profitable religion-based operation.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.
To discern* is to be able to separate thoroughly, as in to be able to rightly divide something... like the Word of God. However, about all that these religious play actors** could discern "time wise" was limited to what the weather for the next 12-24 hours would be, and that only if they were given a red sky at dusk or a red sky in the morning with a low ceiling.[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.
The question is, "Are you able to discern the times* (season) in which we now live?"Take heed, for when we get to chapter twenty-four Christ will explain to us not only the "signs of the times" but also how to determine the commencement of that final season in which those signs would take place.*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).
Those sons and daughters in these last days who are His disciples (students disciplined in the Word), who know and love Jesus Christ, who hunger and thirst after the truth of His Word, both recognize and understand the fulfillment of the "visions of the prophets" just as it was foretold of in the Book of Joel which was quoted by Peter in Acts 2:17 on that first Pentecost Day following the resurrection. Therefore, because true faith is founded upon the Word of God, that solid Rock, God's servants neither need nor seek spectacular miracles to gain or base their faith upon or to know that He is real. Only those who are deceived and do not know Him (Mat. 7:23) because they have been lead astray from His Word by the idolatrous teachings of the iniquitous traditions of men, seek after such signs.[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.
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
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:
That "Wicked" is the Wicked One himself, the son of perdition, Satan.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:
One of Satans spectacular miracles will be to call lighting (fire, pur in Greek) down out heaven as recorded in Rev. 13:13 "And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, [14] And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast...]".[9] Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
Do you love the truth of His Word enough to study it and rightly divide it (2 Tim. 2:15) and absorb it to the point it becomes sealed in your mind? If not, you are going to just love Mr. Strong Delusionist when he puts on his final act.[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.
Those who do NOT know God's Word will believe almost any lie their preachers tell them without "discerning" it by checking it out in His Word.[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.
This is called the great "falling away" in 2 Thes. 2:3 which the great apostasy. Again, to have pleasure in unrighteousness is to think well of and approve of the unrighteous traditions of men.[12] That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Let's repeat Matthew 16:4.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.
Jonah, whose name means "dove" which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit, was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights just as Christ would be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights (which itself dispels a tradition commonly taught in Christianity today.) Nevertheless, Jonah was a type of Christ who was sent to Nineveh to preach repentance to an heathen people who would someday come and make war against his beloved people Israel. And you know what? They did repent! Of course part of the reason for their conversion was caused by the great "fish" our Father used to get their attention when He had it vomit up Jonah on the shore. You see, the Ninevites worshipped Dagon, the fish god, and so it is they took heed to the words of the prophet delivered to them by their god!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.
The fact is and the lesson we are to learn from this is that the "evil influence" of false doctrine and the traditions of men, adulterate the truth of His Word which means when they are added to His Word they corrupt it and make it impure whereby it is unfit for consumption.*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.
Keep all this in mind as Jesus Christ now instructs us to be careful and discern, i.e. to thoroughly separate that which is holy from that which is profane!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
This is often overlooked but it is an important part of the lesson Christ is teaching. One who has forgotten to take his or her daily bread might be prone to focusing on or consider taking and eating and bread which has not come directly from Jesus Christ, the Word of God. You "see", by now after having witnessed and been part of the feeding of the multitudes with the bread He blessed and brake and gave to them, they should know how and from whom to get bread with which to eat and feed others, right?Matthew 16:5
And when His disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.
The Greek word "horao" translated "take heed" means to "discern clearly" and the word "beware" means to "pay close attention to".[6] Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Notice what the disciples did next: They reasoned among themselves!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.
One major point to learn from this example is that whenever we reason among ourselves apart from the Word of God, we will invariably come up with the wrong answer or the wrong conclusion which is precisely what happened to the disciples. Therefore always turn to and look to the Word of God for the answers else you find yourself off track and in need of correction.[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)".
Jesus Christ had discernment and knew the thoughts of His disciples in that they did not yet look to and trust Him as their sole source of bread!Never forget that Jesus Christ, the Word of God, IS the pure Bread of Life which has come down from heaven.If you allow man to process that bread and add his own reasonings and seasonings and church traditions to it, you are going to end up with "wonder bread" which is nothing but leavened "fluff" totally void of the nutritional value necessary to give and sustain life. Oh, but it tastes real good and the multitudes love to eat it, don't they?[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.
The teaching concerning the feeding of the multitudes has a direct bearing on understanding what Christ has said regarding taking heed and staying away from the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. "Don't you get it, and don't you remember", Christ asks? They started out with five loaves of pure bread, blessed and sanctified by the Word of God, which was totally sufficient to feed the multitudes, and yet when the feeding was over there were many, many times that amount of "fragments" left over to be taken up! What's the point? Whenever you take the unadulterated Bread of Life and pass it through a multitude it comes out processed![9] Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
Lots of fragments were taken up from just seven loaves of bread. In fact, there were seven baskets full! What do you suppose they did with them after the clean up? Obviously they didn't load them in the boat and take the fragments with them, did they? Good thing, too![10] Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
If you are a disciple of Christ and desire to do as He commands (John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments.), then be especially careful to do according to His command in this lesson and "take heed" and "beware" of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. You "see", it only takes a little bit of leaven, false doctrine, to enter in and adulterate the entire loaf! It is kind of like throwing a little mud into a crystal clear pool of water... it makes cloudy the whole pool![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)
If you want to know why most ministers and preachers who claim to be His representatives, i.e. Christian ministers, etc., do not understand the Word of God and cannot discern the times, it is because they have allowed so much leaven to creep in that they cannot see Christ, the true Word of God. Either you understand that... or you don't! Nevertheless, do not eat "bread" unless you have checked it out and made sure it is "blessed" and "broken" (rightly divided) by the Word of God, lest you be hindered and show forth a lack of faith as did the disciples.[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:
Be careful that you are not hindered and drawn away after the traditions of men.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?
Again, be careful how you are persuaded. The traditions of men and those things that taste and sound real good can quickly pull you away from the pure unadulterated truth. AND... it doesn't take much![8] This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.
Allow just a little leaven to creep in and you will end up with a whole bunch of fragments and a big mess that needs cleaned up![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.
Receive Jesus Christ, who IS our passover, and make sure you eat only the unleavened, unadulterated truth which is that pure Bread of Life (John 6:48 "I am that bread of life.").You "see", that is all the bread you will ever need my friend because if you feast on His Word, He has promised that you shall NEVER hunger and NEVER thirst. John 6:35 "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." And when you eat that pure unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, it will purge out the 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.
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.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.
Let's review Christ's words in Matthew chapter seven:
This is speaking of many of those who profess to be Christians, i.e. those who profess to know Jesus Christ! They shall NOT enter into the kingdom of heaven because the door will be closed to them. You see, they never had the "keys of the kingdom of heaven" that we will read about in Mat. 16:19 that would have opened it to them.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.
What were these people doing in the name of Christ?[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":
Again, and this is of paramount importance,Christ never knew them because even though they may have been real active in church affairs and activities, etc., etc., they never came to Him through His Word to get to know Him.[23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
(He never saw their faces in the pages of His Bible, so therefore; He doesn't recoginize them)
So the question to be considered and answered in today's study is, "Do you know who Jesus Christ is?"
Jesus Christ was on His way to the other Caesarea, i.e. Caesarea Philippi, for a specific reason, which was to teach us how one comes to know "that Spiritual Rock which is Christ" (1 Cor. 10:4), the foundation upon which His church is built! Notice that Jesus uses the phrase "Son of man", whereas the word "man" is "anthropos" (flesh man) in Greek, for this shall be in contrast to how Peter "sees" Him in verse 16 below.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.
You may recall that Herod the Great was among those who thought that Jesus Christ was John the Baptist (whom he beheaded) "risen from the dead" (Mat. 14:2). But notice in ALL cases listed above as to whom the multitudes thought Jesus Christ was. They all SAW Him as a man... a good man, yes... a prophet, yes... but nevertheless a man! Herein lies the basis for the great lesson Christ is teaching us.But, they did not see Him as God![14] And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
Next question...
Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? If so, then this question is asked of you![15] He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
This is a profound statement of "seeing" and understanding which is in stark contrast to the "seeing" in verse 14. Also, it should be pointed out that the 1611 Authorized Version reads "Thou art Christ" instead of "Thou art the Christ". Of course "Christ" means "Anointed" as in the "Anointed One" who was the "Son of the living God", i.e. Messiah, the One who was written of and foretold of in Father's Word, in both the Law and the Prophets... and Peter knew it![16] And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
How did Peter know that Jesus was Christ, the Son of the Living God? Did some man tell him? No! Did some preacher tell him? No! You "see", flesh and blood, as in "anthropos", cannot reveal it unto you! Peter KNEW who Jesus Christ was because he had ears to hear the Father which is in heaven who revealed it to him![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.
That means you can go to church religiously and listen to men ad infinitum spout off about Jesus Christ being Lord, but you will never come to KNOW HIM until you hear and absorb His Spirit through the Word of God.
With that understanding and to that end, Christ is now going to teach us how His church is built up!
The name "Peter" in Greek is "petros" which means a movable rock while the word used for "rock" is "petra" which means an immovable rock. You might therefore say that Peter was a chip off the ol' Rock.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.
It is written in the Book of John that Jesus changed Simon the son of Jona's name to "Cephas" which by interpretation means Peter, petros.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:
So in Matthew 16:18 following Christ's statement that it was the Father who revealed Christ to Peter, Jesus added to that by stating that upon "this rock (petra)", of whom Peter was now a "petros", He would establish His church. Now, lest anyone misunderstand what Christ said and think that Peter was the "petra" Christ referred to instead of Himself, that Spiritual Rock and foundation upon whom the church is built and established, let us "see" what Father's Word reveals to us. You "see", it was prophesied long before this time concerning who the "foundation stone" was... and it was NOT Peter!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.
Peter fully understood this which is documented and confirmed by the fact that he quoted this very verse from Isaiah in chapter two of his first epistle where he also talks about the building up of the church, i.e. the house of God.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 Christ was that stone which was disallowed, i.e. rejected, of men!1 Peter 2:4-6
To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
If your faith has been built upon the solid, immovable Spiritual Rock, which is the Word of God, then you are a "living stone" even as was Peter, and you know what? That makes you part of the spiritual house! Here is where Peter now quotes from Isaiah concerning the foundation, the chief corner stone on whom we believe.[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.
Again, if your house is NOT established upon that chief corner stone, that Spiritual Rock which is Christ, then it cannot possibly have a solid foundation and it will not stand in the storm of the great tribulation! Your house will fall (Mat. 7:26-27) and you shall be "confounded" at His coming, which means you will be ashamed! If therefore your church claims to be founded upon an "anthropos", a mere "man", and thus perpetuates the traditions of men, then be it known unto you that you are on real shaky ground! Remember what Christ said about the building of your house?[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.
Notice that in order to be considered wise one has to not only "hear" the Word of God, but be a "doer" of that Word. (We will see an example of this second part in tomorrow's study.) Nevertheless, it is also what you stand upon that constitutes your faith. Paul teaches us that so well in Hebrews 11:1 where he says "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." "Sub-stance" is "hupo-stasis" in Greek which means "the support under you", i.e. that upon which you stand. Hopefully you have that solid Rock under (hupo) you upon which to stand (stasis)!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:
If your house is built upon the immovable Petra, then it cannot be shaken! It is... as the saying goes, Rock Solid![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.
Which one do you "see"?
The rock most see and follow is not the Rock we follow!
By the way, Peter also speaks about those who stumble at the rock because they stumble at the Word of God!Deut. 32:31
For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.
Again, "How is it one can come to know Christ?" (Matthew 16:17)
Without knowing and understanding the Word of God, Jesus Christ actually becomes a stone of stumbling, a stumbling rock.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".
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!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:
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.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.
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).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.
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.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.
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!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;
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!John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
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."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.
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.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?
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.[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.
Jesus Christ both knows and loves those of the church of Philadelphia and Smyrna for a very special reason!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...
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.[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.
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.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.
"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.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!
"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.[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.
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![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:
"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).[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.
Persecution comes with the territory!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.
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."[21] But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not Him that sent me.
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.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.
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?[25] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
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?[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?
He will make you an offer also!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.
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!"[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.
That's how it is done! Take heed and let Jesus Christ, the Word of God, rebuke Satan.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!
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.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.
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:[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.
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?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?
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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