John 2:1 "And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:"

This is a family event, and Mary the mother of Jesus was there. Of course there would be both family and friends at this wedding.

John 2:2 "And both Jesus was called and His disciples, to the marriage."

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John 2:3 "And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto Him, "they have no wine."

Before the end of this wedding ceremony and feast they ran out of wine, and then they came to Mary the mother of Jesus to get some more wine. Mary went to Jesus and told Him that there was no more wine. This wasn't grape juice as some teach, it was fermented wine, because it is the fermentation and age that would classify the quality of the wine. God uses actual things to symbolize His teachings, to help us understand. We must always teach God's word as it is given. The word for "wine" here in the Greek is "oinos", and in the Hebrew tongue "yayin", "a fermented wine, intoxicating-banqueting wine".

John 2:4 "Jesus saith unto her, "Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come."

Jesus response to His mother was, "So, What has this to do with me?" The hour Jesus is speaking of is the hour of His wedding. The wedding that Jesus is concerned with is the taking of His bride which is the bride of Christ. Mary knew that Jesus had the power to change water to wine, for on the day of conception, the angel of the Lord told that virgin woman who the child was that would be in her womb.

Luke 1:35; "And the angel answered and said unto her, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy Thing Which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."

Mary knew the power of Jesus, and that He was come for a purpose. She knew that Jesus ministry was about to start, and that is why she gave special instructions to the servants to do exactly what Jesus required of them.

John 2:5 "His mother saith unto the servants, "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it."

Jesus was now approximately thirty years old, and Mary was aware of Jesus special powers within the family, for this was a family situation. Jesus loved His mother very much, and she knew of Jesus vast knowledge, even as a child. When Jesus was twelve years old, He was in the Temple teaching the wise men of the day the knowledge of the scriptures, and they all marveled at His wisdom.

This lets us know that Mary was the authority among the servants in this house, in other words, this was a social event of the family.

John 2:6 "And there were set there six water pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece."

This tells us that there was six stone water pots, and each pot held approximately twenty gallons of water. A "firkin" is a measurement in the Greek that translates into the English unit of just over nine gallons.


When Jesus and the twelve disciples met for their last supper on the night of the Passover, Jesus gave us another lesson that we were to continue until He would be with us in His kingdom. That lesson is the holy Communion, and the cup [the wine] is a vital part of the communion.

Lets go to Matthew 26:26-29; "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." [26] "And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink ye all of it;" [27] "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." [28] "But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom." [29]

So what we see in this miracle is the ritualistic forms of religion being replaced by the blood of the Lamb. The wine is symbolic of Christ's blood. This is why it is important that you know that this was indeed wine, for to make it any other form of liquid is to change the whole lesson of the Lord's teaching.

The whole reason for using the wine, was because of the process of fermentation. Through the process of fermentation, the grape juice fermenting works from within, and all infirmities that are impure within the juices, are brought to the top and discarded. The juices are totally cleansed, and so it is with our lives when we are covered by the precious blood of Christ. The juice of the vine is the blood of Christ; He is the vine, and we are the branches of that vine.


So we see that the miracle at the Cana wedding, the start of Jesus ministry, was a lesson that we should never forget. It was the transforming of the purifying rituals, cleansing the person on the outside with the pots of the ritual and the substance of water used in that ritual. Jesus transformed that substance in the old pots, to the symbolic new substance that will change the very soul of a person. The substance that will change a person's soul and life is the blood of Jesus Christ.

If you have trouble with the usage of wine in the communion, and prefer the tradition of the plain grape juice (non-alcoholic), then that is fine; for the remembrance of the blood of Christ and the suffering of His body for the sins of many is what is important. The Communion is the symbolic practice that Christ gave to use while we are in our flesh body, to remember Him until Christ's return at the seventh trumpet.

John 2:7 "Jesus saith unto them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim."

Jesus told the servants to fill the pots to the brim with water, the substance used in the old ritual of cleansing.

John 2:8 "And He saith unto them, "Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it."

The governor of the feast is the person who is to oversee the planning of the wedding, a parent of the bride. The governor is the one that samples the wines to see that the wines to be served were good. When all parts of the feast are ready, the wedding begins. However, at this feast they ran out of wine, and so now the new batch of wine is brought for sampling before it could be served to the guests.

John 2:9 "When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,"

Did you get that, "the water that was made wine", and in the Greek "onios" meant "fermented wine". The governor knew that they were out of wine, but he did not know where this batch of wine came from. Though only the servants knew what happened, no one else at the feast knew.


John 2:10 "And saith unto him, "Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now."

For the sake of simplicity, lets first understand what is actually written here. The wine that was set forth by Christ in His first miracle far exceeds the wine that was considered the good wine brought out at the start of the wedding feast. Just so you understand that this isn't grape juice, the word in the Greek used for "well drunk" is "methuo", # 3184 in Strong's Greek dictionary, and it means "to drink to intoxication, to get drunk". My fellow Christian, you don't get drunk sipping on grape juice.

In other words, you put the good stuff out until all the people get a little glow on, then you bring the bad stuff out when they simply can't tell the difference. The only analogy we can use here, is the fact that what ever Christ does, it is done to perfection and for the good of them that love the living God.

The fermenting of the wine is a natural process using the certain substance of grape juice. What this miracle shows us is that Jesus Christ not only controls the processes of nature in fermenting the grape juice into wine, but the very elements itself. By changing one substance [water] into another [grape juice], then taking the grape juice to the final stage of the pure wine. Jesus took this natural process, and from it preformed this miracle. Through that fermentation we can better understand the purification of individuals soul and forgiveness of sin through the blood of Christ.

John 2:11 "This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory; and His disciples believed on Him."

The beautiful thing that is brought out here is that Jesus Christ's first miracle had to do with a wedding that will ultimately take place at the midnight hour. That final wedding is the coming of the Lord as King of Kings and the bridegroom; He is coming for His bride. Jesus' disciples saw the miracle take place, and they saw Jesus glory and believed on Him right from the start of the ministry.

John 2:12 "After this He went down to Capernaum, He, and His mother, and His brethren, and His disciples: and they continued there not many days."

After the wedding feast was over, Jesus took his mother, His brothers and sisters, and his disciples, and they went off to Capernaum, and they stayed there only a few days.

John 2:13 "And the Jews' Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,"


John 2:14 "And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:"

To compare these oxen, sheep and doves to our times today, it is like the E-Z shops or 7-11 stores where you can drop in on the spur of the moment for what you need. These money changers had these animals in the temple for those that wanted to stop in for their quick blessing from God. They made a business out of the Temple, and took the things of God, and merchandised those precious rites of God to the public. They sold these mite infested animals to the Jews who had grown so deep in the traditions of men, that they forgot how they were to approached our Heavenly Father.

These so-called priests and merchandisers took God's HOUSE OF PRAYER and turned it into their own house of business. The whole purpose of the sacrifice of these animals was to give your pure and finest gift to God. This also had the ritual meaning where you took two doves; you killed one and put the blood of the one on the other, then set the live dove free.

Jesus entered the Temple, and saw how God's holy things had been perverted, and it was time for action. What Jesus did was a very spiritual thing, for when He saw something wrong, He set out to correct it. Many today feel that when they see a wrong being done they must turn away from that act and pretend that it didn't happen. This is exactly what happens when they see evil taking place, such as the murdering of our unborn children (abortion), or sodomy, and the traditions of men taught in our churches that void the Word of God, and turn away with out adressing the evil. Most of our churches today would sooner just  "GO ALONG TO GET ALONG" rather than addressing the evil taking place all around them, even within their midst.

When and what ever you give to God, give your very best, then God will accept your gift and bless you for it. This is the reason that Jesus became very angry at what was going on in the Temple, His Father's house.

John 2:15 "And when He had made a scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;"

This "scourge of small cords", was a "cat of nine tails", a old fashion whip. Jesus was cleaning His Father's house and throwing the bums out, right along with their wicked merchandise. Jesus not only threw these men out of the Temple, He threw them out with vigor. He knew what had to be done, and He did it. This is very similar to what is going on in many places of worship today; Because the traditions of men try to make short cuts, to make worship easy and convenient to serve God. God does not like your short cuts in your approach to Him.

The first short-cut in worshipping God took place when the nation of Israel split, following the death of King Solomon. Two separate houses [nations] formed, with ten tribes calling itself the "house of Israel" settling to the North, and the tribes of of Judah and Benjamin forming the "house of Judah" to the south. King Jeroboam of the "house of Israel" provided a short-cut to the worship of God by having two golden calves made and placed in convenient locations. This was done so the people of the "house of Israel" would not have to travel all the way to the Temple in Jerusalem, and into another nation.

There are no short-cuts to the worship of our Heavenly Father, and man's traditions have been made to simplify the love we show for our Father and side track us. All our Father requires is our repentance, and simply telling Him that we love Him. We please God by reading and studying His Word, and doing things His way: By putting Him first in your life. Be honest with God.

John 2:16 "And said unto them that sold doves, "Take these things hence; make not My Father's house an house of merchandise."

John 2:17 "And His disciples remembered that it was written, "The zeal of Thine house hath eaten me up."

The passage that is spoken of here is Psalm 69:9; "For the zeal of Thine house hath eaten me up; And the reproaches of them that reproached Thee are fallen upon me." God knew over one thousand years before this cleaning took place that this would happen to His house. How could this possible happen?

Remember back in Matthew 23:1, 2; ""Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to His disciples," [1] "Saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat:" [2]

Moses was the law-giver and these Kenite scribes and Pharisees had taken over God's law and substituted their traditions for the law. They were rewriting the law without the authority to do so. Jesus identifies them as the Kenites, and that they claim to be of Judah, when in fact they are not. This is recorded in Revelation 2:9, and 3:9; and it identifies them as being of the synagogue of Satan.

When the house of Judah came out of Babylon at the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, four hundred years before the time of Jesus birth. When Ezra took note of the Levitical priesthood, there was not one member of the Levitical priesthood with them, the entire priesthood was taken over by the Nethinims, these Kenite foreigners which are the offspring of Cain. Not only had the priesthood been taken over, but we are told in I Chronicles 2:55, that the duties of the scribes were also taken over by the Kenites.

I Chronicles 2:55 "And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez [Jerusalem] the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab."

The duties of the scribes were to keep the records, and protect the Holy Word by God through the Prophets. The Scribes were to protect God's Word. So you can see that by Jesus birth, these scribes and Pharisees [these Kenites] of the offspring of Satan through Cain had four hundred years to modify God's Word into their "traditions of men", and to this day that is still what is important to them, their traditions; Even in our Christian churches of this 21st. century, (their is nothing new under the sun). These traditions caused the House of the Lord [Temple] to be filled with these merchandisers and money changers.

They modified God's laws and created their own set of laws and rituals.

John 2:18 "Then answered the Jews and said unto Him, "What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that Thou doest these things?"

Jesus came in to the so-called church, and He tore the place up. Now these pious religious Kenite leaders came to Jesus as He was doing this, and asked Him, "By what authority are you taking it upon yourself in doing this?" When a person today steps forward to clean up a church or something rotten in the community, the pious religious leaders that do not want their boat rocked react in the same way. They find some verse they can twist from the Scriptures or pervert some law to stand behind, and they step forth to protect their money bags.

John 2:19 "Jesus answered and said unto them, "Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

It is interesting that this very act and verse is what was distorted and used against Him three years later to the day, at His trial. Matthew 26:61; And said, "This fellow said, "I am able to destroy the Temple of God, and to build it in three days."


John 2:20 "Then said the Jews, "Forty and six years was this Temple in building, and wilt Thou rear it up in three days?"

This verse explains the mind of the Kenites, and the fact that they had no idea of what Jesus was even talking about. They completely discarded the prophecies of the prophets of old and were looking at the physical structure of the temple buildings. Their minds could not understand the spiritual application that was put forth by the Prophets of God, in His Word.

John 2:21 "But He Jesus Christ] spake of the Temple of His body."

Jesus "spoke of the Temple of His body", and that was the only sign that Jesus would ever give these religious leaders, the sons of Satan. This sign was given in Matthew 12:38, 40."Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, "Master, we would see a sign from Thee." [38] "But He answered and said unto them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the Prophet Jonas:"[39]

Matthew 12:40; "For as Jonas [Jonah] was three days and three nights in the whales's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." No, Not Friday until Sunday at sunrise, as most all Christian church tradition teach! (How in the world do they get three days and three nights out of Friday evening until Sunday morning?

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



John 2:22 "When therefore He was risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said."


John 2:23 "Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in His name, when they saw the miracles which He did."

Jesus did not perform the miracles as a side show or to get attention, but to show all those present the work of the Holy Spirit of God. Christ's miracles were the proof that God's Spirit was there, and that Jesus was who He claimed to be. Many came to believe on Jesus Christ as the result of these miracles.

John 2:24 "But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew all men,"



John 2:25 "And needed not that any should testify of man: for He knew what was in man."

What is in man? Greed and disparity, as well as all forms of wickedness. The other side of failure and disparity is success. You reach success by never giving up. The nature of a successful man is to use shortcuts, but the wisdom that God has given him is to never give up. This is the root of your belief and faith, that you not stop short of reaching the goals that God has set up for your life. If the way gets a little clouded at times, stay in the Word and the Spirit of God will reveal that way to you. Paul reminded us that it is important that you keep on pressing "toward to the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus," that Christ has set for us.

Paul addresses this in Philippians 3:14, 15; "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." [14] "Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you." [15]

American Wisdom Series Editor's Note: Now that we've completed this 2015 study of the  "BOOK OF JOHN chapter 2" we have placed a earlier 2002 John chapter 2 study to follow for your comparison. I don't believe you will find much difference in the general opinion of these 2 authors, but to read another person's perspective of events that took place may prove helpful in your understanding of the gospel of John.

Pamphlet 1502
John chapter 2

 In this chapter we see the very first miracle of eight, performed by the Lord Jesus Christ, and recorded by John in the book of John
One thing that we must keep in mind, and that is that there is a deeper meaning to each one of them and that meaning is made visible to those with eyes to see and ears to hear, i.e. His chosen disciples.

We will read about the very first miracle performed by the Lord Jesus Christ as John continues to present Him as God in this most fascinating Gospel.

Out of all the miracles performed by Jesus, John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, records only eight of them, and these are all "signs", not "wonders" or "mighty works". Eight in Biblical Numerics denotes resurrection, regeneration;  a new beginning or commencement, as explained in appendix 10 of the Companion Bible:

"The eighth is a new first. Hence the octave in music, colour, days of the week, &c. It is the number which has to do with the Lord, Who rose on the eighth, or new 'first day'. This is, therefore, the Dominical number. By Gematria (see above), Jesus makes the numbers 888. It, or its multiple is impressed on all that has to do with the Lord's Names, the Lord's People, the Lord's Works." (Companion Bible, appendix 10.)

The Eight miracles in the Gospel of John are as follows:

1. The Marriage in Cana.
2. The Ruler's Son.
3. The Impotent Man.
4. The Feeding of the Five Thousand.
5. The Walking on the Sea.
6. The Man Born Blind.
7. The Sister's Brother.
8. The Draught of Fishes.

However, before we begin studying Christ's miracles, there is one thing that we must keep in mind, and that is that there is a deeper meaning to each one of them and that meaning is made visible to those with eyes to see and ears to hear, i.e. His chosen disciples. To others, the miracles are merely physical acts, the performing of good deeds.

Let's also look at the time frame.  It is now 400 years, precisely as prophesied, from the time of Malachi to the anointing of Messiah. And the first miracle, sign, will be performed because "They have no wine". This statement confesses the "failure" of the last 400 years, which period of time has brought forth the great synagogue and the spiritual destitution of the church. "Religion" is now in full swing as evidenced by the waterpots and the purifying of the Jews, etc. In fact, the scribes and the Pharisees have usurped the church.

"The Book of Malachi shows that the Temple-worship, with it's sacrifices, &c., had been fully restored; but the ceremonial formalism and hypocrisy, which culminated in the days of our Lord's ministry, are seen actively at work.

No sooner were the restraining influences of Ezra and Nehemiah removed, than the corruption began; and went on apace, as evidenced by Mal. 1:7,8; 3:8, &c." (Companion Bible, pg. 1296)

So by the time Jesus Christ arrived on the scene the kenites, the sons of Cain, had taken full charge of the church. That is why Jesus would make the following statement:

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

[2] Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:

The scribes and the Pharisees now sat in the seat [authority] of Moses. In other words, they were fully in charge. In fact, Caiaphas the high priest was appointed by a Roman governor, not by Almighty God.

With that background let's move to the third day following Christ's choosing of His first disciples, Andrew, Simon, Philip, Nathanael, James, and John.

John 2:1
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:

Some scholars, including this one, believe that this marriage was related to the family of Joseph of Arimathaea, Jesus' Uncle, and would thus explain Mary's obvious concern for the success of this event when they ran out of wine. Joseph of Arimathaea was one of the wealthiest men of his day as he ran the shipping operations of tin and other goods between Rome and Glastonbury, England. So you can imagine that this was no small gala affair.

[2] And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.

So Jesus and disciples attended this big social event. (I wonder what Peter looked like all dressed up?)

As we continue with the narrative, Jesus is about to tell His mother that this is "not His hour", i.e. this is not His wedding. That is because there is another wedding feast coming, following the hour of the spurious messiah, Satan. The parable in Mat. 22 explains it.

Matthew 22:2
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,

[3] And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

And some will not be found worthy to attend.

Matthew 22:8
Then saith He to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.

So if you are planning to attend the wedding at Christ's hour, you need to begin getting "dressed" now.

Here's why:

Matthew 22:11
And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:

[12] And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.

[13] Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

That's not good not to be properly dressed, is it?

Want to see what kind of clothes you need to have on?

Rev. 19:7
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

[8] And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

The "fine linen" is the righteousness of the saints. You begin dressing by putting on the gospel armor found in Ephesians chapter 6.

Meanwhile, back at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, the band has started playing another set and someone points out to Mary that there's a Big Problem. They are out of grape juice! (Just kidding) They have no wine!

She was obviously concerned about it and went to Jesus, Whom she knew would have a solution.

John 2:3
And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.

[4] Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

This type of statement gets you nowhere in the modern English language. I tried it on my wife and it didn't work. I said "Woman, where's my supper?" That was a Big Mistake! Thank goodness we Baby Boomers perfected fast food restaurants. They cater to our compulsive, impatient personalities. When we want hamburgers, we want them right NOW! This has been the key to McDonald's success.

But actually the statement that Jesus made to His mother was one of high regard and proper respect, as you would expect from Christ, for it is a Hebrew idiom such as in II Sam. 16:10. Jesus was simply saying very courteously, "Madam, what is it to you or me?  Mine hour is not yet come."

[5] His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

Mary knew that Jesus would handle it, though she probably didn't know or expect Him to perform a miracle. I suppose He could have sent the new disciples down to the local Package Goods store to pick up some Thunderbird [cheap wine], since a lot of people were obviously starting to slur their words.

But Jesus is about to give a physical sign of a spiritual truth to His disciples, and thus to you and me.

[6] And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

Notice there were "six" waterpots of stone.  Six is the number of man and marks all the great men who have stood in defiance of God such as Goliath, Nebuchadnezzar, and the coming false-christ. And of course everyone knows what the number of the beast is; 666!

A "firkin" is about 9 gallons (see appendix 51 in the Companion Bible). So the average of the sum of these containers would be a about "120" gallons.

John 2:7
Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

[8] And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.

[9] When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

No one, even the governor of this feast, knew where the wine came from. But the servants of Christ knew!

But one thing was for sure, this was best wine the ruler of the feast had ever tasted! He called the bridegroom and raved about how good it was. Of course it is man's way to bring out the best first, but His ways are not our ways.

[10] And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.

Those of you who have ever had a social life need no further explanation concerning level one of this verse. For the rest, this is how it works: You start the party with top-shelf wine, the expensive, good tasting stuff.  Then when everyone has had too much to drink and their taste buds are anesthetized, you bring out the cheap booze. Most won't know the difference, nor at that point do they care. (At least that's what I was told you do.)

And make no mistake about this fact.  Neither the language, including the definition of the words themselves, nor the context of the account, nor common sense will allow "grape juice" to be substituted here for wine, Greek oinos. Grape juice doesn't give you a "buzz" and no one really cares if you run out of it!  The word "drunk" in verse 10 has only one meaning, which is to be "intoxicated".

Note: We are not criticizing others and there is nothing wrong with substituting grape juice for wine when there is a medical reason or otherwise. But there are those among us that don't think Jesus would have or should have made the real stuff! Most of them go to church faithfully every Sunday. At least that's what it's called!

Now of course it is an unwise act to drink wine, or any other adult beverage, to the point of intoxication. Bad things tend to happen when you imbibe to the point of excess. Ask Noah.

But the making of wine itself is a natural process which we call fermentation. The way it works is that as the wine-to-be "moves" and "ferments" the impurities in the wine come to the surface and is "racked off". Thus the finished wine itself becomes a pure product, having been purified.

And so it is that this wine will become symbolic of the blood of the Lamb of God, of Whom we have been reading about. It will be that "pure" blood that will be shed for the atonement of the sins of the world.

There is one other significant point to be noted. In as much as wine is also symbolic of "truth", it would be that the best "wine" would be brought forth last, in other words in the end times, in the final generation. Remember in Daniel 12 when the angel told Daniel to seal up his words until the end and then the "wise" would understand, and knowledge [of God's Word] would be increased? Well, that time has arrived and the "new wine" is plentiful! Of course as recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, you can't put "new wine" [new truth] into old wine skins [traditional churches], for the expansion of the new wine will cause the bottles to burst!

[11] This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

Creating the fine wine manifested Christ's glory and His disciples did indeed believe on Him.

Jesus has now performed His first miracle by turning about 120 gallons of water into pure wine. And though the guests of the party were unaware that it was the Lord who had provided for their needs, it was a miracle indeed to His servants who saw Him do it [they even had a part in it] and a momentous sign to those who know the scriptures.

So now that Christ's ministry has begun, perhaps it's time to do a little house cleaning. Here's what happens next.

John 2:12
After this He went down to Capernaum, He, and His mother, and His brethren, and His disciples: and they continued there not many days.

Capernaum means "village of Nahum or consolation" and the losers in the temple are about receive their consolation prize, the righteous indignation of the First Christian, Jesus Christ.

[13] And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,

Before the corruption of the last 400 years this was the Passover of Israel, one of the feasts of Yahveh, not the Passover of the Jews.

[14] And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:

Well what do you know, the kenites have got a retail merchandising outlet and a foreign exchange bank right inside the church. I wonder what percentage they charged to convert one currency into another? Our local bank charges 2% to convert Canadian dollars into U.S. dollars.

And just look how easy they have made it to give a sacrifice unto the Lord. Just go to the temple, buy a sick "dove" and offer it unto God. I'm sure He is well pleased with that! Not.

And it's not much different today, is it?  People show up at church, sing a few songs, and throw some loose change into the collection plate, and they think they've done what "god" wants them to, so they can leave with a clear conscience, saying "What a good Christian am I!"

So much for religion!

Perhaps we shouldn't be critical of others. Perhaps we should just be tolerant of what goes on in the churches and not speak out. Perhaps we should just let the trinket merchandising and "preaching for dollars" continue on without saying a word about it!

Well, let's see how our leader, Jesus Christ, handled the scam going on in the temple.

John 2:15
And when He had made a scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;

Jesus made Himself a whip and drove the whole bunch out of the temple. He was very angry.

Was He a little hard on the "good religious people"?  Well, I'm sure He didn't hit anyone as He cracked the whip, but you'll see in the next verse He gave them a piece of His mind!

[16] And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.

And here is another example Jesus set forth. He quoted a few choice and appropriate scriptures to them to illustrate His point. The following words of Christ are a composite from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.

Matthew 21:13
And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Note: Here's an interesting FACT. The four Gospels contain 3920 verses. 1865 of them, that's 48%, are quotations from Jesus. Of His quoted conversation, 179 verses are literal Old Testament words. That's almost 10% of everything He said.

So what do we say then?  Many of today's Christian churches are doing the very same thing, i.e. ripping off our people. When you see them making merchandise does it bother you at all or bring to mind any scriptures?  Christ quoted from Jeremiah so let's start there too.

Jeremiah 23:16
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.

Don't listen to preachers who speak "visions" of their own hearts. They speak the traditions of men (call it churchianity) and NOT out of the mouth of the LORD, which is the Word of God.

[18] For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?

Do the preachers teach our people the Word of God line by line and verse by verse? They do not! Do the people mark [study] His word? Very few!

[19] Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.

[20] The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.

We better consider it real good in these LATTER DAYS. Why? Because the 1st "sign" that Christ said in Mat. 24 and Mark 13 that would mark this generation before His return is that MANY would come in His name [as Christ's ministers] and deceive MANY. How? Through the perpetuating of the traditions of men, through speaking their own minds and not the mind of Christ, which is His Written Word.

[21] I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

God didn't send them nor did He speak to them and tell them that someone's back aches out there in TV land. Yet they prophesy and tell the people to call and the operators are standing by [to take their credit card number].

[22] But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

But if these preachers had stood in the Word of God, and caused His people to hear HIS WORDS, then they should have turned this nation from the evil direction in which it is going!

And because they HAVEN'T and DON'T speak the Word of the Lord, our people are starving to death, and we are now in the midst of the great famine of the end time which Christ also foretold of in Mat. 24 and Mark 13. Except the famine isn't for food, don't you know?  Hear ye the Word of God:

Amos 8:11
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

There's your famine of the end time!

Here's more of what our Father has to say to false preachers.

Ezekiel 13:2
Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;

This is what the Lord God has to say to the preachers of this day. Verse 5 will document it!

[3] Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!

The "spirit" speaks to them all right, but it isn't the Holy Spirit.

[4] O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.

A bunch of sneaks seeking whom they may devour.

[5] Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.

The preachers have not made an hedge, i.e. prepared our people so that they are protected with the Gospel armor, to stand in the BATTLE in the day of the LORD, which is right around the corner. So our people are defenseless because they know not the Word of God and will certainly worship the spurious messiah, believing he is Jesus. Most are told not to worry anyway, because they will fly away in some "Rapture" while the remainder of us poor suckers suffer a great tribulation, but it's just a man made theory like evolution!

[6] They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.

Exactly! They are liars and they give FALSE hope to our people.

[7] Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken?

Hmmmm? Do they not say the Lord told me? God said He didn't say it! Who you gonna believe?

But guess what? It is not only obvious but it is scriptural that our people love to be "soothsayered" and lied to by these clowns! Do you mind if we quote Jeremiah again?

Jeremiah 5:27
As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.

I'll take a small liberty and paraphrase this verse in modern English: These preachers have "caged" a whole bunch of "bird brains" with their deceits and lined their pockets in doing so.

[28] They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.

They are in it for the money! Of course they overlook the deeds of the wicked, i.e. they aren't going to tell people of their rotten sins and confront them and tell them "Thus saith the Lord, Repent!" They might lose some members [read dollars]!

[29] Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

What's God supposed to do? Just let it go?

[30] A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;

"Wonderful" doesn't mean this is great. It means it's a bewilderment full of wonder and horror!

[31] The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

The preachers lie to them, and spiritually starve them, and oppress them in various ways, and THEY LOVE IT! They send them money and letters, etc., etc.

Let's return to the Book of John.

So the disciples saw Christ take some action and purify the temple a little by "racking off" some of the scum, a purification process kind of like making wine, isn't it?

John 2:17
And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

Now there's a common trait among the servants of God. They see something happen and it immediately calls to their remembrance scriptures from the Word of God. Just like Peter on Pentecost Day when the true tongue was spoken that goes forth and is understood by everyone present, and Peter stood up and said, "Hey, this is an example of what Joel the Prophet spoke of that will happen in the last days". It was written and Peter knew it.

So Christ cleans out the temple with "vigor" and the disciples REMEMBERED the Word of God, this time from Psalm 69:9.

Psalm 69:9
For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

Of course nothing came to the mind of the Jews except that their rip-off scam was exposed and they wanted to see some credentials.

John 2:18 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

The question was, "What sign shewest thou to us [that Thou art the Messiah], seeing that Thou doest these things?"

"What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?" (NIV)

[19] Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

Well that statement went right over their heads, didn't it? But later they would remember it and twist His words as they always do and use them against Jesus before His crucifixion.

Mark 14:57
And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying,

[58] We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.

Of course it was His body that would become the Temple of God. He would go into the tomb for three days and three nights, the sign of Jonas, and be raised up again.

John 2:20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

They just didn't get it! They still don't!

[21] But he spake of the temple of his body.

[22] When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

When you know the words of the God beforehand and you actually SEE them come to pass, then it increases your faith and you grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, as Peter instructed us to do in his epistles.

And the events transpiring today and tomorrow and in the very near future have ALREADY BEEN RECORDED and are written to those who take the time to seek Him and rightly divide His Word.

Or you can wait around and see if the cage full of birds really flies away.

John 2:23
Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.

Many today say to themselves,
"Why doesn't God show Himself and perform a miracle for me,
or talk to me like He apparently does to those TV evangelists (which He doesn't),
and then I will believe more.

Just show me a sign!

Of course if it takes a miracle for you to believe in God then you are in trouble indeed.

But if you know the scriptures, then you have not only seen signs but they are happening almost daily.

You see, a sign is only a sign if the giver of the sign has coordinated the meaning of the sign with the receiver of the sign. (Whew!) Here's an example:

Suppose the year was 1776 and you lived in the town of Lexington. One evening you were outside sitting on your porch steps listening to the crickets crick and you just happened to look up at the tower of the Old North Church when you noticed there was a single light shining in the tower.

"Hmmm", you say to yourself, "I wonder what someone is doing at this hour in the tower? Maybe they are looking for something or just making some repairs. Probably a couple of kids."

The point is, you are totally clueless that a "sign" was just given that would ultimately save your hide from the British Redcoats. Thank God for Paul Revere, because he "knew the scripture", so to speak, and knew what "signs" to look for AHEAD OF TIME; "One if by land and two if by sea".  And when he saw the sign he immediately took action and road through the town WARNING the people that the British were coming.

Well, there is nothing new under the sun. Today many Christians are "sitting on their laurels" and are seeing sign after sign after sign being given by our Father, exactly as they are written, and yet they are clueless as to what the signs mean. Why? They are not familiar with the scriptures.  But the wise of this generation, those who do know the scriptures, know AHEAD of TIME what to look for and they see sign after sign after sign and are now riding through the towns sounding the alarm, "The locusts are coming, the locusts are coming".

Note: If that last statement doesn't make any sense to you, then get up off your porch steps and start studying the Book of Revelation, written by the same author as the Gospel of John. Then you will know the signs!

[24] But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,

[25] And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

Jesus did not commit Himself unto them because He knew what was in their hearts. And He obviously didn't need anyone to tell Him what was in their hearts either.

So what's in your heart.

Do you sometimes wish you could see a miracle or a sign from God to strengthen your belief in Him?

They [signs and wonders] are happening almost every day,
exactly as they are written!

All you have to do is read His Word?

                                 

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