It is always a detriment to our learning and growth when
someone tries to merchandise an aspect of the Bible for their own benefit. We
end up with distorted doctrines and ideas that confuse people, leading to a
distrust of the very thing we should be looking to for answers about life. At
some point in our lives we have to put off our mindset of narcissism, stop
behaving like three year olds, and recognize that Yahweh doesn’t need us. He
simply doesn’t need us. He would like to be in a relationship with us, but he
is the Almighty Creator and we are not. We don’t direct, demand, or decide how
he should respond to us. We don’t control Him. Once we have established our
position correctly, we can then understand who we are. When Yahweh makes a
change in procedures or plans we then are obligated to follow Him, not take our
old ways and try and mix them with His new ways. Yahweh made a new nation, a
new goyim. All people are goyim, nations or tribes. All Jews are goyim but not all goyim are Jews. Jesus made a new goyim for the kingdom of heaven.
Yahweh is faithful to those who are faithful to him and he
extends mercy and forgiveness for mistakes we make throughout our lives. Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob were people who knew Yahweh, they spoke with Yahweh and they
served Yahweh. Their established relationship with Yahweh is our example of
connecting with Him. Yahweh told Abraham ahead of time that his descendants
would dwell in Egypt for four hundred years, which was sort of a nightmare for
Abraham.
Gen 15:13 And [God] said to Abram, Know positively that
your descendants will be strangers dwelling as temporary residents in a land
that is not theirs [Egypt], and they will be slaves there and will be afflicted
and oppressed for 400 years. [Fulfilled in Ex 12:40.] AMP
Yahweh said he would bring them out with great wealth. The
problem is they didn’t actually connect with Yahweh. Moses did. Moses brought
them out of Egypt, then went up on the mountain to talk with Yahweh, but the
people in the camp wanted to go back to their old ways. They wanted to worship
idols just like in Egypt. The people took it upon themselves to decide how to
worship the Creator, and made a golden calf. The old way should not have been
thought of but they insisted on taking the old ways of worship with them. They
made a calf with all their wealth, and Yahweh and Moses were not happy. Yahweh
wanted to destroy them. Now I know this goes against the elementary belief
system we have created for ourselves, but truly, upon coming out of Egypt
Yahweh was done with this group of people.
Ex 32:10 Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may burn
hot against them and that I may destroy them; but I will make of you a great nation
goy/goyim. AMP
Moses was a descendant of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, so Moses
would have been the one to make a great nation from Yahweh’s promise to
Abraham. Yahweh didn’t need all of Jacob’s descendants. Yahweh could have more
people from Moses’ line. Could you imagine the offer Yahweh made to Moses that
day? Moses interceded for the people but as we know later Moses misrepresented
Yahweh to the complaining Israelites and could not enter the Promised Land. In
order to make Yahweh and Moses that mad, the people must have been doing
something they refused to stop doing. They were not letting go of the old ways
and accepting the new ways. Moses came down from the mountain with some rules
written by Yahweh, but the people wanted to merge their old traditions into
this new administration. Then all through their history, the Israelites kept
doing things not acceptable in that time period. Yahweh was patient as we saw
that the glory of God stayed in the Temple among the male and female
prostitution and incense worship of other gods for three hundred years.
When the Messiah came, Jesus gave the people a new way to
live. He spent his time telling them what was changing, but as we know, many
people refused to change. The change was simple, the nations, all those who
were not descended form Jacob, would have the same connection to Yahweh, and
receive the kingdom of heaven. No longer would the nations, who hungered for
knowledge of the creator, be held back by lineage. No longer did one have to
convert to a religion or be disregarded due to gender or lack of circumcision.
This new way that the Messiah was announcing was a treasure worth everything
that one had. It is something more valuable than many people care to even
recognize today.
Keep in mind the mixed up way that the word for nation/s has been translated. This is
one of those issues we have in the Bible where people translated words or
changed words to match their beliefs. The Greeks did not have a word for themselves
that named themselves “less than Jews”, with derogatory connotations, such as
Gentiles or heathens. The Greeks ruled that portion of the world and they were
ahead of all people groups in dominance at that time. The idea that goy or goyim was ever translated Gentile or heathen is incorrect from its
first usages and translations in Genesis 10. Consequently when we get to the
New Testament, we see the idea of a bunch of heathen dogs being given the
opportunity to know Yahweh, but that is not correct. Someone tried to sell that
idea to people and it has been established as truth without anyone ever
questioning it. It is not true that all people who do not have Jewish mothers
are heathen dogs also known as Gentiles, they are simply non-Jews. Jesus came
to make a new nation and it consists of people who didn’t know Yahweh from
their lineage. Just as Jacob’s sons didn’t behave as if they knew Yahweh, all
the people Jesus is gathering may have behaved in the same sinful ways. However
Jacob’s heirs as well as everyone else on the planet are on equal par, there
isn’t a special group who are more important because of their ancestors. The
religious leaders of the first century decided they were more “religious” and
therefore better than everyone else but Jesus established the error of their
thinking. Today we should be wary of those who change their names in an effort
to make themselves appear as if they have a Jewish heritage, when in fact they
are simply “of the nations”. http://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2013/12/gentiles-all-jews-are-goyim-multitudes.html
As we looked at this parable a few weeks ago let’s start
here and move forward into some of Jesus’ kingdom of heaven thoughts. The tares
are sowed by the devil and at the end of the age the weeds will be thrown into
the fire. Jesus then explains it as He, the Son of Man, will send out angels to
“weed” the wicked out of Jesus’ kingdom.
Matt 13:39-53 And the enemy who sowed it is the devil. The
harvest is the close and consummation of the age, and the reapers are angels.
40 Just as the darnel (weeds resembling wheat) is gathered and burned with
fire, so it will be at the close of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send forth
His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all causes of offense
[persons by whom others are drawn into error or sin] and all who do iniquity
and act wickedly, 42 And will cast them into the furnace of fire; there will be
weeping and wailing and grinding of teeth. 43 Then will the righteous (those
who are upright and in right standing with God) shine forth like the sun in the
kingdom of their Father. Let him who has ears [to hear] be listening, and let
him consider and perceive and understand by hearing. [Dan 12:3.]
The wicked will be going somewhere where there is fire. In
fact they will be weeping wailing and grinding their teeth. That tells us that
there will be a period of time that the wicked are agonizing. In other words
they have not perished or cease to exist, they exist somewhere, and here, the
place of fire, is where they exist. We may not see them, we may even forget
about them, but until the end of the millennial reign, they will exist in this
state of weeping, wailing, and grinding of their teeth.
Jesus then goes on to point something out. He tells us the
kingdom of heaven, the place in heaven that is a kingdom, where the righteous
will shine forth, is a place one should pursue, like hidden treasure.
Matt 13:44 The kingdom of heaven is like something precious
buried in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and
sells all he has and buys that field.
The kingdom of heaven is worth selling everything we have
to get it, yet we do it with joy, not out of obligation. In a closer look we
see that the man finds the treasure, then hides it. He then sells everything he
has, he doesn’t just pack up and move there, he gets rid of all his old stuff
in order to buy the very place he found the treasure. He didn’t own the field,
he had to buy it from someone, and to do that he sold everything. Think this
through, he had to make an exchange, giving up what he had for what was hidden.
It is like giving up the world to grab onto heaven. Once he bought the field,
he had a great treasure. Jesus gives us another similar idea.
Matt 13:45 Again the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is
a dealer in search of fine and precious pearls, 46 Who, on finding a single
pearl of great price, went and sold all he had and bought it.
This kingdom of heaven is so valuable it is like a dealer
of exquisite gems who found a special pearl. He too sells everything just to
buy that one pearl. Think of volume here. He sells all the other pearls he has
just to buy one. Someone might look at that and say that having more pearls is
better than just one. In a different light, having many old traditions is not
as valuable as having a new approach. That is how valuable the kingdom of
heaven is. Now remembering the parable of the tares we have another idea
concerning the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 13:47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet
which was cast into the sea and gathered in fish of every sort. 48 When it was
full, men dragged it up on the beach, and sat down and sorted out the good fish
into baskets, but the worthless ones they threw away. 49 So it will be at the
close and consummation of the age. The angels will go forth and separate the
wicked from the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with
God) 50 And cast them [the wicked] into the furnace of fire; there will be
weeping and wailing and grinding of teeth. 51 Have you understood all these
things [parables] taken together? They said to Him, Yes, Lord.
The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet, it catches
everything and everyone, the good and the bad, of every variety. Once they drag
the net to the beach they look for the good fish. They throw out the old boot,
or the rusty license plate. They throw out the worthless fish, those that are
sick or not good for food. That is what men did in that day so it was a great
visual for the people of that time, and this is what the angels will do at the
end of the age. Again the wicked go into the fire with weeping and wailing and
grinding of teeth. When is the end of the age? Before the millennial reign and
after the Day of the Lord. Today all the unrighteous go to hades, those who
have no atonement for sin. But at the end of the age, everyone without atonement
goes to this place of fire. Is it the same as hades? Yes. According to
Revelation 20 this is where everyone who was not atoned for has been for at
least one thousand years. At the end of the millennial reign everyone in this
place of fire gets judged as to their works. While death and hell are thrown
into the lake of fire at that time, there will still be people who are thrown
into the lake of fire because their names were not written in the book of life.
Then we start a new age. It is not an elusive or intangible thing to have one’s
name written in the book of life, simply give up everything for the kingdom of
heaven. Now look at the next verse.
Matt 13:52 He said to them, Therefore every teacher and
interpreter of the Sacred Writings who has been instructed about and trained
for the kingdom of heaven and has become a disciple is like a householder who
brings forth out of his storehouse treasure that is new and [treasure that is]
old [the fresh as well as the familiar]. 53 When Jesus had finished these parables
(these comparisons), He left there. AMP
This is an important point. The scribe disciple is a
student writer, someone who is learning about the kingdom of heaven. Every
student writer who learns about the kingdom of heaven is like a lord of a house
who takes everything, old and new, out of his safe deposit box and violently
throws them out. The student writer gets rid of all his learned treasures, old
and new, for the treasure of the kingdom of heaven. Another way to look at this
is that once this treasure of the kingdom of heaven is found, all the old
knowledge and all the old laws are to be thrown out as well as any newer laws
or procedures the religious leaders instituted. The word ekballoo is what defines this entire section. Let’s examine
it.
52G3588 G1161And he
G2036said G1473to
them, G1223On
account of G3778this G3956every G1122scribe
G3100discipled
G1519intoG3588the G932kingdom
G3588of the
G3772heavens
G3664is
likened G1510.2.3 G444to a
man, G3617a
master of a house, G3748who G1544casts
out G1537from G3588 G2344his
treasury G1473 G2537new G2532and G3820old. http://studybible.info/ABP_Strongs/Matthew%2013
NT:1544 ekballoo; to cast out; to drive out; to
send out
1. with
the included notion of more or less violence
a. to drive out, (cast out): a person,
Matt 21:12
b. to cast out: John 6:37
c. to expel a person from a society: to
banish from a family, Gal 4:30
d. to compel one to depart: Acts 13:50
e. to command or cause one to depart in
haste: Mark 1:43
f. to draw out with force, tear out: ti,
Mark 9:47
g. to cause a thing to move straight on to
its intended goal: Matt 12:20
h. to reject with contempt; to cast off or
away: Luke 6:22
2. without
the notion of violence
a. to draw out, extract, one thing
inserted in another: Luke 6:42
b. to bring out of, to draw or bring
forth: Matt 12:35
c. to except, to leave out, Rev 11:2
d. to lead one forth or away somewhere
with a force which he cannot resist: Mark 1:12
(from Thayer's Greek Lexicon, Electronic
Database. Copyright © 2000, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
It is not simply just bringing out old and new treasures,
the ideas in the previous parables are that people got rid of everything for
the kingdom of heaven. The disciple who is learning throws out all the “stuff”
he has accumulated such as the old behaviors, the old thoughts, the old
traditions, the old dogma, and the old institutions. We should be willing to
take all we have worked for, and all we have saved up, and cash in everything
for the kingdom of heaven. Is the student who learns about the kingdom of
heaven any different because he or she is not of the direct lineage of Jacob?
No. The fact that Jesus book-ends these parables with ideas about tossing the
wicked into the fire tells us something. The student is the treasure hunter,
the one who finds the field, or the exquisite pearl. The student learner will throw
out all the old to get the new. This is the nation Jesus is coming for in the
harpazo. This is the nation of sinners who needed a new system because the old
system became so defiled and corrupt. Let’s see what Jesus taught before this
idea of throwing out the old things in favor of the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 9:10-17 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house,
behold, many tax collectors and [especially wicked] sinners came and sat
(reclined) with Him and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they
said to His disciples, Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and those
[preeminently] sinful?
We have this attitude in all religious institutions, harsh
judgments and critically pious hypocrites abound in religious organizations.
Here the Pharisees had so elevated themselves that they would not associate
with certain types of people. Jesus on the other hand did. The nations, all the
people of the earth, not just the Jews, are the ones Jesus came for. He was
doing what the Jews should have been doing, which is leading the sinners to
repentance. Instead, the Jews separated themselves and refused to lead the
nations into a relationship with Yahweh, Matthew 23:12. It is safe to say that
the Jews themselves didn’t have a relationship with Yahweh, as Jesus regularly
points out.
Matt 9:12 But when Jesus heard it, He replied, Those who
are strong and well (healthy) have no need of a physician, but those who are
weak and sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy [that is,
readiness to help those in trouble] and not sacrifice and sacrificial victims.
For I came not to call and invite [to repentance] the righteous (those who are
upright and in right standing with God), but sinners (the erring ones and all
those not free from sin). [Hos 6:6.]
Satan weakened the nations, all the nations, even the
northern and southern kingdoms of Israel, the descendants of Jacob. Jesus came
to call the tribes of people who didn’t fit the Pharisees mold, to life and
health. Mercy is what the religious leaders should have had on all the nations.
The people Jesus ate with were probably all of mixed descent, some Jews and
some not Jews, but over all, they were not on the Pharisees list of acceptable
types of people to associate with. Then John’s disciples want to know why Jesus
wasn’t following acceptable protocol for a religious leader because he and his
disciples did not fast.
Matt 9:14 Then the disciples of John came to Jesus,
inquiring, Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, [that is, abstain
from food and drink as a religious exercise], but Your disciples do not fast?
15 And Jesus replied to them, Can the wedding guests mourn while the bridegroom
is still with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from
them, and then they will fast.
Jesus was in the position of a close relationship with his
disciples, like a marriage, they ate and celebrated his being the Messiah. John
was an Essene and his disciples were probably of that order or close to that
order. So John’s disciples wanted to know, if Jesus really was the Messiah, why
weren’t Jesus and his disciples doing what the Essenes and the Pharisees do.
I’m sure we have never thought that our religious traditions should be followed
by everyone else who calls themselves religious, have we? Jesus’ next response
is often missed or dismissed by people who want to follow the old traditions.
Matt 9:16 And no one puts a piece of cloth that has not
been shrunk on an old garment, for such a patch tears away from the garment and
a worse rent (tear) is made.
Material has to be shrunk to be used as a patch. Just like
today we wash and dry clothing and it shrinks. Therefore a piece of material
has to be shrunk to be used as a patch otherwise when it is washed and dried it
will shrink and distort the garment we are trying to save. In other words, we
don’t take a newly made piece of material and make it a patch for an old shirt,
we don’t make the new fit the old. Instead we are to discard the old garment in
favor of a new one. The new garment won’t need a patch because it is new. If we
have to patch an old garment we would use another old piece of cloth for the
repair. In this example though, we should just wear the new garment and throw
out the old one. Again Jesus says the same thing in a different way.
Matt 9:17 Neither is new wine put in old wineskins; for if
it is, the skins burst and are torn in pieces, and the wine is spilled and the
skins are ruined. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are
preserved. AMP
If one were to take an old wine skin and put new wine in
it, the fermentation residue from the old wine would make the skin burst. It
would swell up with gasses and explode. However if the new wine is put into a
new skin, one that has no fermentation residue, it will age without tearing the
skins. Therefore take the new wine and don’t mix it with old wine. Get rid of
the old containers that hold your traditions and throw them out. Get new
containers for the new things Jesus brings. The result of trying to combine the
old and the new will cause a violent reaction.
New wine is not some random new thing that happens every
time someone writes a book and wishes to merchandise a new movement in the body
of Christ. New wine in this context is the new dispensation. The change from
the law to grace is the new wine, not some prophetic movement that sells books
and attempts to steer humans in a particular direction in a religious vein. It
is the job of the Holy Spirit to do the leading, and everyone walks a different
path, it is not up to the “now trending preacher” to direct everyone.
Understand, if you haven’t heard the expression before, “new wine” has been
thrown around by many ridiculous shysters in the body of Christ and no one
group has been immune, they can be Messianics, Charismatics, Pentecostals; anyone.
New wine is a new administration or time period of how things are being run by
the Creator. It was established on the Day of Pentecost. It is not determined
by humans, it is determined by Yahweh. He’s God the Creator, and we are
not.
The new things Jesus came to bring, this new covenant, is
for nations of sinners. Even the Jews who were religious leaders were sinners
as Jesus pointed out their hypocrisy regularly. So the new way, the new wine,
the treasures of the kingdom of heaven, are not for people who want to follow
the old laws. It is for people, all of whom are sinners, who are willing to get
rid of their stored up customs and take on the new ones. The new customs can’t
be mixed with the old ones, if someone were to try it they would explode, tear,
and break, to a violent end. Just like a student who learns the truth about the
kingdom of heaven, one has to violently throw out all the old and recently
found treasures in lieu of the newest treasures.
2 Cor 3:6-7 [It is He] Who has qualified us [making us to
be fit and worthy and sufficient] as ministers and dispensers of a new covenant
[of salvation through Christ], not [ministers] of the letter (of legally
written code) but of the Spirit; for the code [of the Law] kills, but the [Holy]
Spirit makes alive. [Jer 31:31.] Now if
the dispensation of death engraved in letters on stone [the ministration of the
Law], was inaugurated with such glory and splendor that the Israelites were not
able to look steadily at the face of Moses because of its brilliance, [a glory]
that was to fade and pass away, [Ex 34:29-35.] AMP
The law is the dispensation of death and that was glorious,
don’t mistake its value at the time it was given, but the new dispensation is
more splendid. The new dispensation was that of the Spirit, not the written
code. The ministers of that dispensation, like Paul, were bringing a living
message. New wine, new garments.
2 Cor 3:8 Why should not the dispensation of the Spirit
[this spiritual ministry whose task it is to cause men to obtain and be
governed by the Holy Spirit] be attended with much greater and more splendid
glory? AMP
This is why the first covenant is obsolete, it was a
covenant of death to all those who couldn’t follow it. Let’s be real, the only
ones who could follow the old covenant were three individuals. Enoch, who
technically didn’t have the law but was so righteous and upright he was
translated with his body. The second person was Elijah, who was also translated
with his body. As we previously studied the two witnesses, they are Elijah and
Enoch, these are the only two people who still have their bodies. People claim
that the Bible says that it is appointed once for every man to die, and that is
true, the question is when? We know Elijah and Enoch will die at the end of the
first three and one half years of the tribulation. Just because we don’t see
them doesn’t mean they died. They still have their bodies, and it is because
they were found righteous and upright that they will come back and witness, and
then be killed. The third person who could follow the old covenant was Jesus.
So the old covenant was a covenant of death for everyone else. It doesn’t
matter how well you think you follow it, it still leads to death without
atonement. Jesus is the only atonement for sin.
Heb 8:13 When God speaks of a new [covenant or agreement],
He makes the first one obsolete (out of use). And what is obsolete (out of use
and annulled because of age) is ripe for disappearance and to be dispensed with
altogether. AMP
The nation Jesus is gathering is one that embraces the new
covenant. That is the age we live in, the old age is obsolete. Throw out the
old garments with holes in them. Throw out the used wine skins. Neither are
useful any longer.
Matt 21:42-44 Jesus asked them, Have you never read in the
Scriptures: The very Stone which the builders rejected and threw away has
become the Cornerstone; this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our
eyes? [Ps 118:22,23.] 43 I tell you, for this reason the kingdom of God will be
taken away from you and given to a people (Nation)
who will produce the fruits of it. 44 And whoever falls on this Stone will be
broken to pieces, but he on whom It falls will be crushed to powder [and It
will winnow him, scattering him like dust]. [Isa 8:14; Dan 2:34,35.] AMP
Jesus the chief cornerstone was rejected; because of this
the kingdom is given to other people who produce fruits in the kingdom. People,
nations, and tribes who cultivate others and teach others, allow people to decide
if they want to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Sadly those religious leaders
didn’t teach the nations. They instead cloistered themselves away from the
nations. Whoever trips over Jesus, starting from a standing position to a
prostrate position, ends up broken. But if Jesus the cornerstone falls on
someone, that one will be winnowed, separated like chaff from wheat. Either
people will be broken or separated, that is the message for everyone today. Peter adds to this to help clarify.
1 Peter 2:8-10 And, A Stone that will cause stumbling and a
Rock that will give [men] offense; they stumble because they disobey and
disbelieve [God's] Word, as those [who reject Him] were destined (appointed) to
do. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation,
[God's] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful
deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of
darkness into His marvelous light. [Ex 19:5,6.] 10 Once you were not a people
[at all], but now you are God's people; once you were unpitied, but now you are
pitied and have received mercy. [Hos 2:23.] AMP
Once we were not a people. All humans were goyim, but not connected by anything
other than being of the race of humankind. Today we are a goyim of Yahweh. Paul expounds.
Rom 9:24-26 Even including ourselves whom He has called,
not only from among the Jews but also from among the Gentiles (heathen) Nations? 25 Just as He says in Hosea,
Those who were not My people I will call My people, and her who was not beloved
[I will call] My beloved. [Hos 2:23.] 26 And it shall be that in the very place
where it was said to them, You are not My people, they shall be called sons of
the living God. [Hos 1:10.] AMP
Today those who believe on Jesus are a nation, a group, a
body of individuals called the sons of the living God. Jesus told us the same
thing in a different manner when he pointed out who would be in the kingdom of
heaven with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Matt 8:10-12 When Jesus heard him, He marveled and said to
those who followed Him [who adhered steadfastly to Him, conforming to His
example in living and, if need be, in dying also], I tell you truly, I have not
found so much faith as this with anyone, even in Israel. 11 I tell you, many
will come from east and west, and will sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 While the sons and heirs of the kingdom will
be driven out into the darkness outside, where there will be weeping and
grinding of teeth. [Ps 107:2,3; Isa 49:12; 59:19; Mal 1:11.] AMP
Here is that place of weeping, wailing, and gnashing of
teeth again. The descendants of Jacob, the Jews, will not all be in the kingdom
of heaven because they reject Jesus. This is the new treasure that we sell
everything we have accumulated to buy. This is the new wine, the new garment.
It is the kingdom of heaven, and it is given to a people who were not a Holy
Nation, goyim, until Jesus came. Then
those who believe on Jesus became a people, a tribe, a nation. They are sons of
the living God. And the first thing this nation does when they all are
harpazo’d is worship with a new song.
Rev 5:9 And that [now] they sing a new song,
saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to break the seals that are on
it, for You were slain (sacrificed), and with Your blood You purchased men unto
God from every tribe and language and people and nation. [Ps 33:3.] AMP
The new nation shows up in the kingdom of heaven after the
harpazo, just before the seals are being opened. The new nation that is being
formed today, comes from all over the earth. This is the nation that the bride
of Christ comes out of. One cannot attempt to mix the old procedures with the
new ones. One cannot mix them or combine them because that would make a
different protocol. One must get rid of the old ideas and take the new
dispensation Jesus created. This is the treasure of the kingdom of heaven. This
is the new nation of sinners that becomes sons of the living God.
