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THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT #12 – Kingdom of Heaven

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MARRIAGE, MORALITY AND DIVORCE IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

lion and lamb

27  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29  And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30  And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 31   It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 32  But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. Matthew 5:27-32

This is the seventh of the Ten Commandments. It was given to Moses on stone, but Jesus reveals that adultery is a heart matter. He who has a heart of lust, will lust for another, and has already committed adultery in the heart. The believer should understand that all with God is a heart matter. We can assume that the lust is not speaking of a one-time event, but of a heart that is controlled by lust.

Since this sermon is located in Matthew, the book of the King of Israel, and Kingdom of Heaven is the subject, there is no reason one should spiritualize verses 29-30. I am aware that this is so foreign to Western thinking, that our minds have difficulty grasping it. There is no record of this practice In the Old Testament. Therefore, this must be a law for entrance into the Kingdom.  One need not spiritualize verse 29-30, while taking the other verses to be literal. As drastic as the action may be, it will be better than going to hell.

Divorce and remarriage was granted under the Law, although that was not God’s intent when Adam and Eve were created. In the beginning, God’s plan was one marriage only. Had sin not corrupted man that would still be the case, but God later allowed divorce. Paul, in the church epistles also allows divorce and remarriage. Under the Law, a bill of divorcement was sufficient to release the wife from her former husband, and she was free to marry another. (Deuteronomy 24.)

Under the Kingdom of Heaven rule, a man may not divorce his wife except she is found to be sexually impure. To do so causes her, and her new husband to committee adultery.

We are not informed of any further punishment on the two. Perhaps they will be expelled from the opportunities granted other citizens of the Kingdom. It is also possible that they are banished beyond the boundaries of the “Holy Land,” thus “cast out.” The full extent will be known in that time.

TEN FALSE TEACHINGS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

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Roman Catholic Heresies.

By Ken Blue
mary standing on a snakeRoman Catholic Heresies stand greater in number than Hindu religion practices of idol worship. This is concerting given the fact that Hindus have more gods than people.  Also, it is impossible to show anyone their errors when they have multiple authorities. As soon as you show one their error, they shuttle off to another authority. The one verse that would help Catholics understand the Bible is, “ Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15. But, of course, they won’t read it. They trust their church more than they trust the Bible, or God.

You will notice in the above picture, Mary stands on the whole world, and crushes a serpent under her feet. Also, the light to the world comes from her hands, and there are twelve stars around her head. This is one of the greatest abuses of Scripture anywhere on earth. First, the woman in Genesis 3 is not Mary, but the nation of Israel. Revelation 12 shows her again as the nation of Israel. Anyone who can, and will read the context will see that there is nothing in either text about Mary. This Roman Catholic Heresy of worshipping a female deity goes far beyond the Catholic Church. It goes back to Babylon in the book of Genesis.

  1. No idols. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:4-6.
  2. Call no man father. This is in the spiritual sense. “And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” Matthew 23:9.
  3. Praying to the saints. “Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30  And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31  And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” Luke 16:29-31. The Bible is to be read for answers. No one contacts the dead
  4. Mary not a mediator. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” 1 Timothy 2:5.
  5. No purgatory. “… the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” Luke 16:22-23. Purgatory is an invention of the church to get money from grieving souls. There is no purgatory. You go straight to heaven, or straight to HELL.
  6. No praying for the dead. “…“Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” Luke 16:29. The living are instructed to go to the Bible for answers.
  7. Peter, married, not a pope. “ But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.” Mark 1:30. Peter disappears after Acts 15. Wonder where he went?
  8. No such thing as transubstantiation. “When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 62  What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? 63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 64  But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.” John 6:61-63. A piece of bread never becomes the flesh of Jesus Christ, nor does a sip of hooch become His blood.
  9. Perpetual virginity. “I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children. 9  For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.” Psalm 69:8-9.
  10. Use of holy water. For proof, see Job 1:1

LET’S STUDY THE BOOK OF HEBREWS!

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Commentary on Hebrews

 

 

 

A complete commentary in book form and on DVD is available. Go to Open Door Baptist bookstore Lynnwood, WA. for information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LET’S STUDY HEBREWS! WE CAN STUDY THIS GREAT BOOK TOGETHER.

The numbers do not reflect the chapters, but the number of the tape.

stream – Hebrews Intro  –   or Download MP3 file

stream – Hebrews Part 1  –   or Download MP3 file

stream – Hebrews Part 2  –   or Download MP3 file

stream – Hebrews Part 3  –   or Download MP3 file

stream – Hebrews Part 4  –   or Download MP3 file

stream – Hebrews Part 5  –   or Download MP3 file

stream – Hebrews Part 6  –   or Download MP3 file

stream – Hebrews Part 7  –   or Download MP3 file

stream – Hebrews Part 8  –   or Download MP3 file

 

PURCHASE MY COMPLETE COMMENTARY ON HEBREWS BY CLICKING HERE

 

THE PARENTHESIS

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The parenthesis mystery

parenthesisBy Ken Blue

(The Mystery)

Of the many rules or principles of Bible interpretation, one must not overlook the principle called the parenthesis. “A parenthesis is used to mark off explanatory or qualifying remarks in writing or printing or enclose a sum, product… A comment departing from the theme of discourse; a digression.” American Heritage Dictionary-

The difference in the Bible is that the parenthesis is not filled by the writer, and it remained a mystery until revealed to and by Paul. Peter spoke of this when he said, “Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, (gap here) and the glory that should follow.” 1 Peter 1:11.

The parenthesis was always between the suffering of Christ and the glory to follow. None of the Old Testament saints or the followers of Christ understood the mystery that was hid from the foundation of the world.

The parables of Matthew 13 were primary in preaching the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven during the parenthesis that would exist from the crucifixion to the Revelation at the Second Advent. The secondary mystery was the preaching of the church, the body of Christ in this dispensation.

Let us observe this principle throughout Scripture. It is the key that unlocks Scripture.

Luke 4:18-22 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,  To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (gap here)  And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.  And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?” See Isa. 61:1-2.

Another example is Psalm 22:21-22 “Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. (gap here) I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.” This text speaks of Christ’s death and resurrection.

We see the same principle in Psalm 118:22 “The stone which the builders refused (gap here) is become the head stone of the corner.” Note Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: (gap here) and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Because we have the writings of Paul, we can clearly see the mystery that fits in the parentheses.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Because we have the writings of Paul, we can clearly see the mystery that fits in the parentheses.[/perfectpullquote]

One more example should be sufficient to establish this principle of Bible interpretation. “And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?  And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?  And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:  And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.  But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.  Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;  And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:  Ought not Christ to have suffered these things,( the parenthesis goes here) and to enter into his glory?  And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.  And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.  And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.  And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.  And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” Luke 24:17-32.

THE WORST DAY OF YOUR LIFE MAY BE YOUR BEST DAY

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NAAMAN THE SYRIAN

Naaman

By Ken Blue
“And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.” 2 Kings 5:2.

Did you ever pause to think that the worst day of your life might be the beginning of your greatest accomplishments? I’m sure that few of us, if any, ever looked at it that way.

Israel and Syria were at war constantly. On one occasion, Israel was defeated and many of them were slain or taken captive. One unknown family had a young daughter. My guess she was between 10 and 12 years old; only a guess.

We have no idea about the circumstances surrounding her capture. Were her parents murdered before her eyes, or were they too transported to Syria and then separated? Certainly, she was in shock over the ordeal. She is taken from her homeland, and in a strange land where people spoke a different language. In addition, she is assigned the position of a slave girl to serve in a strange home.

However, by the providence of God, she was placed in the home of a great man by the name of Naaman. He was greatly respected and loved by the King and the people; but he had leprosy.

The little maid said to her mistress that if Naaman could get to the prophet in Israel, he could be healed of his leprosy. By the grace of God and diplomatic channels, Naaman arrived at the home of Elisha. Elisha sent word for Naaman to dip in the Jordan River seven times and he would be clean. At first he protested, but his servant persuaded him to dip and be clean.

We can only imagine the joy and excitement when Naaman came up from the river with his flesh made whole! He offered to pay Elisha, but all offers were refused. He then requested a few sacks of earth from Israel that he might kneel on and pray to the LORD. His request was granted.

Let us try to visualize the scene at the homecoming in Syria. The servants have much to tell. Naaman’s wife runs out to greet him. His servants who remained home bowed to the earth before him, and his children expressed joy unspeakable over the miraculous healing.

But there was one who remained on the porch. She has not been acknowledged yet. You can see the satisfaction on her face. She is happy for Naaman and his family. But, perhaps she is most satisfied because of all the people who now believe in the one true God and others who will believe because of their word.

What a glorious day the worst day of her life accomplished. Don’t be discouraged or dismayed by the worst events that come your way. They may be the beginning of the best thing that could happen to you, the cause of Christ, and the salvation of others.