The American Wisdom Series 
 http://www.americanwisdomseries.com

Presents 
MARK
Chapter 12

Caution to students of God's Word - Please remember two things when using our studies: #1. Our commentary is not God's Word. It is only our interpretation or understanding of "His Word" and even though we try our best to be accurate we may or may not be correct. #2. The King James translation, or any other translation, of the original Hebrew text has some words which were given different translations at different places probably because of the interpreters preconceived ideas of what they think God meant to say. For example: According to the notes in the "Dake's Annotated Reference Bible" the Hebrew word hayah in the KJV is Trans. (became) 67 times, (becamest or came to pass) 505 times, (become) 66 times, and (come to pass) 131 times, but for some reason in Genesis 1:2 it is translated (was)! That sure changes the way a person perceives the original creation of the earth, doesn't it?  Gen. 1:2 And the earth was (became) without form, ... Having said that, let us continue with our "Key Knowledge" lessons. These are pamphlets containing knowledge, we believe, you must have to fully and accurately unlock and understand the Word of God.

John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:13-14
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [14] He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

This Bible Study was originally written by Roger Christopherson,
 published at http://www.theseason.org/ 

You can view it at the season`s web site (address above) as originally published
or here, as now edited by people at
 
The American Wisdom Series  

Without the leading by the Holy Spirit, there is no understanding of the truths, for all the truth of the Scriptures are revealed to us by God's Spirit.

 Now here is our revised study of:

MARK

Chapter 12

"Parable of the Vineyard [1-11]."
Pharisees' Question on Tribute [12-17]."
"Sadducees Doctrine [18-27]."
Scribes Morals [28-34]."

Mark 12:1 "And He began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country."

Jesus is speaking of our Heavenly Father here, the One who created this earth, when He created all things. A lot of work goes into planting a vineyard, for the vines are already set. This is a parable and Jesus is using this vineyard in explaining His kingdom. The "winefat" is the place where the grapes crushed, and it has a troth where the juices run down into a container, and are collected. The "tower" is a watchtower, and God set up a procedure to watch out for the thief. A built in method to watch out for those that would come in and deceive.

Then God let this vineyard out to husbandmen, which are farmers, however in this case they are the priests. Remember that it is the high priest that is questioning Christ here, and those scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees that are with him. These priests were to be on the watchtower, looking out and protecting God's vineyard. The purpose for their being there in the first place, was to produce fruit.

Mark 12:2 "And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard."

Then at the right season, the time of harvest this Master, which is the Father sent a servant or prophet because God always expects results. Even in your own life, God expects to see a little fruit from the wisdom and knowledge that is planted in your mind. Remember what is done with any plant that doesn't produce fruit, it is pruned away, cut out to be burned.

Mark 12:3 "And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty."

When God sent His ambassador, His prophet, they caught him and beat him and sent him away empty.

Mark 12:4 "And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled."

Mark 12:5 "And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some."

We read of how the prophets were treated, some beaten, some stoned, throne into pits in Jeremiah's case, and all sorts of treatment for the sake of their giving forth, "Thus saith the Lord God." Of course John the Baptist was the last of these prophets, and he was beheaded for his witness. This is symbolic of God's house, so I ask you, What good is a house of God, if it does not produce fruit? By fruit that I mean, not just people that know how to say, "Yes, I'm saved." Yet have no idea what the Word of God is all about. A Christian is a man of Christ, and should know those things about Christ, both of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Christ's man is familiar with the teaching of Christ.

You may claim to be a Christian and you may say that you believe, but where is your fruit? If you are biblically illiterate, and have no desire to read, study and obtain the truths from God's Word, than you are stale. Ask yourself, Am I producing fruit in my Father's garden?

Today most houses of God are teaching their people all sorts of things, but when Satan the evil one comes they have not been prepared to withstand his attacks. When the enemy, Satan comes in his role of the great deceiver, the Antichrist, they simply will not be able to withstand His lies. Why? These "husbandmen", which are the preachers and teachers of God's Word, are not teaching the Word, but a substitute for the Word which are their false doctrines and traditions.

When the Master [Jesus Christ] returns they will claim all the things that they had done in His name, the casting out of demons, and all the souls that they had saved, but for which christ? If they ran off to Satan at his coming, and sold out to him than where is the fruit for the Master? This is why Jesus will say at His coming to these unfaithful servants, "Get away from Me, I never knew you."

Live Link to- Endure til the end

Where is the fruit? The fruit comes from teaching God's Word, and not man's traditions; and the ways of some high priest, some man that holds many titles, yet knows nothing of the Word of God. Church systems bear fruit for their church systems {membership and collection receipts}, but do they bear fruit for the Master {GOD}?

Live Link to- Church is not Christianity. God's Word is Christianity.

Mark 12:6 "Having yet therefore one son, his well-beloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, `They will reverence my son.' "

Notice that the last of the sent ones that would be sent to these husbandmen, the high priests, would be the Master's own Son. The question to ask yourself here is, Why wouldn't they reverence God's Son? He preformed miracles before their eye-sight, cast out demons, fed thousands with the lunch of a small boy, and even raised the dead, and through these priest's spies, they knew everything and word that Jesus spoke. He gave hope to those that were condemned with leprosy with His touch of love, and they were healed. Ask yourself, Why wouldn't they receive Christ as the Savior?

Mark 12:7 "But those husbandmen said among themselves, `This is the heir; come let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.' "

Stop and think for a moment; Who did God let His house out to? He turned the duties over to the priests, and they were the regulators of the governmental functions, the tending to the orphans, and widows, the welfare of the community, and judicial matters. Besides these functions they were also the ones to tend to the duties of a priest before the altar of God. They collected the funds which was owed God, and were to use those funds [tithes and taxes] to do the work of the Lord and the community. They were the social security, the courts, the building and permits department, and every other thing that goes into a government. All the money that came from the vat of God's blessings were to take care of these things. God placed them in charge of carrying out all of His laws, regulations and instructions, which we find in the old laws, statutes and ordinances.

When God was ready to receive fruit unto Himself, He sent His Son Jesus Christ. So what happened to the Son? Who was plotting the death of the Heir to the Master's throne? "But those husbandmen," those Jewish Kenite high priests, along with all the other religious leaders of the community which are the very ones that plotted to kill Jesus. They knew who Jesus was and they were watching out for His coming all the way back to the coming out of captivity. When the house of Judah came out of captivity from Babylon, the duties of the scribes, and priests had already been taken over by these Kenites, and they were on their watchtowers, then looking out for the Son of the Master that would come. They knew the prophecies concerning a coming Messiah, and they wanted to kill him. It is well documented that these Kenites controlled the priesthood from the time of the captivity, and even before.

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

Editor's Note; Not to change the subject but, I'll bet your church taught you that Noah's flood was world wide.  I Chronicles 2:55 was written many, many years after Noah's Flood, so tell me; If your church is teaching correct doctrine, How did Cain survive Noah's Flood? Those "Kenites" are descendants of Cain!     Live Link to- Noah's Flood

The Kenites are the offspring of Cain, the son of their father Satan from the garden of Eden.

Live Link to-  What happened in the garden

They are not of Abraham, nor are they of the lineage of Jacob or Judah. [The House of Judah was taken to Babylon during the conquering of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzor in 586BC], They are of the nation of the "house of Rechab", and not of the "house of Judah" To be exact they are Orientals that assumed the responsibilities of the Levite scribes in those seventy years in Babylon. These are the ones that control what is taught in the temple, and what will be recorded as truth. It is the sons of Satan that control the duties of the scribes. However to find out what happened to the real Levitical priests lets go to Ezra 8:15. This is Ezra taking account of who is in the wagon train returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and set up the religious order within the temple.

Ezra 8:15 "And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the People, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi. "

The thing that should jump out at you here is where are the Levitical priests? Where are the ones that are suppose to be doing the work of God, before the altar of God. If the priests are in the midst, and there were several hundred of them, than what are they priests for? for the altar of God? God gave that duty and mission to Aaron and his sons, to the final generation, yet every last one of them were gone. So what are these "Kenite" priests teaching, and how can they perform that duties that God demands? What type of fruit are they producing?


Editor's Note; I have another question about what your church teaches you. I'll bet they tell you Jesus was crucified by the Jews and on the surface there is some truth to that, but very little, since we know that in 586BC five centuries prior to Christ's birth, these Kenites had pretty much taken over the church, Based of the facts, it's pretty hard for me to blame our Lord's crucifixion on our brothers from the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, the former "House of Judah", when I know the Cain's descendants were in charge of the temple at that time. 

Not only that but, I'll bet your church teaches that even the Israelites from the former "House of Israel" {the other 10 tribes} are included in those people called Jews, that they say killed Christ. I know that's not true because they were taken captive and relocated below the Black and Caspian Seas even earlier, in 745-721 B.C. eight centuries earlier. The tribes of the House of Israel plus tens of thousands of Jews (from the House of Judah) were used by their Assyrian conquerors as a buffer state to ward off any advances by the Medes.

Many Christian churches insist on including all of the ancient Israelites as being the people called Jews today. They do this because they don't study their Bible; therefore, they don't know what happened to the ancient Israelites that were taken by the Assyrians in 745-721 B.C. They don't even know that most of us Christians from Europe and the Americas are really descendants of those ten tribes from the "House of Israel". They will tell you that the Israelites from all 12 tribes returned to Jerusalem with Ezra

My Bible tells me in Ezra 1:5 that #1. we are only talking about 2 tribes, Judah and Benjamin [The House of Judah], not the 10 tribes from [The House of Israel] 

Ezra 1:5 Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem. 

and #2. it tells me in  Ezra 2:1 that every one returned to his city. If you will look at your map, in the back of your Bible, of countries of ancient Israel and Judah you will see that there are no cities of the "House of Israel near Jerusalem. Their cities are in what is now Samaria, way to the north. [the old land of Israel from before their captivity, [Jerusalem is in the old land of Judah]. 

Ezra 2:1  Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city; 

Live Link to- "Do you know who you really are?"  

Are you a Israelite?  

(Maybe you only think you're a Gentile!)


 When we look deeper into the matter, we see from the second chapter of Ezra that of the over forty three thousand people that were returning to Jerusalem, over half of them were not even descendants of Israel, but they were "Nethinims", "strangers", Orientals from the land of Hamath and their families, that mixed in with the house of Judah while in the captivity in Babylon and before. The offspring of these "Nethinims" are the very ones that were controlling the Temple of Jesus time, they controlled the money, the people and what would be taught as being the truth. They substituted their Kenite traditions for the laws of Moses and they are the husbandmen that took over the Masters vineyard, and stand before the Master's Son, plotting how they might kill him.  

What kind of fruit is produced from these heathen high priests that have worked themselves into the house of God. There is nothing new under the sun, and when one truly teaches the Word of God chapter by chapter and verse by verse with understanding, it draws these phonies out of the wood work. This is what we are to be on guard watching out for, watching for those that would substitute another teaching for the Word of God. Thank God for the good teachers that we do have. This is why many resent God's Word being taught in it's entirety, for it brings out the fakes. Every word that Jesus spoke convicted them and they knew it.

Mark 12:8 "And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard."

They took Jesus and they crucified Him.

Mark 12:9 "What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others."

Now stop and ask yourself, after the Master had allowed all his servants beaten and killed, and then when these husbandmen took and killed His Son, What will the Master do with these husbandmen that control His vineyard?

Our Heavenly Father is not one that will stand by and allow His children to be insulted year in and out and let this go one. As soon as all of God's children have had their opportunity to pass through this earth age in the flesh, and make their own mind up, then God is going to put a stop to all the wickedness that is going on. God loves His vineyard, and He loves His children, and He will sit at the head of His vineyard Himself. So what is He going to do? He shall come and destroy the husbandmen, and give the vineyard unto others.

We are talking about the coming of Jesus Christ for the Millennium age, when Jesus will turn over His vineyard to the elect, and those that have the Word of God sealed in their mind. Ezekiel 44 documents this fact.

Live Link to- The Millennium

Mark 12:10 "And have ye not read this scripture; `The Stone Which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:"

Jesus is asking these high religious leaders, Have you not read this scripture? and then He quoted Psalms 118:22; "The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner."

Psalms 118:23 "This is the Lord's doing; It is marvellous in our eyes."

This chief corner stone can also become a stumbling block to these husbandmen. Within I Peter 2: 6-8 tells how this chief cornerstone can become a stumbling block to those that are biblically illiterate. Those that say they are a Christian, but have not studied to prepare themselves for the deception that is coming shortly.

I Peter 2:6 "Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, "Behold I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded."

There should be no surprises as to who that "Chief corner Stone" is that God laid in Sion. It was prophesied in the Scriptures from the earliest of times, and the fulfillment of those prophesies are well documented in the New Testament. Jesus Christ is that Chief corner Stone, elected by the Father to fulfill this role, and He is precious to all that will believe on His name. If you believe upon Jesus and know that He is the Word of God, when you possess Him you will never fall. It is the Holy Spirit of God that takes the confusion from your mind when you allow Him to do that for you. You are the one that does the choosing, and you open the door to your mind. Then the Spirit of God places the understanding within your mind.

I Peter 2:7 "Unto you therefore which believe He is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the Stone Which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,"

To understand the basis of this verse, you must first understand that it was the builders of this house that first rejected this chief corner Stone. So who are we talking about? Consider the ten virgins of Matthew 25; five of the virgins were sincere and had the truth in their hearts and minds, and five of them did not. The foolish virgins were all wrapped up in their traditions, and did not have the oil or truth of God's Word in their minds.

Live Link to- It all depends on how wise you are!
Matthew 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.  [2] And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
There are many today that call themselves Christian, yet in their doctrines they reject the doctrine of the chief corner Stone. Jesus is the chief corner Stone, and He taught us exactly what we should be looking for just prior to His return at the second advent. We will see in Mark 13 He gave us the details which gives us the seven events that Jesus stated would take place prior to His return. Yet, many today still think that Jesus was playing some sort of joke on them. Jesus warned them that a false Christ, a deceiver would come first, and we are to be looking out for this fake, the false-christ. Jesus gave us these warnings so that we would not be taken in and deceived by Satan. Yet through many traditions and false doctrines of the Church today like the "rapture doctrine", they prefer to "disallow" the advice of the Chief corner Stone, Jesus Christ.

These builders, who operate out of our Chistian churches of the 21st century, would rather build their spiritual houses on false doctrines and false material of their traditions. They build on another foundation other than the true Rock, which is Christ. They claim that you don't have to understand the Word of God, but all that is necessary is that you believe. However, if you don't understand God's eternal plan, than how can you prevent yourself from being deceived. 

There are two Christ's coming, and one is a fake. Which one are you going to choose. They both will look similar, and have supernatural powers, and they both will bring their spiritual army with them. The one that is the true Christ will come at the seventh trumpet, while the fake is coming at the sixth trump. The problem with the traditions that are being taught today, is that those traditions are preparing the listeners to be take by the wrong christ. It is done by giving a false sense of security, that the believer would be removed from this world age of the flesh during the very time of testing that God Himself has set aside to test His children. The traditions of men just don't make sense, when you stop and think what they are trying to teach through these false doctrines.

When you are part of the living stones of the body of Christ, and as a living stone you can only fit into one house. You will not fit into Christ house, if Christ find you have already been taken to be fit into the house of Satan, before His/Christ's return. We need to be aware of those builders of church houses that reject the full and complete teachings of this Word.

I Peter 2:8 "And a Stone of stumbling, and a Rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."

"Even to them which stumble at the Word," this is the prime subject here. Do you stumble at hearing the Word? How could you not stumble if you do not know the teaching of Christ? If you are a Christian, than you had better study to know the Word, and those that do not study are being disobedient. So this gets to the point that Peter is trying to make here.

If you don't know the difference between the first christ [Satan, claiming to be christ] that will come to this earth, and the Second Christ [the real Christ], then what you do know of Jesus Christ will become a stumbling block to you. This is all Scriptural as prophesied from the book of Isaiah.

Thank God that He does not have to depend on people that refuse to prepare themselves to accomplish the tasks that must be done for this end generation. BUT, He will say to those disobedient foolish servants, even though they claimed to be Christians, "get out of My sight, I never knew you.".

Live Link to- HOW TO Endure til the end

Mark 12:11 "This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes' "?

As we stated above, [this is the next verse] Psalms 118:23. Jesus is simply quoting from this passage given in the Psalms. Understand that these priests are not stupid, they knew the worldly wealth that they have through their control of the Temple, with the funds given by the people.

  John's Note: Just as the leaders of most of our Christian churches of the twenty first century.

They knew how destructive Jesus would be to their cause if He were left alone. 

  John's Note: Just as our church leaders today know how destructive it would be to their cause if they taught the Bible, to you, book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse; thereby, showing you the freedom you have in Christ, relieving you of your dependence on the pew you occupy week after week and the contribution you make to there own livelihood. 

Mark 12:12 "And they sought to lay hold on Him, but feared the people: for they knew that He had spoken the parable against them: and they left Him, and went their way."

These priests knew exactly who this parable was directed to. They knew that the ones that took the righteous blood from Abel, to Zacharias, was on them and their fathers, all the way back to their father Cain. Jesus told them so, as recorded in Matthew 23:34, 35.

Matthew 23:34 "Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:"

Matthew 23:35 "That upon you [the Kenites] may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the Temple and the altar."

It was the Kenite generations and offspring that all these deeds were done in all the generations that they did these acts. Today, It is through these Kenites that our Christian churches promote to our brothers in Christ this evil teaching of giving people an easy way out, that will lead them right into the hands of their father Satan.

  John's Note: The rapture theory, for example.

Live Link to-Rapture Theory

You have heard it many times; "All you have to do is this and that.. and so on". These ways are presented to be more simply than God's ways, for they teach you that all you have to have is faith in Christ.

  John's Note: If you truely have faith in your Heavenly Father, than, that creates a love in your heart for Him and His Word and you will study it to LEARN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT IS HOLY AND WHAT IS PROFANE. AND STUDY IT NOW, WHILE THERE IS STILL TIME BEFORE THE SPURIOUS MESSIAH SHOWS UP TO DECEIVE YOU INTO WORSHIPING HIM!

These fakes, these heads of the church at Jesus time would have liked to have the people criticized and placed the blame on brother Judah. However it wasn't Judah but the Kenites, and Jesus Christ makes that very clear in several places. With this having been said, I hope you understand that Jesus, in a very nice way, took these religious leader's name and told them where to go. In this case though He did it with a parable and not with a whip that was used the night before in the temple. The guilty ones knew they were guilty of plotting murder, and the parable pointed it out directly.

Even to our current day it is no different. The Word of God brings offence to the religious leaders that live and rule in their so-called religious houses, and call them houses of God. This parable just might wake some of these people up.

Many churches today concentrate more on fund raisers, pledges of money, pass the plate, building funds, etc., etc., than on teaching God's Word.  

Live Link to-How is your church doing?

Live Link to-This is an exposé on the hidden dynasty of churchianity

Live Link to-DO NOT DO or BELIEVE what any preacher or teacher says you should, unless you have FIRST OBSERVED it to be HOLY [of GOD] and NOT PROFANE [of Satan]

Mark 12:13 "And they send unto Him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch Him in His words."

Those religious leaders that heard the parable of the vineyard have run away from Jesus, and now they are plotting other activities against Jesus. They have sent for their Pharisees [Scripture lawyers] and the Herodians, the political bureaucrats [government lawyers] to try to catch Jesus in His words. This isn't even a challenge, knowing that Jesus could read their minds as they were thinking their thoughts. Jesus even taught the greatest scholars of the day while he was a child, and now these religious types simply don't stand a chance. They are going to try to trip Jesus up even with trumped up governmental charges.

Live Link to-Parable of the vineyard

We are to follow the example that Christ gives us, and if we vary from that example than we are out of step. So lets see what Jesus has to say. If you can't see our government's drive against Christianity today, to uproot the Scriptures from all parts of our life, than you must be asleep. These are the same methods that the bureaucrats are going after good spiritual leaders, and teachers today, and it is time to pay attention. There is nothing new under the sun today, and their methods and motives are the same.

Mark 12:14 "And when they were come, they say unto Him, "Master, we know that Thou art true, and carest for no man: for Thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?"

Notice how these lawyers of the church and state first tried to prop Jesus up to make Him think that they were on His side, when all the time they are lying through their teeth. They did not think that Jesus was good or they would not be trying to kill Him. When people tell you that you are absolutely fair, just and speaking the truth, when in your mind you know they don't trust what you say, they lie. This is one of Satan's main tools in his method of operation; to blow your horn to get a person off guard. When a Kenite tells you that you are the greatest, that is the time to use a little common sense and wake up to the fact that he is searching for your weak spot. He is hoping that you will reveal your weakness with your own mouth.

Any thing that is good about you is a gift from God, and God gets all the glory. You are to give God all the glory for whatever you succeed in, so watch out for the pride that they will try to build within you. Don't let any Kenite or person get you on a ego trip by anything that he says about you, for it will only lead to your own entrapment. Now the question.

What this is asking is; "Is it lawful to pay your taxes to the government?" Now let's use a little common sense about this; though we all hate taxation, where would we be without it. It is a requirement for the standard of living that we enjoy within our land. Without taxation we simply could not defend our selves in any war, build roadways, enforce laws, protect the needy, and all the other things that God's law demands His people to do, while living in a social order. That is what the laws of Moses are all about, rules set forth giving order and protection to the people that are living under the law. The purpose is to give His people a better and happier life living amongst the others in the community. Taxation is necessary in all societies, for it is what pays for the order and benefits that are received in that society. It keeps us from slipping into a mob rule.

However, these Pharisees are asking Jesus, "Is it necessary to pay taxes?" Even today we have the Kenites that slip in with their slogans like, "Don't pay your taxes", and the moment that you don't, they are on you like wolves. The same Kenites that tell you not to pay your taxes will be the same ones that turns you in to their masters. This plot is running wild today, and many Christians are shutting their minds to God's Word and walking right into these Kenite traps through their clubs and societies. So what will Christ say to these Pharisees? They were hoping that Jesus will say, No, just give it to the church.

Mark 12:15 "Shall we give, or shall we not give?" But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, "Why tempt ye Me? bring Me a penny, that I may see it."

Jesus is telling these Kenites to bring Him some of their money so that I can see it.

Mark 12:16 "And they brought it. And He saith unto them, "Whose is this image and superscription?" And they said unto Him, "Caesar's".

These Pharisees and Herodians ran fast to get the money, for they were sure that they have trapped Jesus. When they produce the penny, Christ took the penny and asked them whose inscription was on the penny. Of course they acknowledged that it was Caesar's image on the penny.

Mark 12:17 "And Jesus answering said unto them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's " And they marvelled at Him."

When Jesus gave these Kenites His answer, it took them completely off guard. Even today there are many good Christians that are being misled by the evil slogans that are peddled by Kenites. Many of these slogans are given to entrap them, and get them off guard and not using just plain common sense.

Remember that people that won't pay there taxes usually short-cuts their tithe also. If they will rob from their neighbor, you know that they will also rob from God. If you are going to do your work for God, paying your taxes is part of your commitment to God. We will see an example of this later in this chapter. Just a warning to you...Pay your taxes of what you owe. For those that do not, the Kenites have their lists waiting to use against those that skirt their responsibilities. If you are on the list, settle up and get off their lists.

Mark 12:18 "Then come unto Him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked Him, saying,"

This is also a good teaching. These Sadducees believe that there is no life after death: So everything that they are saying here is a lie to them anyhow.

Mark 12:19 " "Master, Moses wrote unto us, "If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.' "

This is exactly what Moses taught in Deuteronomy 25:5; "If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her."

Deuteronomy 25:6 "And it shall be, that the first born which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel."

Mark 12:20 "Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed."

Mark 12:21 "And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise."

Mark 12:22 "And the seven had her, and left no seed; last of all the woman died also."

All of these brothers were married to this same woman, yet none of them could have even one child by her for one reason or another. So here we have all the brothers and the woman dead. Remember that the Sadducees did not believe in life after death or in any resurrection, so this entire statement is a lie to them.

Mark 12:23 "In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife."

So sharpen up to what they are trying to do in trapping Jesus. They are bearing down on Jesus for something that they themselves don't believe. What they have stated was a trap, given for the sake of twisting His words.

In the first place, these people are Biblical illiterate, or they would have known that to be absent from the flesh body is to be present with the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God Who gave it."

So to ask, "when" is an error on their part. It happens instantly.

Mark 12:24 "And Jesus answering said unto them, "Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?"

Jesus is telling them right to their face that even their questions are in error, because they are Biblically illiterate. Jesus is telling them that you don't believe the Scriptures, nor do you believe in the power of God. You don't believe in God because you don't believe in life after death. The Sadducees were probably the most pathetic of all the people that confronted Jesus, for they placed human life on the same level as an animal. They are like many churches today, they like to form their own traditions and wander in their own make believe world.

Mark 12:25 "For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels are in heaven."

The reason that they will neither marry nor are given in marriage is because marriage in the flesh as we know it today is for the sake of having children, and when you die your soul steps out of their physical body and into their soul [spiritual] body. That soul body is as the angels have, and there are no children born in the angelic dimension for all souls are masculine. An angel is a soul living in a spiritual body, shedding the flesh and stepping into the new dimensional age. That deceased soul would have the same type of bodies that all will have in the Millennium age, after the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

  John's Advice: Please read Live Link to- "The Angel Is One of Us!!!!"

Mark 12:26 "And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, `I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' "

Jesus is saying here, "now lets talk about the dead for a moment." Jesus is reminding these Sadducees that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were all dead, yet God has said, I am the God of these men, and if God were the God of these men at Moses time, than each of these three men would still have to be alive. To be a God over anybody they would have to be alive to have a God over them. The meaning to this is that nobody is dead yet, not even Satan and his evil spirits, and fallen angels. Sure Satan was condemned to death in the first earth age, however that sentence will not be carried out until after the Millennium age, and the great white throne judgment. Jesus is telling these men that they don't know what they are even talking about.

Mark 12:27 "He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err."

Any one that teaches that there loved one is out there in a hole in the ground, waiting for a rapture is just as bad as these Sadducees, greatly in err. That is what the heathen believe and it is called "soul sleep". The other piece of traditional trash that is taught today, is that some day they will join back to their dead and decayed flesh body. Wake up, when the flesh body is dead it is gone forever, and it will have no more of value than a hand full of dirt.

Many times pastors deal with this, where remains are dug up and moved to another place, or have been in a state of decay for a long time. Do you know what is there? Nothing but dust, and that is what Solomon was telling you in Ecclesiastes 12:7. God is the God of the living and He loves all of His children. All that flesh is, is dirt and that is why it states "dust to dust". Upon death the flesh returns to the elements that it is made of.

God loves His children in a far different way than the Sadducees believed, and that is why we will step into a new body at death. We will not be married to each other, but we will all become part of the bride of Christ, or at the appointed time after judgment we simply will not exist. Yes they err greatly in their minds and knowledge of God's Word.

II Corinthians 5:7 "(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."

Mark 12:28 "And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that He answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?"

Now stop and think for a moment; who is asking this question of Christ? In that this person is a scribe, or scripture lawyer, he is no doubt a Pharisee.

Mark 12:29 "And Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is, 'Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:"

We don't have two Gods, surely not three, but our God is One Lord. If you have trouble with this, you are having trouble with Jesus teaching, and it is time to reexamine where you are coming from. Our God is our Heavenly Father, with three offices within the Godhead. The Son, Jesus Christ fulfilled the office of the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of those that would believe on His name, and repent in Jesus name. He is our mediator before the throne of God. The Holy Spirit fulfills the office as our comforter; for he convicts us of our sins, and directs us in the ways of our lives.

Mark 12:30 "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength:' this is the first commandment."

Mark 12:31 "And the second is like, namely this, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.' There is none other commandment greater than these." 

The reason that there is none other than these two commandments, is that all of the commandments are part of these two commandments. The first commandment stated here is symbolic of all five of those commandments that have to do with the spiritual. The second commandment that Jesus is giving here has to do with those things that have to do with civil matters, matters dealing with humans in particular; the man that walks under the sun in his flesh body. Though Jesus gave only two, within the two are all ten commandments.

Mark 12:32 "And the scribe said unto Him, "Well, Master, Thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other by He:"

Mark 12:33 "And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."

This is very interesting in these Pharisees reasoning, for in just a few days from this conversation with them, Christ would become the sacrifices of all sacrifices, and fulfill the need for all blood ordinances required by God. This Pharisee realizes that there is one God, and today many people that are non-believers think that Christians try to make a second God out of Christ, and that simply is not true.

Our Heavenly Father having documented all truth and logic, required that Jesus be named "Emmanuel", meaning "God with us". This says it all in one sentence, and He himself would pay the price for His neighbor. If you loved someone well enough that you would give your life for them, you would start to understand the love that our Father had for each of us. This is why God set the example when He allowed Himself to be born of the flesh, to go through this flesh age and live the life of a servant. Then allow Himself to be taken and go through the many evil acts that he went through at the hands of these same Kenites that are standing before Him at this time. Jesus knew that these men would lie about Him, and not only plot but actually carry out the murder of His flesh body.

The Father loved each of us enough that He Himself stepped out of that office as the Father, and came to earth in the form of flesh man, born to the virgin Mary as a baby, to fulfill the office of the Son. He payed the price for sinful man so that you and I could be brought back in fellowship with Him. He did this so that each of us upon repentance could have that eternal kinship and be home with Him.

This Pharisee understood the love of the Father, that would cause Christ to become that sacrifice. It was because of the love of the Father that He can demand our love to one another as children of God.

Mark 12:34 "And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him, "Thou art not far from the kingdom of God." And no man after that durst ask Him any question."

In the expression, "not far", means that the Pharisee was close, but he still refused to step into the kingdom of God. He refused to step into the kingdom, but he had the knowledge to step in. To be that close and not step in is far worse than not having the been there in the first place. That Pharisee could almost see that the One standing before Him was the eternal God, yet His eyes were blinded.

Jesus Christ didn't just happen, for the Old Testament layed down the entire plan of God, and followed the plan being fulfilled right to our generation. The writings of the Prophets were given by God Himself and witnessed that Christ the Anointed One's purpose for coming to earth as a baby, was that He be sacrificed. Jesus lived His life in the flesh, even to the fine details concerning his betrayal, trial and faithfulness of going as a lamb to the slaughter.

Live Link to-Plan of God

Isaiah 53:7 "He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth."

God Himself placed there words in the mind of the prophet over six hundred years prior to Jesus' death on the Cross. When all this was taking place, Jesus went through it all joyfully for it was part of His eternal plan to redeem your soul back to Himself, if you would take that gift through your faith and repentance. This is why we must pray "in Jesus name", for it is only through this way that our sins can be forgiven. The price has been paid, but it is still your part to accept it.

Isaiah 53:8 "He was taken from prison and from judgment: and wo shall declare His generation? for He was cut off out of the land of the living: for thee transgression of My people was He stricken."

Psalms 22 goes into every detail of Christ's trial and death on the cross, and it was written a thousand years prior by David. However God recorded it all the way back in Genesis 3:15, at the very time of the first sin by Adam and Eve, before these Kenites had even been formed in their mothers womb, and it was fulfilled right on time according to God's plan.

Genesis 3:15 "And I [God] will put enmity between thee [Satan] and the woman [Eve], and between thy seed [the Kenites] and her Seed [Jesus Christ]; It [Christ] shall bruise thy [Satan's] head, and thou [Satan] shalt bruise His [Christ's] heel."

Eve's Seed is our Lord Jesus Christ, while Satan's seed also through Eve are the children to the last generation called the Kenites. They are the offspring of Cain, the one born from the sexual union between Eve and Satan [known as "the serpent", and "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil"]. When Christ went to the cross, this prophecy was fulfilled. God is telling us here that He will put trouble between Eve's children [through Adam and Seth], and Satan's offspring through Cain, called the Kenites.

Most "men of God" acknowledge that Genesis 3:15 is talking about the death of Jesus Christ, when He was nailed to the cross for our sins. They recognize that "seed" is referring to the children of the woman "Eve", yet somehow they want to spiritualize everything else that happened in the Garden of Eden between Eve and the two men, Satan and Adam. The word "seed" in the Hebrew is called "zirmah", and in the Greek it is called "sperma". We in the English call it "sperm", and in Strong's Hebrew Dictionary it is # 2233; "Posterity, carnally, child, fruitful." It simply can be any clearer. The "seed" of Satan is his posterity and they are the Kenites, the children that came from Satan's first child through Eve, Cain. "Kenites" means "sons of Cain". While Eve's children [through Adam and Seth] brought Christ, and the pure bloodline through Seth, as given in Luke 3:23-38.

So here Christ is answering this Pharisee that he was not far from the truth of God's Word, from the kingdom of God, however "not far" is just not good enough. Once these Pharisees saw that their entrapment was not working they finished their conversation with Jesus. So now Jesus is going to ask them some questions.

Mark 12:35 "And Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David?"

First of all, Who is Christ? "Christ" is the "Anointed one" of God, meaning the Messiah. The Messiah was the "Promised One" that would be born through the blood line of Abraham, and David. Jesus is asking how this could be for One Man [Messiah] to precede or live prior to his father [David]?

Mark 12:36 "For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, `The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit Thou on My right hand, till I make Thine enemies Thy footstool." ' 

As it reads in the manuscript; "For David himself said by the Holy Spirit, " Jesus was quoting David from Psalms 110. We know that the author of the Psalm was the Holy Spirit, but this takes away any wondering on the matter. So the question that Jesus was asking these Pharisees was, How can Messiah, the One instructing David be the Son of David?

Psalms 110:1 "The Lord said unto my Lord, "Sit Thou at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool."

When did Christ, the Anointed on begin sitting at the right hand of God? Jesus Christ was at the right hand of the Father at the resurrection. He will sit there until He returns to this earth at the seventh trumpet, to set up His kingdom right here on earth. .Jesus Christ, the Anointed One is still at the right hand of God as our intercessor

Mark 12:37 "David therefore himself calleth Him Lord; and whence is He then Plan of God his son?" And the common people heard Him gladly."

This word "common" has nothing to do with ones position or social level, but it is those people that heard and understood what Jesus was saying. So the question still remains, How can Jesus be Lord and still be called by David, "Lord", and still have the people call Him "the Son of David".

Hebrews 2:6 "But one in the certain place testified, saying, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of Man, that Thou visitest Him?"

 The one that testified was David, and it is recorded in Psalms 8:4 "What is man, that Thou art mindful of Him? and the Son of man, that Thou visitest Him?"

What is there in flesh man that causes Almighty God to have any interest in Him? Why is it that God could crown the "Son of man" with honor?

Hebrews 2:7 "Thou madest Him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst Him with glory and honour, and didst set Him over the Works of Thine hands:"

The subject here is Jesus Christ, and this verse is a continuation of Psalms 8:4.

Psalms 8:5 "For Thou hast made him a little lower then the angels, And hast crowned him with glory and honour."

When Christ came in the flesh, born from the virgin Mary, He was made a little lower then the angels for that short period of time until He went to the cross and died. This was because the angels were in a spiritual body, and Christ was in the flesh body. The question here is, why was God so mindful of man that He would make Himself lower than the angels? Though man in the flesh is corrupt and sins, Christ did not sin while in the flesh. The question is: Why put Your Son in that lower state?

The answer to that question is that God will never ask you to do anything or put you through anything that He has not done Himself. God expects all souls from the first earth age to go through this age of the flesh, and enter it through the womb of woman, born of their mothers, and to be born of the water that is of the birthing process. Many of the angels refused to do this, and that is what we read about in the book of Jude, as well as at the end of Hebrews.

The difference between God and man is that though He was a little lower than the angels in His flesh body, He was still perfect [sinless].

Hebrews 2:8 "Thou hast put all things in subjection under His feet." For in that He put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him. But now we see not yet all things put under Him."

This time has not happened, for this time will come at the end of this earth age, at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, when all flesh will be done away with. Then Christ will return to earth and the kingdom of Christ will begin. However now we are still in the time of darkness, and it is important to make sure that the knowledge that we do have will not leave us. Many things are going to happen prophetically and we will see them, and yet the full knowledge of it will not come until after the end of this flesh age.

When Satan puts a stumbling block in your way, as a child of God, you have the right to put it out of your way and at the feet of Christ. Christians are not second class citizens, and we had better make the difference where there is none there.

Hebrews 2:9 "But we see Jesus, Who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man."

Think of the humility that our Lord went through, just for the right to pay the full price for the redemption of your soul. Jesus fulfilled those last five commandments and showed His love for you. Jesus who was the spot without blemish, the first of the first fruits, became the perfect sacrifice for one and all times. Jesus loved you enough to do that for you and that is why Jesus came in the flesh. God had already passed the sentence of death on the devil, Satan, as stated in Ezekiel 28:18, and now that sentence can be carried out to the completion. All this was done in the fulfilling of the Scripture, for when you have seen the Son, you have seen the Father, all in the fulfilling the offices of the Godhead. We have but One God in three offices.

Mark 12:38 "And He said unto them in His doctrine "Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,"

Jesus is not talking about the doctrine of Christ, which is the doctrine that we should listen to. The "scribes doctrine" represented men and their traditions. They are the ones that put their own thoughts down, and call it "of God". They are the ones that think more of themselves and how they appear to others, than how God looks down upon them. You see them dress themselves up to look righteous, and place holy titles before their names, and that is suppose to given them righteous hearts. However, the only ones that they are fooling is themselves. Look out for man's traditions.

Mark 12:39 "And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts:"

These righteous clowns take their seats in the front of public gatherings, and seek out the head tables at the times of feasts. They try to look so holy, yet what they do and say is not in Christ doctrine. Christians are servants to one another, and the only one elevated is Christ. The lowest of the servants sit in the highest places amongst God's table.

Mark 12:40 "Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation."

This bunch of religious beggars are out there ripping off widow's houses and the defenseless when they are least able to help themselves. They put up a very religious pretence of what they do and in their prayers, but because all of their works they shall receive the greatest of all damnation and judgment by our Heavenly Father. Long prayers are worthless if they are not made to the Father "in Jesus name". When these religious types parade around in their long robes and spout out in their long prayers, it means that somebody of the elect had better do a little stomping with the Word to get this enemy under foot. This is Christ doctrine and not man's.

Mark 12:41 "And Jesus at over against the treasure, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much."

Put yourself with Jesus on the temple grounds, and than imagine yourself with Christ over against the treasury department of the temple. Jesus sat there and watched the people cast their money into the offering plate. You can see all the rich ones making sure the others saw the exact amount of how much they were giving.

Mark 12:42 "And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing."

The "mites" were the smallest piece of money that could be accepted as an offering.

Mark 12:43 "And He called unto Him His disciples, and saith unto them, "Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:" 

The reason that it had such great value to God, is that it was all that she had. This says a great deal about this woman and her love for God. The others gave simply what was due, or the least that they could get away with. Many of the others gave within the framework of God's plan, and that is how it should be, however this woman gave her all. This woman is not going to have any bread when she gets home, but she does have the faith in God that she knows that He will provide for her. She cast it all into the treasury.

Mark 12:44 "For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living." 

The others gave from what was left over, while this woman cast in her entire living wealth. How did Jesus know that? who told Him? When she simply walked by and threw in these two small mites, how did Christ know what those two mites meant to her? It was her faith that caused her to give all that she had. It is also the faith that you have that will lead you in your giving that will get our Father's attentions. This little woman set a fantastic example for us. Jesus knew because He is the Messiah; He is the Christ.

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


The American Wisdom Series

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Published by:

Rhine Publishing Co.
E-mail address - americanwisdomseries@verizon.net

Here at the American Wisdom Series our goal is to make you think about and question the wisdom of the current:
doctrine of many of our Christian churches, (The Man on a White Horse)
political direction of our country, (The Man on a Red Horse)
economic direction our country has taken, (The Man on a Black Horse)
 and teaching of our schools and media, (The Man on a Pale Horse)

The Four Hidden Dynasties of the New World Order Revelation 6:1-8
"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"
Did you know all four are being ridden by Satan?