Bible Study Seattle

“You have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say to you, that every man gazing at a woman in order to cherish impure desire, has already committed lewdness with her in his heart. Therefore, if thy right eye ensnare thee, pluck it out, and throw it away: it is better for thee to lose one of thy members than that thy whole body shall be cast into Gehenna. And if thy right hand ensnare thee, cut it off, and throw it away: it is better for thee to lose one of thy members, than that thy whole body shall be cast into Gehenna.” Matthew 5:27-30

Many people say that Jesus uses hyperbole to express his thoughts. But everything Jesus said is literally true. Here Jesus is showing the ultimate conclusion of an unrecoverable lust. Literally plucking out your eye or cutting off your hand is preferable to burning to death. Jesus is making a point that second death should be avoided at all costs. Much like Pharaoh, who was given ten strong warnings to turn, when all attempts at reform fail, only death is left.

Unfortunately, when most Christians read this they are alarmed. What man has not looked on a woman lustfully at some point? Then they assume that hell awaits them after their first life. They are doomed. They assume this life is all there is. God has planted very strong hormones in men to strongly desire sex. Otherwise they would not marry and have children. Men should try to have their desire met in a wife, hopefully one who doesn’t try to use sex as a weapon. As Job said, “I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin?” Job 31:1

“You have heard that it was said to the ancients, Thou shall not kill; and whoever shall kill, will be amenable to the judges. But I say to you, that everyone being angry with his brother, shall be amenable to the judges: and whoever shall say to his brother, Fool! will be subject to the high council; but whoever shall say, Apostate Wretch! will be obnoxious to the burning of Gehenna. If therefore, thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there recollect that thy brother has ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go, first be reconciled to thy brother, then come, and present thy gift. Agree quickly with thy prosecutor, while thou art on the road with him; lest the prosecutor deliver thee to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Indeed, I say to thee, thou will by no means be released, till thou has paid the last Farthing.” Matthew 5:21-26

This is from the Emphatic Diaglott translation. It is essential to have the most accurate translation possible, otherwise it is easy to get the wrong ideas.

Notice how this sermon starts out. There is an escalation in sin between brothers that results in escalating correction. The brother who is angry with his brother is subject to the judges. He who is even more angry is subject to the high council, and lastly, he who is hopelessly livid will be cast to the fires of Gehenna. Whatever cannot be refined in that fire is consumed: the second death. This is how it will be after the resurrection.

When most Christians read this passage in the NIV, they assume that anyone who has ever been angry with his brother (that’s all of us!), is in danger of burning in hell forever! That’s not the case!! This is foreshadowing the trip to the feast of Tabernacles in the Millennium. Will not the scriptures be available to us in the Millennium? Yes! Even the teaching of the great pyramid will be available in the Millennium. “In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord near its border. It will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt;”. Isaiah 19:19-20.

“While thou art on the road with him.”? This is referring to everyone going up to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles. We must have a clear conscience or our offerings will be polluted. The gist of this passage is that the most important thing in the world is to be on good terms with everyone. How else can there be peace and harmony? Is this not why Jesus commands all who would follow him to forgive his brother? Yes! We cannot enter the kingdom of heaven until we are clean of all impure thoughts.

“And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little boy will lead them.
Also the cow and the bear will graze,
Their young will lie down together,
And the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11:6-9

Who are these nursing children? Is the resurrection still happening at this point? Will there be children born that hadn’t lived before the Jubilee? Are these the aborted babies come back to life? Jesus says to the Sadducees that there won’t be giving in marriage in the resurrection. He says we will be like angels. But he’s referring to the heavenly resurrection. He also links it to ‘that age’. What age? The Millennium? The Jubilee? After the little season at the end of the Millennium? We can only wonder.

Moses had a remarkable childhood.  He was saved at the age of three months when his mother put him in an ark of reeds, and Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him.  Apparently she was heir to the throne as she had no brothers.  And as she had no sons, Moses also became heir to the throne.  According to Josephus, Moses was general of the Egyptian army and had some decisive wins against the Ethiopians in the southern desert.  He was doing well, until he killed the Egyptian foreman.  Then the Egyptians wanted to kill him, so he fled to Midian on the Arabian peninsula.  That is somewhat like Jesus being killed on the cross.  But it’s not the end of the story.  Moses then spends 40 years learning about this wilderness east of the Gulf of Aqaba where he is later to lead the Israelites.  He marries the daughter of Jethro before he comes back to rescue the Jews. Is this like Jesus marrying the church before he rescues the world at large? Then Moses rescues the Israelites with the help of powerful wonders of God. It culminates in the showdown at the Red Sea. Is the Red Sea destruction of Pharaoh and his army analogous to Armegeddon? Moses told pharaoh they needed to go three days journey into the desert to worship. Why did he say this? It probably took many more days to reach the Red Sea. Jesus said he would rebuild the temple in the three days. But he meant 3,000 years.

If Satan can’t convince people that heaven and God don’t exist, his next move is to make heaven utterly bland.  Completely purposeless.  Like when you’re on vacation way too long, and you’re bored.  This is why we have this idea of floating around with wings playing harps and monotonously praising God like a hymn with 54 verses.  Sounds like a prison vacation.  The actual truth is that heaven is a big job, much like being a parent.  Reigning with Jesus is all about helping humanity back to the original condition in Eden.  It’s going to take a lot of work, and will be very frustrating at times.  Hardly boring.  Some of those resurrected will even die.  The full range of emotions will still be at play.  It’ll be more fulfilling than anything we ever experienced in our first life!

A possible Millennium outline: