Matthew 23

23:1-12. TEACHING IN THE TEMPLE. MULTITUDES AND DISCIPLES. (MORAL.)

1,2. Self-examination. Scribes. (Session.)
3,4. "Do not you" what they bid.
5-7. Self-examination. Scribes. (Works.)
8-11. "Be not you" like them.
12. Self-examination. Scribes. (Application.)

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

2 Saying, "The scribes

(Who were Kenites)

and the Pharisees

(See 9:10. The Sadducees had their own "leaven" [16:6] but not this.)

sit in Moses' seat:

(See 8:4.

What is the seat of Moses? Moses was the law-giver, which simply means that these scribes and Pharisees have taken over God's law, and they are rewriting the law without the authority to do so. The tribe of Judah is getting a bad name as the scribes and Pharisees do their evil deeds under their name. However, Jesus will identify them as the Kenites, and that they claim to be of Judah, and are not. In fact, as recorded in Revelation 2:9, and 3:9; they are of the synagogue of Satan. Jesus will identify these Kenites for you in this chapter.

From the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, which is approximately four hundred and fifty years before the time of Jesus birth, the Levitical priesthood has been totally replaced by false ones. So at the time that Christ walked the earth, these Kenites were sitting in the place where the Levitical priesthood should have been sitting. The Kenites were the governing body.

In I Chronicles 2:55: "And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez [Jerusalem]; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab." These are the forefathers of the scribes of Jesus day, and they had no right being in their position as scripture lawyers of the law in the Temple. These people, the Kenites of the house of Rechab [called the Rechabites] are the offspring of Cain, from the sexual union between Eve and Satan in the garden of Eden. They are identified in Strong's Hebrew Dictionary # 7013, and # 7017.

God used these people it incriminate Israel, and show them that while they had fallen in disobedience to His law, the Kenites kept the restrictions that God had placed on this nation. This is pointed out in Jeremiah 35:6, as the prophet Jeremiah ran a test of the Kenite people, and tried to give them wine. "But they [the Kenites of Rechab] said, "We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us saying, 'Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:"

It is easy to get mixed up in Jeremiah 35 between the two Jeremiah's mentioned, the key to which one was the prophet is through their parentage, for the prophet Jeremiah's father is named in Jeremiah 1:1 as "Hilkiah, of the priests. He was a Levite. The other Jeremiah was the son of Habaziniah, of the whole house of the Rechabites. The coping of names started way back in Genesis 4, as we see that Cain copied the names of Adam's lineage, through Seth.

The Kenite scribes and Pharisees look very religious, and they sound like they quote from the law, and the prophets, only they twist the scripture, and add to it, making it a lie. Keep this in mind as we follow through Matthew 23.)

3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe

(Inwardly)

and do;

(Outwardly)

but do not ye after their works:

(Marking the contrast between "you do" and "do you not".)

for they say, and do not.

(Unfortunately we can relate this to many Christ of today. The word "Christian" comes from their mouths very easily, but they never do anything for Christ.)

4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move

(Much less bear)

them with one of their fingers.

(By what they "bid you observe". A further proof that "observe and do" is not the Lord's command to carry these many burdens "grievous to be borne".

Many times they will set their goals with projects and building, or meeting needs that are outlandish, then they will come to you as if "God laid this on their heart", and expect you to pay for their wild hair-brain ideas. They work the emotions for your money, in the name of some object that is needed to do the task of their gimmick, or even in the name of some starving child, and by you giving your money to them, somehow you will be blessed by God for feeding their vanity.

There is not much difference between the Pharisees and scribes of Jesus day, and the money hungry Christian Pharisees and scribes of today. They have money begging down to an art, yet there is not much teaching with understanding for God's Word. The reason for that is because they don't understand the scriptures in the first place, and that is why there sermons are focused on only those scriptures that can be twisted and taken out of context for the sake of the offering plate.

They become the stumbling block to the person the wants to learn, rather then the teacher, guided by the Spirit of the Living God, and leading him or her in the ways of God's Word.)

5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries,

(See Ex. 13:9. Deut. 6:8)

and enlarge the borders of their garments,

(Originally a mark of separation between Israel and the surrounding nations. Cp. Luke 8:44.

These scribes and Pharisees do everything that they do, for the sake of being a spectacle, for the purpose of drawing attention to their righteousness. In the olden times the priests wore robes, and the border of their garments identified their separation from the peoples around them. This is outlined in Numbers 15:37-41. In the time of the Pharisees and scribes of Jesus day, they broadened the borders, to call special attention just how righteous they were. They wore there righteousness on their sleeve, rather then in their hearts.

The "phylacteries" were slips of paper or parchment that had prayers written on them, and they were attached to the outer garment so everyone could see the fine prayers that they had offered up. It is sort of like standing on the street corner and praying so that everyone can hear your prayer, correct and self-righteous in every way. It is something that is given as an act, or a show for people to observe, and not intended for God.

Today it is like the person that will not serve God unless others can see them, and be humbled by their vanity and pride. They will get rewards, but those rewards will be in the form of other people feeding their vanity, and not spiritual rewards from God.

This is why it is important to understand that men have nothing to do with bringing God's Word to your understanding, other then through the gift that the Holy Spirit of God places within their hearts and minds. God makes the opportunity, and God gives the word, or seed of thought that is to be planted in the mind of the person that receives that Spiritual truth. That Word does not include the traditions of men, that the Kenites have placed in the religious mouths that are of false doctrines.)

6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,

7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.

(They love it when they are in public, and everyone knows them, and attaches their teachings to their own knowledge, rather then as coming from God. They want to be known as the masters and authority in the minds of others, and not God's Word [the scriptures]. They love it being called, "the right Reverend", "Doctor So-n-so", "the right Honorable [you put the name in]"; you get the picture? These people have no intention of being in the background, and letting God get all the glory. They want the spotlight and the recognition. Their sermons have many quotes from Well known Godless men, which is used to humble the listener, and give a respect to the empty words of their non-scriptural sermons.)

8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for One is your Master,

(Guide, or Director. Gr. kathēgētēs. Some texts read Teacher. Gr. didaskalos)

even Christ;

(Is the Greek translation of Messiah. Christos has the same meaning, from chrio, to anoint.)

and all ye are brethren.

(What counts is your faithfulness to the task that God has assigned you, and laid on your heart. Christ is the living Word, and he is the only one to be called Rabbi, or Master. Anything that does not agree with Jesus teachings is "the traditions of men.")

9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for One is your Father, Which is in heaven.

10 Neither be ye called masters: for One is your Master, even Christ.

11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

(In a true ministry of Christ, this is as it is. The person in the highest position, bears the most responsibility of being the servant. His time is to be dedicated to the feeding of the heavenly Fathers children, and giving them understanding from His Word. Therefore, rather then being a person in a high place, He is simply a servant in his Masters service, serving Christ, the true teacher.)

12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

(The time is coming when there will be many disappointed people, when the religious leaders all run to Him, and say, "Jesus I have healed in your name, I have caste out demons in your name", Jesus is going to look at them and say, "Depart from me, I never knew you." You see they called someone else father.

These Kenites are sitting in the seat of Moses [verse two], and spouting out their words in vanity, and many just don't know the difference between night and day, in the spiritual sense. They don't know the difference between the prince of darkness from the prince of light. The true teacher from the false teacher, nor the true Word, from the the traditions of men. They just don't know the true Father that created them.

Verse thirteen starts the "woes", which are the reverse side spiritually, of the blessings of Chapter five. We saw that each blessing that Jesus gave compared in reverse to each woe. God back to Matthew 5, and follow the blessings with these woes.)

13-39. SCRIBES AND PHARISEES.

13-33. Denunciation. The 8 Woes.
34-39. Prophecy.

13-33. DENUNCIATION. THE 8 WOES

13-15. Their treatment of the living.
16-22. False swearing.
23. Hypocrites.
24. Blind guides.
25-28. False cleansing.
29-33. Their treatment of the dead.

13-15. THEIR TREATMENT OF THE LIVING.

13. Proselytes. The honest hindered.
14-. Incrimination.
-14. Condemnation.
15. Proselytes. Those made worse.

13 But woe unto you,

(The 1st of 8 woes)

scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men:

(I.e. in the men's faces)

for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

(Jesus is saying that you twist their paths by your translation and your traditions, and the path that you lead them down never reaches the throne of God. Your lies and deceptions will prevent them from entering into that kingdom of God, as is related in II Thessalonians 2 by Paul. They will have no part of Jesus the Christ at His coming.)

14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

(Or judgment.

For the actions of these Pharisees and scribes, and all that do such in any generation, God is sending His curse upon them. Today we are in the last days and it is time to wake up and separate yourself from evil or deception before you burn in hell and turned to ashes for all eternity. The place of the "greater damnation" is in hell, and the judgment on those that claim to set in the seat of Moses starts the moment that they took the widows property.

This poor widow that sits in her church and is bribed by the price of a vow for this modern day Pharisee will say a prayer for you. This is lunacy for God doesn't charge for answering prayers. God answers prayers for those that serve Him.)

15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte,

(= a comer over to.)

and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

(a Hebraism = Gehenna's people. See 5:22.

Just look around you in our modern day religious orders, the rip-off artist demand a high price in this day and age. They don't even want to settle for a tenth, as then lay their schemes to demand your vows, and by hammering on your emotions, steel you blind. These people quote the scripture, however they never teach the scripture.

They create the name for the cause and then attach that name to themselves, and then convince you that they are the only ones that can perform that service for God. If you are part of this activity, God has curses in line for you, and you shall not escape that greater damnation. Friend it is time to repent to God, in Jesus name, and make things right if you are part of such an activity.)

16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, 'Whosoever shall swear by the temple,

(The actual Temple building, consisting of the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.)

it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!'

(What is the "Temple" in this final generation? It is the body of Christ. This verse is directed to those that say that if you swear by the body of Christ, the Almighty, that is nothing, but if you just swear by the gold of the temple, then God will answer your prayers. Does this sound familiar. Send your tithe, or send a gift and God will bless you if you do, when in the process they have taught you nothing.

It is the temple that is the many membered body of Christ, that Christ calls the church today. We are to be debtors to Christ, and our Heavenly Father, and these modern day Pharisees make you a debtor to them when they make you make vows to them, for what rightly belongs to God. Then when you do as they say, the obligation is not to God, but to that man, and what he has created. The debtor is bound by the oath that he takes, and this creates in your mind the guilt. Thus instead of the giving freely to God, as the tithe should be given, it is given under a penalty of requirement. When this happens, the giver is robbed of the blessings of the tithe.)

17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

18 And, 'Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.'

(I.e. gold, the penalty.)

19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?

(You better know the answer to that question. Jesus is telling you that there is a time coming when all you are going to hear these religious ones, is the gift, for the altar will be forgotten. This started way back in Ezra's day, when the Kenites took over from the Levitical priesthood, and started to twist teachings to merchandise the temple. It has grown today to the point where the modern day ministry spend most of it's focus on the gift, and not the altar, or the Word of God.

To most persons today in the modern church, the blessings come for the gift that was given, when in fact that gift had nothing to do with whatever blessing you received. God gives that blessing, and all blessing that you have is from God, including the very air that you breath. The gift is the card of appreciation to God the giver of that gift to you.)

20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.

21 And whoso shall swear by the Temple, sweareth by it, and by Him That dwelleth therein.

22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by Him That sitteth thereon.

23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe

(Or take tithes. Eng tithe = tenth; hence a district containing 10 families was called a tithing.)

of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

(The Pharisees of all generations, including today, pay special attention to the actual money that comes in, and to the details of earthly matters of frill, and human affairs [arise and cummin]. They have overlooked the matters that count in the eyes of God. Of tending to the matters of scripture, mercy of God's people and their needs, and the faith of those in the body of Christ. What should matter is the spiritual growth of each member of the church.

To "pay tithe the mint", meant that you actively paid attention to the smallest unit, or person to make sure that it was attached. In other terms, it meant that the pastor sought out each person in that church, and personally varified from that individual himself, that the needs and growth in the Word was taking place. That that person understood the important things of the Word. Jesus is warning them that when they take that person's money and count the last penny of the tithe, they had better be getting around to instilling the knowledge of God's Word in them.)

24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

(The camel is a very unclean animal. Jesus is saying that you strain at a gnat size thing in your doctrine, and when something large and unclean enters your church, you look the other way. The prime example of this today are things are small matters of dress, and smoking are elevated, where the major items of idolatry, Sodomy, and killing your babies is overlooked.)

25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

(It is important for the whole body to be clean.

Jesus is taking aim at those church services that never quite get around to teaching the laws and truths of Gods word, because they are to deep in forms that please men.)

27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres,

(Sepulchers are whited a month before Passover, to warn off persons from contracting uncleanliness [Num. 19:16)

which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

(Christ is telling them that they are not what they appear to be. The have whitewashed the truth.)

28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

(These scribes and Pharisees took pride in showing themselves to be righteous and proper in outward appearance, yet inwardly they were like their father, Cain, full of hypocrisy and all sorts of evil. You are nothing but robbers.)

29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets,

(There are 4 at the base of Olivet: those of Zechariah, Absalom, Jehoshaphat, and St. James; but there is no authority to these names.)

and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,

(They looked so holy. They are play actors. Beware of those who go out of their way to appear holy in the sight of men. Many of them are stage actors. They kill the Word of God and then call it church.)

30 And say, 'If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'

(Oh yes they would have. Listen to Christ's response to them.)

31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.

(Jesus identifies them as the Children of the Kenites that killed the prophets. In Matthew 13 we read of the parables of the sower and the tares, and Jesus explained who the seed, and the tares were. In case you are still thinking in terms of seeds, and wheat stocks, Jesus is bringing you to reality. The Pharisees and the scribes [those priests] are the children of those that killed the prophets. They are the children, physically of the Kenite race, not of Israel, nor Judah, but of their father Cain. Cain was the first born of Eve, and he was conceived from the sexual relations between Satan and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

That wasn't a tree Eve partook of in the garden, it was a man called the "tree of good and evil", and that man's name is Satan. That sin did not happen in a apple orchard, but in a fig grove, and that is why we are told by Jesus in Matthew 24:32 to learn the parable of the fig tree. It is important, for it is a matter of being deceived in the latter days, or not being deceived when the Antichrist comes to earth to rule.)

32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

(Christ is saying don't try to lie to Me.)

33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers,

(= offspring of the serpent - Satan. They are the sons of Cain, Kenites.)

how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

(Only if they change.

They can escape the damnation of hell by accepting Christ in repentence. Will they? That is doubtful, for they do not have the eyes to see and the ears to hear and understand. If they did, they would become a son of the Living God, just like any of the elect.

So we see that these scribes and Pharisees are the offspring of the serpent. There are a few with doctorate degrees that claim this serpent has no seed, and they show their devotion to their father the devil also. This is what Jesus Christ is teaching, Satan had children, and those children killed the prophets, and will shortly kill Him.

If you have trouble identifying just who the "serpent" is, Jesus told John to write it down, and that identity is found in Revelation 12:9; "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." "The serpent of old", is the serpent from the garden of Eden, and the time of Satan's being cast out of heaven to the earth, will be very shortly, for when the political beast that now rules the world falls, then the religious beast or system will rise, and Satan, his children the Kenites, and the fallen angels will all rule together, and most of the church will think it is Christ come to rapture them. We will cover this in the next chapter.)

34-39. PROPHECY.

34. Prophets. Future sending.
35. Result.
36. "I say to you".
37. Prophets. Past sending.
38. Result.
39. "I say to you".

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,

(Not the synagogues of our brother Judah.)

and persecute them from city to city:

(You have nothing to fear. Christ gave us power over all our enemies. Take names and kick dragon!)

35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias,

(Not the son of Jehoiada [2 Chron.24:20,21] but Zechariah the prophet [Zech 1:1,7], who, we here learn was killed in the same way. And why not? Are there not many examples of historical coincidences? Why should the Lord single out "Zechariah the son of Jehoiada" then nearly 800 years before, instead of "Zechariah, the son of Baruch" who was thus martyred 36 years after?)

whom ye slew

(While on duty.)

between the temple and the altar.

(See 1 John 3:12. Do you know who killed Abel? There is no doubt Christ is speaking to the sons of Cain, the Kenites. The whitewash of deception began with Cain and has been carried forward to this day by his offspring. Do you recognize whitewash, when you see it?)

36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

(= offspring. See 11:16; 24:34. 2 Cor. 11:1-3,13.

Jesus was not talking about a certain generation, but a race of people that have blended with the the tribe of Judah and the Christians, and more then likely the Moslems are included also. That race is different, for their father was not conceived in woman, but created. And Satan their father had a son, "Cain" from where they get their name "Kenite. Turn to Strong's Hebrew dictionary # 7013, and # 7017 for the identification.

Jesus tells us that if you don't know the parable of the fig tree, which identifies the Kenites, then you will understand none of His teachings and parables. Jesus tells us in Revelation 2:9, and 3:9 that there are only two types of churches that He approves of, and they are the churches of Smyrna, and Philadelphia. They teach who the Kenites are, those that say they are Jews and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan. They say they are law givers, but lie, and are of Satan and all that he stands for. They are the offspring of Cain, which is of Satan.

Today most people believe in the lie. They love their rapture doctrine, but there is a problem with it. It trains you to take the wrong Messiah, the first to come, and Satan, the Antichrist will come to give you all you want, only it will cost you your soul. This is why Jesus and the Apostles instruct us to be patient, and wait, and keep watching to the signs of the times. They are the maps to follow to instruct us what time we are in on God's schedule of our earth age.)

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

(This is a later time just before the final hours when He will go to the cross. He is looking down on the city of Jerusalem.

When you watch the mother hen looking after her little chicks, and see the care and attention she gives to them. When one gets out of line she brings that little chick right back to her, and she feeds them and cares for each one. If danger comes her wings fly out, and the mother hen goes after the enemy even at the risk of her own life.

This is the care and attention Jesus would have liked to give His people in Jerusalem; only they would not allow it. Jesus knew what was going to happen to Him, for He paid strict attention to what was written by the prophets. Jesus loved His people, and He did give His life for His people, yet Jerusalem would not have Him. They would not accept them as the Messiah.

What stopped the people from accepting Jesus as the Christ? It was the religious community. It was the priests, scribes and Pharisees who were the Kenites that forced themselves into the seat of Moses, as we read in verse two. It wasn't the sinners that walked the street, for they followed Him, and loved Him for the healing and teaching that He gave. Like it or not, it was the religious community, and those that wore the robes of the priests.

You better be careful of anyone that wears the robe and teaches anything but the word of God, for that generation, or offspring of the serpents are still around.)

38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

(Very emphatic. At the beginning of the Lord's ministry it was "My Father's house" [John 2:16]; but at the end;, after His rejection, it was "your house". House here, i.e. the Temple. Every "house" and every place is "desolate" where Christ is not.)

39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, 'Blessed is He That cometh in the name of the Lord.' "

(Quoted from Ps. 118:26.

Jesus speaks here of the second advent, which is at the sounding of the seventh and last trumpet. This will follow the great tribulation [deception], and the time when Satan will deceive many, as he reigns as the Antichrist. It is time to wake up, for we are living in the times when our current events are what the Scriptures are identifying as the signs of the end dives. Much of the end times prophecy is history to us today, yet the churches treat these times as a careless drunkard.

Jesus is now going to tell us, through His instructions to His disciples, the events that will come upon us in these end times. Pay close attention to the next chapter.)

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