Mark 10  Divorce and marry again is adultery

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You cannot divorce and marry somebody else

We see God as the Man Jesus.

A woman represents the church.

Thus, marriage represents God’s relationship with the true Gentile church.

As a result, Jesus changed the conditions of marriage for the Gentiles.

You must keep your marriage vows forever. Until you or your spouse dies. You must keep your Word.

As part of God’s Bride, you must keep His Word in the same manner.

Our only contact with Eden today is marriage. Marriage is the only part of Eden that we can duplicate. Thus we must go back to the original conditions for marriage that God set up in Eden.

In other words, marriage has to be taken very seriously.

MARK 10:1   And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again.

The right-hand side of Jordan was the further side of Jordan.

Direction was measured from Jerusalem.

This was mainly Gentile territory.

By coming to Jordan from the right-hand side, Jesus was emphasizing His future ministry to the 7 Gentile church ages.

MARK 10:2   And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.

“Pharisees” is not a word found in the Old Testament. Their unscriptural position as the religious heads of the Jews made them uncertain and thus anxious to challenge Jesus, Who was the true Head.

Pastors have no Scriptural authority to be the head of the church. Thus they attack anyone and try to discredit anyone who points out that fact.

The Jewish leaders did not seek the truth. They wanted to trap Jesus. They were hypocrites in a false leadership role as they desperately tried to trap and discredit Jesus, Who was the true Leader and Head of the Jews.

Similarly, a pastor was never put in charge of a church in the New Testament, nor was he ever called the shepherd of the flock. Pastors are thus unsure of their position and anxious to challenge the Bible statements that placed a group of local elders in charge of a local church.

ACTS 20:17   And from Miletus he [Paul] sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.

ACTS 20:28   Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock,

over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God,

which he hath purchased with his own blood.

Jesus is the Word of God. Thus the King James Bible is the true Head of the modern church.

God's Plan has always been to spiritually marry a Gentile church which He calls His Bride.

This raised the subject of marriage and divorce.

MARK 10:3   And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?

What did Moses say on this issue?

MARK 10:4   And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.

Sign a divorce paper and simply push her away.

MARK 10:5   And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.

Jesus replied that divorce only happens because of hard hearts.

MARK 10:6   But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.

God had always intended there to be one man and one woman in a marriage relationship which symbolises Christ and His Bride. Originally God had just created Adam and and his woman. She only got the name Eve after she fell. That symbolized the church taking on different names like Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran, Message church, etc, after they fall away from being strictly Scriptural and being called Christians.

Thanks to the entry of sin in Eden, marriage can be a difficult relationship to hold together at times.

So leave your parent’s home to stop them from interfering.

Many parents love to interfere and dominate their children's marriages. The man is the head of the home. Not the man's father or mother.

But dominating parents want to control their children's marriages.

MARK 10:7   For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;

A man must leave home to ensure that he is the head of his own family.

Then a man must stick to his wife through thick and thin. Through good  times and bad times. Through times of health and times of sickness.

MARK 10:8   And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.

The mind controls the body. A person always seeks what is best for their own body. So, man and wife must fuse their minds into an agreement so that they care for each other and seek the welfare of each other. As if their spouse is part of their own body.

MARK 10:9   What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

A legal marriage vow can never be cancelled nor ended, except by death.

A divorce is always a bad option. If they cannot live together, they should separate but always seek to be reconciled.

Eve sinned, and God would kill her, which would end her marriage vow.

ROMANS 6:23   For the wages of sin is death;

But Adam loved her so much that he chose to sin and stay with her, believing that God would somehow make a plan to save them. God did, by chasing them out of Eden under the shed blood and skins of animals that were killed. Innocent animals had to pay for their sin.

The church has sinned, and Jesus loved us so much that He became sin for us by taking our sins on Himself at Calvary.

When we repent, our guilt crosses over to Him, and His innocence crosses over to us.

Calvary produces this brilliant "cross over" effect.

Thus He died for us and carried our sins far away down to Hell so that we could stay with Him.

The marriage vow between Christ and the Gentile church cannot be broken.

God also expects men to also keep their marriage vows with their wives. One man and one wife, forever.

MARK 10:10   And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter.

The early church met in houses where they were free to discuss issues.

The first church building that has ever been discovered only dates from about the year AD 220. The early church in Jerusalem could meet in homes or in the Temple up until AD 70, when the Temple and Jerusalem were destroyed. All other cities and places had Christians meeting in homes or in the open air. In Rome, they also met in underground catacombs.

MARK 10:11   And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.

Jesus was very strict. A legal marriage vow between a man and a woman is for better or for worse and can only be broken by the death of one of the spouses.

If a man divorces his legally-married wife, he cannot remarry anybody else. That would be adultery.

MARK 10:12   And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

Equally, if a woman divorces her husband, she is not allowed to marry someone else, as that would be adultery.

Young children represent end time believers

In the end, the spiritual children have to turn to the beliefs of their apostolic fathers who wrote the Word.

MARK 10:13   And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.

Even the disciples failed to realize the importance of bringing young children to Jesus, the Word.

In the last church age, the message-preachers do not realize the importance of bringing believers back to proving their beliefs from the Word of God, the King James Bible.

The fathers of the church are the first church age apostles.

The young men were the reformers after the Dark Ages who bravely began to restore Justification in the 5^th church age and sanctification and outreach in the 6^th church age of the missionaries.

Then the Pentecostal children restored the supernatural gifts in the seventh church age.

After that, William Branham had to reveal the mysteries of Scripture to the young children so that they could understand the Word of God.

That is why it was young children that were brought to Jesus for a touch.

In the end, it is the young children who are touched by the revelation of the revealed Bible mysteries.

Then they are the only ones in the end-time eagle-age to be restored to the fathers of the first lion-age church age.

MARK 10:14   But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

The spiritual little children who return to the original beliefs of the first church age fathers are the most important focus of the end-time church.

“Suffer them” means “allow them” in old English.

But “suffer” in modern English also means "a difficult and painful experience" as the little children are rejected by the denominational churches and the message-churches. It is a lonely walk.

MARK 10:15   Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

Little children are very curious. They keep asking questions about everything and are usually told to keep quiet and stop being a nuisance. A spiritual little child is very curious about what is written in the King James Bible.

Why is a day described as Evening and Morning in Genesis Chapter 1?  Why is this repeated 6 times?

Why is Day 2 not called "Good" like the other 5 Days?

The churches have no answers and regard these questions as unnecessary details that can be ignored.

Modern church-goers have no interest in understanding the deeper Bible mysteries because that will require them to change many of their wrong beliefs.

They do not even want to know what the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is. They simply reject the person who asks them that question and regard him as an enemy that must be shunned.

Likewise, message-churches reject and ignore any person who reminds them of the fact that William Branham never said that "The seven Thunders have uttered".

The kingdom of God is the Holy Spirit within you.

LUKE 17:21   Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for,

behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

In each age you had to obey the Holy Spirit for that age. The inner voice that quietly tells us to be Scriptural and lonely rather than to be accepted and popular by believing church errors.

In the 5^th church age of Luther, you had to get saved by faith.

In the 6^th church age of Wesley, you had to live holy and do outreach.

In the first part of the 7^th church age, you had to restore the supernatural gifts as a sign or evidence of the Holy Ghost baptism.

At the end of the seventh age, you had to achieve an understanding of the mysteries of Scripture as evidence of the Holy Ghost baptism.

JOHN 16:13   Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:

MARK 10:16   And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

Understanding the truth did not involve the church. Jesus actually stands outside the church at the end.

REVELATION 3:14    And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write;

REVELATION 3:20   Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:

It was a personal experience between Jesus and each child.

You have to get a revelation of the truth that you can prove just from the King James Bible as Jesus is the Word. Each child embraced Jesus. It is not a church experience. You have to embrace the King James Bible and love what it says. You place the Scripture above any human opinion. The disciples were told to bring the children to Jesus. Message preachers must be told to bring their quotes back to Scripture and prove their beliefs from the Bible. Today, we see Jesus as the revealed King James Bible.

A different emphasis on the 10 Commandments

MARK 10:17    And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

By calling Jesus "Good Master," the man was implying that He was God.

Recognizing Jesus as God meant he believed in one God, which is the first Commandment.

He came "running". There was no involvement with man-made graven images, which is the second Commandment. He came enthusiastically straight to the real source, God Himself, and kneeled in submission.

Thus he knew the name of God was Jesus Christ. This is the essence of the third Commandment, not to take God's name in vain. Churches take God's name in vain by claiming that the three titles of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost somehow is God's name.

The first three Commandments refer to the Godhead.

Because he got the Godhead right, Jesus ignored the first three Commandments.

MARK 10:18   And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

Modern church-goers have been fooled into the greeting. "How are you?"   "I am good."

This contradicts what Jesus said that nobody is good. Thus, we are easily led astray by accepting societies' latest whim or fad.

The 4th Commandment refers to the Sabbath of rest. In the Old Testament, this was rest from work on a Saturday.

This changed to being a rest from sin in the New Testament, which is the Holy Ghost baptism.

ISAIAH 28:11    For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.

On the Day of Pentecost, they spoke with other tongues. That was the Holy Ghost baptism.

ISAIAH 28:12    To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest;

God did His creation work and rested. Then He never went back to His creation work again.

HEBREWS 4:10   For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

The Jews worked, rested on the Sabbath Saturday, and then went back to work on Sunday. That is not what God did, so their Sabbath law was flawed.

We can only achieve this true rest by the Holy Ghost baptism, which stops us from doing our sinful works and takes away from us the desire to sin so that we do not go back to our sinful works again.

The Jewish man would not understand that, so Jesus did not refer to the fourth Commandment.

The last six Commandments are as follows:

EXODUS 20:12   (5)  Honour thy father and thy mother:

(6)   Thou shalt not kill.

(7)   Thou shalt not commit adultery.

(8)   Thou shalt not steal.

(9)   Thou shalt not bear false witness.

(10)   Thou shalt not covet

These Commandments also have a deeper spiritual meaning for the church.

(5)  Our spiritual fathers are the apostles and our mother church was the first church age. We honour them by getting back to what they believed and never disagreeing with them.

(6)  They killed the love of truth at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 by introducing unscriptural words like Trinity, Father and Son are of the same substance, God the Son, Second Person of the Godhead, one God in three Persons, and Good Friday.

(7)  The Roman Catholic church ruled Europe in the Dark Ages and called herself the Mother Church. Believing her unscriptural doctrines meant you were committing adultery with the Roman Catholic church.

(8)  Martin Luther taught salvation by faith alone and left the Roman Catholic church. But he stole certain ideas from the Catholic church like Trinity, sprinkling babies, confirmation, a catechism, and saying “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” as if that is the name of God. He never explained what that name was.

(9)  John Wesley restored holiness or good works. But after a while, they thought that their salvation depended on faith as well as good works. That was a false witness. Good works cannot save anybody. But we are expected to do good works.

(10)  Do not covet any possession owned by someone else.

But deeper than that, do not covet any ministry that somebody else has.

If you usurp someone else’s ministry who can teach Bible truths better than you can, you defraud the people as they will not then be able to learn the deeper truths.

Pastors covet a teaching ministry to maintain their grip of power over the congregation or laity. Then they silence the Bible teachers who understand the Bible mysteries better than the pastors. Pastors close their pulpit to Bible teachers who disagree with them.  But the pastors cannot explain the Bible mysteries properly just by using Bible verses. They are Nicolaitans as they elevate themselves to be head of the church and to be the teachers of doctrine. They collect the tithes and thus defraud the people by offering them man-made doctrines that the early church did not believe.

Revelation 4 has four creatures around the throne in Heaven.

These represent the 4 Gospels.

REVELATION 4:6   ... and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

:7   And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

On earth, the throne of God is the human heart. That is where Jesus dwells.

EPHESIANS 3:17   That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith;

The four chambers of the heart represent the four beasts around the throne as well as representing the 4 Gospels that combine to reveal the Life of Christ.

Mark represents Jesus as the calf or young Ox, the great Servant, our burden-carrying Ox.

Mark gives us many clues on how to serve God more effectively.

MARK 10:19   Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

If you want to serve God, your first mistake is to be involved in a church system where you learn man-made rules. First, do not get involved with Roman Catholic traditions and denominational ideas. That is spiritual adultery. Protestants who want to serve God first go to a Bible school (a Catholic idea), and there they learn the traditions of a certain church. That tradition includes Trinity. So, they mess up right from the beginning, though they set out to serve God.

When Protestants want to serve God, they first join a church. Then they learn Trinity. Then they are on the wrong path for the rest of their lives.

Stay away from the "Trinity" and "Good Friday" of the Council of Nicaea that killed the love of being Scriptural by introducing unscriptural words.

Do not steal unscriptural ideas from anywhere like Evolution or the Big Bang or Lent or a seven-year-Tribulation. Just stay with what is written in Scripture.

No false witness by pointing to yourself or your good works as if that helps other people to get saved.

Pastors must not defraud the people by pretending that they are Bible teachers. That is not their ministry. The people then end up believing errors on certain topics.

63-0724  GOD  DOESN'T  CALL  MAN  TO  JUDGMENT  WITHOUT  FIRST  WARNING  HIM

The teacher is a special man. He sits back under the anointing of the Spirit and is able to take the Words and put them together by the Holy Spirit, that, the pastor or evangelist either one could not compare with him.

Finally, Honour thy Father and thy Mother.

The fathers are the apostles who established the first church age, the mother church. We must take the last church age back to the first church age if we are to properly serve God.

These are our basic requirements if we want to be useful servants.

Jesus adds love thy neighbour to 10 Commandments

Matthew presents Christ as the King of both the Gentile church from 7 ages as well as the King of the 144000 Jews that come out in the 3.5 years of great Tribulation.

MATTHEW 19:18   He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

:19   Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Because Matthew also includes the Jews from the 144000  he starts with killing the love of truth by introducing Trinity. The Jews as a nation do not accept Trinity (Some individual Jews accept Trinity because they want to belong to some church). Thus, the non-Trinity 144000 will avoid this major error.

Then the 144000 Jews must stay away from the Roman Catholic denominational system which is spiritual adultery.

Speaking of the 144000:

REVELATION 14:4   These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins.

A woman is a church. The 144000 were sensible enough not to be involved with any churches. Thus their two prophets will be able to teach them the truth. They will not steal any church traditions nor steal any denominational ideas.

The chaos and violence of great Tribulation will stop them thinking that they can save themselves in any way as a false witness. They will rely on the supernatural power of the two prophets, not on their own works.

Moses and Elijah will lead them back to the doctrines of the original apostolic fathers and the example of the mother church of the first church age.

Then Jesus adds an extra thought that sums up all the good works of service that the 10 Commandments require of us.

“Love thy neighbour as thyself” means the Jews will accept the Christian Gentiles' beliefs, so we will all be neighbours after that.

There will be a deeper issue than Jew and Gentile being two separate groups. The 144000 will end up believing the same as us and the 144000 will love the Gentile church. They are actually called out to be the protectors of the Gentile Bride.

SONG OF SOLOMON 4:12   A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

The Bride of Christ is like an inclosed garden with a protective wall or fence. That protective wall will be the 144000 Jews.

Now that Jesus has introduced the idea of loving your neighbour as yourself, He is introducing a deeper idea. It is not about me obeying some good rules in order that I can love myself and think that I am a good Christian.

It is all about me obeying those rules so that I can avoid the church errors and focus on loving other people to be a useful servant to them. God does not want me to be a Christian so that I can live a good life and go to Heaven. Christians start thinking, "Aren’t I lucky, I am going to make it."

That is not the right attitude.

God wants me to be a Christian so that He can use me to serve others so that they can make it to Heaven.

The love of money undermines our faith

We then look at Luke who introduces Christ as the ideal Man.

Christ talks to the rich young ruler.

LUKE 10:26   He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

:27   And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

The commandments are wrapped up in two perfect ideas. First, focus on Jesus and the written Word.

The first four Commandments tell us how to love and serve God. Only one God, no images or persons to compare with God. The Pope says he is Vicarius Christi, in the place of Christ. Nonsense. Nobody can take Christ's place.

Message people say William Branham is the Voice of God. Nonsense. He is the voice of the seventh angel. The Bible is the Voice of God.

When you can understand and spread Scripture then learn to love your neighbour so that you might be able to help him or her to get ready to meet the Lord that you have learned to love.

The last 6 Commandments tell us how to love and serve mankind.

The fourth Commandment glues us to God's Plan. The true Sabbath of rest is the Holy Ghost baptism which makes us rest from our works of sin and unbelief. Then alone can we puzzle out what God's Plan is and be used by God to help others.

We cannot serve God and Mammon. The Holy Ghost baptism is God in us which releases us from the love of money.

MARK 10:20   And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.

The young man had kept the rules.

But his deepest love was money.

MARK 10:21   Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

The biggest weakness of the last church age of the Laodiceans is the statement:

REVELATION 3:17   Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing;

Wealth undermines our faith. How many billionaires know Jesus as Saviour? How many billionaires can even keep their marriage together?

MARK 10:22   And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

His possessions possessed him.

His wealth made him refuse to follow Jesus.

The COVID crisis that started in 2020 hammered the world economy.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has caused a big cost-of-living increase.

So we are all being tested by economic pressures.

MARK 10:23   And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

The rich people tend to put their faith in their bank balances.

MARK 10:24    And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!

Jesus repeats the warning against wealth

Money is not the key to Heaven. Jesus warns that wealth is an impediment, not a blessing.

MARK 10:25   It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

People assume that the rich people are blessed of God. However, these people easily learn to love their wealth more than the God Who gave them the wealth. When God blesses us with wealth we easily take that blessing for granted, as if we deserved it.

The problem with money is that it opens up the doors to many possibilities. And many of those possibilities will get us out of the Will of God. Finding God's Will amongst many different opportunities is not very likely. Money also attracts the wrong people as friends.

Money inflates our sense of self-importance when we should be dying to self.

It gives us the desire to show off with a conspicuous consumption lifestyle.

Wealth usually leads to the dogged pursuit of more wealth with all its waste and anxiety. Especially the anxiety that money may be lost or income reduced. This drives people to a compulsive money-gaining form of behaviour concerning their work. Some data has suggested money itself doesn’t lead to dissatisfaction—instead, it’s the ceaseless striving for wealth and material possessions that may lead to unhappiness. Materialistic values have even been linked with lower relationship satisfaction.

A number of studies have found that affluent children are more vulnerable to substance abuse issues (drugs), potentially because of high pressure to achieve and isolation from parents.

At an emotional level, similarly, isolation may often derive from the erosion of family time together because of the demands of affluent parents’ career obligations and the children’s many after-school activities.

Children growing up in wealthy families may seem to have it all, but having it all may come at a high cost. Wealthier children tend to be more distressed than lower-income kids, and are at high risk for anxiety, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, cheating, and stealing. Research has also found high instances of binge-drinking and marijuana use among the children of high-income, two-parent, families.

In upwardly mobile communities, children are often pressed to excel at multiple academic and extracurricular pursuits to maximize their long-term academic prospects—a phenomenon that may well engender high stress. Rich children are disadvantaged by their time-consuming expectations.

From a spiritual point of view, it is the children that have to turn back to the apostolic fathers according to Malachi Chapter 4.

In marriage, the man is the head of the woman. If a woman represents a church, then the man represents the head of the church. That should be Jesus. But today, the pastor is considered the head of the church even though this is unscriptural.

So the rich man represents the rich pastors of the rich churches. They maintain their positions of power and wealth, the power to take people's money. The self-elevated heads of the churches find it virtually impossible to understand the revealed Bible as they are not Bible teachers. They cannot prove their beliefs just from Scripture. That is why there are so many thousands of different types of churches and denominations. Thus their people are also fooled into various errors.

When all these negatives add up, very few will make it.

MARK 10:26   And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?

When we face reality we realize that humans cannot save themselves.

Christians tend to avoid any teaching that criticizes wealth. Because, deep down, wealth is what we want.

MARK 10:27    And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

God alone can be the Saviour. We can only be saved because Jesus carried our sins. Then we have to allow Jesus to open our eyes. We will then not like what we see about ourselves, so we must be zealous to repent. Each of us has a lot to repent about. God alone can get us right.

We will also not like to see how far our favourite beliefs are away from the written Word.

The real rewards are in the next life

MARK 10:28   Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.

Peter then mentions the sacrifice that the disciples had made in leaving their homes and families in order to follow Jesus.

MARK 10:29   And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,

:30    But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

But God has kept a record of every sacrifice. All will be rewarded in time. If not in this world then certainly in the next. But if we stop to count our blessings, we will find much reward has been given to us in this life, despite all our hardships. Loneliness is something that we encounter on the path to a deeper understanding of Bible truth.

The big thing is to keep our focus on the next life, not this one. This life is temporary with its struggles and losses. The next life is permanent and full of rewards to replace what we may have lost in this world.

MARK 10:31   But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

Jesus ends by saying that there must be no difference between the first and the last church ages. As a consequence, our end-time focus must be mainly on returning to the beliefs of the first church age. That is God's Plan for today. That is the single most important issue of today.

MARK 10:32   And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him,

Jesus took the lead with the disciples following. This teaches us that we must follow the Bible.

Jesus is the Word. What we learn from Scripture will amaze us as we discover that the churches have moved so far away from the New Testament church. And we will be afraid when we realize how difficult it will be for us to face the rejection and persecution of people as we return to the first church age, which is the Plan of God for us at the end-time.

MARK 10:33   Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:

Jesus has to die to achieve the success of the church. His success lay in losing everything.

He did not preach a Gospel of Gain in this life.

But the chief religious leaders or church leaders are only interested in condemning the true Word of God. The church world had become a trap of deception that denies what is written in the King James Bible.

MARK 10:34   And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.

This happened to Jesus, so it will also happen to the church which is His Body.

The true believers who quote Scripture will be mocked and humiliated and persecuted.

But, as Jesus rose again after 3 days so the truth will be restored during the last three church ages of Luther, Wesley, and Laodicea. That means that there will be a Bride in the Laodicean age that is restored back to the first church age, thanks to William Branham teaching them how to be Scriptural. Then there will be a resurrection of the New Testament church and the changing of the bodies of the living Bride. Then they shall all rise up to Heaven as they are caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

Ambition for self and family in the church is wrong

MARK 10:35   And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

Unfortunately, instead of focusing on the rising up of Jesus, James and John (notice the nepotism as family members are favoured) were only interested in themselves rising up to be the most important. A major error in the church is family favouritism. The pastor's position goes from father to son. Why? It keeps the money in the family. Money is the big curse in the church of the Laodiceans. Yet the church is obsessed with chasing after money.

MARK 10:36    And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?

Jesus asks what He can do for them.

MARK 10:37   They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.

All they want is the two most important positions of glory in Heaven, after Jesus has done the hard work of dying in agony in order to achieve that glory.

Let Jesus suffer and then I and my brother can reap the top rewards.

Notice the obsession with self and family.

MARK 10:38   But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

Jesus told them that they had no idea what they were talking about. The big weakness in the church is knowing nothing about what they confidently preach. Consider the message preachers who claim to know what the seven Thunders utter. There is nothing written on the topic so they only offer the people their unsubstantiated speculations. But they get well paid for that.

James and John would flee the scene when Jesus was arrested. They had no idea of the terrible spirit of fear that would descend over any followers of Jesus. Jesus was the only Man Who could withstand that awful night of terror.

MARK 10:39    And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

They claimed that they could go through what Jesus would go through. So James was the first apostle to be killed and John was boiled in oil and twice imprisoned on the prison island of Patmos.

MARK 10:40    But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.

God has a predestinated Plan that will come to pass. That Plan does not depend on human ambitions.

Sitting on either side of Jesus proves that there is no Trinity of three Persons where Jesus sits on the right hand of God. Thus God is on the left-hand side of Jesus and there is thus no space on the left-hand side of Jesus for an empty seat for some man.

MARK 10:41   And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.

The ambition of the two brothers created division amongst the disciples. Christianity as a career is wrong as human ambitions rip the church apart.

MARK 10:42    But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.

Jesus talks in terms of the future church. Gentiles love to become elevated leaders that are looked up to and obeyed without question.

MARK 10:43   But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:

A minister is a servant. The Gentile church was foolish enough to promote a minister or reverend or pastor to be the head of the church. The servant is the least in the church, not the head.

MARK 10:44   And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.

The way up is down. Strive to be a servant not the head of the church.

MARK 10:45   For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Jesus did not come to be served. He came to serve. He was God's gift to us.

The most concise definition of His ministry is to say "The Gift gave".

Wrong interpretations make the Word powerless to help

MARK 10:46   And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.

Bartimaeus lived in Jericho and was blind.

He represented the people in the church age of the Laodiceans that have been blinded to the truth by their church leaders.

So Bartimaeus knew that if he wanted to see, he had to get out of the church (represented by the city of Jericho).

Just like it is in the last church age of the Laodiceans where Jesus stands outside the church.

MARK 10:47    And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

Jesus of Nazareth. Nazareth refers to the seven church ages. Nazareth is a Greek word, not a Hebrew word as Nazareth is not mentioned in the Old Testament.

Nazareth comes from two words.

Netzer means branch in Hebrew. Netzeret means the Place of the branching forth.

Nazara means truth.

Nazara and Netzeret combine to make the Place of the branching forth of the Truth.

Translated into Greek we get Nazareth.

John saw Jesus in the midst of the candlestick that represents the 7 church ages where the truth branched out.

Only the first church age has the truth and we must get back to the first church age beliefs.

John, the great apostle and prophet fell at His feet as dead. No human prophet can compare at all with Jesus.

REVELATION 1:13   And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man,

In the midst of the candlestick means only the first church age is to be trusted.

"Son of David" is a misinterpretation of when Jesus walked on earth. He will only be the Son of David when He is King in the Millennium.

MARK 10:48   And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

Bartimaeus wanted the truth because Jesus is the truth. He is the Word. Like Bartimaeus, we must not be put off by what others say when we are seeking the truth. We must keep begging the Lord to open our eyes with the eyesalve of revelation.

MARK 10:49   And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.

Calling Jesus the Son of David was muddling up His future Millennium ministry. As a result, Jesus stood still and could not help.

Jesus cannot help the blind churches of the Laodiceans to find the deeper truths of His revealed Word. They can find salvation from hell but cannot prepare for the Second Coming which will save them from great Tribulation.

MARK 10:50   And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.

He cast aside his garment of church theology and theories that he had learned from church leaders.

The churches do not know that we must return to the first church age beliefs. So, the churches cannot guide us in the right way to prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus.

MARK 10:51    And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

He now called Jesus "Lord."

That was correct, Jesus is Lord. There is only one God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

MARK 10:52    And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

Seeing Jesus as the fullness of the Godhead, as Lord God Almighty, gave him his sight.

Only by following Jesus could Bartimaeus find the right way to serve God. We have to follow Jesus in the Bible as He takes us back to the first church age beliefs. Jesus is only seen in the middle candlestick. Only the first church age has the real truth.