Matthew 12 - The sign of the prophet Jonah

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Harvest pulls grain off the plant. The harvest rain pulls the Bride off the earth

The seed ripens when the plant dries up and dies.

The Bride understands the Bible when the churches push the Word out of the door and prefer human quotes.

There were 40 days between the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus.

There will be about 40 days between the resurrection of the New Testament church from the 7 church ages and the catching up to meet the Lord in the air (called the Rapture).

That will be the time of the harvest rain or latter rain, starting with the saints being pulled out of their graves and ending with the Bride being pulled up in the rapture to meet the Lord in the air.

Until then, we need a teaching rain or former rain to understand the mysteries of Scripture.

JOEL 2:23    Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.

There will be an overlap of about one month where we are taught in the latter rain time how to change our bodies so that we can receive rapturing faith. The seven Thunders will do this as we cannot be raptured in these present bodies of ours.

Two key issues arise at the start of this Chapter 12 in Matthew.

The Sabbath of rest and the disciples harvesting some grain.

The Bride needs a rest from human opinions and church traditions like Trinity, Christmas, and Good Friday. We need to rest on "It is written", not on "I have a quote".

The quotes of William Branham are needed to explain the Scripture, not to replace the Scripture.

You are only at rest from unbelief when you "speak the Word only" as the Gentile centurion insisted.

MATTHEW 8:8    The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.

The harvest at the end of the seven church ages is for the Gentile Bride when she can "shout" that she understands the mysteries of the written Scripture.

I THESSALONIANS 4:16   For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

65-1127  I  HAVE  HEARD  BUT  NOW  I  SEE
Dear God, in this solemn moment, it's going to be a time like this when there really will be a clap of thunder someday, and the Son of God shall descend from the heavens with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and the trump of God, the dead in Christ shall rise.

One month before he died and brother Branham was still looking for the shout, the message, in the future.

Thus, the shout was not brother Branham understanding the Scriptures, which he did. The shout is when the Bride individuals are able to understand the Scriptures and prove their beliefs just by using the Bible.

These are also issues that the church leaders will oppose at the end time.

MATTHEW 12:1   At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.

LUKE 6:1   And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.

“Corn” meant “grain” in Bible days, like wheat or barley.

When Europeans got to America in the 1500s, only then "corn" began to mean "maize".

Each wheat seed is wrapped up in a husk or shuck for protection.

To get the wheat seeds out of the husks, one can rub them against each other.

The harvest is the end-time when the dead saints from the 7 church ages resurrect. They will appear unto many and as they move around amongst us, we will be "rubbing shoulders" with them. The saints from the first church age will only recognize us if we believe the same as them, the same doctrines that they got from the hands of the apostles.

It is essential in God's Plan that the seed that is harvested at the end is the same as the original seed that was planted.

The second Sabbath after the first would be the third Sabbath.

This symbolized the third church age of the restoration of Bible truth after the Dark Ages. (Sardis, Philadelphia, and finally, the Laodiceans in Revelation Chapter 3).

Martin Luther restored salvation by faith in the church age of Sardis, the escaped ones.

His Reformation represented the leaves of the germinating plant that had died and been buried in the dirt of the Dark Ages.

John Wesley restored holiness and outreach in the golden missionary church age of Philadelphia, which means brotherly love.

The pollen of the plants blew over the field to spread life.

In the seventh age of the Laodiceans (people’s rights) the Pentecostals restored the power of the Holy Ghost. This was the husk that protected the seed that was starting to develop.

Then William Branham restored the revelation of the mysteries of Scripture. The seed Word could now ripen in the light of the revealed Bible. The ripe seed at the harvest is exactly the same as the seed that was first planted in the first church age.

Pulling seeds off the plant symbolized the Bride being caught up to Heaven as they are pulled off the earth in the harvest or latter rain.

These natural seeds symbolize the apostles’ doctrine, the seed Word of God, that would be hand-written by the apostles as the New Testament. These beliefs would prepare the church for the harvest at the end of the seventh church age when the resurrection would pull the dead saints out of their graves.

The real Sabbath is the rest from sin. The real Sabbath is the Holy Ghost baptism.

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

This happened on the Day of Pentecost when they were filled with the Holy Ghost.

ISAIAH 28:12   To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

After repenting and receiving the Holy Ghost, we must never go back to our former works of sin again.

God rested from His creation works and never went back to His creation works 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 main sin is unbelief.

Once the Holy Spirit convicts us that Jesus is Almighty God and that the King James Version of the Bible (KJV) is the infallible Word of God, then we can never go back to our previous unbelief. We cannot believe that there are any faults in God's plan for us. Thus we stop complaining about our circumstances. God is in control of our lives, and He knows what He is doing.

We are also unable to believe that there are any faults in the King James Bible.

We have to change our thinking to fit in with the verses of the KJV Bible.

JOHN 8:24   I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

Our unbelief in the written Word allows preachers to deceive us.

MATTHEW 24:4    And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

The main purpose of the Holy Ghost baptism is to guide us into all truth so that we can understand the mysteries of Scripture.

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

When the end-time Bride is restored back to the apostolic fathers' beliefs, then the Bride will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

Eating these grains uncooked was a very humble meal. Humility is the key to the latter rain, the harvest rain. Being restored back until we only believe the doctrines that the apostles wrote.

The disciples could not have picked too much grain as they walked through the field.

This symbolizes that there will not be too many people restored to understanding the revealed mysteries of the Bible.

LUKE 18:8    Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

MATTHEW 7:14   Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

It takes a much deeper insight to understand apparent Bible "contradictions"

MATTHEW 12:2   But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.

The Pharisees were well fed, just like modern-day church pastors.

They objected to the seeds that the apostles pulled off the plants with their hands.

The disciples would write with their hands the Seed of God's Word as the New Testament.

Modern church leaders object to the doctrines as written by the apostles. Simply, because no New Testament verse puts a pastor in charge of a church. No New Testament verse says that the tithes belong to the pastor.

Thus the modern-day church leaders oppose the restoration of the Bible mysteries. Instead of preaching the revealed mysteries from the 1769 King James Version of the Bible, the only infallible and Absolute Bible, church leaders now preach from 450 different versions of the New Testament. Thus, they say that there is no absolute truth. People cannot find the apostolic truth if they have to try to choose from 450 different Bibles. Besides, there are 45000 different types of churches and denominations. This is the spiritual swamp that has been created by modern-day church leaders as they oppose the revelation of the Bible mysteries. Each church is biased and believes the personal opinions of its pastor.

MATTHEW 12:3   But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;

Jesus asked why David was allowed to eat the shewbread in the holy place of the Tabernacle. Only priests were supposed to do this as they tended to God's Tabernacle.

MATTHEW 12:4   How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?

David was a type of Christ. He had been anointed as king when very young but could only become king when his enemy Saul died.

Jesus was anointed as King by the Holy Ghost on the banks of Jordan. But He will only take over as King of the earth when the antichrist church organization spirit in the Roman Catholic denominational beast and the false prophet (the Pope) is destroyed at Armageddon. In the meanwhile, Jesus is the High Priest Who oversees the salvation of His Gentile church.

So, in between being anointed as king and finally becoming king, David was also allowed to perform a priest's function.

Those men who were following David and tended to him were also allowed to eat the priest's shewbread.

If David and his close followers could act as a priest after his anointing, so could Jesus and His disciples who were the priests of the New Testament.

MATTHEW 12:5   Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

The Old Testament priests worked hard on the sabbath with their preaching and offering up the sacrifices.

So, the New Testament priests, the apostles, could also work and harvest on the sabbath.

At the end time, the harvest that pulls the Bride off the earth to meet the Lord in the air will only happen when the apostle’s faith is restored. Then the modern-day Bride will be at rest from the church unbelief.

That is the true Sabbath, the rest from unbelief, that will produce the catching up to meet the Lord in the air.

MATTHEW 12:6   But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

Jesus warns the Jewish leaders. He is greater than the Temple. They are very foolish and blind when they dispute with Him.

The disciples tend to Jesus in the same way that the priests tended to the Tabernacle and Temple when they worked on the Sabbath.

Priests who served God were allowed to work on the Sabbath.

In the New Testament, revealing the truth of the Bible mysteries will actually create our deeper rest (our Sabbath) from the unbelief of church doctrines and traditions.

At the end-time, brother Branham would reveal Jesus walking through the pages in the Bible. What the Bible reveals is far greater than any church leader’s opinion or tradition.

MATTHEW 12:7   But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

The Pharisees' mistake was that they did not realize that all humans need God’s mercy.

Here they were condemning the disciples who were the New Testament priests.

But the big sin of the Pharisees was not to recognize the Messiah. Thus they were in the process of wrecking the Old Testament covenant, which was the main reason that a new covenant was needed.

Moses had warned them of a great Prophet that would come.

Jeremiah spoke of a new covenant that would be needed.

JEREMIAH 31:31    Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

DEUTERONOMY 18:15   The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

They were finding fault with the Messiah instead of learning from Him, which Moses had commanded them to do.

The Pharisees were trying to serve God their way but ignoring and opposing the fulfillment of God’s Word.

Human efforts could provide no effective sacrifice for sins. The Jewish sacrifices had to be endlessly repeated each year. This showed the ineffectiveness of human efforts and sacrifices.

All these Jewish sacrifices would be done away with at Calvary.

The only element of the Temple sacrifices that would go through to the New Testament would be God’s grace whereby He had mercy on repentant sinners.

MATTHEW 12:8   For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

Jesus alone could provide the only perfect sacrifice for sin when He died on the cross. Thus, He alone is the Lord of the sabbath, the Lord Who can make us rest from our sin and unbelief.

Only Jesus can grant us rest from our sins and unbelief by filling us with His Spirit which enables us to believe and understand His Word.

Jesus alone can provide the mercy that we need in order to have our sins forgiven.

The forgiveness that makes us rest from sin and unbelief would depend entirely on the sacrifice of Jesus and His mercy.

ISAIAH 64:6   But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;

Humans are helpless in terms of getting our sins forgiven.

Our very best efforts and sacrifices are as filthy rags in God’s sight.

Daniel never prayed to God in terms of human righteousnesses or good works or sacrifices.

DANIEL 9:18   O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.

Daniel realized that the Jews had only produced desolation. They had failed.

As a result, Daniel only prayed to God in terms of God’s great mercy.

Do not criticize the Bible, pray for understanding

MATTHEW 12:9   And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:

The Pharisees criticized Jesus. So He departed from there.

If you criticize any verse in the King James Version of the Bible, then you are criticizing Jesus because He is the Word of God.

Then Jesus will depart from you and leave you in your ignorance and unbelief.

Jesus, and the KJV Bible, reveal a level of insight that is far above our puny human minds.

He has come to bring change and the unexpected.

We need to believe what is written and pray for insight to understand. We must never question what is written.

MATTHEW 12:10   And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.

A man with a crippled hand who could do no works with that hand. Thus, this man could not do any works on the sabbath that would be illegal.

This showed that a helpless cripple who could do no works was the only person who was guaranteed to keep the Sabbath properly. The shallowness of the Pharisees’ thinking became evident.

MATTHEW 12:11   And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

Every farmer has to water his animals every day. If a wolf attacked on the Sabbath, the farmer would protect his flock.

Any farmer would automatically help an animal that got into difficulties. Helping an animal in need was always a valid response.

Not working on the Sabbath day was simply to get the Jews to abstain from money-making activities to earn more profits and worship God instead.

The Jews wanted a profit more than a prophet.

MATTHEW 12:12   How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

Jesus points out that helping a human in need is even more important than helping an animal in need.

MATTHEW 12:13   Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

Jesus now demonstrates a supernatural power that only God could do.

To this day, modern medicine cannot heal a withered hand. That was an incredible miracle.

MATTHEW 12:14   Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.

The well-fed Pharisees objected to the disciples using their hands to harvest some grain for a small, humble meal.

They took pride in a man with a withered hand who could not use that hand to harvest any grain.

Jesus changed a useless hand into a useful hand that could help with the harvest.

The harvest at the end of the church ages will happen when Jesus restores our withered-up church beliefs back to the doctrines of the first age apostles. They alone knew the truth that would produce the final harvest. The seed Word that passed through their hands would ripen again at the end of the last church age.

But the church leaders preferred to produce a World Council of Churches that would unite to proclaim the Trinity and other unscriptural beliefs. Their understanding of the revealed mysteries of Scripture would wither up.

They compensated for their unscriptural doctrines by destroying people’s faith in the King James Version of the Bible. They keep producing new translations of the New Testament and claim that it is impossible to produce a perfect Bible. Very few Christians today believe that there is an infallible Bible.

Unbelief is rampant in the churches that have been fooled into believing that the King James Bible is flawed. What they say about the Bible, they are saying about Jesus.  Because Jesus is the Word of God. That is why Jesus now stands outside the church.

MATTHEW 12:15   But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;

Jesus is the truth. The Pharisees wanted to kill Him.

Today, church pastors want to kill the truth of the revealed Word.

The people loved and followed Jesus.

But their religious leaders condemned Jesus.

Today it is the church preachers who condemn Jesus when they criticize and change the Scriptures. Jesus is the Word of God.

MATTHEW 12:16   And charged them that they should not make him known:

Jesus sought no fame nor publicity.

He knew what was in people.

The people followed Him for the healing because that was for their personal gain. They were more than impressed with the supernatural.

But religious leaders took 4 days to turn a cheering crowd into a murderous mob

The same people who cheered Him on Palm Sunday as He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey were the same people who yelled, “Crucify Him” four days later on Thursday.

So much for human church leaders who had their income threatened on Palm Sunday and then again on the next day, Monday, when Jesus chased the money-makers out of the Temple.

That is how fickle we humans are.

That is how obsessed church leaders are with securing their income.

MATTHEW 12:17   That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

Jesus fulfilled the prophecy.

MATTHEW 12:18   Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

Isaiah knew that the Jews would reject Jesus in the end and that He would turn to the Gentiles in the seven church ages.

MATTHEW 12:19   He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.

Jesus would not succeed with the Jews because their religious leaders would make them hate Jesus and demand His death.

MATTHEW 12:20   A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.

Yet Jesus was merciful to those who did want to believe, however bruised they were spiritually.

But there were going to be big repercussions.

The Jews, thanks to their greedy leaders, were going to reject Jesus.

He, in turn, was going to leave the Jews and turn to the Gentiles to establish a church.

Rejection by the Jews turned Jesus to the Gentiles

MATTHEW 12:21   And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

The name of Jesus would become famous amongst the Gentiles as the Gospel spread around the world.

MATTHEW 12:22   Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

Blind and dumb. This describes the Gentiles of the Old Testament.

Gentiles did not hear the truth of the Old Testament Scriptures and were spiritually blind in their paganism. They were effectively dumb as regards the truth because their pagan trinity beliefs and sun god worship were simply massive errors.

By healing a blind and dumb man, Jesus showed that He would turn to us blind and dumb pagan Gentiles and convert us to the truth.

MATTHEW 12:23   And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?

The people were impressed by this miracle. They recognized Who Jesus was.

They recognized Him as the Son of David.

David had eaten the priest's shewbread. Thus David had been allowed to act as a priest.

Jesus, as the Son of David, could also act as a priest. Thus Jesus could work and heal on the Sabbath as all priests worked on the Sabbath as they ministered to the people.

Religious leaders hate an understanding of the true Word

Religious leaders just want their followers to believe their opinions.

MATTHEW 12:24   But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

The religious leaders accused Him of being the chief Devil. Such is the hatred that religious leaders have for the true Word of God.

MATTHEW 12:25   And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

But their logic was seriously flawed.

Satan’s kingdom cannot stand if the demons fight each other.

MATTHEW 12:26   And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

MATTHEW 12:27   And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.

The Pharisees had bad logic that claimed that you were a devil if you cast out devils.

"Then, if the Jews cast out a devil, that means the Jews must also be devils". But that makes no sense. They were God's chosen nation.

MATTHEW 12:28   But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

Jesus was simply manifesting the supernatural Spirit of God. Thus God’s kingdom had come to the Jews.

MATTHEW 12:29   Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

A demon is strong and binds up a person.

The Holy Spirit must first bind that strong demon and cast him out of the person. Then the person’s body is restored, which spoils the strong demon's damage to that person.

MATTHEW 12:30   He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

There is no middle ground. We either fully believe every word in the King James Bible or else we are rejectors of truth.

We cannot believe some of the Bible and reject other parts. Then we scatter, we do not gather.

The worst lie is the half-truth.

The worst error is corrupted Scripture.

MATTHEW 12:31  Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

The Holy Ghost performs divine healing. Never claim that the Devil does the healing.

The Holy Ghost will guide us into all truth.

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

Never condemn the revealed truth of the Scriptural mysteries that fit in with the other Bible verses.

MATTHEW 12:32   And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Condemning the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit is not allowed.

Condemning the revealed deeper mysteries of the Bible is not permitted.

MATTHEW 12:33   Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

Supernatural healing power and a revelation that follows through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation do not come from Satan.

MATTHEW 12:34   O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Serpent seed. Being critical of Jesus, the Word of God, means something was wrong deep within them. Their inner motives would come out in their speech. By criticizing Jesus, it showed that their inner thoughts were against Him.

MATTHEW 12:35   A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

Good men will never criticize Jesus or the King James Version of the Bible. The doctrines they teach emphasize the perfection of Jesus and the King James Version of the Bible.

The evil men will endlessly criticize the King James Bible and oppose the revealed truth of Scripture.

MATTHEW 12:36    But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

But every word we say will be used in evidence against us. Never criticize the Bible. Never complain about God’s Plan. We are called to believe, not to dispute the truth.

MATTHEW 12:37   For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

If we complain or blame God for our circumstances, then we are in trouble.

Everything that happens to us, good or bad, is for a reason.

We must believe that God is in total control of our lives.

Our words should always praise God with thankfulness. Our beliefs should always come from the Bible.

Do not seek a sign for an event. A sign, when it happens, is not the event

MATTHEW 12:38   Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.

A human weakness. We want to see a sign. We will only believe if we see a sign.

That is not a good idea.

Most times, people mistake the sign for an event.

The supernatural cloud of 1963 was the sign of the Son of man in the heaven.

65-0718   TRYING  TO  DO  GOD  A  SERVICE  WITHOUT  BEING  THE  WILL  OF  GOD

And then in that great observatory, so that the world will be without, they're still wondering what happened. In Tucson, them big observatories took the picture of it up there; still wondering what happened. What is it? They still put in the paper, "Does anybody know anything about what, how it could have happen?" There is no fog up there, there's no air, there's no moisture; thirty miles high in the air. Oh, my!
"There shall be signs in the heaven above. And when these things take place, earthquakes in divers places, then shall appear the sign in the heaven, of the Son of man."

A sign that the Seven Seals would be revealed. A sign that Jesus would be manifest as the revealed Word in our day.

Message believers promptly thought that the cloud was the coming of the Lord. Or else it was the coming down of the mighty Angel of Revelation Chapter 10.

So, all sorts of wrong doctrines emerged like “Mercy is over,” as well as “The seven Thunders have uttered”.

Various message pastors have come up with different new names of the Lord.

But nobody can know that name while we are in these old and sinful bodies.
REVELATION 19:12   His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

Signs can cause a lot of deception.

MATTHEW 12:39   But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

Bad people want to see a sign. Genuine people are happy to just believe what is written.

MATTHEW 12:40    For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Our one true sign is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

He had to spend three nights in the tomb and rise early on Sunday morning.

Saturday night, Friday night, Thursday night.

So, Jesus had to die on Thursday.

But the Catholic church said he died on the unscriptural “Good Friday”.

So, Protestants believe that even though it means that Jesus could not spend three nights in the tomb.

Consequently, we mess up the one genuine sign that we were given if we think Jesus died on Friday.

Ultimately, signs are not of great help to most people.

The Gospel will go to the Gentiles

MATTHEW 12:41   The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

Nineveh was a Gentile city.

The Gentiles believed the preaching of Jonah (Hebrew) or Jonas (Greek).

Again, Jesus is showing that after His death, burial, and resurrection that the Gospel would go to the Gentiles.

MATTHEW 12:42   The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

The queen of Sheba was a Gentile from Africa and she crossed the Sahara desert with great difficulty to learn more about the God of Solomon. Such was the reputation of Solomon’s wisdom that people knew that God was with him.

Jesus again indicates that a Gentile woman, symbolizing the Gentile church, would overcome great difficulties to learn the Bible's truth, which is the Word of God.

The Bible explains God’s thinking.

We need the mind of Christ.

Seven bad spirits developed in 7 church ages

Back to the Jews in the next parable.

MATTHEW 12:43   When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

Jesus defeated Satan in Israel. Satan could find no other real purpose for his life as his major plan is to replace God.

MATTHEW 12:44   Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.

The blood of Jesus had cleansed the sanctuary.

So the Devil returned to Israel to stop the Jews from accepting the New Testament.

Satan became their ruler even though they were God’s chosen nation, because the Devil was binding them in unbelief

MATTHEW 12:45   Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

For seven church ages, Satan would help the Jews to reject the New Testament truth. The evil of all seven ages would sweep into Israel by the end of the seventh age.

Then it will appear, as it now does, that it is impossible for the Jews as a nation to come back to the Gospel.

That is what many people think.

Only the supernatural power of the two prophets Moses and Elijah, and the horror and the 3.5 years of great Tribulation and its awful death rate will drive them to accept Jesus.

Jesus will return just in time to save them from extermination. Two-thirds of Israel will be killed by that time.

ZECHARIAH 13:8   And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

Then the 144000 Jews will accept Jesus as Messiah.

This parable, with its final Tribulation shock and horror, will also work on the foolish virgins.

The early church got cleaned out by the Holy Spirit and established by the apostles. Once the apostles were killed, the Devil began to infiltrate the leadership if the church until Bishops ruled each city. Then Trinity and paganism and politics entered. The evil of seven church ages, guided by the demonology of Big Money, ends up taking the foolish or fooled virgins into the 3.5 years of great Tribulation. Virgins are clean women. Symbolizing saved people in the church who are completely fooled by unscriptural doctrines.

Only the devastating violence and brutality of this time of great tribulation will knock all the church traditions out of the foolish virgins.

The family of Jesus are those who believe and live by the written Bible

MATTHEW 12:46    While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.

Jesus had a Jewish family. A mother and four brothers.

MATTHEW 12:47    Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.

MATTHEW 12:48   But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?

With Jesus, there are no family favourites. He gave His natural family no pre-eminence.

MATTHEW 12:49       And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

To point out His family, Jesus pointed away from His natural Jewish family and pointed towards His disciples.

Jesus was going to move away from the Jews towards the Gentiles.

The disciples would spread the truth to the Gentiles.

Jesus had only one interest.

Who is interested in doing the will of God?

Those people would be His future Bride, the Gentile church.

His true family.

MATTHEW 12:50   For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

We have to catch the Big Picture of God's Plan for seven church ages if we want to be part of His family.