The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 12

The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 12 – Christogenea on Talkshoe, August 24th, 2012

In the last two chapters of Luke we have seen Christ demonstrate that His opponents were of the race of Cain – because only Cain could be held responsible for the blood of Abel - and that the serpents of the time of Christ were indeed related to the long-ago fall of satan, the “angels” which had rebelled from God and had gone off into iniquity. The blood of the prophets is found in Mystery Babylon, for which see Revelation 18:24. This understanding agrees perfectly with the statements in John, in chapter 10 of his gospel where we see that the Judaeans opposing Christ were not of His sheep, and in chapter 8 of his gospel where we see that those opposed to Christ were of their “father, the devil”, who was a “murderer from the beginning”, and only Cain could be called a “murderer from the beginning”. With certainty, Cain was a devil for the same reason that the Edomite Judas Iscariot was a devil, because he too was of bastard seed. All of this also agrees with the first epistle of John, where it insists that Christians love one another, contrasting Cain where it says “12 Not as Kain who was from of the Wicked One and slaughtered his brother; and with delight he slaughtered him, because his deeds were evil, but those of his brother righteous.” Now there is no evidence that Cain was ever a student of the serpent, but there is plenty of evidence that Cain was the offspring of a serpent! The mystery of iniquity is genetic, and opposed to that is the first law of Yahweh our God, which is that of kind after kind.

In Chapter 12 of Luke there is no break in the narrative from Luke chapter 11, and the chapter divisions are often set in arbitrary places. In the Christogenea New Testament, the paragraph does not even break from the last verses of Luke chapter 11, which state: “53 And from that time of His coming forth the scribes and the Pharisees began to press upon Him cleverly and question Him provokingly concerning many things, 54 laying in wait for Him to catch something from His mouth.”

It is a common theme in the gospel, that the Pharisees were continually looking for something in the teachings of Christ by which they may accuse Him and have Him condemned simply for the things which he spoke. That same attitude still exists among the jews of today. Matthew 22:15: “Then going the Pharisees took counsel, how they may entrap Him in speech.”

Jeremiah 5:26: “For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.”

From the Wisdom of Sirach, chapter 51: “1 I will thank thee, O Lord and King, and praise thee, O God my Saviour: I do give praise unto thy name: 2 For thou art my defender and helper, and has preserved my body from destruction, and from the snare of the slanderous tongue, and from the lips that forge lies, and has been mine helper against mine adversaries: 3 And hast delivered me, according to the multitude of thy mercies and greatness of thy name, from the teeth of them that were ready to devour me, and out of the hands of such as sought after my life, and from the manifold afflictions which I had; 4 From the choking of fire on every side, and from the midst of the fire which I kindled not; 5 From the depth of the belly of hell, from an unclean tongue, and from lying words. 6 By an accusation to the king from an unrighteous tongue my soul drew near even unto death, my life was near to the hell beneath. 7 They compassed me on every side, and there was no man to help me: I looked for the succour of men, but there was none. 8 Then thought I upon thy mercy, O Lord, and upon thy acts of old, how thou deliverest such as wait for thee, and savest them out of the hands of the enemies. 9 Then lifted I up my supplications from the earth, and prayed for deliverance from death. 10 I called upon the Lord, the Father of my Lord, that he would not leave me in the days of my trouble, and in the time of the proud, when there was no help.

Luke, Chapter 12:

1 Upon these things, with the myriads of the crowd gathering so as to trample one another, He began to speak to His students: “Above all, keep yourselves from the leaven – which is hypocrisy – of the Pharisees.

The plain statement that the leaven of the Pharisees is their hypocrisy does not mean that the leaven of the Pharisees is limited to their hypocrisy, and in Matthew 16:2 we see that the leaven is also the doctrine of both the Pharisees and Sadducees.

2 Now there is nothing concealed which shall not be revealed, and secret which shall not be made known. 3 But rather, whatever you speak in the darkness shall be heard in the light, and that which you have spoken in the ear in the vaults shall be proclaimed upon the house-tops!

A ταμιεῖον is “a treasury...a magazine” (L & S), and so it is vault here, describing a private chamber.

In Matthew chapter 10 this is recorded a little differently, and although Christ may have repeated these words several times at this point in His ministry, the accounts are roughly describing the same events:

Matthew 10:26-27: “26 Therefore you should not fear them. For nothing is hidden which shall not be revealed and secret which shall not be made known. 27 That which I say to you in the darkness you speak in the light, and that which you hear in the ear proclaim upon the houses!”

In the early years of Christianity, when Christians were persecuted at the instigation of the jews, the words of Christ were often whispered in the secret places. Later, Christianity eventually prevailed over the evils of judaism and paganism, and the words of Christ were indeed shouted from the housetops.

How can a Christian ever be afraid to speak the truth? Christians should never be afraid to speak the truth, and if they are, then they are not putting their faith in their God. If you are persecuted for speaking the truth, be proud of it – your reward is great in heaven!

4 “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who condemn the body to death, then after these things do not have anything more which they may do. 5 But I shall make known to you whom you should fear: You should fear He whom after that condemnation has authority [or power, or means] to cast into Gehenna! Yea, I say to you, Him you should fear! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two assarii? And not one of them is forgotten before Yahweh. 7 But even the hairs of your heads have all been counted. Do not fear, you are worth more than many sparrows.

An assarion (ἀσσάριον, 787), or assarius (-ium) was a coin which at the time of Christ was worth about 1/16th of a denarius (see Luke 7:41; 10:35; 20:24), and so if a denarius was an expected day’s wage for a laborer (i.e. Matthew Chapter 20), then an assarion is about 30 minutes’ worth.

The word Gehenna, γέεννα (1067), is a Hellenization. Thayer gives a concise history of the place. The word is derived from γαι- (a prefix formed from γαῖα, a form of γῆ, 1093, which means land) and ἐννα, the “Hinnom” of the Old Testament. The word appears once in the LXX, Γέεννα, at Joshua 18:16. Elsewhere in the LXX it is the “valley of Ennom” or the “valley of the son of Ennom”, i.e. Joshua 15:8, 4 (2) Kings 23:10, II Chronicles 33:6, and Jeremiah 7:31, and 32, 19:6 and 39 (32):5. Ennom is in the King James Version Hinnom (Strong’s Hebrew #2011). Apparently the sacrifice of children by fire occurred here (2 Chronicles 33:6) and so its usage in this context is quite profound. Later, and in the time of Christ, the place was apparently used for the burning of refuse of all sorts.

Christians should fear God alone, because only Yahweh our God has power over our true life, which is in the Spirit and not in the body of flesh. Christians should have no fear of jew nor beast. We should only have fear of God. This statement of Christ's is not disconnected from what precedes. Christians should never be afraid to speak truth, that “whatever you speak in the darkness shall be heard in the light”. If we deny or conceal the truth before our fellows, what shall our God think of us when we stand before Him? From Brenton's Septuagint 4 Maccabees 13:12-17, which while we may or may not accept the book as canon, it nevertheless reflects the attitudes that Christ also professes here: “12 And another [said], Remember of what stock ye are; and by the hand of our father Isaac endured to be slain for the sake of piety. 13 And one and all, looking on each other serene and confident, said, Let us sacrifice with all our heart our souls to God who gave them, and employ our bodies for the keeping of the law. 14 Let us not fear him who thinketh he killeth [who thinks that he kills – those who presume to destroy us merely because they kill our fleshly bodies]; 15 for great is the trial of soul and danger of eternal torment laid up for those who transgress the commandment of God. 16 Let us arm ourselves, therefore, in the abnegation of the divine reasoning. 17 If we suffer thus, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob will receive us, and all the fathers will commend us.” The book, 4 Maccabees, is a moral one, about the power of faith over fleshly desire, and the story here is about seven brethren and their father who chose death over violation of the law at the command of Antiochus, the Greek ruler of Syria.

Isaiah 51: “7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. 8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.”

8 “Now I say to you, all who would agree with me before men, then the Son of Man shall agree with him before the messengers of Yahweh. 9 But he denying Me before men, I shall deny before the messengers of Yahweh.

The third century papyrus P45 wants verse 9 in its entirety, however an honest scribal error is evident.

The verb rendered “agree” here is ὁμολογέω (3670) , and it means “to speak together...I. to speak one language...II. to hold the same language with, i.e. to agree with...to agree to a thing, allow, admit, confess, concede, grant...” (Liddell & Scott). The word “confess” may replace “agree” in both occurrences here. Yet to “confess”, or “profess” Christ honestly is to agree with all of His words. Nearly all mainstream Christian sects have serious problems with one statement of Christ's or another, but especially of Matthew 15:24 where He said “I have not been sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel!”

Christians can never deny the truth of the gospel before men – or we shall indeed suffer for it in the much greater judgement to come. Daniel 12:2: “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Many may take these words of Christ here in Luke, which are also recorded in Matthew 10:32-33, and limit them to refer to an outright denial of Christ Himself. I would think that they mean something much deeper – for while many of us profess Christ with our lips, we deny Him in one word or another, because we pick-and-choose which Scriptures we want to accept, and which Scriptures we want to reject. In essence, denying any part of the Gospel, is a denial of Christ. At 1 Samuel 2:30 Yahweh said “... them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed”.

Luke 9:26: “Indeed whoever would be ashamed of Me and My words, him the Son of Man shall be ashamed of, when He should come in the honor of His and that of the Father and of the holy messengers.”

1 Timothy 6:3-5: “3 If anyone teaches differently and does not capitulate to sound words: those of our Prince Yahshua Christ, and to the doctrine in accordance with piety 4 he is conceited, standing upon nothing, but is mad for inquiries and arguments over semantics from which come envy, strife, blasphemies, wicked suspicions, 5 constant contentions corrupting the minds of men and defrauding them of the truth, supposing piety to be a means of gain.”

2 Corinthians chapter 10: “1 Now I myself, Paul, exhort you by the gentleness and fairness of the Anointed, who concerning stature am humble among you, but being absent am bold towards you; 2 but I want, not being present, that you would be bold with the confidence with which I reckon you should be daring towards certain others who are reckoning us as walking in accordance with the flesh. 3 Indeed walking in the flesh, we do not serve in accordance with flesh. 4 For the arms of our warfare are not fleshly, but through Yahweh they are able to destroy strongholds, 5 destroying reasonings and every bulwark raising itself up against the knowledge of Yahweh, and taking captive every thought into the obedience of the Anointed; 6 also being in readiness to avenge all disobedience, whenever you shall have fulfilled your obedience.”

The calling of Christ is a calling of obedience unto Yahweh. Hosea 2:7, speaking of Israel: “And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.” That first husband is Yahweh, manifest as Yahshua Christ come in the flesh.

Daniel 7:13-14: “13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”

Daniel 7:27: “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.”

10 And all who would speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him. But to whom should blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven.

We see a similar statement by Christ recorded at Matthew 12:31-32: ““31 For this reason I say to you, every error and blasphemy shall be remitted for men, but blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be remitted. 32 And whoever should speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be remitted for him, but whoever should speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be remitted for him, neither in this age nor in that which is coming!”

The Greek word ἅγιος, in the Biblical context means separated and devoted to the purposes of God. This is the word translated as holy in the phrase Holy Spirit. We can see from passages found in the Bible at Exodus 19:5-6, 1 Kings 8:53, and 1 Peter 2:9 that this mandate for Israel to be a separate people never changed. In the Old Testament the word for “holy” comes from the Hebrew word qodesh, Strong's number 6944, which primarily means apartness. The phrase is found in the Old Testament at Psalm 51:11 and Isaiah 63:10-11. From these passages it seems to refer both to the presence of the Spirit of God and the Spirit which God bestowed upon the Adamic man. This is what Christ and the apostles refer to when they tell us that we are not of the world, and as John explains in the fourth chapter of his first epistle, that those who are not of the Adamic race have indeed been created by the world, and not by God, John's message in its context being for the children of Israel exclusively. John also mentions a sin which is “unto death”, where he says at 1 John 5:16, from the KJV: “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask [meaning to ask in prayer], and he [meaning God] shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.” For this reason I believe that “blasphemy of the Spirit” is the promotion of integration and race-mixing, and this is also the “sin unto death”. This sin causes the death of the Adamic race, which is in turn an act of war against that Spirit which God bestowed upon Adamic man. By blaspheming the Holy Spirit, one seeks to rebel against God and destroy His Adamic creation, where the first promise of Salvation is in clinging to our own race, as it is expressed in Genesis 3:22: “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever”.

11 “And when they bring you in before the assembly halls and the rulers and the authorities, do not have concern for how or what you should answer or what you should speak. 12 For the Holy Spirit shall teach you in that hour the things which it is necessary to speak.”

Paul of Tarsus expected those to whom he brought the gospel to be readers of the Scripture. From Acts chapter 17: “10 Then the brethren forthwith sent off Paul and Silas by night to Beroia, who departed arriving in the assembly hall of the Judaeans. 11 These were of more noble a race than those in Thessalonika, who accepted the Word with all eagerness, each day examining the writings, if these things would hold thusly. 12 So the many from among them believed, and of the noble Greek women and men not a few. ” Christ also, for instance at John 5:39, expected those hearing of Him to be familiar with the Scriptures, where He tells the people: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” Paul wrote Timothy, in 2 Timothy chapter 4, to “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season”, which requires a familiarity with the writings. He also wrote him at 2 Timothy 3:16 that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”. Both James and Peter extol the value of a knowledge in the Scripture in their epistles. Paul also appeals to or quotes directly from the Scripture in every single epistle. One should not use these words of Christ as an excuse not to study His Word. It is our study of the written word which works with the spirit in us, by which the Spirit of God inspires us.

Colossians 3:16: “16 The word of Christ must dwell in you abundantly, with all wisdom, teaching and advising each other with psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, in grace singing in your hearts to Yahweh. ”

13 Then spoke to Him one from the crowd: “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!” 14 And He said to him: “Man! Who appointed Me judge or divider over you?” 15 Then He said to them: “You watch, and keep yourself from all greediness, because not in any abundance is life itself, from its possessions.”

Christ wanted no part in their earthly quarrels over material possessions. And Christians should remember this in their own prayers.

Matthew 5:38-42: “38 You have heard that it has been said ‘An eye for an eye’ and ‘A tooth for a tooth’. 39 Now I say to you, not to oppose evil, but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn for him also the other. 40 And to him desiring for you to be judged and to receive your cloak, give up to him also the shirt. 41 And whoever shall press you for one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him asking you, and you should not turn away from him wishing to borrow from you.”

16 Then He spoke to them a parable, saying: “The land of a certain wealthy man produced bountifully. 17 And he had reasoned within himself, saying ‘What shall I do, since I do not have where I may gather my fruits?’ 18 And he said ‘This I shall do, I shall take down my storehouse and I shall build a greater, and I shall gather there all the grain and my goods, 19 and I will say to my soul: Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Rest, eat, drink, be happy!’ 20 Then Yahweh said to him ‘Fool! This night your life is demanded of you. The things which you have prepared, for whom shall they be?’ 21 So is he storing up riches for himself and not for Yahweh.”

All of the wealth we may amass will not do us any good when we die. From Luke 18:18-23: “18 And one of the leaders questioned Him saying 'Good Teacher, what should I do that I may inherit eternal life?' 19 And Yahshua said to him 'Why do you call Me good? No one is good except one, Yahweh. 20 Know the commandments: You should not commit adultery, you should not murder, you should not steal, you should not testify falsely, honor your father and mother.' 21 Then he said 'All these things I have kept from youth!' 22 And hearing it Yahshua said to him: 'Then one thing is left for you: All whatever you have, sell and distribute to the poor, and you shall have treasure in the heavens. Then come, follow Me.' 23 But hearing these things he had become very grieved, for he was exceedingly wealthy.”

Everything taught by Christ in this chapter, up to this point, is reflected in the 49^th Psalm:

Psalm 49:1 Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: 2 Both low and high, rich and poor, together. 3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. 4 I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp. 5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about? 6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; 7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: 8 (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:) 9 That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption. 10 For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. 11 Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. 12 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish. 13 This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah. 14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. 15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah. 16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; 17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. 18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. 19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light. 20 Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

22 Then He said to His students: “For this reason I say to you, do not have care for the soul, what you should eat, nor for the body, what you should be clothed in. 23 For the soul is greater than food and the body than clothing. 24 Observe the crows, that they do not sow, nor do they harvest. With them is no treasury nor storehouse, and Yahweh feeds them. How much more are you worth than the birds?

Job 38:41 “Who provides for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.”

25 Who caring among you is able to add a cubit to his stature? 26 Therefore if you are not able to do the least, why should you care about the rest? 27 Observe the lilies, how they grow. They neither labor nor do they spin yarn, but I say to you, not even Solomon in all his honor was clothed as one of these! 28 And if the grass is in the field today, and tomorrow being cast into a furnace Yahweh clothes thusly, how much more you, you of little faith? 29 Then you do not seek what you should eat and what you should drink, and do not get excited. 30 For all these things the nations of the cosmos seek after, but your Father knows that you have need of these things. 31 Moreover, you seek His Kingdom, and these things shall be added to you. 32 Fear not, little flock, because it has pleased your Father to give to you the Kingdom!

Christ must have taught these precepts many times during His three-and-a-half year ministry. A version of this teaching which is quite similar, but not precisely the same, is found in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 6.

Of course, His words here do not mean that we should walk around naked and hungry and thirsty. Rather, they challenge us to consider whether or not we should put our trust in ourselves, how we can magnify ourselves or make ourselves appear before men, or whether we should put our faith in God, how He shall care for us and whether He shall make sure that we are provided for, not caring for what men think of us.

Psalm 37 also teaches much of what Christ does here. Here are the opening verses: “1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.”

33 “You sell your belongings and give charity. Make for yourselves purses which do not grow old, an unfailing treasure in the heavens, which thief does not approach nor moth corrupt. 34 For where your treasure is, there also your heart shall be!

Galatians 6:7-8: “7 Do not be deceived, Yahweh is not mocked; 'Indeed whatever a man should sow, that he also shall reap.' 8 Because he who is sowing for his own flesh, from the flesh shall he reap destruction; but he who is sowing for the Spirit, from the Spirit he shall reap life eternal.”

There are people, even Identity Christians, who would amass silver and gold and other such things. This is contrary to the teachings of the Gospel. In response to such people, James says in chapter 5 of his epistle “1 Come on, those who are wealthy now, weep, crying out upon your coming hardships! 2 Your wealth is putrefied and your garments have become moth-eaten! 3 Your gold and silver are corroded and their corrosion shall be for a testimony to you and it shall eat your flesh as fire. You have saved up for the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers reaping your fields which have been withheld by you cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have entered into the ears of the Prince of Armies! 5 You have lived luxuriously and lewdly upon the earth: you have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter! 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous, who did not oppose you!” If you can amass wealth, you are short-changing your brethren.

35 “Your loins must be girded and lamps burning, 36 and you be like men expecting their master, when he may return from the wedding, that coming and knocking immediately they may open for him. 37 Blessed are those servants, who the master coming shall find awake. Truly I say to you that he shall gird himself and have them recline and coming forth shall serve them!

The word γρηγορέω (1127) may mean to watch as a verb, and the adjective, γρηγορίκος is watchful. The noun, γρηγορία, is wakefulness.

38 Even if in the second and in the third watch he should come and find thusly, blessed are they. 39 But you must know this: that if the master of the house had known in which hour the thief comes, he would not have allowed his house to be dug through. 40 And you also must be ready, because in the hour which you do not expect comes the Son of Man.”

Christians are told to deny themselves and follow Christ (Matthew 16:24), and to love their brethren (John chapters 13, 15, and 1 John chapter 3). Paul said at 1 Thessalonians chapter 4: “9 Now concerning brotherly love, you have no need to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by Yahweh for which to love one another.” Christ came to give His life for His brethren, as their kinsman redeemer. His purpose was to serve His brethren. Therefore at Luke 22:25-27 He tells us: “25 … The kings of the nations rule over them, and those having authority over them are called ‘benefactors’. 26 But not so with you. Rather he who is greater among you must be as the inferior, and he who is leader as the servant. 27 For who is greater, he dining or he serving? Is it not he who is reclining? But I in the midst of you am as he serving!” If we are to follow Christ, then we are to serve our brethren, and not serve ourselves of them. When He comes, if He finds us doing so, we shall be rewarded and He shall serve us. If He does not find us doing so, we have no reward.

41 Then Petros said “Prince, to us do You speak this parable, or also to all?” 42 And the Prince said “Who then is the faithful, sensible steward, whom the master appoints over his attendants, to give the allotment of grain at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant, who coming his master finds doing thusly. 44 Truthfully I say to you that he shall appoint him over all his belongings. 45 But if that servant should say in his heart ‘My master delays coming’, and he begins to beat the menservants and maidservants, then to eat and to drink and be drunken, 46 the master of that servant shall arrive in a day in which he does not expect, and at an hour in which he does not know, and he will cut him in two, and he shall set his portion with the faithless!

If we have wealth, it is not necessarily a blessing from God, but often it is a test from God, as it was in the case of Job, or a commission to fulfill a purpose of God, as He tells us in Deuteronomy chapter 8: “16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; 17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. 18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. 19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. 20 As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God.”

If Yahweh has enriched us, it is only that we may “give the allotment of grain at the proper time”, that we may be good stewards and in turn provide for our brethren. If He returns and finds us doing so, we shall have a great reward. If he finds us otherwise, then we have already had our reward!

47 “Now that servant who knowing the will of his master and not preparing or doing according to his will shall be clubbed much. 48 But he not knowing yet doing such worthy of blows shall be clubbed little. All to whom much is given, much shall be sought from him, and to whom much is committed, far more shall be demanded of him.

Having this knowledge and not acting on it, we invite far more punishment upon ourselves than those who are ignorant. For that reason James in his epistle says in chapter 3: “1 You must not produce many teachers, my brethren, knowing that we shall receive a greater judgment.”

49 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and what do I purpose if already it is ignited?

The Word of Truth works within the people of God and causes them to conflict with evil. Therefore Peter says in the first chapter of his first epistle: “3 Blessed is Yahweh, even the Father of our Prince Yahshua Christ, who according to His great mercy has engendered us from above into a living hope through the resurrection of Yahshua Christ from among the dead, 4 for an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, being kept in the heavens for us 5 who are being preserved by the power of Yahweh through faith for a salvation prepared to be revealed in the last time. 6 In which you must rejoice, if for a short time now it is necessary being pained by various trials, 7 in order that the test of your faith, much more valuable than gold which is destroyed even being tested by fire, would be found in praise and honor and dignity at the revelation of Yahshua Christ, 8 whom not having seen you love, in whom now not seeing but believing you rejoice with an indescribable and illustrious joy, 9 acquiring the result of your faith: preservation of your souls.”

50 Now I have an immersion to be immersed in, and how am I constrained until when it should be completed!

Here Christ tells us what His true baptism is, and He can only be referring to His own trial, which was His crucifixion and resurrection. Therefore Paul, who told the Ephesians that there was one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, at Ephesians 4:5, also asked the Romans “Or are you ignorant that as long as we are immersed in Christ Yahshua, into His death we are immersed?” If there is one baptism in Christ, it is in his death, and it is not in water, which was the baptism of John and not of Christ. The words of John the Baptist, from Matthew 3:11: “Indeed I immerse you in water for repentance, but He coming after me is more powerful than me, of whom I am not worthy to carry the sandals. He shall immerse you in the Holy Spirit, and in fire!” Accepting the death of Christ and the reasons for His death, we immerse ourselves in Him. He being the Lamb of God, we find salvation in His blood, just as our ancient fathers were spared of the blood of a lamb in the Passover in Egypt. Being immersed in His death, we survive the fiery trials of this life.

51 Do you suppose that I have come to offer peace in the earth? No, I say to you, but rather division! 52 For there shall be from this time five divided in one house, three against two and two against three. 53 Father shall be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against wife and wife against mother-in-law.”

From Matthew 10:34-36: ““34 You should not suppose that I have come to put peace upon the earth. I have not come to put peace, but a sword! 35 For I have come to divide a man against his father and a daughter against her mother and a bride against her mother-in-law, 36 and a man’s enemies are those of his house!”

Here Christ quotes Micah 7:6, which reads: “For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.” And so we have it today, there is nothing new under the sun.

No message divides families and households today like the message of a need for racial purity found in Christian Identity Covenant Theology. For this reason does father fight with son, and for this reason are son and daughter-in-law divided against the family they married into.

Christianity is not about our own sick ideas of “peace”, which are sick because they usually include placating aliens and sinners. A true peace-maker is one who is willing to obey the laws of God, and reproves his fellows when they do not obey those laws. Contrary to the profession of the phony “judeo-Christians”, Christ is not about peace, but rather about obedience to God, love for our own kind, and the consequences of violating those precepts.

Identity Christians today can imagine just what it was like for Christians in ancient pagan Rome. We are often shunned and excoriated by our own families, because we refuse to accept the universal religion of the empire. Yes, there is little difference between modern ecumenism and the universal paganism of old Rome, where just about anything became acceptable so long as one worshipped Caesar. Today anything is acceptable so long as one worships the U.S. Government.

Today Identity Christians are for the most part merely shunned, but in the first few centuries of the Christian era, our forebears were often reported, arrested, and martyred merely for professing Christ. With jews in full control of our government, do not think that it cannot happen here in this age, for in many cases it already has.

54 Then He said also to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising up in the west, immediately you say that a thunderstorm comes, and so it happens. 55 And when the south wind is blowing, you say that there shall be hot weather, and it happens. 56 Hypocrites! You know to examine the appearance of the earth and of the heaven, yet how do you not know to examine this time?

While I do not find a similar such analogy anywhere else in Scripture, the meaning is obvious, that if the opponents of Christ could read the plain signs encountered in daily life, then they should have been able to recognize Him, yet they could not. Their lack of such ability, coupled with their claims to be people of Israel, and therefore people of God, made them hypocrites.

57 “Now why also from among yourselves do you not judge that which is righteous? 58 For as you go forward with your opponent up to the magistrate, while on the road offer work, to be released by him, that they not then drag you off to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the bailiff, and the bailiff cast you into prison. 59 I say to you, by no means would you depart from there, until you have repaid even the last cent!”

This also is found in Matthew's version of the account of the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:25-26, and so Christ very likely repeated it often.

Proverbs 25:8, from the NAS: “Do not go out hastily to argue your case; Otherwise, what will you do in the end, When your neighbor puts you to shame?”

The theme continues from verse 13, where the two men wanted Yahshua to rightly divide their inheritance, evidently because they could not come to an agreement. Christians need not trouble themselves with disputes over world;y riches, and if they do, chances are they will end up worse off than if they would have simply paid whatever was demanded of them in the first place. Paul addresses the same issue, in 1 Corinthians chapter 6:

“Dare any of you, having a matter against another, have it decided before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the Society? And if by you the Society is judged, are you unworthy of the smallest trials? 3 Do you not know that we will judge Messengers, let alone the things of this life? 4 So then if you should have trial of things pertaining to this life, those who esteem themselves least in the assembly, those will be set to judge. 5 I speak from respect to you. So is there among you not even one wise, who would be able to decide among his brethren? 6 But brother is brought to trial by brother, and this before those not believing! 7 So then already there is altogether discomfiture among you, seeing that you have matters for judgment among yourselves. Why would you not still more be wronged? Why would you not still more be defrauded? 8 You would rather do wrong and defraud, and this of a brother? 9 Or do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of Yahweh? Do not be led astray: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminates, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor rapacious shall inherit the kingdom of Yahweh. 11 And these things some of you may have been, but you have cleansed yourselves; moreover you have been sanctified, moreover you have been deemed fit, in the name of Prince Yahshua Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.”