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Biblical Truth Ministries: “…the truth shall set you free”

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...And let’s see what Jesus told the Jews after He healed a man who had been there for a long time. We don’t know how many years it was. But he wasn’t able to be healed of the infirmity. So after he was made whole the Jews came after Him. And John 5:16, because the verses that follow are very important, because only these things could be spoken by God in the flesh. Verse 16, "And for this cause, the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill Him, because He had done those things on [the] a Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I work.’ So then, on account of this saying, the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, not only because He had loosed the Sabbath [not broken; He never sinned at all], but also because He had called God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. Therefore, Jesus answered and said to them,..." Now He’s going to prove with these statements that He is equal to God, and that He was God manifest in the flesh. "...And said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, the Son has no power to do anything of Himself, but only what He sees the Father do. For whatever He does, these things the Son also does in the same manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him everything that He Himself is doing. And He will show Him greater works than these, so that you may be filled with wonder’" (John 5:16-20, AT).

Now notice verse 21(AT): "‘For even as the Father raises up the dead and gives life, in the same way also, the Son gives life to whom He will.’" That means He is God. Only God can raise the dead. Now then, furthermore, this shows that He is God because all are going to be judged by God. As a matter fact, very few people realize or comprehend or even understand that every human being everywhere is being judged by God all the time, every second of every day. Now that doesn’t mean God is looking down in your life directly every day. You’ve got it all recorded in the spirit of your mind - everything you say, everything you do, everything you think. And Jesus said that in the day of the resurrection everyone is going to give an account for every idle word that has been spoken. Which means that you are being judged. Now, some to eternal life, some to a resurrection of a second life in the flesh to receive an opportunity for salvation, and some unto eternal death. But regardless of who you are and where you are, whether you believe or disbelieve, makes no difference to God because God is not going to go away if you don’t believe He exists. Neither will you conveniently go away if someone doesn’t believe you exist. You are still being judged.

Now verse 22, "‘For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son;...’" You can’t do that unless He’s God. "‘So that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, Who sent Him. Truly, truly I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes Him Who sent Me, has ever-lasting life, and does not come into judgment [that is, for death]; for he has passed from death into life.’" He comes under judgment to life. That’s what his judgment is. Because it says in Romans 14 that all shall come before the judgment seat of Christ. Verse 25, "‘Truly, truly I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live. For even as the Father has life in Himself, so also has He given to the Son to have life in Himself;...’" Those are declarations of God. No less. "‘And also has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of man.’" Then He says further, verse 28, "‘Do not wonder at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who have practiced good unto a resurrection of life, and those who have practiced evil unto a resurrection of judgment’" (vs. 22-29, AT). And so He is the Judge, and only God can judge because God created. Jesus was God, God manifest in the flesh.

Now there are many other scriptures that we can go to in the New Testament to show this. And we know that especially in the book of John. Let’s go to just several more scriptures here in the book of John. Let’s come to John 14. Here again, He reveals that He is God in a little different way. John 14:6 (AT), "Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life;...’" Now, only God can say that, right? What does the Bible say concerning man? "The heart [of man] is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9). So therefore, no man can say "I am the truth" except God manifest in the flesh. Now this is going to be important, because I am bringing out all of these things so you will understand about Jesus and whether He was married or not. Because the answer is going to be far different then you have ever imagined.

He says He is the truth, "‘...And the life;...’" Of course, no man has life inherently in him by and of himself. It can only come from God. Let’s look at two more scriptures here. Let’s come to John 17:5. So I encourage every one of you to read and study through the whole gospel of John because it will reveal more to you about the fact that Jesus Christ was God manifest in the flesh than any other book of the New Testament. And when you understand that then you will understand why the enemies of Christ and of the New Testament, in creating their own perverted, corrupted New Testament, have done away with the entire gospel of John. It has been rejected as complete Christological fiction when it is the absolute truth of God.

Now John 17:5, "‘And now, Father, glorify Me with Your own self, with the glory that I had with You before the world existed.’" That’s what it means in the Greek. Most translations have it, "before the world was." But "before the world existed" is really more precise. Now let’s come to verse 20, "‘I do not pray for these only, but also for those who shall believe in Me through their word;…’" Showing that the gospel is going to go on down to the return of Christ. "‘That they all may be one, even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us,...’" (John 17:5, 20-21, AT). And this verse contains the whole purpose of human life, the whole purpose of why Christ came to the earth in a summary. God wants human beings to become like Him; and created us in a manner and way so that that can happen through the power of His Holy Spirit, which in itself is very mind-boggling.

"‘...That they also may be one in Us, in order that the world be believe that You did send Me. And I have given them the glory that You gave to Me, in order that they may be one, in the same way that We are one.’" And that takes us back to what? To the beginning, does it not? "In the beginning God…" Elohim; "We," to form the one God family. And Jesus is explaining here how then They have a plan. He is not explaining the plan, but He is explaining that They have a plan to bring those that are called into the God family to share the glory and honor that Jesus Christ has. It’s amazing how much is in the Bible, isn’t it? Now verse 23, "‘I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one; and that the world may know that You did send Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me’" (vs. 21-23, AT). So there we go.

Now then, let’s ask the question, why did Jesus Christ not marry Mary Magdalene? That is the question. Because - I’ll just give you the answer in a little bit. Let’s go ahead with it. Let’s first of all talk about marriage, why we were made male and female. We know God made us that way. Now let’s come back to Matthew 19, and let’s see something about marriage. Of course today, because the world is a wicked and an adulterous generation, marriage is the last thing that people want, unless of course some of those who are pushing for same-sex marriage, desire to have it; which has perverted and twisted the whole meaning of being male and female, and the whole creation of God. And know for sure that God is not going to just passively sit by and let these abominations overwhelm the world.

Now let’s pick it up here in Matthew 19. Let’s just start right out here in verse 1, "And it came to pass that when Jesus had finished these sayings, He departed from Galilee and came to the borders of Judea beyond the Jordan." That means on the east side of the River Jordan. "Then the Pharisees came to Him and tempted Him, saying to Him, ‘Is it lawful for man to divorce his wife for any cause?’" (Matt. 19:1, 3, AT). Well today you don’t even need a cause. They have what are called no-fault divorce, right? And besides, with live-in adultery, there’s no cause for divorce anyway. You just leave, come and go. Like so many animals, and degrade the human sexuality and the children that result of it.

Now verse 4 (AT), "But He answered them, saying, ‘Have you not read...’" And isn’t that true? As we’re going to see, maybe not today but later on…well we did today didn’t we? Here, this man writes a fictional book but he says it’s all true? Well if it’s all true how can it be fiction that Jesus married Mary Magdalene? See? "Have you not read...?" Well you see, that person never read. Isn’t it something, how many authorities get up and make great pronouncements about how many different things, and they have never read? Especially religious authorities. Like Jesus asked them many times, "Have you never read? Didn’t you know that the Scriptures say...?" In other words, He is saying, "You have the Scriptures right in your hands, you don’t even read it." So likewise, how many have Bibles at home but they never open it up? If you never open it up, you never read it, how do you know what’s in it? How do you know whether it is the Word of God or not? Ok.

"…‘Have you not [never] read that He Who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, "For this cause [by the very fact of creation] shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh"?’" So before we answer the question, did Jesus marry Mary Magdalene, we have to see the purpose in marriage, right? Yes. "‘So then, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate’" (vs. 4-6, AT).

Now that becomes important. Well what happens, the next question is the Pharisees have here, what happens if they separate? Verse 7, "They said to Him, ‘Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?’ He said to them, ‘Because of your hard-heartedness, Moses allowed you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it was not so.’" Now note carefully verse 9: "‘And I say to you, whoever shall divorce his wife, except it be for sexual immorality, and shall marry another, is committing adultery; and the one who marries her who has been divorced is committing adultery’" (vs. 7-9, AT). No wonder Jesus called His society an evil and adulterous generation, as well as ours. Now that’s a key important thing. And you will see that this will help answer the question as to why Jesus did not marry Mary Magdalene, nor any other physical woman.

Before we get into that, let’s ask some questions. Number one, is God holy? Yes. Number two, is God righteous? Yes. Number three, is God Lawgiver? Yes. Number four, are all of His laws and commandments and statutes right and true? Yes. Why? Because they came from a holy, righteous God. Now what is the purpose in reiterating this? It’s to give you a foundation thus: if God gives a law and a commandment which reflects His character, means that He Himself would not violate His own laws. Now that’s why it’s very important to understand when Jesus made the declaration, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill" (Matt. 5:17, paraphrased). And those who say that Jesus did away with the laws of God are lawless liars. He did not do away with them. Because the law is holy, and just, and spiritual, and good. Alright, let’s ask another question: did Jesus ever sin? No. What is sin? The transgression of the law. That means that Christ was law abiding, correct? Without a doubt. And furthermore, beyond that, He did what? He gave the spiritual intent and purpose of the laws and commandments of God all through the gospels, but especially amplified in Matthew 5, 6, and 7.

Now why is that important? Because it has to do with the law of marriage, which if He were married, He would be bound by. Is that not correct? Since He is Lawgiver, He is bound by His own laws. Now let’s answer the question: was Jesus married? Let’s answer it. Let’s go to Isaiah 54:5. And you are going to be astounded at the answer. He is talking to Israel, and He says here, verse 5, "For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel;..." The answer to the question is: yes, Jesus was married. Not to Mary Magdalene, but in a covenant marriage with the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. Now let’s see where this marriage ceremony took place. It took place at Mount Sinai. Let’s come to Exodus 24. And the marriage covenant is right here.

Now after He gave all the laws and commandments to Israel, and Moses wrote them down, verse 3, he came and told the people. Because the covenant that the Lord God of the Old Testament - and we just read it didn’t we? "Your Maker is your husband; The Lord of hosts is His name"? There’s no question about Who He is, right? This is where it took place. "And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do." From which we get the marriage ceremony: "Do you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband...?" It’s a takeoff from this. Or, "do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife...?"

"And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded and altar under the hill,..." Now it’s consecrated, here is the wedding feast. "...And twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD. And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood He sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant [which is the marriage covenant between Israel and God], and read in the audience of [all] the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient." I do, I do. "And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words" (vs. 4-8). That’s the marriage ceremony.

Now let’s see it reiterated again in the book of Ezekiel, chapter 16. So we see that the Lord God of the Old Testament, the one Who became Jesus Christ, was married to the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. And that’s not just the Jews as they’re known today. Let’s pick it up here in verse 8. You can go back and read the other verses before and the verses after. "Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest Mine." That’s what occurred that we just read of in Exodus 24. Israel became the wife, as a nation, of the Lord of hosts of the Old Testament.

Now their relationship was always a difficult one because Israel always played the whore. So we will read some of that here. Let’s come to Jeremiah 3; and did so by not obeying God, by not loving Him, but by going after the other gods of this world. And then we will see what God had to do. And then we will analyze and see how God obeyed, even what we read in Matthew 19. He lived by His own laws. Now Jeremiah 3, and let’s pick it up here in verse 6. "The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done?..." Now Jeremiah was sent to the Jews. Israel, the ten tribes, were already carried off into captivity long before, well over a hundred years before. So He is recalling that. "...She is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot." Not only physically in whoredoms, adulteries, fornications, homosexualities, and all the things that God says is sin, but she also went after other gods of Baal and Ashtoreth and so forth.

Now Jeremiah 3:7, "And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto Me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce;..." Now what did Jesus say in Matthew 19? When you give a bill of divorcement you are not to marry another, correct? So when He gave her a bill of divorcement He didn’t run out and seek another nation to enter into covenant with. Because even though the divorce had occurred He was still bound to Israel, and Israel was still bound to Him. "...Yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot [whore] also. And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto Me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD. And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah" (vs. 7-11).

Now those are amazing things to say, isn’t it? Amazing things. This is something. Now let’s come over here to verse 20. "Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD." So that’s why He put her away. Now this presented God with a problem, a marriage problem. Since this was a physical covenant based upon physical promises, and the whole purpose of marriage is that you marry until death do you part, how was it going to be that God could free Himself from that marriage which He had with ancient Israel, to marry the church? Because if He did not free Himself or release Israel from that marriage, then He could not enter into a marriage covenant with anyone else. Because that’s His law, is it not? And God keeps His own law, does He not? Without a doubt. Now God had a choice. In order to make it a legally terminated marriage, the two choices were this: number one, cause all of Israel to die. He made a covenant with all Israel and their offspring. Cause all of Israel to die, which would be millions, and millions, and millions, and millions of people. Or, God had to die. One of the two. Now God, being merciful and desiring to save Israel, took upon Himself that He would die. That’s a primary reason as to why He came in the flesh, so that His death would end the covenant, that marriage covenant that He had with Israel.

Now let’s go to Romans 7, please, and let’s see where Paul clearly explains this. So as we’re turning there, let’s understand something very important, which is this: Jesus Christ was married as the Lord God of the Old Testament to the twelve tribes of Israel in the covenant that He made with them at Mount Sinai. In order for Him to live by His own laws and commandments and statutes and judgments, which He does, God became a human being for the purpose of dying. Which, number one, would pay for the sins of all mankind; number two, would release Israel from the marriage covenant that He established with them. Hence, He could also marry another. And we will see who that will be in just a minute.

Now Romans 7, Paul explains this. Very rarely have you ever heard this, if ever. Now people have read this but they haven’t understood it. Verse 1, "Are you ignorant, brethren, because I am speaking to those who know the law, that the law rules over a man for as long [a time] as he may live? For the woman..." Now why does he go to the woman? Why doesn’t he go to a thief? Why doesn’t he go to a murderer? Because he is making a point concerning the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, the first marriage and the betrothal and the later second marriage. "For the woman who is married is bound by law to the husband as long as he is living; but if the husband should die, she is discharged [released] from the law of [that bound her to] the husband" (Rom. 7:1-2, AT).

Now the reason He uses "husband" instead of saying that "if the wife died the husband is free to marry," he didn’t use that. He used the husband, and if he died, because the husband, Who is the Lord God of the Old Testament, was the husband to Israel. So rather than have all of Israel die, which would be millions, one would die, Who was Christ. Then she is released from the law. "So then, if she be married to another man, as long as the husband is still living, she shall be called an adulteress;..." And what was Israel called with all of her sins? An adulteress, right? She ran off and married other gods. "...But if the husband should die, she is free from the law which bound her to the husband; so now she shall no longer be called an adulteress, even though she has become married to another man. In exactly the same way, my brethren, you were also made dead to the marriage law of the Old Covenant..." And that’s what it means. And that’s why I translated it that way. "...By the body of Christ; in order for you to be married to another, Who was raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit to God" (vs. 3-4, AT).

Now let’s see how the apostle Paul explains it in 2 Corinthians 11. Now just as the covenant with Israel was a marriage covenant, so the covenant with the New Testament church is also a marriage covenant, as Paul explains here. 2 Corinthians 11:1, "I would that you might bear with me in a little nonsense, but indeed, bear with me. For I am jealous over you with the jealousy of God, because I have espoused you to one husband..." When you’re baptized and receive the Holy Spirit, that is a betrothal. Not yet married, engaged. "...So that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Cor. 11:1-2, AT). Which, we will see in a minute, is at the resurrection because that’s when the marriage is going to take place. And that’s why there are many parables in the Gospels about the bride, and the bridegroom, and the wedding, and the wedding feast, and so forth. Then he goes on showing that they were in danger of committing the same sins of ancient Israel by following after other gods, and ministers, and doctrines.

Now let’s come to the Ephesians 5, and let’s pick it up here in verse 22, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is also the head of the Church, and He is the Savior of the body. For even as the church is subject to Christ, in the same way also let the wives be subject to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your own wives, in the same way as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; so that He might sanctify it, having cleansed it with the washing of the water by the word, and that He might present it to Himself as the glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it might be holy and without blame. In the same way, husbands are duty-bound to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. No man ever hates his own body, but nourishes it and cherishes it, even as the Lord does the church: For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this reason shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I am speaking in respect to Christ and the church" (Eph. 5:22-32, AT). So Christ is going to marry the church.

Now let’s come to Revelation 19 and see when that takes place, which will then be at the Resurrection. Since Christ was married to ancient Israel and He died and released Israel from that covenant, He now enters into a new covenant for those in the New Testament church, who then will become part of the bride of Christ. Now let’s read it here, Revelation 19:7. This is after the resurrection. "Let us be glad and shout with joy, and let us give glory to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And it was granted that she should be clothed in fine linen, pure and bright: for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints" (Rev. 19:7-8, AT).

Now then, the reason that Christ did not marry Mary Magdalene was because He was married to ancient Israel through the covenant that He established with them at Mount Sinai until He died. Now if He would have married Mary Magdalene He would have committed adultery, which would have been sin. So therefore, you would have no Savior. If He conceived a child which Mary Magdalene, gave birth to, as the Holy Blood, Holy Grail and this Da Vinci Code brings out, His offspring could claim that he was the son of the Son of God, and claim superiority over every other human being. And if there is a line of kings which eventually will come down to that, could it be that at the end time the Antichrist is going to come from that very line, and claim that he is the son of the Son of God? And could it be that this one will be the very Antichrist spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2, and the book of Revelation? So that’s why Jesus Christ never married Mary Magdalene.