Tag Archives: Mark

Prophetic Implications of the Five Loaves and Two Fishes

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Get ready for some surprising prophetic understandings from one of the most well-known stories about Yeshua—the feeding of the 5000 with five loaves and two fishes.

The corollary passage to Mark 8:1–10 is Matthew 14:13–21, which we will explore below.  

First you might want to review Matthew 14:13–21.

This account appears to be an allegory pertaining to end-time events—specifically, the regathering of the Israelite exiles, and is another allusion to the final redemption.

John the Immerser (Baptist), who came in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way for Messiah, had just been killed by the politico-religious system of his day. (Similarly, it is interesting to note that the two end time witnesses or prophets who will come in the spirit of Elijah will be martyred in Jerusalem just prior to the return of Yeshua [Rev 11:1–13].) In response to John’s murder at the hands of Herod, Yeshua and his disciples left the area to escape any possible backlash of the wrath of Herod (who allegorically represents the devil). This seems to be a picture of what is prophesied to occur to the bride (the saints) of Messiah during the great tribulation just prior to the return of Yeshua (Rev 12:12–17). The boat seems to metaphorically represent the eagle’s wings of Revelation 12:14 that carried the woman into the wilderness, which is a place of protection and safety during the great tribulation.

Once in the wilderness, “when the day was far spent … and now the time is far passed” (a prophetic reference to the end of the age Continue reading →

 

Symptoms of Demon Possession

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Mark 5:1–20, The Gadarene demoniac. This encounter between Yeshua and this  demon-possessed individual teaches us about the characteristics of one who is tormented or even possessed by an evil spirit.

  • One with an unclean spirit is “unclean in thought and life” (Mark 5:2).
  • Such an individual may have a pre-occupation with things relating to death and dying (Mark 5:3)
  • They may possess superhuman strength (thanks to the aid of the demon in him, Mark 5:4).
  • They may act wild, unable to be restrained (Mark 5:4).
  • They may be given to fits of shouting loudly (Mark 5:5), shrieking or making a shrill cry (Mark 9:18).
  • They may cut oneself, or resort to other acts of self-mutilation (Mark 5:5) or self destruction (e.g., burning oneself by fire, Matt 17:15; Mark 9:22), drowning (Mark 9:22).
  • The demoniac may possess supernatural knowledge (Mark 5:7).
  • The demon can speak through the demonized person (Mark 5:7), or cry out (Mark 9:26).
  • A demonic spirit wants to possess or inhabit something; if not a human, then an animal (Mark 5:12), or to homes, to objects like idols or books (Acts 19:19).
  • They may be clothed improperly or scantily (Mark 5:15).
  • They will not a possess a “right [sound, self-controlled, sober]” mind (Mark 5:15).
  • A demonic or an unclean spirit may cause convulsions or spasmodic contractions, bodily contortions within a person, or cause a person to be hurled to the ground (Mark 1:25; 9:18, 20), wallowing or rolling around on the ground (Mark 9:20).
  • Epileptic-type seizures/madness can be symptoms of demon possession (Matt 17:15)
  • A demoniac may foam at the mouth (Mark 9:18, 20)
  • A demoniac may grind or gnash of the teeth (Mark 9:18)
  • A demonic spirit can cause one’s body to waste away, dry up or become rigid (Mark 9:18).
  • Demonic spirits can accompany people as they come into the congregation of YHVH (Mark 1:23; Luke 4:33).
  • A demonic spirit can make one to be mute or unable to speak (Mark 9:17).

But thanks be to YHVH Elohim, our Father, who has given the saints of Yeshua the power over demonic spirits through the blood, the Word and the name of Yeshua the Messiah!

Luke 9:1, Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.

Luke 10:18–19, And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

See also James 4:6–10; 1 John 4:4; Revelation 12:11.



 

New Wine… New Wineskins

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Matthew 9:17, New wine… new wineskins. Sadly, the translation as found in most of our English Bibles —“New wine into old wineskins… new wine into new wineskins”— is a muddy translation from the Koine Greek, and therefore doesn’t give us the proper understanding of Yeshua’s words. Here is the verse from Matthew 9:17 with the Greek words following in parenthesis:

Neither do men put new (neos) wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new (neos) wine into new (kainos) bottles, and both are preserved. (KJV)

In English, the word “new” can mean “brand new, never been used before” or it can mean “new to you, although it may have been used by someone else.” It can also mean “renewed, reconditioned new.” In Koine Greek, there are two words for our one word “new”. They are neos and kainos.

The Greek word neos means new as in brand new. The Greek word kainos means new in the sense that something is “renewed or reconditioned,” so it‘s not brand new.

Both Mark and Luke in their accounts use kainos in the same way Matthew does in his account (Mark 2:22; Luke 5:38).

This verse would have been better translated as:

Neither do men put new (neos) wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new (neos) wine into reconditioned (kainos) bottles, and both are preserved.

Stern captures this meaning in his Complete Jewish Bible where he translates kainos as “freshly prepared wineskins.” J. P. Green in his Bible translates kainos as “fresh.”

Interestingly, Luke adds a statement that the other two Gospel writers (see Matt 9:17 and Mark 2:22) omit:

And no one, having drunk the old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, “The old is better.” (Luke 5:39)

What is the meaning of this? One commentator states that in ancient times, aged wine (i.e., being fully fermented, and thus having a higher alcohol content) was generally preferred over new wine (not fully fermented, thus having a lower alcohol content). He suggests that Yeshua is probably indicating why the religious people were objecting to the joy of Yeshua’s disciples (verse 33): because it was something new (The IVP Bible Background Commentary, p. 203, by Craig Keener). So depending on the context of Yeshua’s usage of the new/old wine analogy, sometimes the new is better, sometimes the old is better.

 

The Parable of the Fig Tree: An End-Times Prophecy?

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Mark 13:28–31 (also Matt 24:32–35; Luke 21:29–33). Yeshua’s Parable of the Fig Tree. What is the meaning of this prophetic parable as it relates to the end times (or does it even relate to the end times at all)?

Some view the fig tree as a biblical metaphor for Israel (see Hos 9:10). The modern nation of Israel, like the fig tree in the parable, re-sprouted in 1948.

Is Yeshua saying here that the end times leading up to the second coming started with the rebirth of Israel in 1948, and that the generation alive at that time will not pass until the prophecies of the Olivet Discourse are fulfilled? Or is there some other way to view this prophecy? Your thoughts please…

 

“Not Far” from the Kingdom Vs. “Not in” the Kingdom

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Mark 12:34, You are not far from the kingdom. Yeshua makes this complimentary statement to the scribe who had correctly and succinctly summarized the message of the Torah (both its letter and spirit intent) in verses 32–33.

However, note that Yeshua didn’t say, “You are in the kingdom of Elohim (i.e., you have eternal life).”

What was the one thing that kept the scribe from being in the kingdom? It was doubtless the same thing that kept the rich young ruler from obtaining the eternal life that he sought (Matt 19:16). After having obeyed the Torah the best he could, the young ruler still needed to surrender all to Yeshua the Messiah, and to follow him unreservedly (Matt 19:18–22).

Not only is it difficult for humans to surrender all to the Master, and then to follow him wherever he leads, but having followed the Torah the best we can, we must still humbly recognize that without the righteousness of Yeshua in the equation, our best efforts at Torah-obedience will still miss the mark of YHVH Elohim’s acceptable standard of righteousness, thus leaving us maybe not far from the kingdom, but definitely not in the kingdom of Elohim.

 

“Hosanna in the Highest”: You know the words, now what’s the meaning?

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Mark 11:10, Hosanna in the highest. The simple Hebrew phrase hoshana rabbah has more depth and spiritual significance than first meets the eye. Let’s explore it.

First of all, it was this phrase—hosanna in the highest—(Heb. hoshana rabbah) that the crowds of Jews exclaimed as Yeshua entered Jerusalem riding a colt in Matthew 21:9 (also Mark 11:9; Luke 19:38). This event has become known as Yeshua’s “Triumphal Entry.”

Hoshana rabbah, in part, derives from Psalm 118:25, a psalm that is called the Great Hallel (Heb. meaning “praise”), and was the climax of a series of psalms that the priests would proclaim or sing from the temple in Jerusalem on various feast days including the Feast of Tabernacles.

Psalm 118 is a prophetic psalm, which speaks of the coming Messiah who was the hope of the Israelite people. The words of this psalm prophetically point to Yeshua the Messiah in every way. That’s why the crowds proclaimed “hoshana in the highest, ” at Yeshua’s entry into Jerusalem, for upon him, they had pinned their highest hopes of a Messianic figure who would deliverer them from their oppressors (in this case, the Romans).

The actual Hebrew words in Psalm 118:25 are ana YHVH hoshiah na, which can be translated as “I beg you YHVH save now,” (Green’s Interlinear), “Save now, I pray, O YHVH” (KJV), or “O [YHVH], please save us!” (ArtScroll Stone Edition Tanach).

The phrase “Hosanna in the highest” was an added exclamation of the people, and is not a quote from the Hebrew Scriptures (Tanakh). In Hebrew it would be hoshiana rabbah or hoshana rabbah, which, according to Jewish tradition, is the name of the seventh or last day of the fall biblical Feast of Tabernacles (or Sukkot).

It was on this “last great day” of the Feast that the joyous water pouring ceremony occurred, and when the Jews prayed to receive rain from heaven to water their crops including the latter (spring) rains and the former (fall) rains. In the arid region of the land of Israel, rain was received as a gift and a favorable blessing from heaven, since it meant that the crops would flourish and famine would be averted.

Prophetically, the rains of Hoshana Rabbah speak of a time when during the Millennium (of which Sukkot is a symbolic picture) YHVH will pour out the rain of his Spirit (along with his Torah and his glory) upon the world, thus spiritually cleansing and refreshing mankind resulting in a great harvest of souls into the kingdom of heaven.

Similarly, it was on Hoshana Rabbah (“the last day of the feast,” John 7:37–39) that Yeshua encouraged his followers to come to him as the spiritual River of Life. This would result in the dry ground of their spiritual lives being quenched, and in their becoming a river of life like him resulting in abundant spiritual fruits of salvation of lost souls coming to Yeshua (i.e., the regathering of the lost sheep of the house of Israel, Matt 10:6; 15:24).

This phrase hoshana rabbah can also mean, “save us O great one,” since the Hebrew word rabbah can mean “great one.” The term rabbi (the title for a Jewish Bible teacher) originates from this word. Rabbi literally means, “my great one,” which is why Yeshua forbad his disciples (and us) from taking this word as an ecclesiastical title for themselves, or from calling someone else by that title (Matt 23:8). This is title that should be reserved only for Yeshua himself (Matt 23:10)!

Hoshana rabbah in its fullest sense means “I pray, I beseech thee to open wide, free, succor, deliver,help, preserve, rescue, bring salvation, bring victory, save greatly, in abundance, increasingly, or please deliver us Great One.”

 

Salty, But Not Offensive!

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Mark 9:38–50, This is a very enigmatic passage that commentators struggle with trying to explain, since Yeshua links together so many seemingly disparate concepts.

Yeshua the Master begins his discourse by discouraging sectarianism. “Those who aren’t against us are for us.” He then promises rewards to those who are kind to his disciples, implying that his disciples should in turn be kind to others who, though they are not of your group, are neither working against you, for all are kingdom workers with different assignments (vv. 38–41).

Next, our Master warns against offense—especially those who offend (or cause to stumble) the little ones who are still young and tender in their faith. Linked with the preceding thought, the implication may be that Yeshua’s servants need to beware of not offending any of his kingdom workers whether they are part of “our group” or not. Only the Almighty sees the larger picture much as a general oversees his troops. The individual soldier knows his own marching orders, and is oblivious of the orders of other soldier’s elsewhere, and is thus in no position to judge another soldier in another part of the battle.

Yeshua then issues a strong warning against any actions (the hand), or any directions of our lives (the foot), or any perspective (the eye) that may lead us to sin in causing one of YHVH’s kingdom workers elsewhere to stumble spiritually. Such an offense may bring us under the severe and unquenchable fires of YHVH’s eternal judgment. In other words, when we, through offensive actions and perspectives, cause one of YHVH’s kingdom workers who is operating outside of our limited view of things to stumble, we may be doing irreparable damage to the advancement of the kingdom, and thus risk bringing the wrath of Elohim squarely down upon us (vv. 42–48).

Yeshua concludes his discourse with an even more mysterious statement that commingles a variety of biblical concepts. He indicates that his disciples, as living sacrifices (Rom 12:1), must allow themselves to be laid on the altar of YHVH’s service like the animal sacrifices of old. As these sacrifices went through the sprinkling of salt (Lev 2:13; Ezek 43:24) and the burning of fire on the altar of sacrifice, even so, as living sacrifices doing YHVH’s kingdom work, Yeshua’s disciples must be willing to endure the fires of trials and adversity. Fire both consumes and purifies, while salt both preserves and seasons—two activities that are continually needed in the disciple’s life as part of their spiritual refinement in order for them to become perfect and sin-free like their Master.

Yeshua ends with the admonition to be salty or spicy (in our words and actions) as we advance his kingdom. But let’s not be offensive in our demeanor such that it causes others to stumble, thus breaking the peace between our fellow coworkers, since we are all working together for the same Master. No matter what, maintain peace one with another (vv. 49–50)!

This is but one possible interpretation of this difficult passage. There could be others. Care to take a shot at it???