Mark 911

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Mark 9:11 (KJV) And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?

As a stand-alone verse, Mark 9:11 will leave you high on a mountain and confused. There was history, prophecy, and current events in that question. I will try to be focused, but there is so much to be talked about.

Scribes In the simplest explanation, scribes were people who used pens to write things. Many times, they worked in the palace documenting the business of the royal court. It is reasonable that Herod had scribes. The scribes in Mark 9:11 would have been the ones associated with the Pharisees and Sadducees, each group had its own. The Sadducees were more focused on the Five Books of Moses than the history and prophets.

Jentezen Franklin preached a sermon about scribes. He used Deborah and the tribe of Zebulun (the mountain may have been in their land) in the sermon. Judges 5:14 talks about the tribe of Zebulun either being scribes or having a commander’s staff. The translators are all over the battleground with that one.

The Question Just to be clear Elias = Elijah. The three disciples had just seen Elijah, so this question just had to be asked. The root of this question is in three scriptures:

  • Isaiah 40:3-This verse does not name Elijah but does describe what John was doing in the wilderness. It also made a great song.
  • Malachi 1:3-Again no mention of Elijah but a messenger who will have the people give righteous offerings. John did come before and prepared the way for Jesus by preaching righteousness and baptizing the people as a sign they had repented.
  • Malachi 4:4-6-This mentions Moses and Elijah. Elijah will be sent before the day of the Lord to restore our hearts. This will lead to the question of the two witnesses in the Book of Revelations. Personally, I believe Elijah will be one of the two, he never died but was taken in the chariot of fire. Moses will not be one because he died and was buried.

Jesus with Moses and Elijah Since I was born again, I have heard that these two men appeared at the transfiguration to represent the Law and the Prophets. Luke 9:30+31 adds that they were there to talk about His death in Jerusalem.

May I add another layer (possibly) to this story? From the test, that they failed, these men had a testimony. In Numbers 20 Moses did not honor/trust God’s holiness enough to speak to the rock. Elijah, in 1 Kings 19, feared for his life at Jezebel’s threat and ran for his life. (That makes me wonder if Satan showed up in the Garden to make Jesus afraid of dying.) I believe both of these men spoke to Jesus about not being afraid because His Holy Father would bring Him through this ordeal. Your test, pass or fail, will be part of your testimony.

Luke has a word in 9:32 that is nowhere else in any of these narratives- synestōtas. It is translated as standing with or together. This comes from the root word- synistēmi. In many of the places where forms of this word are used, it may be “recommend”. (Mounce Interlinear was a reference for this thought.)

Before the Mountain of Transfiguration (See Luke 911) Jesus fed the 5,000 and is in a private time with the disciples. Peter proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus tells them He is going to Jerusalem to die and Peter argues with Jesus. (See Jesus Knew and Told the Disciples) He ends the conversation by saying that some of them would see His kingdom’s power before they die (James died first as part of the prophecy). Matthew, Mark, and Luke document this event.

6 or 8 Days Each of the three Gospel writers have slightly different details. Matthew and Mark say six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John up to a mountain. Luke has eight days later. None of these writers were present for this meeting on the mountain. (I am sure the tale was told during Jesus’ last forty days on earth.) Matthew and probably Mark were present with the group that was left behind. So, who did Luke talk to in getting his version of the story? We do not know. My guess is that they were praying for two days before Jesus was transfigured and talked with Moses and Elijah. That would make all three of them right. Metaphorically, six is the number of man and eight presents new beginnings. Add these to your sermon thoughts. This location was probably “the mountain” in Galilee that the disciples were to go to after the crucifixion (Matthew 28:16).

God Spoke-The Father spoke to the three disciples from the cloud that surrounded them. Moses had that experience several times. Elijah had God speak to him in the cave. It is left to our imaginations as to how Jesus and the Father communicated when they were together.

The Gospels record three times when the audible voice of God was heard.

  1. At Jesus’s baptism-Matthew 3:17, Mark 1:11, and Luke 3:22. The message was you are/this is my Son, and I Am pleased with Him. It is really hard to tell how many, if any, of the Twelve Disciples were present for this.
  2. On the Mount of Transfiguration-The message is much the same as at the baptism except that the three writers all have, “Listen to Him”.
  3. The third time is in John 12:28. Jesus has just fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah for Daughter Zion and rode into Jerusalem. The Voice agreed with Jesus about glorifying the Father. Jesus added that this was for the disciples and that the world and its prince were now open for judgment.    

After the Voice, Elijah and Moses were gone from sight and the question of Mark 9:11 was asked. So, what did John the Baptist restore that Elijah had given?

I believe that the road John was paving for Jesus was one of righteousness; so, we would return to the Father. God loves righteousness, our being right with Him on His terms not on ours. 1 Corinthians 5:18-21 states that we are to be reconciled to God as righteous. Jesus walked that road and paid the price so we could be with the Father again in righteousness.

Luke, once again, has a specific thought about when they came down the mountain. In Luke 9:37 he adds “the next day”. I have a feeling that we got a summary statement for what was a great time of fellowship.

Mark 9:15 is when Jesus approached the crowd. I believe that he was in that crowd and was “overwhelmed” or ekthambeō with them. (Mark seems to be the only writer that uses this word. This is the first use and he uses various forms of the word three more times, ending in the Garden with the angels speaking to the women. I have to wonder if Jesus was still glowing. Moses had to wear a veil when he was in God’s presence. Another question to ask when we get to see Him.

Going to the next level. Start with Mark 9:11 and build a narrative of your own using all of the Gospel accounts.  

The Bride of the Lamb

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I hitched the Bride of the Lamb to Daughter Zion and Eve in my last post, and I noticed something about the parables that Jesus told about weddings. This is unusual for me to do; I am going to list the references. The parables are the same in Mark, Luke, and Matthew, so I will list just Matthew.

  • Matthew 22
  • Matthew 25
  • John 3:29
  • 2 Corinthians 11:2 
  • Revelations 19:6-9
  • Revelations 21:2 and 9
  • Revelations 22:17

In Matthew, the parables are part of what I call the Sermons on Two Mounts. Matthew 22 is on the Temple Mount and is in response to the Pharisees and Sadducees challenging Jesus’ authority. They knew these parables were about them and they were trying to arrest Him. This wedding banquet parable talks about burning the city. That happened with the Babylonians and would happen again with the Romans. (It is a legend that those two destructions happened on the same day.) 22:11-14 is a passage that intrigues me. The leaders challenged Jesus again with a question about marriage, they did not like His answer.

Matthew 25 is on the Mount of Olives and is told to just His disciples. I believe this one has more to do with the Church/Bride that is about to be born on Pentecost. This parable also has a group of people who were not ready for the coming of the bridegroom.

These two parables come after Palm Sunday. This ride into the city mirrors David’s ride into Jerusalem after the death of Absolom. In the big picture of Jesus’ mission, this was when He came to pay the brides-price for us (His death on the cross). The actions of the King/Father and those of the bridegroom are what are highlighted. Yes, the Virgins had to be ready for the coming of the groom. This reflects the wedding practices of the Hebrews at that time. It should also speak to us now. The father and the bridegroom controlled the wedding, and the bride had to make herself ready. John 3:29 is John the Baptist speaking to another aspect of the bride and groom relationship and how his “Elijah relationship” worked with Jesus.

Okay. This study has surprised me with the strange fact the Bride of Christ and the Bride of the Lamb are not in any major translation (well at least I could not find them). It is a given that we belong to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2) and He is the bridegroom, and the Church will be His bride, Revelations 19:6-9 makes that connection clear. The other references in Revelations bring us back to a Daughter Zion picture with the New Jerusalem being cast as the bride and being shown off as such. The lavish gates of heaven and the gemstone foundations speak very much to a Hebrew bride being dressed in her jewels and riches. Please do not forget the righteous deeds we are to put on so we can be ready to meet Him.

The fact that the angels use “the Lamb” instead of Christ or Messiah has my attention. It seems that I do not think enough about Jesus being the Lamb.  

Why would the parables in the Gospels focus more on the bridegroom and his actions than on the bride?

Daughter Zion – Observations and Questions

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My study on Daughter Zion has pushed my “tent flaps” out and left me with a lot of questions because of my observations. This post is not going to answer many questions and there may not be a lot of question marks. To join me in this idea you have to know that I am trying to view this from the perspective of a holy righteous God.

Zion – This term has added several meanings since David captured the town he wanted to be his headquarters. It has grown to represent Jerusalem, the Hebrew people, and heaven itself. The town or at least the area is connected with Melchizedek, the priest of The Most High God that met Abraham with refreshments. The poetic nature of the prophets and our God has added the term Daughter of Jerusalem with it in several prophecies.

Daughter

The word daughter has been used hundreds of times in the Bible (NIV), especially in our Old Testament. The phrase “sons and daughters” makes up roughly half of those. Daughter Zion is used about thirty times (NIV). Daughter Jerusalem is used about six times; starting with Isaiah and going to Zachariah. Song of Solomon uses “daughters of Jerusalem” several times, but I think that is really a call to the women in the city.

This noun, this title, and the object of a father’s love have caused me to do a lot of reflection. To view Daughter Zion correctly you need to leave man’s emotions behind and see her through God’s eyes. The Father is very serious about His Daughter and has a plan for Her; unfortunately, She had other ideas.

Who/When – This will be very general.

  • David was the first to use the phrase, Daughter Zion.
  • God’s Girl next appears in Isaiah and Micah. The Assyrians are “messing” with His daughter, and She is losing focus.
  • Zephaniah is the next prophet to tell Her to sing (3:14). Assyria is the major enemy.
  • Jeremiah and his songs of Lamentations talk about Her many times. The Babylonians are the oppressors, but She has developed Her own problems.
  • Zechariah talks about Her three times. 9:9 is the last mention in the Old Testament, but Matthew and John repeat the promise in the New Testament.

Eve, Daughter Zion, Bride of the Lamb – Observations lead to questions, but answers require diligence and study. These three “women” came from a man and in Scripture are tied to him.

  • Eve came from Adam’s side and then the Father finished forming her.
  • Daughter Zion is a part of Israel that is associated with David.
  • The Bride of the Lamb is being formed because of the blood of Jesus. Why did I use Lamb and not Christ? Much to my surprise the “bride of Christ” is not in Scripture. Revelations 19:6-9 and 22:17 does have the Lamb getting married. This is a “mystery” but given the number of “marriage” parables Jesus used in explaining His Kingdom, it should not be a surprise.

Yes, I have questions from comparing these three “women” but more study is required. Eve and Daughter Zion were/are important, both made mistakes and also had promises given to them. O Church of Jesus, who will be the Bride of the Lamb, we do not want to make their mistakes.

General Observations about Daughter Zion

  1. She is associated with mounts, gates, walls, and other structures. So, on one level, She is a city.
  2. She starts off well.
  3. Micah and Jeremiah have Her in trouble with Babylon dragging Her away.
  4. Zechariah promises a comeback because the Messiah will return to Her.
  5. Daughter ________ is a term that has held some surprises. (See the first post.) Some enemies have been giving that term! With that said, I believe that Daughter Zion is a term of affection and shows the depth of love that the Father has for His daughter(s).

Your Turn – There was a Daughter Babylon, a Daughter Judah, a Daughter Jerusalem, and a Daughter Zion; why was there no daughter Samaria?

Daughter Zion Part 2

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In Part 2 of Daughter Zion, I am looking at important passages that refer to her. I will direct you to books of the Bible, and specific chapters, and highlight some verses that seem important.

The first mention of Zion in Scripture is 2 Samuel 5:7. This is part of the story about David taking the Jebusite town that would become his capital. From Genesis, this is the area where Melchizedek met Abraham as he returned from rescuing Lot. I will list some facts about Zion because every website stresses or says something different.

  • Zion may mean citadel or fortress.
  • It does refer to the small section of Jerusalem that was the City of David.
  • The term was expanded to mean all of Jerusalem.
  • It was extended further to include all of Judah and Israel.
  • Christians refer to it as the heavenly city.
  • Are any of these better than the others? No. Just realize that the term will change depending on who wrote the information.

Psalm 9:14 is the first use of Daughter Zion and Zechariah 9:9 is the last reference to her in the Old Testament. (Zechariah is quoted again twice in the New Testament.) Both verses tell us to praise and rejoice and refer to gates. Zechariah 9 is about the coming king (Jesus). It has much to say about Israel’s neighbors, which in Zechariah’s time were still causing problems with the rebuilding of the Temple and Jerusalem. Psalms 9 and 10 may have been acrostic and set to the tune “The Death of the Son”. Verse 7 of Psalm 9 is about the Lord reigning forever with righteousness and justice.

Micah 1:13 O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee. (KJV)

Micah is a contemporary of Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, and Jonah. Their messages carry many of the same warnings and good promises, present and future. Micah 1 does not mince words about Samaria and Jerusalem, God is not pleased. It also talks about many places. I believe you need to look at the meanings of these names to make sense of this section. Lachish means “invincible”. It was a major fortified city in Judah, south of Jerusalem, and was attacked by Assyria and captured. The “chariots and fast horses” seem to refer to them needing to flee from Assyria. It was also a center for ironworking in Israel. I think that the iron-hard invincible attitude is the “beginning of sin” that God is talking about. It was the pavement for Jeroboam to make golden calves, select his own priest, and make Bethel a center of worship for the northern kingdom. Most of the mentions of Lachish in the Bible are in Joshua and Isaiah and are connected to war and fighting.

Micah 4 has three different aspects of Daughter Zion. 1. Verses 6-8 are positive because the Lord will rule from her, and things will be restored. 2. Verses 9-10 have her going to Babylon as a captive (this is more than 100 years before it happens). 3. Verses 11-13 where she will be an aggressor and break nations to pieces.

Daughter (of) Jerusalem – This is a good place to add her to the study. She appears in Micah and in other passages. She is often mentioned with Daughter Zion. It may be a way of emphasizing the same thing in a different way, but Hebrew literature will repeat itself for effect. In Micah 1:5 Jerusalem is singled out from Judah as a specific problem, so it could be the Spirit is alerting us to two different entities in the same country.

Lamentations 2 is a chapter that has many versions of “Daughter”. Jeremiah writes about Zion but also Daughter-Zion, Judah, Jerusalem, and Virgin Daughter Zion. A very important addition in this chapter is who is being lamented for. There are dwellings, strongholds, palaces, princes, kings, elders, my people, and children and infants. It also seems that the speaker changes several times in the chapter (which is normal). This chapter will need its own post as there is a lot of info in it.

I will end with Isaiah 66:8. It does not mention daughter but it is clear who it is speaking about and sounds like Micah 4.

Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. (KJV)

Please read Lamentation 2 and see if “the Church” and “the Bride of Christ” could be exchanged for the daughters in this chapter.

Daughter Zion

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Daughter Zion is a STUDY that has pushed my learning curve and I know this post is just the start. The translation you read will have different numbers of times the term, Daughter Zion is used and how it is worded. I use the NIV and it appears about thirty times. The KJV and others will use different phrases, at times, like maiden, young woman, young daughter, or unmarried woman. Yes, there are very specific words in Hebrew for daughter and virgin, but translators have a job to do, so check several sources. In the KJV in the New Testament Zion is spelled Sion in Matthew 21:5 and John 12:15; which is Zechariah 9:9 and refers to the last leg of Jesus’ final trip into Jerusalem.

Isaiah and Jeremiah/Lamentations use the term the most. It seems that David first coined the term in Psalm 9:14. Virgin Daughter Zion is the phrase that really pushed this study, the NIV uses it three times. I will give a few thoughts on both phrases as I believe they hold very different messages. I observed that the terms may mean actual women/girls, the city of Jerusalem, or the land of Judah/Israel. Yes, you need to read them in context because I am not sure that one “shoe fits all”. These phrases are also used for Jerusalem, Judah, Babylon, Edom, and Philistia. I have to wonder if poetic rhyme or some form of wordplay is at work with some of these passages.

Eve, Daughter Zion, the Bride of the Lamb – The first thing Christians need to do is lose the misogynous and misandrous mindsets and woke views that cloud our thinking as to how the Father sees His daughters, they are special and important. Eve was made for Adam using “prime rib”. (The Father defended Sarah when Abraham did not.) The devil has feared and hated the Daughters of Zion since God gave the promise of the Messiah to Eve. Eve was the completion of Adam that would populate the earth. Daughter Zion was how Israel would be filled. The Bride is how the earth will know the righteousness of the Father and the salvation that comes through Jesus.  Godly offspring is what the Father seeks-Malachi 2:15. These are the issues with the strange story in Genesis 6:1-4. “Sons of God” are historically the fallen angels polluting the human gene pool.

Virgin Daughter Zion – I will give my current thought on this phrase and hope that the Father will give me insight on it. This phrase is really only used twice-2 Kings 19:21 and Isaiah 37:22 both describe when the Assyrian king was sent away from Jerusalem, having never entered or defeated it, and Lamentations 2:13 is about Babylon having defeated and destroyed Jerusalem. (My verses and search are from the NIV.)

Two things cloud my thinking here. 1. 1 Kings 14:25 has Rehoboam and Jerusalem being defeated by Egypt, and 2 Chronicles 28 has Ahaz and Jerusalem losing to Israel and captives being taken. 2. Isaiah 47:1 refers to Babylon as a virgin daughter and queen city with a wound. Daniel has a story with the Medes and Persians about to take Babylon (the handwriting on the wall). My knowledge of this history is not that strong, so I do not know if any other nation actually breached the city of Babylon. There are five passages, in the NIV, that use the phrase “Daughter Babylon”.