Friday, May 8, 2015

Preface: What is Allegory

Preface - An Allegorical Interpretation of the Bible


Introduction: 
First off a couple of things I want to make clear. I am not religious. I don't believe in any religion whatsoever. I think all religions are crap. Pure evil. I do however read the Bible constantly, as in hours every day. I can't put it down. I just don't take the meaning literally, I take the meaning allegorically and that's what this book is about.

The allegorical meaning is the "hidden" meaning of the Bible. What did the author of the bible passages intend to say. 

Secondly, I don't want you to think the way I do. Think for yourself. My goal in writing this book is to kindle the spirit of God within you to "read the bible" with a new set of eyes so that you can see for yourself. And the key to unlocking the hidden meanings of the bible is to understand that, as Led Zepellin wrote in the song "Stairway to Heaven", "sometimes words have two meanings". I want you to look up the meanings of the common word you thought you knew. You'll be shocked and surprised what these words also mean. 

I want you to experiment with different interpertations for the words as I have done to uncover the hidden meanings behind every bible verse. Take for example the story of Noah'a Ark and the word "pitch". In Genesis 6:14 God instructs Noah to build an ark. "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch." Look up the word "pitch". As a noun, pitch may refer to a (resin), a viscous substance produced by plants or formed from petroleum. Something one might smear in the cracks between the boards of an old boat to keep the water from seeping in. The hidden meaning however is the other definition of "pitch". Pitch is also defined as "the quality of a sound governed by the rate of vibrations producing it; the degree of highness or lowness of a tone", like in a pitch pipe a singer uses when practicing to make sure they have the right tone or pitch. Ask yourself why the author didn't say tar and instead used pitch. 

So I ask you, does the bible mean to say that Noah's Ark is a physical boat made of wood and that you can keep the boat from sinking by spackeling in the cracks with a tar-like substance called "pitch"? Or does the Bible means that the Ark is not a physical place but rather a place in your mind where you can go in meditation that will shelter you when you are faced with a flood of lifes problems and you can seal out the flood of problems while they drown by chanting the pitch OM? 

Another bible story popular with christians is when Jesus drives the money changers out of the temple. I will prove beyond a shadow of a douby that the bible means that the "temple" is a place in your mind" and not a physical building. If we know that the temple is in our head, what is Jesus driving out of our head? Could it be greed, desires, worrys about money? Could meditation kill our money problems by putting them in perspective. When Jesus drives the money changers out of the temple, is he a real person, physically throwing people out of a building, or does Jesus represent meditation and the temple is your mind and the money changers thoughts about money?

It's not as crazy as it sounded at first is it?  "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, but and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch." Look up "gopher wood" ... it doesn't exist. Why would God tell you to make a boat out of a wood that doesn't exist? Maybe God means that the ark is not physical?  Does "within" mean going within one's self in meditation? I think it does. And why is the verse placed at 6:14? What happens at 6:14? Did you know that that 6:14 is the average time of the sunrise and sunset in the northern hemisphere? Therefore allegorically I am being told in the story of Noah's ark that I am to build a shelter  within my mind through meditation, and to focus my mind on quietly chant OM, sealing my ark within with pitch. There I'll be given the knowledge to defeat the flood of problems that I face in life, and that the times of day that I should meditate is at sunrise and at sunset. I go into my ship, my ark and I passover to the right bank, the right side.

It's not always easy to uncover the hidden meaning of a word, but if you meditate on it, it will come. Sometime I'll dwell on certain words or concepts for weeks on end without getting the hidden meaning. Such was the case with the words silver and gold. The word gold is mentioned everywhere in the bible, especially frequently when it comes to the construction of "the house", or "the tabernacle" or "the altar". Everything is covered in gold.Eventually it came to me that gold represents "sun light". A few weeks later I figured out if gold meant sunlight then silver represents moonlight.  So now when I read that this or that is "covered in gold" it means exposed to the sun. 

In Numbers 10:2 I was stuck on the word silver for the longest time: "Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that..." What is silver? I asked myself over and over again until I realized that if gold meant the sun, then silver must mean the moon! I know that the word trumpet meant chanting OM. So two trumpets means chant Om twice. Then I got stuck on "of a whole piece of silver thou shalt make them". And then is dawned on me that a whole piece of silver must mean "the full moon"! So now Numbers 10:2 says:  "Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that...", but it means, "chant OM twice per day during the full moon". Every bible verse has a hidden meaning when you plug in the second or third possible definition of the words that are used.

And as your list of hidden meanings of words grows you will start to see a picture emerge. You'll realize that every bible story has the same basic meaning and it's that you are to go within yourself in meditation and kill your enemies, the dragons, the beasts, whatever you want to call it, and when you do you will passover from the left hemisphere of your brain, the 10%, to the right hemisphere, the 90% and that's where the garden of eden is planted, that's the land that flows with milk and honey. That's the reason the bible says to give 10%. It doesn't mean money!!! It means give up the 10% of your brain, desire, greed, fear, etc, and passover to the part where God resides, the "right" side. When the bible says "beasts" it doesn't mean a physical animal, it means the beast "within" you. When the bible says a temple, it doesn't mean a physical temple, it means your mind. Understanding allegory is the key to the kingdom of heaven! 

In the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening", author Robert Frost wrote that he has "miles to go before I sleep." The literal meaning of that sentence is that he will travel miles down the road, and then go to bed. The allegorical meaning is quite different. "Miles to go" means years to live, and "before I sleep" means before I die. The hidden meaning is that Frost is saying that he has a lot of life left in him before he dies, while the literal meaning is that he's going to bed. As you can see, the allegorical meaning yields a much different result than the literal.

Wikipedia.com defines allegory as folows: "As a literary device, an allegory in its most general sense is an extended metaphor. Allegory has been used widely throughout the histories of all forms of art, largely because it readily illustrates complex ideas and concepts in ways that are comprehensible to its viewers, readers, or listeners. Allegories are typically used as literary devices or rhetorical devices that convey hidden meanings through symbolic figures, actions, imagery, and/or events, which together create the moral, spiritual, or political meaning the author wishes to convey."

It is the premise of this book that the bible is an allegorical book and not a history book and that there is a second meaning, a "hidden meaning" behind each word, verse and chapter that produces a radically different understanding of what the bible tells us, about the world we live in and about God.  

Here are a few bible passages that state point blank that the bible is allegorical and not literal. The selected Bible verses are in Bold type.

2 Corinthians 3:6 "Who also has made us able ministers of the new testament, not of the letter but of the spirit for the letter kills but the spirit gives life."  When Jesus speaks of the spirit of the law, he is speaking of the "intent" of the passage and not the literal meaning of it.  Jesus goes as far as to say that taking the bible literally is so bad that is "kills" and also that if understood spiritually it will give you life.  He doesn't mean that you will kill, he is implying that's it's very, very bad. That's the allegorical intent of the word kill. 

The "letter" means literal as in "letter of the law". Wikipedia describes the difference between letter and spirit in the following: The letter of the law versus the spirit of the law is an idiomatic antithesis. When one obeys the letter of the law but not the spirit, one is obeying the literal interpretation of the words (the "letter") of the law, but not the intent of those who wrote the law. Conversely, when one obeys the spirit of the law but not the letter, one is doing what the authors of the law intended, though not necessarily adhering to the literal wording."

Matthew 13:34-35 "All these things spoke Jesus to the multitude in parables and without a parable he didn't speak to them." Like "the letter vs the spirit", a parable is an entire story who's intent is to impart a lesson rather than just make a statement". "You reap what you sow" has nothing to do with gardening. It means you will get out of something exactly what you put into it. Saint Matthew is clearly saying that everything that Jesus said in the Bible is a parable, not literal. "All these things" means just what is says ... everything, every word of the Bible is allegory.

Mark 10 "And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. 11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 12  That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?" Being without is the opposite of going within, and going within is a metaphor for meditation. If you are not in meditation you are without. If you do not go within to meditate, you will take the bible literally. It's not what you physically see, it's the perception, and not what you physically hear, it's what you understand. It's about perception and understanding. It's allegory.

Mark 12  That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them." Taking the bible literally is the one and only sin. Your sins are "forgiven" when the sunrises. September 21 through March 20 is Sin. 

Psalm 78:2 "I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:"

The lord will speak to you when you understand allegory!
Psalm 11:1-4 "In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? "

Yet religion has a literal answer for everything. "For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

But know this: "The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. 

If you meditate, if you go within, you will see God face to face, you will be given the knowledge of the kingdom of heaven. 

Allegory makes reading the bible fun. If you understand allegory your understanding of the kingdom of heaven will grow also. Mark 4:20 "And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred." 30 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: 32 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it."


I know that silver is moonlight and gold is sunlight and since mother and father are where you came from, sons and daughters mean where your going and Egypt is the bad guys I understood the following: Exodus “3:22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.”


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Chapter Two - What is Heaven?

Billions of Christians believe heaven is a place you go when you die as a result of your behavior on earth. The bible however has a much different message. The allegorical meaning, the hidden meaning of the concept of heaven, or synonomously, the kingdom of God, completetly debunks the religious definition. The Bible states clearly that heaven isn't a place in the sky or on a cloud, heaven is a place within your own mind.

Luke 17:21 "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

John 14, 17-20 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

1 Kings 6: 7 And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building." Here we are introduced to the concept that you are building a house when you build your understanding of the allegory of Jesus in the Bible.

Acts 7:48 The most high dwells not in temples made with hands. The Kingdom of God, Heaven, the house of God that you build, The Temple, all refer to the same place. Who amongst us does not, having read these passages, realize that the kingdom of God i.e., heaven, is within us? Why do you think they call the sides of your head between your ears and your eyes your "temples"?

Exodus 20:25
And if thou wilt make me an altarof stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.

And heaven is not a place you go after you die. Psalms 6:4 "Return, O Lord, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies' sake. 5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?"

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

Now that you understand that the bible is written in allegory, that God is Light, and that heaven resides within you, you'll realize that heaven is not a place in the sky. Now you'll can start to understand the hidden meanings of much more of the bible.

One of my favorite bible passages pertaining to how heaven is a place in your mind is one that everyone has heard of or read. It's the parable about Jesus throwing the money changers out of the temple.

Matthew 21:12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Knowing as we do that the temple of God is within us, and not a physical building, we can also deduce that the money changers are not real people either. Money changers represents the thoughts about money that we have that consume our mind. When you sit down to meditate it is inevitable that thoughts like losing your job, paying the bills, saving for the future will pop into your head. In meditation you can call on Jesus to throw those thoughts out of your temple and resume your dwellings on God and all his statutes. You must constantly strive to keep your temple clean. Focusing on the works of God in the bible keeps your temple clean. When a though about money, or sex or something else in life pops into your head in meditation, go back to thinking about the basics, that God is Light, that the kingdom of heaven is withing you. That God's name is "I AM" . When you meditate, work on the bible allegories in your mind. Think about the hidden meanings of different words. Focus on the allegory of the bible and you will keep your temple clean and pure. When worries about money, thoughts about sex, fears about your health come into your mind during meditation, you have to shut them down. You have to kill them. This passage will help you to overcome these thoughts:

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Seek first the kingdom of God, meditation is seeking the kingdom of God. And all your earthly desires will come automatically.

Chapter One - What is God?

The first 5 verses of 1John 1 may be the single most powerful piece of information every revealed to mankind.

What is "the light of the world, if not the sun?

Even if you never read the bible, just remember 1John 1.

1John 1:1 "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.


1John 1: 5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."


John is most emphatic in his first verse of his first book on whom he has witnessed as is the creator. He has heard it, and he has seen it and he has touched it. God is light and all light comes from the sun. The son of God is the "Sun" of God.


Psalm 19:4-5 "Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. "


Matthew 24:27 "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Once again it is clear that the Son of man is light (lightning) and thus God is light. This exact passage is repeated in Luke 17:24. It is interesting to note that it's the coming of Jesus into your life will be quick, like lightning.


"Matthew 28:3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:" . The sun is the only light source that shines "white light". Interesting to note is in the song Stairway to heaven, a verse goes, "who shines white light and wants to show, how everything still turns to gold".


Revelation 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God."

Lightning

God is light, lightning.

 Matthew 24: 23-28


Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

Luke 17:20-37


The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other- part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in mar- riage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brim- stone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

Luke 10: 18-24


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. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

The word "east" is the second most important word in the bible as it is the place of the sunrise. The motif of east and west as well as sunrise and sunset are part of the central allegory in the bible. God is light, God is the Sun and it rises in the east to give life and dies in the west when it sets. The Egyptian Gods Horus and Set symbolized this duality in the earliest of recorded history. Horus represented the rising sun while Set represented the slaying of Horus and the Sun dying or "setting". Of course the sun will "rise again" in 12 hours. From the word Horus we get hour so that when we ask what time it is we're asking "where's horus" and it's obvious the sun setting comes from Set.


John 8:12 "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." What is "the light of the world, if not the sun? The son of God is the SUN of God. Take away the sun and all life on earth would die. The sun's gravity keeps the earth spinning and in our orbit. The spinning gives us night and day and the orbit gives us our seasons. The SUN being God is the central message of the Bible around which all the stories revolve

Saturday, May 2, 2015

The Historical Jesus

Beautiful! -"Never be confused by the Jesus that is in the bible. The bible reads like a myth, looks like a myth, therefore it is a myth. Myth is not a story or hocus pocus. A myth is the greatest of truths. Truths that the profane can never grasp. The bible is full of myths. Beautiful myths written in the skys by stars, the language of God, astrology. It's all about astrology. - Santos Bonacci

Sunday, April 19, 2015

The Temple is not a physical place - Writing for the Trashcan

Understanding the allegorical nature of the bible is the key to understanding what God is saying. Understanding allegory makes the difficult passages of the bible simple, it makes the confusing straight forward. The reason is because there are a few simple alternative ways to understand certain words and concepts, and once you do, hundreds and hundreds of other passages will automatically make sense. For example, the first and most fundamental change that you must make to understand the bible and God's message is the fundamental meaning of the word "temple". Most of us have been led to believe that a temple is a physical place, like a church, a mosque or a synagog. We have been taught that a temple is the home of God. We've been taught that a temple is a building. But it's not. A temple is not a physical place. It's a mental place. A temple is the place inbetween your ears. The temple really represents your mind.
There are a number of bible passages that state this fact is you just read between the lines a little. The word "house" represents the temple.
"House means Temple" - The houses of the zodiac are the 12 parts of your temple brain. 1 Kings 6:17 And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long.
How can a physical building be constructed in silence? 1 Kings 6:7 And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.
And to jump ahead to my point, that being that when you change one major thing, hundreds of other things change, consider the passage of Jesus and the money changers. Matthew 21:12 "And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,"
Now that we know that the temple is your brain, we know that the bible doen't mean that a person named Jesus went into a physical temple to physically remove people who were buying and selling things. Instead we now realize that Jesus going into the temple means meditating and the money changers represent our greed, fears, and worries about money that consume so much of our life.

I'm not saying don't desire money, quite the opposite. Just don't make the chase for money who you are. Instead seek first the kingdom of heaven through meditation and you willi be told how you can get money. Matthew 6:33-34 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. 

I'm just saying don't worry about it, seek God through meditation. don't the  desires about having more money displace the joyous things that you could be thinking about. Don't worry about those things in life that you'll need money for, you'll figure it all out when the time comes.

Friday, April 17, 2015

Windows of Narrow Lights

1 Kings 6:3-4 And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house. And for the house he made windows of narrow lights. 

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Knock Knock

Luke 11 King James Version (KJV)

11 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

3 Give us day by day our daily bread.

4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;

6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?

7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.

8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

14 And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.

15 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.

16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.

17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.

18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.

19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.

20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:

22 But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.

24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.

25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.

26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.

28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

29 And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.

30 For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.

31 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

32 The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

33 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.

34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.

36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

37 And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.

38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.

39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.

40 Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?

41 But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.

42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.

44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.

45 Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.

46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

47 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.

49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:

50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

53 And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things:

54 Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.