Hello Mike,

I hope all is well with you and your family. I wanted to ask two questions concerning the scriptures. I was talking to a friend last night and the subject of tithing came up. His brother told him, “if you don’t pay your tithes, then your money is Cursed!” I was shocked to hear that. I pointed out the scriptures to show him where the bible clearly tells us we should not be giving out of a necessity, and tithing is a necessity to most in Babylon.

2Co 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver

I was not hesitant to tell him again his brother is being deceived and told him to show these scriptures to his brother and let me know how these scriptures fit in with tithing. (1Co 9:18, Act 20:33-35, etc) He told me he does not believe his money is cursed, and I told him he was right about that because only by believing your money is cursed in your heart, so is he.

Pro 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

Many people preach tithing and prosperity. It is nothing more than wolves in sheep’s clothing not sparing the flock. I even heard John Hagee quote a verse telling us that God delights in our prosperity. Here is that verse:

Psa 35:27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.

What was so revealing was that in my e- sword when I put my mouse on the word “Prosperity” the Hebrew word is (Shalom). So God does not delight in how much we can make, but he delights in our PEACE and friendliness. The question my friend asked me was what about when Jesus told them give to Caesar his things and God his things, so he believes this verse is speaking about us tithing.

Mat 22:21 They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.

I just wanted for you to help me understand this scripture and see what it is spiritually telling us so I won’t be teaching on something I do not yet understand completely.
My other question is about the gospel of John chapter 2. Here is what is says.

Joh 2:13:15 And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables.

What I am getting from this that this temple which was filled with wickedness was just a shadow of what he is doing to his TRUE temple which we are and removing the wickedness within us (1Co 3:16). I was asking myself, “why did Jesus get so angry about a temple which the Father does not dwell in?”

Act 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands.

But it is WE who are his dwelling place:

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

In saying that, when I read that he DROVE THEM ALL OUT OF THE TEMPLE which we are, I see they did not just POOF and vanish, but they were driven out little by little. They were removed like a process of how when he comes into our life and removes that man of sin and starts rebuilding his temple in three days, which is the number of process.

Joh 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.

That is what I’m getting from this since this is written for our admonition to learn of it. Let me know if I’m correct on this question.

Your Brother In Christ,
Y____

Hi Y____,
You have hit the nail on the head concerning both the subject of tithing and why Christ drove the money changers out of the temple.

Tithing was done on the produce of the land and was given to the priest and Levites for the service of the people at the temple. Tithing has no place in the body of Christ, whose mantra is “the Lord loves a cheerful giver”, not a begrudging tither,

2Co 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
2Co 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

I gave a talk in 2004 called The Types and Shadows of The New Testament. In that talk I showed how all of Christ’s miracles of healing were types and shadows of what He is doing in us spiritually. We are being healed of every disease from the deadly disease of leprosy, to our crippled legs and arms and hands, to being born blind, and being raised from the spiritually dead state in which we come into this world.
So it is with the cleansing of the temple. That whole incident happened to them and it is “written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

None of this denies that “the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much”, but it does demonstrate that Christ’s words are spirit and that the holy spirit teaches comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

There was no spiritual body of Christ until after Pentecost, and the only shadow of good things to come was the physical temple, which was shortly destroyed. But Christ was already within us, long before the physical temple came to the ground.

Heb 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

Here is the “good thing to come which the tabernacle and the temple of the Old Testament, foreshadowed.

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

So yes, you are exactly right. The temple Christ cleared of its money changers is a type and a shadow of you and me and all the attempts, of our leaders and of us, to make money of the gospel.
God bless you as you come to know Him and His Son better every day.
Your brother in Christ,
Mike