Jesus warns against swearing oaths by heaven, earth, cities, and people.

Matthew 5:33-37

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

In the verses of this post, Jesus says, “… do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor will you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.” In the verses of Matthew 23:20-22, He says, “Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.”

In the verses of this post, our Lord Jesus is saying that no one knows what the future holds and we shouldn’t be making promises that we couldn’t possibly know if we will be able to keep or not. The power is not in our hands to guarantee what will happen in the tomorrows of this life. “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” James 4:13-15

In the verses of Matthew 23: 16-22, Jesus Christ is saying that whatever we swear by on this earth could never be greater than the altar, the temple, and Heaven where the throne of God is. The Jewish people were making promises by the gold that was on the altar, in the temple of God, but disregarded the importance of the altar. The altar is the Cross of Jesus Christ, the temple is our body as the home of the Holy Spirit, and Heaven is where God and His Son Jesus Christ are. There is nothing on this earth that is greater than the sacrifice Jesus made on the Cross to atone for sin, nothing greater than the Holy Spirit, and nothing greater than the throne of God. Promises should be made from the righteousness within the heart that comes through Jesus Christ, to keep our integrity in the presence of the Holy Spirit, and that to the glory of God who is in Heaven.

From the verses of this post and those from Matthew 23:16-22, we realize that we are not able to make an oath by anything on this earth, nor in our name, because we do not know what will come tomorrow. If we do make an oath by earthly things, or by our own head, we are making those things more important than God Himself, like making an oath by the “gold on the altar” but saying the altar is nothing. If we say, “swear to God”, to strengthen our promise to someone, we are making our word the “gold on the altar” by making our promises equal to the word of God. We should not think that any word of promise coming from our mouth carries as much value as the word of God. Our promises should simply be made in the presence of the Holy Spirit, thereby avoiding any need to swear by any other.

If we buy a car, rent-a-car, rent-a-movie, check out a library book etc., are we depending solely on the written contract as an oath so that we can have those things? Or are we entering into an oath with the Holy Spirit within us? Many people will swear to repay what is owed, but within the heart it is a false oath because they do not intend to repay the loan or return the items. It is fraud and deceit coming from a sinful heart. Today, many people find themselves owing debt that they are not able to repay according to the oath that they had made. They honestly intended to repay the loan, but they had no idea what tomorrow would hold, and their financial income dwindled and they were not able to keep their promise to repay. Foreclosures on homes were at a crisis level a few years ago and still are a common occurrence. I was told once that a person should never put self into debt above what is their bank account to repay. Nowadys, Debit Cards are very, very common which allows a person to have “credit” but not beyond the amount of money that is in their bank account. If a person tries to purchase beyond what is in the bank they will be denied. That sounds a little bit like the “Digital Currency”! Click here for a post on the “GENIUS Act” that establishes the foundation for making the U.S.A. the “crypto-capital of the world”.

“Again you have heard that it was said, ‘You will not swear falsely, but will perform your oaths to the Lord.’” Matthew 5:33

Jesus Christ is quoting from Leviticus 19:12, “And you will not swear by My name falsely, nor will you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.” A false oath is to swear to someone that you will complete a promise, but that promise is not kept. The Jewish people were expected to consider a promise made to be a promise made to the Lord. They were expected to perform those oaths as keeping a promise to the Lord. That is one of the other laws of Moses that Jesus did not come to destroy but to fulfill. That law is fulfilled from within our heart and mind by honoring God above all things on this earth and living by the integrity of the Holy Spirit.

“But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor will you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.” Matthew 5:34-36

Our Lord Jesus reaches into the heart of the matter by saying not to swear nor make a promise at all. That would fulfill the law to perform all of our promises as if to the Lord. If no promises are made, then no oaths are being broken to the Lord. Jesus Christ knows that the heart of people has inherited sin and it is impossible for oaths, promises, vows, etc. to be kept by human efforts. The word of promise flowing from the sinful heart and soul of people is not something that anyone on this earth is willing to rely on. That is why there is an overwhelming number of lawyers in every city around the world. Just about every transaction made nowadays disregards word-of-mouth promises and requires signatures, references, co-signers, names, addresses, phone numbers, etc. “But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.” John 2:24-25

Jesus Christ says to not say things like, “I swear to God”, because that is to swear by Heaven where the throne of God is. No one on this earth is able to put forth as if his word is equal to the word of God and no one can make self out to be the intercessor between God and someone else. Jesus is the only mediator between God and people, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus…” 1 Timothy 2:5

Jesus Christ says not to swear by the earth because it is the footstool of God. That means the whole earth is God’s creation and under His dominion. There is nothing on this earth that is greater than God. Today’s global government and its global culture swear by the earth as a way to bring salvation to all of humanity and the earth. Through the “Sustainable Development Goals” of the United Nations, the oath is made to all the people, swearing by heaven and earth, that an earthly Garden of Eden will happen [Joel 2:2-3]. However, the falsehood of that oath is seen as global warming is here. Global warming is the Fourth Plague of Revelations 16:8-9. Repentance comes to reconcile us to God through Jesus Christ, not by swearing oaths by the earth. “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Revelations 7:10 “Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.” Revelation 16:8-9

Our Lord Jesus says not to swear by Jerusalem because that is the city of the great King [Psalms 48:2]. An example of swearing by “Jerusalem” is seen within every speech made by politicians. They swear by every city that they represent to “deliver for the people”, to “bring economic prosperity to the city”, to “reduce crime for the people of the city”, to “return power to the people”, to “make the city great again”, and the list is in exhaustible. Regardless of their oaths, the cities belong to the King of kings, Who is Jesus Christ. Because the people of the cities feel no need for repentance of their unbelief through Christ Jesus, the cities will be ruined by lawlessness. The people of the cities oppose the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit restrains lawlessness, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8

Christ Jesus says not to swear by your own head because no one has the ability to turn one hair white or black. In today’s culture, people feel empowered, filled with esteem, and with an abundance of respect and honor. In their attitude, and words, they say “Trust me!”, “I’m good for my word!”. They are very sure of themselves and are those who boast in their attitude and behavior, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war with him?” Revelations 13:4 They live for the beast that gives them what to say, do, think, and feel. They welcome the beast that is given breath/life to speak by speaking and living through them. By what they are given to say and do, they are conformed to the mark, number, name of the beast. Instead of swearing by their own head, they will experience a turn of events, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself will also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Revelations 14:9-11

Today’s world system is making all of the oaths that our Lord Jesus Christ warns against, as listed below,

• They swear by God as they serve the beast that sets itself up as God within the temple of God, which is our body. The beast does that by its power over physiology to give people what to feel, think, say, and do, and is the one “…who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 Click for post on that.
• They swear by the earth to bring salvation to humanity and the planet, as seen through the “Sustainable Development Goals” “The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness;
  Surely nothing will escape them.” Joel 2:3
• They swear by the cities in nations around the world. The global government is progressing in establishing the global culture which includes the people of every city around the world. The United Nations was formed in 1945, immediately after World War 2, and brought the government of the beast with it, as described in Daniel 8:1-14 and also Revelations 17.
• They swear by themselves as a global culture, which dominates every city around the world. They honor each other but give no honor to God the Creator, “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?” John 5:44

“But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” Matthew 5:37

When we make a promise, we need to be certain that we will be able to fulfill what we say we are able to do. If you can do it then say, “Yes, I can do that.” If you are not able to do it, then say clearly, “No, I cannot do that.” To make a promise and not being sure whether you can fulfill the oath is like selling “snake oil”. “Selling snake oil” is to gain someone’s confidence to make them believe in your promises but the promises are false and uncertain…nothing but evil comes from that. “Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” James 4:13-15

Sin rooted within the heart desires to take advantage of people through lies, manipulation, seduction, and enticements of all types. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to cleanse those carnal ambitions of deceit from within us. He was crucified on the Cross in order to forgive and cleanse us of sin as we repent of unbelief. When our faith is in Him, He comes into us, with His Cross, to purge our sins. The Cross within us is what crucifies the sins of deceit and fraud from within our heart and soul. As those sins are cleansed, that process of sanctification allows for the Holy Spirit to have a larger part within our spirit and soul. In that Holiness, our “Yes” is “Yes” and our “No” is “No”. We do not seek to gain the confidence of others to make them believe in our ability, but we want them to have faith in Jesus Christ Who knows for certain what the future holds. The future we have in Him is eternal life, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…” Hebrews 6:19

As followers of Jesus Christ, we must not swear by the false God of this world that gives what to say, do, think, and feel by the power of darkness. The beast wants us to rely on it for the future. We must not be among those who rely on the promise of an earthly Garden of Eden. We must not be among those who rely on the promise of community prosperity. We must not be among those who rely on the promise of individual empowerment. Our God is the Living Creator, our home is the eternal Garden of Eden in the city of the New Jerusalem, and our empowerment is defined by the righteousness of Jesus Christ [not our own].

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.
I am coming soon.
Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.’”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1