Why Mark's Gospel Has Such a Strange Ending: The Mark Series pt 70 (16:8)

[@MikeWinger]

Here's the whole Mark series in order. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZSam4qda5WBlZI And here's my study through Romans, just in case you need more binge material. kzbin.info/www/bejne/noPaiH-bgM2Jn7M And here's my study through 1 Peter, just in case you need even more. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqC9l2Ntic9oipI

[@stephenstreit1178]

First reply!!!

[@stephenstreit1178]

Also thanks for all the amazing content!!!

[@e-studio5200]

I didn't know there was a Bible Thinker app until you mentioned it in this video. Thank you for that, I love your teachings. I listen to your videos plus others, including the Bible throughout my whole work shift. Because I'm able to do that at my job.😄

[@holynation777]

God bless, can you please make a video of the epic of gilgamesh vs noah flood?

[@e-studio5200]

@@holynation777 I personally think that people just look at the Epic of Gilgamesh the wrong way. They think that because it was written in 2100 BC, which was before the Book of Genesis written around 1400 BC, that it is the more accurate version, or that Genesis just copied the Epic of Gilgamesh. But I believe that the Epic of Gilgamesh only proves that the Noah story from Genesis is true. Because most nations, cultures and peoples around the world have an ancient story of the deluge. Everyone's going to have their own folklore passed down from an event that really took place. Before Moses wrote Genesis, the ancient children of Israel probably had their own version too which may or may not have been totally true. But these are only pieces of the whole story and none of these other versions of the story have purpose other than things that may have been happening during that time that all the people wanted to keep into remembrance of the great deluge. But around 1400 BC, God made himself known to a people called Israel, and he gave them laws and codes to live by and also started the whole true his-story of his plan with the people throughout the ages. So that as time went on, we can see in hindsight God's plan coming to fruition. You see it's not just about one story, with God's word it is all connected to everything that has happened throughout the past several thousand years, it's amazing, and it has purpose. People who use the Epic of Gilgamesh tosay that the Bible is just borrowing from other stories that are older, is just silly because these people who say that don't even believe the older stories. In fact I would be willing to bet no one really does. It's just something to use to add doubt to the Word of God, when really all it does is prove it.

[@ProfYaffle]

My new T-Shirt: "I have listened to all 70 episodes of Mike Winger's Mark series"

[@sphagbog]

Mine will add: (and now I'm going to start again)

[@validcore]

Put "and I still believe Mark wrote the long ending" on it and I'm buying!

[@ProfYaffle]

@@validcore might need "I do/don't* believe Mark wrote long ending. *delete as appropriate "

[@FalconOfStorms]

@@validcore that's a valid core.

[@Howdy2024]

You better get started looks like you have a market.

[@CG2589]

Ya know what would have been funny? If Pastor Mike had ended the last video in the Mark series abruptly.

[@jakobm87]

and finished the last sentence with "gar"

[@bella-bee]

Yeh, it’s a variety of fish, so my Word game dictionary says. Who knew?

[@Deepthoughts4ever]

Yes hilarious 😆

[@thomasfryxelius5526]

Thank you for your ministry! I´m from Sweden. I´m part of a wonderful, warm and serving church. One of the few lacks in this church is for deep study of the Word. We have sermons and home groups and it´s great but I´ve always longed for more understanding. You are complementing my church in a wonderful way from over there. It means the world to me. Be blessed!

[@ximesunshinecuervo3254]

I'm in Sweden too!

[@ProfYaffle]

Mike is truly an enormous blessing for many of us across the globe who have been starving for good teaching for years

[@ptk8451]

So happy to know there are resl Christians in Sweden

[@shannonreif8747]

I'm the mom of a three year old and a one year old- I have been sneaking this series in during nap times, dinner prep, and after bedtimes for months now, and I've finally finished it. What a blessing, Pastor Mike! I've been a Christian all of my life, but you taught me how to truly STUDY the Bible in this series. I started my own study of 1 John and have been at it daily for four months now with borrowed commentaries, new questions, and treasures that have changed my walk with Christ. Thank you and may God continue to bless your ministry!

[@deborahlucas1567]

No one has been a Christian all of their lives. You must be born again. There had to be a moment in time when you realized you were a sinner and you believed that Christ died for your sins according to the scriptures , he was buried and rose again the third day . All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Christ died for all then were all dead, We need life ! Just saying. It bothers me when someone says that they have always been a Christian. It’s not truth!

[@biblicaldefense]

I loved this whole series so much. I recommend everyone that I can to this Bible study. I can’t wait for Hebrews :)

[@thomasstokes1949]

Mike Winger, I lost my Daddy to the virus yesterday and I just wanted you to know your videos have brought me a level of comfort because I know he is now in heaven. It still hurts but I know he is with God now. Thank you brother

[@dontsurroundurselfwithurself]

God bless you and your family. I pray for your strength and continued faith.

[@thomasstokes1949]

@@dontsurroundurselfwithurself Thank you

[@BennettGeshel-gd5vi]

I'm now at the final video and I can't say how grateful I am for these. I've been going through some interesting times and this series has greatly aided me through my study of Mark. it amazes me and comforts me to know that a video series recorded three years ago by some guy I've never met can help a person like me even now. Peace be upon you.

[@laurab9901]

I cannot tell you how this series has blessed me. I thank you for your time, effort and passion for Christ and logical, clear, devoted study. I love how balanced and transparent you have been all the way through. I became a born again Christian 4th July 2020 and you were the best teacher I found at a time when I could not go to a church and find a fellowship. You answered my questions and walked through lockdown with me in my own home. I cannot overstate how important you are. A mouthpiece for God. I pray for you continually. May He bless you more and more.

[@JoshuaTheLast]

Came into the verse by verse study halfway. I've learned so much from you Ps Mike. You have really opened my mind to see just how packed the scriptures are with content. There's so many wonderful gems and truths the Lord has kept hidden for us to discover in his word. Thank you again Ps Mike!

[@andrekershaw6244]

My girlfriend and I love your content SO much! Thank you, Mike, for this incredible series, and for all the good work that you and your team do for the Kingdom of God. May the Lord bless you and keep you, may He make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you, may He lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Love from a brother in Christ down in South Africa :)

[@colmwhateveryoulike3240]

12:30 As a scientist and ex atheist who used to attend skeptic conferences, I shared your opinion about most people there, but I didn't realise I was doing it too. To a lesser degree, but specifically about arguments like these - small points that all add up.

[@kyrielovesthelord]

Indeed I am shaken in the best way! From growing up in a Catholic church to most recently being in a Word of Faith church, this study was the first time I've heard the gospel. I am forever changed. Thank you, Pastor Mike!

[@bethl]

I hope you are doing well & still soaking in God’s Word!

[@kyrielovesthelord]

I am! everyday!

[@okiscubadventures7110]

Finally finished the whole series. Pastor Mike, thank you for putting all your efforts into this; I’ve already started using many of these lessons in my youth group discussions. May God continue to bless you and this ministry!

[@rhondaclater7440]

This series taught me how to seriously dig into Scripture. Please don’t stop bringing full book studies! God bless you, Pastor Mike.

[@samirapavlenko442]

listen to all 70. it changed so many things for me in a very amazing way! thank you very much, pastor Mike! God bless you!

[@mrJety89]

My personal theory was that the longer ending was usually told and retold by actual eyewitnesses of Jesus. Once it became no longer a viable option, the longer ending was then recorded, and added to the written canon.

[@annadobrucka16]

Mike, thank you so much for this. It took me quite long to listen to all the 70 videos, can't imagine all the work you had to put in all this. I feel like I've learned so much. This was wonderful, thank you!

[@JC-pu3vl]

Completed! If you had told me 5 years ago that I'd spend 80+hrs watching a study of the Gospel of Mark I'd have laughed out loud. Thank you Mike for the depth of study you have given in this series, it's absolutely brilliant! Covered so much and helped me understand better the fine details and the big points in this Gospel and beyond. I'll no doubt be going back to the episodes as I study more. Massive thank you again for all your hard work!

[@rdmelo]

This series has been just way too good. Mike, you have set the bar incredibly high. Thank you so much for this.

[@byronicT]

Thank you Pastor Mike for this series. I have been gripped by every single teaching. This series has deeply helped to strengthen my faith and knowledge of the Gospels. Looking forward to further videos from you. God bless you! 🙏🏾

[@jurusco]

This video alone is a master piece, it brings knowledge from a scholar level to a more accessible one with honesty and discernment from the spirit.

[@catherinejones8213]

I just finished this series. Excellent, faithful work Mike. I watched several multiple times. I can't express how much of a blessing Bible Thinker is to me and my boys. Thankful for your ministry.

[@ImCarolB]

Your comments on fear made me think of Anne of Green Gables where she asked Matthew if anything gave him a thrill. He replied that cabbage worms gave him a thrill. He was using the negative and valid response, whereas she was only thinking of enjoyable thrills.

[@SeanusAurelius]

I'm a bit of a medieval nerd and when you read anything from before about 1800 in English, they hardly ever use 'fear' compared to us. They mostly use 'dread' or 'horror' for fear of something hurting them / fear of something awful. Fear is used positively a lot more. I have no problem believing it's the same in Greek.

[@doctordrew3353]

Just finished going through the whole series :) Thank you so much Mr. Winger this has really been a blessing to me in my walk with Christ and I am truly grateful to say that my walk is stronger than it has ever been with my God. I pray that God will continue to bless your ministry here and that you will continue to plant the seed of saving faith in the next person.

[@travisc9575]

Thank you Mike! This was such a good series and I really learned a lot from your insights and study. I want to bible school and was in ministry for about 9 years but have gone into the so-called regular workforce and can't study as much as I used to. I really miss and long for hours and hours of study but you're teaching really help to bolster my knowledge, my faith, and just my general excitement and intellect. Thanks so much for what you do

[@jonathandoe1367]

I think I can explain the whole "gar" thing. In Latin, prepositions occur exclusively before nouns, as a modifier to case. For example, is "to the absurd", and is "from nothing". This is in contrast to Germanic languages, where they can modify anything, especially nouns and verbs, and can really go anywhere. For example, in English, we can say "shut up", "go away", or "wall that thing off" and be perfectly correct. In Latin, these verb-modifier formulations were done with prefixes, like how instead of "caping out", we say "escaping". In Vulgar Latin, it's instead of , which would not be correct. This process is also how we get the words "ascend" and "aspire", from Latin and respectively. This issue is that, at one time, most books on grammar were written for Latin, and sometimes people would extrapolate these rules where they didn't belong. Have you ever had a teacher tell you that you shouldn't end you sentence in a preposition? If so, this is why. It's forcing the rules of Latin onto English. Even the name preposition comes from Latin. It'd be much more accurate to call them adpositions or particles when talking about English, like we do with Japanese for example. While most Latin rules do apply to the Romance languages, particularly Italian, they are not universal. I'm guessing these scholars were simply extrapolating a feature of Latin into Greek, even when it didn't really apply.

[@Howdy2024]

Mike, when I first came to your channel I didn’t like cats, but you have greatly increased my appreciation for them. Thank you for that! (Oh and for God’s Word). 😂😂

[@benrex7775]

I still think it's a pointless pet which promotes non-responsible behavior of the owners. Unless you live on a farm or have too many mice.

[@chriper77]

@@benrex7775 You could say that about any pet, but pets aren't just about useful function.

[@sharondekker4704]

Thank you! Thank you! I have listened to every episode of your Mark Series. I found you randomly on KZbin and finally found out you were from Bellflower. I live in Belmont Shore. Your preaching has been a true blessing to me. The deeper knowledge has been so helpful and I am looking forwards to listening to more of your studies. God Bless You!

[@haachamachama7]

Jonah's ending blew me away when I first read it. God implies that Jonah wasn't just... upset that he lost his shade. He actually felt sorry for the plant. Maybe because it gave him shade and he felt thankful to it? But God doesn't say "You're upset that you lost your shade!" He says "You feel compassion on the plant" and even uses it to say shouldn't I feel compassion for the people of Nineveh? I know it's a weird thing to ponder, but I sat there when I first read Jonah and thought about it for like half an hour lol. The Bible is so amazing.

[@BrendaClark-s9q]

Thank you for this series, it has been wonderful. I have and will be recommending it to others for bible studies.

[@Derek_Baumgartner]

Thanks for this series! Especially that potent way to look at the end of Jonah. Keep up the great work!

[@ChrissyGotTheCoils]

Thank you for this series!!

[@amybee40]

It was wonderful to follow this whole series! Mike brings so many insights, even to someone like me who has had good Bible training for 50+ years.

[@GreekOrthodox7]

Visit Shamounian and James Snapp.

[@amybee40]

@@GreekOrthodox7 For more of the same? For contrast? I'd like to know why you are recommending these.

[@jaredskeen6986]

Thank you so much for doing these studies, if I attempted to research them myself, I would have been so confused and given up minutes in.

[@ptl316]

French comment 😉 ! Thank u Pastor Mike ! This really helps a lot in studying n discerning Scriptures. Looking forward to your next hard questions research n search for God's truth. May our Lord bless u n strengthen u brother. 👍🤗

[@angietyndall7337]

Bienevue, Dieu vous protège! 😁

[@ptl316]

@@angietyndall7337 merci beaucoup 👍

[@lorriepeek5636]

Easter Sunday 2022 and im watching the last video in the Mark series. Crazy that it worked out to finish this study on Easter. I have learn so much. Im glad i made it to the end. Thanks Mike. Your a great teacher. I'm amazed at how enthusiastic you are. It makes me want to hear more. Thanks Mike. Happy Easter ☦

[@bella-bee]

Dear Mike. This was fantastic, subtle, exciting. Thank you so much. I’m now quite content. Loved the comparisons with other books, like Jonah

[@G--rant]

Doing all this ending research was so worth it man I loved it and love how Jesus is shown to us by young Mark.

[@joseg.solano1891]

God bless. Read 1 Corinthians 11

[@kimdooley4589]

This whole series has been amazing. Thanks you!!! God has opened my eyes sooooo much through your teachings.

[@davidchupp4460]

The ending of Mark belongs without any doubt. I’d bet everything I own on that statement. He’s lost himself here.

[@wds1981]

Just finished the whole Mark series! Wow just wow what a blessing and I learned so much. From the bottom of my heart thank you for a the hard work and time you put into this sir. Can't wait to hear your teaching on women in ministry, and as you go though the book of Hebrews

[@Skyscraper21]

I love how you make your point in the beginning and then explain. With many videos the creators promise to bring everything to a conclusion and then it never comes. Also you put in so much work. Much appreciated!

[@cynthiaharris5736]

Mike Winger, I thought a lot about what I could tell you about what I’ve learned from you but the most important thing is the study skills that I have learned and I’m now passing on to my Sunday school students

[@just-jo84]

I started your Mark series 5.28.24 and am finishing it 6.8.24 - I think that could be considered binge watching! (12 days). It has been a tremendous blessing. (I've also been "knittering" away a lot of the time - finished some socks and a sweater 😂)

[@janetdavis160]

Thank you so much for all your hard work on the Gospel of Mark. Your teaching is indeed a blessing in my life and I thank God for you and pray His blessing upon you. Love from Canada 🇨🇦

[@ブィブィでーす]

And, scene! Proud to be here in this journey with you, Mike. I finally went through the whole Mark series with you. Can I just say, what a wonderful use of my vacation :) God bless you and I pray the Holy Spirit work through you in your ministry. God speed!

[@PeterTheRock-II]

Thank you brother for all you do. Looking forward to the Hebrew and women ministry studies

[@brandonrashtian7215]

Thank you for this series Pastor Mike! It has been a blessing to binge over the past few months! Excited for Hebrews :)

[@kimpaschal4263]

Thank you Mike! This is such a blessing to The Body of The Messiah!

[@edwinholcombe2741]

10 February, 2023 I just now finished all the videos of your Mark series. It took me about a year. I have been in a church all my life and I can say that I have never had such good teaching. I like your format of going verse by verse. Can you refer my to another channel that would teach another book of the Bible in the same format? Thank you for all your work and effort. The benefits it has on people will continue for many years to come as other people find this channel.

[@janetcannonteacher]

Former grammar teacher here...it's possible the "rule" about ending a sentence with "gar" is similar to why some people think there's a rule in English that we can't end a sentence in a preposition. "Authorities" who were trying to codify the rules decided that they'd enforce Latin grammar rules on a mainly Germanic system (English). It was a political move and resulted in clunky sentences.

[@amybee40]

I was thinking the same.

[@markmcreynolds3392]

I was thinking about the “can’t end a sentence with a preposition” also. I had a teacher that would continuously make me correct my papers which would result in the paper reading much worse than before the correction. This “rule” is broken all the time in just about every situation.

[@ProfYaffle]

American arriving at Oxford: can you tell me where the Bodleian library's at? Oxford Prof: in this country we don't put prepositions at the end of sentences American: ok. Can you tell me where the Bodleian library is at, a**hole? (I'm English btw)

[@amybee40]

@@ProfYaffle When I asked where something "was at?", my mother's standard reply was, "between the A and the T."

[@ProfYaffle]

@@amybee40 and are you passing that saying on to the next generation

[@derekhunter7176]

Encouraged by your love for God’s Word! Your engagement with Mark’s use of “fear” reminded me of Michael Reeves’ book Rejoice and Tremble. He makes the same biblical argument and it’s a glorious way to think about the fear of the Lord. Bless you and your ministry!

[@dawsonhicks5929]

I just heard the word gar more than I did in an entire semester of Ichthyology

[@amybee40]

LOL Glad I was not the only one who could not stop thinking of the fish every time he said that.

[@Notevenone]

All I could think about was alligator gar. Living in Louisiana they are native monsters here. I much prefer a tiny 3 letter word

[@SherryWilliams-u2w]

Thank you so much for doing this series. I have watched them all in the last month or so. It has been great to listen while I am doing my everyday “chores”. Learning while serving!!

[@daphnee.7501]

Thank you pastor Mike, for the past months your detailed teachings and wise insights have accompanied me, either on my bicycle or in the metro, commuting to work in Paris, France. Blessings

[@meepmeep545]

my tots after listening up to 1:10:00 i wonder if mark, writing peter's narration, stopped there partly because this was written to the earliest church, so it'd be like, "why write the next part down? many of you were there, you saw it yourselves" peter might have been focusing on the parts that only the 12+72+women witnessed to. as for the rest, just ask the those who are in your church then later, when those guys realised that Christ might not return in their lifetime, they decided to record down an epilogue summary for their church while they were still alive, and everyin the church would know that it wasn't part of the original gospel according to mark. and that it wasn't trying to masquerade as such, nor mimic mark's style. and since this is the last of this 70-parter from 2 yrs ago, thanks so much for your sweet labour edit: oh it was mentioned at 1:30:00

[@blancafarias9940]

God bless you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[@kazziemaccie]

Thanks so much Ps Mike for all your hours of study to bring this series. American Gospel opened my eyes to the need for verse by verse contextual study. Your explanation of Mark's Gospel, esp in the context of Christ's miracles, has been life-changing for me. God bless you!

[@bgshouse2785]

Thank you for this series. I have just finished it over the period of about two months. It has been amazing. I am truly thankful for your ministry, but I am more thankful to my Lord and Saviour who came, died and rose again for me. Such thanks is woefully inadequate and I do not think that eternity will be enough time to fully express my gratitude. But I am looking forward to trying to do so! May the Lord bless you richly here and in eternity Mike.

[@jacklynw794]

Thank you so very much for taking the time to focus on women in ministry. Thank you

[@michellebaran5933]

I love Mike's careful, thoughtful reasoning, that I believe totally refutes any doubts about this Gospel account-

[@siewtohong7138]

I can only say that 2 years on and your broadcast is still being discovered can only be because what you do is Faith inspired! May God continue to strengthen you in what you do!!

[@hotwings-nf6id]

I’m thankful for all the research and different perspectives having 3 different videos on this chapter alone… I will say it’s helpful and Mark is a great Gospel, but will always like Luke, John and Matthew more for the more in depth details in the stories

[@ShowaGojira92]

Just got done watching the entire series, thank you so much for your ministry Mike! It was incredibly edifying to hear you go through the whole gospel of Mark like that, eager to watch through your Jesus in the Old Testament series now. I pray that God continues to bless you and your ministry so you can keep on being a blessing to all of us!

[@YankeeStacking]

This was a phenomenal series and great final episode, which includes the information about gar. See what I did there. 😏

[@breaded_nuggets]

Thanks for the amazing content Pastor Mike!

[@lupemarierivera]

Hi Mike. My mentor introduced me to your channel a couple of years ago and I've been watching ever since. I finished the Mark Series today and wanted to thank you. Also, I'm praying for you and hope you feel better soon.

[@autumnsky4532]

Just finished all 70 videos. Thank you Mike. This really helped me have a stronger relationship with God and understanding his plan

[@dorothysittler7370]

I've been studying under K Arthur since 1993 and I have been taken to a new level with you, Mike. Thank you

[@brocklamle1388]

Your ministry is so helpful and it has helped me read God’s Word more carefully. I can’t wait for your Hebrews study!

[@orandegellogaming4793]

Thank you Mike, another great video, gar.

[@melbasile005-sy3dq]

Thank you so much for this wonderful series. It took many years, but wow, what a blessing! I also listen to all your Q&As and have done the whole Women in Ministry series. I’m off to Jesus in the OT next, then your Romans series. Thank you for these wonderful resources. May God continue to work in and through you powerfully. God bless from Australia 🙏🏼

[@littlerascaleventing]

I find the argument of 'a book would never end with the word "gar" ' interesting. I'm a writer and avid reader. Quite frankly, as an author, Mark has every right to end a book that way. Just because everyone else doesn't tend to do it, doesn't mean that he wouldn't have. And of course, we cannot forget that he was writing under the inspiration of the Spirit. As an author this just stood out to me XD great study Mike.

[@hey_its_me_932]

Awesome series Pastor Mike. May God continue to bless your ministry.

[@kellvey]

Thank you so much for doing this study. I've never been in my Bible so consistently as I have going through this book with you.

[@cletuswyns]

Pastor Mike; thank you for everything you do.

[@rebagail4989]

This series was so awesome, so interesting, enlightening and challenging.... THANK YOU, Mike!!!

[@markmcreynolds3392]

I think one of Mike’s greatest qualities is he can disagree with someone in the most kind way. This is something I really strive for. Not only am I learning how to Think Biblically, I feel as if I am leaning how to be kinder to people I disagree with.

[@pvdiiioab]

There has been much controversy over the final 12 verses of the Gospel of Mark. Behind this dispute lies some astonishing discoveries of profound significance. The oldest existing manuscripts of the Greek New Testament text are three that had their origins in Alexandria in the 4th and 5th centuries.1 Since they are the oldest (in our present possession), many regard them as having an eclipsing authority. There are a number of passages that do not appear in these Alexandrian manuscripts, and therein lies an intense ecclesiastical debate. Textus Receptus At the end of the 3rd century, Lucian of Antioch compiled a Greek text that achieved considerable popularity and became the dominant text throughout Christendom. It was produced prior to the Diocletain persecution (~303), during which many copies of the New Testament were confiscated and destroyed. After Constantine came to power, the Lucian text was propagated by bishops going out from the Antiochan school throughout the eastern world, and it soon became the standard text of the Eastern church, forming the basis of the Byzantine text. From the 6th to the 14th century, the great majority of New Testament manuscripts were produced in Byzantium, in Greek. It was in 1525 that Erasmus, using five or six Byzantine manuscripts dating from the 10th to the 13th centuries, compiled the first Greek text to be produced on a printing press, subsequently known as Textus Receptus ("Received Text"). The translators of the King James Version had over 5,000 manuscripts available to them, but they leaned most heavily on the major Byzantine manuscripts, particularly Textus Receptus. Textus Receptus Dethroned Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort were Anglican churchmen who had contempt for the Textus Receptus and began a work in 1853 that resulted, after 28 years, in a Greek New Testament based on the earlier Alexandrian manuscripts. Both men were strongly influenced by Origen and others who denied the deity of Jesus Christ and embraced the prevalent Gnostic heresies of the period. There are over 3,000 contradictions in the four gospels alone between these manuscripts. They deviated from the traditional Greek text in 8,413 places. They conspired to influence the committee that produced The New Testament in the Original Greek (1881 revision), and, thus, their work has been a major influence in most modern translations, dethroning the Textus Receptus. Detractors of the traditional King James Version regard the Westcott and Hort as a more academically acceptable literary source for guidance than the venerated Textus Receptus. They argue that the disputed passages were added later as scribal errors or amendments. Defenders of the Textus Receptus attack Westcott and Hort (and the Alexandrian manuscripts) as having expurgated these many passages, noting that these disputed passages underscore the deity of Christ, His atonement, His resurrection, and other key doctrines. They note that Alexandria was a major headquarters for the Gnostics, heretical sects that had begun to emerge even while John was still alive.2 (It is also evident that Westcott and Hort were not believers and opposed taking the Bible literally concerning the Atonement, Salvation, etc. If you read their personal writings you wouldn't dream of letting them lead your Sunday School class!)3 The Last 12 Verses of Mark Among the disputed passages are the final verses of the Gospel of Mark (16:9-20). (Look in your own Bible: you are likely to find an annotation that these were "added later.") The insistence that Mark's Gospel ends at 16:8 leaves the women afraid and fails to record the resurrection, Christ's final instructions, and the Ascension. It is understandable why these verses are an embarrassment to the Gnostics, and why Westcott and Hort would advocate their exclusion, and insist that they were "added later." However, it seems that Irenaeus in 150 A.D., and also Hypolytus in the 2nd century, each quote from these disputed verses, so the documentary evidence is that they were deleted later in the Alexandrian texts, not added subsequently.) But there is even more astonishing evidence for their original inclusion that is also profoundly instructive for broader reasons. The Fingerprints of the Author Let's examine these verses and explore their underlying design. Just as we encounter fingerprint or retinal scanners to verify an identity in today's technological environment, it seems that there is an astonishingly equivalent "fingerprint" hidden beneath the Biblical text that is still visible despite the veil of the centuries. (Fasten your seat belts!) The Heptadic Structure of Scripture Everyone who explores their Bible quickly discovers the pervasiveness of Seven: there are over 600 explicit occurrences of "sevens" throughout both the Old and New Testaments. As many of our readers are aware, there are also prevalent evidences of design hidden behind the text.4 The "Heptadic" (sevenfold) structure of Biblical text is one of the remarkable characteristics of its authenticity. What about these disputed 12 verses? There are 175 (7 x 25) words in the Greek text of Mark 16:9-20. Curious. These words use a total vocabulary of 98 different words (7 x 14), also an exact multiple of seven. That's also rather striking. Try constructing a passage in which both the number of words and the number of letters are precisely divisible by seven (with no remainder)! The random chance of a number being precisely divisible by 7 is one chance in seven. In seven tries, there will be an average of six failures. The chance of two numbers both being divisible by 7 exactly is one in 72, or one in 49. (This is a convenient simplification; some mathematical statisticians would argue the chance is one in 91.5 ) This still might be viewed as an accidental occurrence, or the casual contrivance of a clever scribe. But let's look further. The number of letters in this passage is 553, also a precise multiple of seven (7 x 79). This is getting a bit more tricky. The chance of three numbers accidentally being precisely divisible by seven is one in 73, or one in 343. This increasingly appears to be suspiciously deliberate. In fact, the number of vowels is 294 (7 x 42); and the number of consonants is 259 (7 x 37). Do you sense that someone has gone through a lot of trouble to hide a design or signature behind this text? As we examine the vocabulary of those 98 (7 x 14) words: 84 (7 x 12) are found before in Mark; 14 (7 x 2) are found only here. 42 (7 x 6) are found in the Lord's address (vv.15-18); 56 (7 x 8) are not part of His vocabulary here. This is, conspicuously, not random chance at work, but highly skillful design. But just how skillful? With 10 such heptadic features, it would take 710, or 282,475,249 attempts for these to occur by chance alone. How long would it take the composer to redraft an alternative attempt to obtain the result he was looking for? If he could accomplish an attempt in only 10 minutes, working 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, these would take him over 23,540 years! But there's more. The total word forms in the passage are 133 (7 x 19). 112 of them (7 x 16) occur only once, leaving 21 (7 x 3) of them occurring more than once; in fact, these occur 63 (7 x 9) times. If we examine more closely the 175 words (7x 25), we discover that 56 (7 x 8) words appear in the address of the Lord and 119 (7 x 17) appear in the rest of the passage. The natural divisions of the passage would be the appearance to Mary, verses 9-11; His subsequent appearances, verses 12-14; Christ's discourse, verses 15-18; and the conclusion in verses 19-20. We discover that verses 9-11 involve 35 words (7 x 5). Verses 12-18, 105 (7 x 15) words; verse 12, 14 (7 x 2) words; verses 13-15, 35 (7 x 5) words; verses 16-18, 56 (7 x 8) words. The conclusion, verses 19-20, contains 35 (7 x 5) words. It gets worse. Greek, like Hebrew, has assigned numerical values to each letter of its alphabet. Thus, each word also has a numerical ("gematrical") value. The total numerical value of the passage is 103,656 (7 x 14,808). The value of v.9 is 11,795 (7 x 1,685); v.10 is 5,418 (7 x 774); v.11 is 11,795 (7 x 1,685); vv.12-20, 86,450 (7 x 12,350). In verse 10, the first word is 98 (7 x 14), the middle word is 4,529 (7 x 647), and the last word is 791 (7 x 113). The value of the total word forms is 89,663 (7 x 12,809). And so on. Individual words also tell a tale. (click for Greek), deadly (v.18) is not found elsewhere in the New Testament. It has a numeric value of 581 (7 x 83), and is preceded in the vocabulary list by 42 (6 x 7) words, and in the passage itself by 126 (7 x 18) words. This all is among the legendary results of the work by Dr. Ivan Panin. (See inset below). In fact, he identified 75 heptadic features of the last 12 verses of Mark.7 We have highlighted only 34 heptadic features. If a supercomputer could be programmed to attempt 400 million attempts/second, working day and night, it would take one million of them over four million years to identify a combination of 734 heptadic features by unaided chance alone.7 Authentication Codes Just as we encounter coding devices in our high technology environments, here we have an automatic security system that monitors every letter of every word, that never rusts or wears out, and has remained in service for almost two thousand years! It is a signature that can't be erased and which counterfeiters can't simulate. Why are we surprised? God has declared that He "has magnified His word even above His name!"8 We can, indeed, have confidence that, in fact, the Bible is God's Holy Word, despite the errors man has introduced and the abuse it has suffered throughout the centuries. It is our most precious possession-individually as well as collectively. And it never ceases to unveil surprises to anyone that diligently inquires into it.

[@clickbeetle19]

A good study, Mike! I appreciate the scene you suggest at 1:26:05, of how early church meetings may have responded to the abrupt ending, with eyewitness to the resurrected Jesus standing to share what happened next. At 1:29:34, you mention that Mark was most likely the first gospel. Growing up in Sunday school, I always assumed the Bible was presented in the order written, hah. In college, a socialist professor first introduced to me the idea that Mark was necessarily written first since it was the shortest, but actually had I heard about the "Q gospel" etc. I found it annoying but not faith-shaking, but I was unequipped to deal with it then. I did recently hear an interesting study by Underground Publishing on The Order of the Gospels, which dug into the early church tradition (spoiler: Matthew written first), and when and where the idea came from that Mark must have been written first. I found it very informative and helpful.

[@danstewart3319]

So Mark's gospel was incomplete and some elder was inspired by the Holy Spirit to fix it, or worse, some elder "fixed it" b/c the Christian community erroneously thought it was incomplete? Either way, that means the Holy Spirit was new at the job. Mark may have been the first gospel writer, but he was LED by the Holy Spirit , and the HS is not sloppy or an amateur.

[@clickbeetle19]

@@danstewart3319 The point is that Matthew was written first, a collaboration of the apostles about Jesus teaching, scribed by Matthew, and included resurrection accounts. Mark scribes the story from Peter's account. We know Peter was killed, so it makes sense that his account got cut off at some point. I personally believe that the Holy Spirit inspired the writings of Mark, and inspired the addition later. My concern is with so-called scholars who impose their modern ideas back into history to claim that Mark must be the earliest because its the shortest, and then use that to claim that anything not included in the short version of Mark must therefore be false, which would ultimately cast doubt on the accounts of the resurrection of Jesus. But understanding that Matthew was written first, the gospel of Mark falls into place for what it is, the account of Peter, possibly cut short by his death, and someone was further inspired by the Holy Spirit to add in the resurrection appearances.

[@danstewart3319]

@@clickbeetle19 If Mark was just scribing the gospel for Peter, why would Peter write his first letter before he finished his gospel? Also, Peter wrote his second letter while in prison. Again, no mention of a gospel he was in the process of writing, or any attempt to complete it, so, imo, Mark penned his gospel after Peter's death. Regardless, I too view verses 9-20 as inspired by the Holy Spirit.

[@fluffysheap]

@@danstewart3319 Peter didn't write 2 Peter, and he probably didn't write 1 Peter either. They don't tell us much about the composition of Mark.

[@Crazychickenlady448]

You are an inspiration, Mr. Winger! Thank you and may the Lord bless you and your ministry!

[@passthebaton7916]

Great ending to the Mark study. Aa to the word "fear" being different when Jesus is answering Satan in Luke 4 (KJV) he says you are to "worship" the Lord, but the passage he is quoting in Duet 6 it says "fear". Obviously the word has changed a bit. It was probably more of an awe in this sense.

[@r0kus]

I was about to comment something very similar. Mike avoids saying "awe", but it seems clear he is frequently talking about "awe" when he tells us that the old meaning of fear did not always mean terror or horror.

[@Jhart44]

So I guys don’t think the Bible is word of God?

[@r0kus]

@@Jhart44 ? I'm not sure what we said that would lead you to wonder that. To acknowledge the word "fear" had a generally broader meaning even 100 years ago is one of the main points Mike was making. Words change meaning over time. It is one reason why translations keep being made. Also, translations can contain unintentional (or sometimes intentional) bias from the translators. To minimize this, Mike often refers back to the ancient Greek or Hebrew words.

[@Ediadana]

Wow… that was awesome! Thank you! I have learned so much and it really benefits my Bible study. Blessings from The Netherlands :)

[@mirjanabosnjak8064]

I appreciate your videos even when I disagree. Some questions will be resolved by future generations, after us.. let us pursue the LORD!😁 I'm going through your series on Jesus in OT and it's awesome

[@johno3690]

God bless you Mike. I really appreciate all of the content. Your thorough study of the scriptures have really brought me closer to Christ. I look forward to your teaching every week. Thank you.

[@Tempest25.28]

I love that Pastor Mike uses Jonah as an example cause the first time I read the book that was exactly what I did.

[@sherrylhenning5630]

Keep giving us stuff that makes us THINK! My brain will be chewing on this all week! Women in ministry? That's a tough one! Yes, extra PRAYERS on that! All the way until you've finished it! I turn 60 this year. That means I've lived through the entire process of women becoming full fledged senior pastors. If you think my observations and experiences would be useful, let me know. I have both.

[@kneedeepinit]

Thank you so much for this series. It is against my character to stick with something this long to the end . I did because your videos are giving me a love for the word. Thank you

[@leodegariobocong9175]

Thank you Ptr Mike and God bless you more..

[@williamstrathman7117]

Well done Mike! Just to reiterate what you mentioned near the end. Growing numbers of Markan researchers see internal signs that Mark was composed specifically for reciting aloud to audiences, see William Lane, R.T. France, and Christopher Bryan among others. That being the case, and remembering that Paul was convinced to explain his message at the Areopagus in Athens, it seems reasonable to suppose that Mark's composition was read aloud to general audiences in Rome, even apart from being read to congregations of believers. So, the women who fled the empty tomb in Jerusalem, not telling anyone . . . has quickly led to publicly reciting the Good News in the capitol of the empire, Rome. If so, then self-evidently, there is no argument to be had about "lack of narration" of Messiah's resurrection in the final verses of Mark.

[@benrex7775]

Nice info. Thanks.

[@Yawnyaman]

Interesting point

[@mits02galant]

Perfect ending brother. I can't wait to see what's next.

[@moomin8251]

Your humility and grace to others, your love of the truth and in depth teaching is fantastic, it should be like this in all churches. If you are also preparing your people for what is coming in this world, you are my perfect Pastor!

[@shizlegizmgar]

Thanks so much for all your hard work brother. Been such a blessing to listen to your teachings and learn from you, and share many of the things I’ve learned from your teachings with my friends and others God bless you. Take a break! Haha

[@e-studio5200]

I very much appreciate the approach in your studies to find the truth. I mean that's what it's all about. Even if the truth you find isn't the answer that you hoped. It sometimes leads to even more understanding in the truth. Your faith is strong in the word and I admire that immensely and hope that I am the same way. The deeper we go into the word the more truth is revealed and also the strengthening of our faith because the word of God always pans out. Usually leading to more amazing confirmations of God's plan throughout the whole existence of this Earth and his relationship with mankind. God has preserved his word and truth. The last 12 verses of Mark are in there for a reason

[@jennybozynski1660]

This was one of the best studies I have ever heard on the book of Mark. Thank you Mike!

[@mahjonggmjb]

Hi Mike! Chuck Missler addressed this issue of Mark 16:9-20 in his lecture on Cosmic Codes Part 3. The Mark commentary begins at 27:20. The video is available on KZbin.

[@michaelmagee4318]

Thanks Pastor Mike as always a wonderful message. Gar.

[@1jasonmurray1]

This was an amazing series!! Just finished it today. Thanks Pastor Mike for putting in the time to do a thorough study. I’m definitely going to go back through it in the future probably after Hebrews😊!! Guess the women in ministry study has to be finished first though 😳.

[@kathleens.laroche754]

Okay, but compared to most of your listeners - no offense intended, people - you have a LOT of capacity! What a superlative job of research you have done. God bless you for it and thank you for blessing us with it. My hat is off to you. Bravo.

[@suzanholland]

Hands down my favorite video of yours that I have watched! He is risen!

[@davidfayfield6594]

Hi beautiful