So how do these trees fit in with end times prophecy? Well, the Prophets spoke alot about the condition and future of these trees.
The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: "Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand." Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil. Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners. And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. If the LORD of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! "What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. "When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations-- I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken." How the faithful city has become a whore, she who was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers. Your silver has become dross, your best wine mixed with water. Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow's cause does not come to them. Therefore the Lord declares, the LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: "Ah, I will get relief from my enemies and avenge myself on my foes. I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross as with lye and remove all your alloy. And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city." Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness. But rebels and sinners shall be broken together, and those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed. For they shall be ashamed of the oaks that you desired; and you shall blush for the gardens that you have chosen. For you shall be like an oak whose leaf withers, and like a garden without water. And the strong shall become tinder, and his work a spark, and both of them shall burn together, with none to quench them. (Isa 1:1-31 ESV)
Zion will be ashamed of the gardens she chose to tend instead of the King's Garden. God's judgment will come because of the wickedness of the daughters of Zion and their cities and forests will be cut down and burned.
You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. It sent out its branches to the sea and its shoots to the River. Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it. Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, the stock that your right hand planted, and for the son whom you made strong for yourself. They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your face! But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself! Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call upon your name! Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved! (Psa 80:8-19 ESV)
Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars! Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, for the glorious trees are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the thick forest has been felled!
(Zec 11:1-2 ESV)
For wickedness burns like the fire; it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall roll upwards like the lifting up of smoke. Through the wrath of Jehovah of Hosts is the land scorched, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire; no man shall have pity on his brother. And he shall cut off on the right hand and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left, and they shall not be satisfied. Each man shall eat the flesh of his own arm; Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together shall be against Judah. In all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.
(Isa 9:18-21 MKJV)
Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. (Pro 14:29 ESV)
The Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some count slowness, but is long-suffering toward us, not purposing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a rushing noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. And the earth and the works in it will be burned up. Then, all these things being about to be dissolved, what sort ought you to be in holy behavior and godliness, looking for and rushing the coming of the Day of God, on account of which the heavens, being on fire, will melt away, and the elements will melt, burning with heat? But according to His promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking for these things, be diligent, spotless, and without blemish, to be found by Him in peace.
(2Pe 3:9-14 MKJV)
Even though God is angry at us, He still stretches out His hand of forgiveness to us. His day of wrath, or "day of the Lord", is slow coming because He loves us and doesn't want anyone to perish. We should be full of joy because King Jesus is coming to judge the earth.
Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity." Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness. (Psa 96:10-13 ESV)
Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. (1Ch 16:33 ESV)
"For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."
(Isa 55:12-13 ESV)
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psa 1:1-6 ESV)
"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. "And in that day, declares the LORD, you will call me 'My Husband,' and no longer will you call me 'My Baal.' For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD. "And in that day I will answer, declares the LORD, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth, and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel, and I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, 'You are my people'; and he shall say, 'You are my God.'"
(Hos 2:14-23 ESV)
So the Lord Jehovah says this to them: Behold I Myself will even judge between the fat lamb and the lean lamb. Because you have thrust with side and with shoulder, and have pushed all the weak with your horns until you have scattered them to the outside, therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey. And I will judge between lamb and lamb. And I will set up one Shepherd over them, and He shall feed them, My servant David. He shall feed them, and He shall be their Shepherd. And I Jehovah will be their God, and My servant David a ruler among them. I Jehovah have spoken. And I will make a covenant of peace with them, and will send the evil beasts out of the land. And they shall dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will make them, and the places around My hill, a blessing; and I will bring down the shower in its season. There shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. And they shall be safe in their land, and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hands of those who enslaved them. And no more shall they be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beast of the land eat them. But they shall dwell safely, and none shall terrify them. And I will raise up for them a noted planting place, and they shall never again be of those gathered by famine in the land, nor shall they bear the shame of the nations any more. And they shall know that I, Jehovah their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people, says the Lord Jehovah.
(Eze 34:20-30 MKJV)
King Jesus is coming to reign in peace forever on His holy mountain, where the righteous and faithful trees will be permanently planted.
"You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode. The peoples have heard; they tremble; pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia. Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone, till your people, O LORD, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased. You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established. The LORD will reign forever and ever."
(Exo 15:13-18 ESV)
The trees will become one Tree of Life, or one nation in the end.
And the Word of Jehovah came to me, saying, And you, son of man, take a stick and write on it, For Judah and for his companions, the sons of Israel. And take another stick and write on it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel, his companions. And join them to one another into one stick. And they shall become one in your hand. And when the sons of your people shall speak to you, saying, Will you not declare to us what these mean to you? Say to them, So says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions, and I will put them with him, with the stick of Judah, and will make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand. And the sticks on which you write shall be in your hand before their eyes. And say to them, So says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and will gather them on every side, and will bring them into their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel, and one King shall be king to them all. And they shall not still be two nations, nor shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. Nor shall they be defiled with their idols, even with their filthy idols, nor with all of their transgressions. But I will save them out of all their dwelling places, in them where they sinned, and will cleanse them. And they shall be to Me for a people, and I will be to them for God. And David My servant shall be King over them. And there shall be one Shepherd to all of them. And they shall walk in My judgments, and obey My Laws, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, the land in which your fathers have lived. And they shall dwell in it, even they and their sons, and the sons of their sons for ever. And My servant David shall be their ruler forever. And I will cut a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever. And My tabernacle shall be with them. Yea, I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And the nations shall know that I Jehovah sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary shall be in their midst forever. (Eze 37:15-28 MKJV)
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
The King's Garden - Part 1
As I continue to study "women", "mothers", "daughters", and "virgins" in the Bible, I am beginning to see a connection in scripture between women and trees.
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gets understanding. For the profit from it is better than the gain from silver, and its produce more than fine gold; she is more precious than rubies; and all the things you can desire are not to be compared with her. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand, riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold upon her; and happy is everyone who keeps her. (Pro 3:13-18 MKJV)
To understand this connection, we need to go back to the beginning of the Bible where "trees" are first mentioned.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day. (Gen 1:11-13 KJV)
And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Gen 2:8-17 ESV)
The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in the middle of God's first garden, the Garden of Eden. In the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, a garden with a tree is described again.
And he showed me a pure river of Water of Life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of its street, and of the river, from here and from there, was the Tree of Life, which bore twelve fruits, each yielding its fruit according to one month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And every curse will no longer be; but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will serve Him. And they will see His face, and His name will be in their foreheads. And there will be no night there. And they need no lamp, or light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light. And they will reign forever and ever. And he said to me, These sayings are faithful and true. And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show to His servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the Words of the prophecy of this Book. And I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel showing me these things. Then he said to me, Behold! See, do not do it! For I am your fellow-servant, and of your brothers the prophets, and of those who keep the Words of this Book. Do worship to God. And he said to me, Do not seal the Words of the prophecy of this Book; for the time is at hand. He acting unjustly, let him still act unjustly. And the filthy, let him be filthy still. And the righteous, let him be righteous still. And the holy, let him be holy still. And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to each according as his work is. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last. Blessed are they who do His commandments, that their authority will be over the Tree of Life, and they may enter in by the gates into the city. (Rev 22:1-14 MKJV)
In Isaiah 46:9-10, God says that He declared the end from the beginning. I believe that God planned from the beginning how He would restore His garden.
The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is on Me, because Jehovah has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the meek. He has sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and complete opening to the bound ones; to proclaim the acceptable year of Jehovah, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to appoint to those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of the spirit of infirmity, so that one calls them trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, in order to beautify Himself. And they shall build old ruins; they shall raise up former desolations; and they shall restore the waste cities, ruins of generations and generations. (Isa 61:1-4 LITV)
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that is wise winneth souls.
(Pro 11:30 JPS)
In the end, there will only be one tree in God's garden - the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is in the midst of New Jerusalem, the Bride of the King. King Jesus came to make us trees of righteousness that will repair the ruined cities. The fruit of our trees will produce the Tree of Life that is described in the book of Revelation, the one that produces twelve fruits and leaves to heal the nations.
So that means the soul of the wife of King Jesus is His new garden (review BLT Level 3 - Lesson 15h: A Nourished and Enlarged New Soul). The Church has been given the duty to grow and take care of her new soul (review BLT Level 4 - Lesson 17: The Division of the Kingdom). Seven trees are planted there right now, one for each of the seven churches to tend and to keep. Each tree produces fruit according to their kind. In the book of Isaiah, we find out the names of these seven trees and where they are located.
I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive. I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together, that they may see and know, may consider and understand together, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it. (Isa 41:19-20 ESV)
The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. (Psa 104:16 ESV)
The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
(Psa 92:12-15 ESV)
How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your tabernacles, O Israel! They are spread forth like the valleys, like gardens by the river's side, like the trees of aloes which Jehovah has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters. And his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
(Num 24:5-7 MKJV)
He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
(Mat 13:37-38 KJV)
They were planted in the field of the world, 4 in the wilderness and 3 in the desert. More trees grew, according to their kind. So the fruitful field became a forest in the Kingdom. The seven virgin daughters were supposed to tend to the King's Garden, but they let things get out of hand and let the weeds grow up and take over. They also started to make their own gardens to produce their own "tree of the knowledge of good and evil", separating themselves from each other. But the fruit of their trees began to dry up and rot, and now the harvest will not come.
And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 'Thus says the LORD, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.' "But they say, 'That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.' "Therefore thus says the LORD: Ask among the nations, Who has heard the like of this? The virgin Israel has done a very horrible thing.
(Jer 18:9-13 ESV)
Rise up, women who are at ease; hear my voice, careless daughters; listen to my speech. Many days and years you shall be troubled, careless women; for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come. Tremble, women at ease; be troubled, careless ones; strip yourselves and make yourselves bare, and bind sackcloth on your loins. They shall mourn for the breasts, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. On the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, on all the houses of joy in the joyous city; because the palace shall be deserted, the multitude of the city shall be forsaken; instead the mound and tower shall be for dens forever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks until the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is thought to be a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the service of righteousness shall be quietness and hope forever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable home, and in secure dwellings and quiet resting places. Though it hails, when the forest is felled, and the city laid low. Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send out the feet of the ox and the ass.
(Isa 32:9-20 MKJV)
Judgment is coming to their wild gardens. The forests and gardens of the careless daughters will be cut down and their cities will be destroyed, just like their mother's vine.
Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard planted by the water, fruitful and full of branches by reason of abundant water. Its strong stems became rulers' scepters; it towered aloft among the thick boughs; it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches. But the vine was plucked up in fury, cast down to the ground; the east wind dried up its fruit; they were stripped off and withered. As for its strong stem, fire consumed it. Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land. And fire has gone out from the stem of its shoots, has consumed its fruit, so that there remains in it no strong stem, no scepter for ruling. This is a lamentation and has become a lamentation.
(Eze 19:10-14 ESV)
But there is still hope for the trees and their fruit - the King has promised to send a latter rain if the daughters return to their first love, to His vine and garden, and fix their eyes upon the face of the King!
"For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease. Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put out branches like a young plant." (Job 14:7-9 ESV)
I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
(Joh 15:5 MKJV)
In the light of the face of the king is life, and his favor is like a cloud of the latter rain. (Pro 16:15 LITV)
'Come, and let us return unto the LORD; for He hath torn, and He will heal us, He hath smitten, and He will bind us up. After two days will He revive us, on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence. And let us know, eagerly strive to know the LORD, His going forth is sure as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth.'
(Hos 6:1-3 JPS)
IT'S TIME FOR THE CHURCH TO RETURN AND FOCUS ALL HER EFFORTS INTO KNOWING AND LOVING KING JESUS!!!
http://www.basiclovetraining.org
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gets understanding. For the profit from it is better than the gain from silver, and its produce more than fine gold; she is more precious than rubies; and all the things you can desire are not to be compared with her. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand, riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold upon her; and happy is everyone who keeps her. (Pro 3:13-18 MKJV)
To understand this connection, we need to go back to the beginning of the Bible where "trees" are first mentioned.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day. (Gen 1:11-13 KJV)
And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Gen 2:8-17 ESV)
The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in the middle of God's first garden, the Garden of Eden. In the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, a garden with a tree is described again.
And he showed me a pure river of Water of Life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of its street, and of the river, from here and from there, was the Tree of Life, which bore twelve fruits, each yielding its fruit according to one month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And every curse will no longer be; but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will serve Him. And they will see His face, and His name will be in their foreheads. And there will be no night there. And they need no lamp, or light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light. And they will reign forever and ever. And he said to me, These sayings are faithful and true. And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show to His servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the Words of the prophecy of this Book. And I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel showing me these things. Then he said to me, Behold! See, do not do it! For I am your fellow-servant, and of your brothers the prophets, and of those who keep the Words of this Book. Do worship to God. And he said to me, Do not seal the Words of the prophecy of this Book; for the time is at hand. He acting unjustly, let him still act unjustly. And the filthy, let him be filthy still. And the righteous, let him be righteous still. And the holy, let him be holy still. And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to each according as his work is. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last. Blessed are they who do His commandments, that their authority will be over the Tree of Life, and they may enter in by the gates into the city. (Rev 22:1-14 MKJV)
In Isaiah 46:9-10, God says that He declared the end from the beginning. I believe that God planned from the beginning how He would restore His garden.
The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is on Me, because Jehovah has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the meek. He has sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and complete opening to the bound ones; to proclaim the acceptable year of Jehovah, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to appoint to those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of the spirit of infirmity, so that one calls them trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, in order to beautify Himself. And they shall build old ruins; they shall raise up former desolations; and they shall restore the waste cities, ruins of generations and generations. (Isa 61:1-4 LITV)
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that is wise winneth souls.
(Pro 11:30 JPS)
In the end, there will only be one tree in God's garden - the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is in the midst of New Jerusalem, the Bride of the King. King Jesus came to make us trees of righteousness that will repair the ruined cities. The fruit of our trees will produce the Tree of Life that is described in the book of Revelation, the one that produces twelve fruits and leaves to heal the nations.
So that means the soul of the wife of King Jesus is His new garden (review BLT Level 3 - Lesson 15h: A Nourished and Enlarged New Soul). The Church has been given the duty to grow and take care of her new soul (review BLT Level 4 - Lesson 17: The Division of the Kingdom). Seven trees are planted there right now, one for each of the seven churches to tend and to keep. Each tree produces fruit according to their kind. In the book of Isaiah, we find out the names of these seven trees and where they are located.
I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive. I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together, that they may see and know, may consider and understand together, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it. (Isa 41:19-20 ESV)
The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. (Psa 104:16 ESV)
The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
(Psa 92:12-15 ESV)
How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your tabernacles, O Israel! They are spread forth like the valleys, like gardens by the river's side, like the trees of aloes which Jehovah has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters. And his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
(Num 24:5-7 MKJV)
He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
(Mat 13:37-38 KJV)
They were planted in the field of the world, 4 in the wilderness and 3 in the desert. More trees grew, according to their kind. So the fruitful field became a forest in the Kingdom. The seven virgin daughters were supposed to tend to the King's Garden, but they let things get out of hand and let the weeds grow up and take over. They also started to make their own gardens to produce their own "tree of the knowledge of good and evil", separating themselves from each other. But the fruit of their trees began to dry up and rot, and now the harvest will not come.
And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 'Thus says the LORD, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.' "But they say, 'That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.' "Therefore thus says the LORD: Ask among the nations, Who has heard the like of this? The virgin Israel has done a very horrible thing.
(Jer 18:9-13 ESV)
Rise up, women who are at ease; hear my voice, careless daughters; listen to my speech. Many days and years you shall be troubled, careless women; for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come. Tremble, women at ease; be troubled, careless ones; strip yourselves and make yourselves bare, and bind sackcloth on your loins. They shall mourn for the breasts, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. On the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, on all the houses of joy in the joyous city; because the palace shall be deserted, the multitude of the city shall be forsaken; instead the mound and tower shall be for dens forever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks until the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is thought to be a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the service of righteousness shall be quietness and hope forever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable home, and in secure dwellings and quiet resting places. Though it hails, when the forest is felled, and the city laid low. Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send out the feet of the ox and the ass.
(Isa 32:9-20 MKJV)
Judgment is coming to their wild gardens. The forests and gardens of the careless daughters will be cut down and their cities will be destroyed, just like their mother's vine.
Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard planted by the water, fruitful and full of branches by reason of abundant water. Its strong stems became rulers' scepters; it towered aloft among the thick boughs; it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches. But the vine was plucked up in fury, cast down to the ground; the east wind dried up its fruit; they were stripped off and withered. As for its strong stem, fire consumed it. Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land. And fire has gone out from the stem of its shoots, has consumed its fruit, so that there remains in it no strong stem, no scepter for ruling. This is a lamentation and has become a lamentation.
(Eze 19:10-14 ESV)
But there is still hope for the trees and their fruit - the King has promised to send a latter rain if the daughters return to their first love, to His vine and garden, and fix their eyes upon the face of the King!
"For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease. Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put out branches like a young plant." (Job 14:7-9 ESV)
I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
(Joh 15:5 MKJV)
In the light of the face of the king is life, and his favor is like a cloud of the latter rain. (Pro 16:15 LITV)
'Come, and let us return unto the LORD; for He hath torn, and He will heal us, He hath smitten, and He will bind us up. After two days will He revive us, on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence. And let us know, eagerly strive to know the LORD, His going forth is sure as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth.'
(Hos 6:1-3 JPS)
IT'S TIME FOR THE CHURCH TO RETURN AND FOCUS ALL HER EFFORTS INTO KNOWING AND LOVING KING JESUS!!!
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