HEAVEN AND HEAVENS

KEY VERSES: He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great… Ye are blessed of the Lord which made heaven and earth. The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men. (Psalm 115:13,15-16)

  The word “God” in the Bible is in Hebrew, ‘el, which is singular. Also, “God” is found in the plural form, 'elohiym. Hidden within those two words is one God with three substances in homeostasis; that is stable equilibrium between independent substances. 'Elohiym is the stasis; and the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost are the three “substances” in stasis. Since all three Substances complement each other, the “godhead” is in homeostasis.
  There are three “Substances” in stasis: the invisible, the visible, and the power. The Father is invisible and resides in heaven, the Son is the visible and resides in earth, and the Holy Spirit is the power, and is the intermediary between the heaven and the earth, or the Father and the Son. The godhead is called the Holy Trinity by theologians because God is three-in-one, or three “Substances” in one Existence.
  However, theologians seem to have it wrong! God is not three “persons” with three “personalities,” but one person with one personality. A “person” is a human being, and the “personality” is how persons interface with their existence, or state of being.  Of course, the basic definition has been stretched by early church fathers to include the other substances as “persons.” That leads to confusion as some visualize God as three separate and distinct physical persons. However, a better description of God is that He IS according to His Purposes. For instance, to plan the Creation, God IS Mind; to mold God used His Hands (He IS Flesh); and to twist the mold God IS Power.  In all three substances, God IS in each! “IS” is the One Existence. Therefore, Existence IS three substances.
  In order to remold mankind again, God used His Flesh and manifested His physical “substance” (Jesus) as a person and revealed His Personality. Jesus, God’s physical substance; was good, perfect, innocent, charitable, humble, gracious, and so forth. He showed Himself in the Flesh to transmit those qualities to preserve His “images” (mankind). When the time comes for the Re-creation, God will show Himself in the Flesh again. Note that in all cases, God is not three different “persons” but manifests Himself for different Purposes. His Purpose in all Substances is to serve and preserve His creatures!
  That background is presented so as to understand the plurality within the singularity of God. ‘El IS God’s Oneness, and ‘Elohymn IS His Plurality.
  In like manner, shamayim is plural and is translated as either “heaven” or “heavens,” and although there is a singular form of that noun, the Hebrew never uses it in scripture. Just as ‘elohiym means either “god” or “gods,” because of God’s Oneness, shamayim means either Heaven or heavens for the same reason. There is one Heaven with multiple substances. Just as God is God whatever His Substances, heaven is Heaven in all its substances. Its substances are the heavens. The one overall “Heaven” is capitalized because it describes the totality of the heavens.
 What am I inferring? That as God has three substances, but is still One God, Heaven has multiple substances but is still One Heaven. The individual “heavens” are its substances. Two substances are obvious; the visible and the invisible, just as with God. Power is difficult to physically comprehend. It must be sensed. The Holy Spirit, the “power” substance of God is sensed by the sixth sense – “proprioception,” and that is how the physical interacts with the space surrounding it. That grandiose word describes quite well, “the Comforter,” the substance of God interacting with people, and is descriptive of God’s Holy Spirit.
  Christians not only interact (proprioception) with the physical “space” (the environment), but the spiritual environment as well. Christians interact with the unseen as well as the seen. Christians sense God as He silently tests, reproves, and comforts us. Non-Christians seem to not have a fully developed sixth sense because theirs is limited to the visible “space” surrounding them. The Books of Adam and Eve refer to “bright natures.” That was Adam’s and Eve’s ability, after they were converted, to sense God’s Holy Spirit. They also saw “the Word,” Jesus, with bright eyes because of their bright natures, or a spiritually aided sixth sense.
  Paul said that a person he knew years ago had a blessed experience: “I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven” (2 Cor 12:2). The point is that “the third heaven” is a substance within the Heaven. There are many different ideas about where the heavens are and how many. Paul spoke of three. Enoch spoke of ten heavens, and indicated that the third heaven contains both Paradise and Hell, and are separated by a barrier of some type.
  Scripture speaks of “Hell” as if its location is beneath the earth. Perhaps a better description is within the earth. I am implying that the earth and the heaven may coexist in the same place in different substances. Theologians, at least some, believe that the first heaven is the waters of planet Earth, the second heaven is what is seen above (the lofty), and the third heaven is the unseen realm aloft. The unseen substance is what Christians call “Paradise” or “Heaven.” Heaven (with a capital “H”) may consist of ten individual heavens, or substances.
  The best or most elementary meaning of shamayim is “water is there.” We know that God “divided the waters from the waters” or the mayim from the mayim, which is the root noun of shamayim. Judaism believes in three shamayim, or three places of waters. Shamayim, by direct translation, means “waters aloft” (Wikipedia; “shamayim”). In their viewpoint, Heaven consists of the unseen bliss – the heavens, Sheol – the unseen place of punishment for the dead, and the earth (the physical existence.) The three substances of Shamayim is much as the substances of God. However, Heaven contains Hell as a place, but God contains Paradise instead of Hell as there is no death in Heaven, or Paradise.
  From the key verses, “The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.” I believe that means that the “waters” belong to the Lord, but the matter (material) belongs to mankind in their natural state. More directly, “waters” is “semen.” The “semen,” so to speak, is God’s waters generating the unseen (the heaven) and the seen (the earth). Perhaps that means particles in their streams, and hence we have bosons, fermions, and hadrons as “cosmic semen”, the latter of which divides the waters from the waters (Gen 1:6), or hadrons divided the bosons from the fermions. Fermions are unseen and bosons are the seen, and both are particles, or elements as is the earth.
  Fermions exist in the heavens, and are assumed to exist in the earth as well since the atoms of the earth are as the systems of the suns and planets.
  Rather than the heavens, Hell, and the physical being three separate locations, perhaps they are three realms, or substances, in one just as God IS. After all, God IS Existence, and so are the various heavens in one Heaven.
  We know from scripture that Jairius’s daughter died, and when Jesus wakened her from her “sleep” that her spirit returned. She didn’t seem to GO anywhere. She was merely translated from a seen state to an unseen state, and back again. The same happened to Jesus. He told the repentant thief that, that day they would be together in Paradise. It was at the end of the day they were crucified. They did not seem to GO anywhere, but were possibly translated from one substance, or realm, to another.
  Some sense angels and loved ones. I know of a man who sensed Hell and Satan before he died. Perhaps they are around us just as Jesus resides within Christians. I submit that if you can’t sense the Holy Spirit – the Ghost of Jesus – that perhaps God’s Spirit is not in your “temple.” With God’s Temple empty adversaries always move in. In the Old Testament, oftentimes evil people left the Temple empty, and at other times, it was defiled. The human soul (God’s Temple within us) can either be vacated or filled with other spirits. The man of Gadarene had his empty soul filled with demons, but Jesus cast them out into hogs. The demons were translated from one existence to another immediately. Time for spiritual travel was nil.
  My hope is for the reader to consider Heaven and Hell. Just because they cannot be seen or detected with instrumentation, does not make them not real substances. Just because God is unseen at the present does not make Him non-Existent. I presented the case for science because it makes sense if scripture is interpreted literally. However translation from one substance to another does not necessarily take time. The barrier between science and creationism is time. Can you see time? No. Do you believe in time? Surely, because you have experienced it! Well, Christians with that sixth sense have experienced the unseen; we have experienced God!

Abraham's Bosom (credit: clseducation.org)

THE DAVIDIC COVENANT

KEY VERSES: For thy servant David's sake turn not away the face of thine anointed. The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. (Psalm 132:10-11)

  The Edenic Covenant promised a return to Paradise, the Noahic Covenant an eternal agreement, the Abrahamic Covenant the Way to Paradise, the Mosaic Covenant the Prescription for eternal existence, and then there is the Davidic Covenant. The Psalmist wrote of it in the key verses. That covenant was explicit; the Son of David shall be King of the Jews. The Psalm reiterates the Covenant that God made with David. 

  Before the Davidic Covenant is elaborated upon, before there was the Priestly Covenant. That agreement provided for the Aaronic priesthood. There is no definite genealogy that Jesus was of the line of Aaron, but evidence points that his maternal lineage is from Aaron. In that respect, Jesus is part of the promise of the Priestly Covenant. Jesus was a priest on the order of Melchizedek, so it seems that the Priestly Covenant was not sufficient. However, it remained a Covenant. Perhaps, the Covenant is, indeed, confirmed on Mary’s side by Hebrews chapter seven.

  On the other hand, perhaps God did revise the Priestly Covenant because the Law was revised: “If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law” (Heb 7:11-12). The Aaronic priests were teachers of the Law, and essentially preservationists for the Law. With the Law fulfilled by Jesus, he preserved it. 

  It looks as if the Priestly Covenant was revised because the Jews failed to understand that the Law was to be implemented through love, and not by decree! Therefore, no longer was a priest of Aaron (Levites) needed, because Jesus would assume his role as Royal Priest and King. Jesus was on the order of the priest, Melchizidek, King of “Peace,” and with that, Melchizedek, who had only spiritual lineage was pre-incarnate Jesus who came to clarify to Abraham the nature of the Law which would come with Moses.

  Now, let’s consider the Davidic Covenant further:

When thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. (2 Sam 7:12-16)

  The Covenant of Melchizedek replaced the Aaronic Covenant, but remained the Priestly Covenant. Just as the House of David changed priests from the House of Saul, the priesthood changed as well. Zadok was the Aaronic priest for David and Solomon. Saul’s priest was Ahimilech whom he murdered along with all his sons, but Ahimilech. Saul is responsible for breaking the Aaronic Priestly Covenant. Thus, with the Davidic Covenant, came a change in the Priestly Covenant, and it would remain changed until “Melchizedek” returned!

  The promise of an eternal King with an everlasting Kingdom was promised to David. God promised to establish His Kingdom from the seed of David. Jesus was not called, “Son of David” without a reason. He was a King from the House of David, and a Priest on the order of Melchizedek. Unlike David who was king, and had a priest, Jesus would be both King and Priest. Thus, the “wall” so to speak, “between Church and State” was torn down! Jesus would serve both functions. Jesus was not like David and Zadok, but as Melchizedek of whom it is written, “Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of the Highest God” (Heb 7:1).

  The Davidic and Priestly Covenants were combined with Melchizedek, but not practiced until Jesus came to be both King and Priest! God’s intent all along was to have a Theocracy – A King Who would rule in righteousness:

“Melchizedek” means “King of Righteousness.” “Salem” means “Peace.” So, he is also “King of Peace.” Melchizedek towers out of the past—without record of family ties, no account of beginning or end. In this way he is like the Son of God, one huge priestly presence dominating the landscape always. (Heb 7:2-3)

  Jesus as Priest and King was the Covenant with David, and that the Kingdom of God would come from the Kingdom of David. David’s Kingdom was cut short of the promise to Abraham. It consisted of what is now called the “fertile crescent” for the most part, at least from the Sea to the Euphrates and from Egypt to Turkey. Perhaps by divine design, the crescent is the symbol of those whose “caliphate” (kingdom) is there at the present.

  I believe that the Garden of Eden equals the Kingdom of David, equals Paradise in Heaven. I also believe that the Fertile Crescent approximates the Garden of Eden as the fertile Garden.  Scripture points to that, but it can’t be validated until we are in Paradise!

  Part of the Davidic Covenant was that, “He shall build an house for my name.” That “House” was not a building at all, as Solomon’s Temple was for the Kingdom of David. The Davidic Covenant was not for Solomon to build for David a Temple for God, but that Jesus would! God’s “House” is the Church, and David built its foundation on, where else? The Foundation Stone! The Davidic Covenant was announced to be fulfilled by Paul who wrote, “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. (Ephes 2:19-20. 

  The House of the Son of David are the individual “lively stones” (1 Pet 2:5) making up the “pillars” (Rev 3:12) of the Church. Those lively stones must make enduring pillars (ibid). It should be clear from scripture that David did not design a Temple and Kingdom for God, but the Son of David, Jesus by Name, did. The Davidic Covenant was an early version of the last and New Covenant that God would make – the Covenant of Grace! 

  The Covenant of Grace is called the “New Covenant” and it is the fruition of a New King and a New Priest, one higher than Aaron. Whereas Moses wrote much the Old Testament, Paul wrote much of the New. Below are a few examples of the New Covenant:

After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. (1 Cor 11:25)

Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. (2 Cor 3:6)

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Cor 5:17)

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. (Gal 6:15)

  All the Old Covenants became the New Covenant, and hopefully, the reader should see that the Old Covenants were merely different ways of presenting the New Covenant. Jesus himself, indicated that the New Covenant was fulfillment of the Old Covenants when he said:

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Mat 5:17-19)

  God’s Will is immutable. Nothing changed from Old Testament times until the New except our understanding of what God was trying to do for us. The Word was Jesus in the beginning with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, the Priests, and with David; and it still is in the New Covenant.

The Fetile Crescent (Wikipedia)

THE GOSPEL OF PSALMS

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (Mat 5:16-18)

  The Law is the Torah; they are the five books of the Law, and as they are five, the Torah is called the “Pentateuch” – the five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Law was expanded upon, as Jesus explained when he said, “These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me” (Luke 24:44). Thus, Jesus indicated that the entire Old Testament is tantamount to the Law, and his ministry (the things he spake) are the entire Bible. The letters in the New Testament are commentary on the Word of God and the sayings of Jesus. He also noted that all the Old Testament was “concerning me.”
  All my life, as I read the Old Testament, I thought it was history about God and the Jews. One day the truth slapped me in the face; as I contemplated Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son (as Ishmael had been emancipated), I thought, The willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his only son is a portrayal of Yahweh’s willingness to sacrifice his only Son, Jesus. That slap of truth was that the Old Testament was concerning Jesus, and that the Law was about respecting the words of Jesus. If only I had understood Luke long before, I could have saved myself much grief!
  The summary of the Law are what Christians call the Ten Commandments. The Jews got it right, as they call them the “Ten Words.” Why is that? They were written on stone by the “finger of God” (Exod 31:18).  Hidden in the Ten Words of Jesus was this tidbit: “Shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments” (Exod 20:6). God manifested to mankind is Jesus. God showed his writing finger to Moses. Moses did not see God’s Face (Jesus) but he did see Jesus’s finger!
  Jesus’s Purpose was to show mercy to those who are righteous. His mercy is salvation, and salvation is for those who love him. Then Exodus 20:6 has a contingency, “and who keep my commandments.” Hence, commandments are how righteous people manifest love to God. Mercy manifests Jesus to us, and obedience manifests Christians to Jesus.
  The purpose of the Law has divided Christians since the days of Christ. It imploded with John Calvin’s response to Jacobus Arminius. Calvin’s response was the five points of grace, or five-point Calvinism. The five doctrinal items define sola gratia (grace alone) for mercy. “By grace alone” is of the Doctrine of Christ. It was Christ who was crucified, and our part was as the crucifiers. Sinning is crucifying God in that He died for all the sins of mankind. People had nothing at all to do with redemption, but they had all to do with crucifying. Any Christian must believe in sola gratia. Jesus referred to God who does the saving when he referred to the serpent on the pole which saved the Hebrews from dying during the exodus from sin (Egypt) and safety from the Serpent (Pharaoh.)
  In that verse, Jesus referred to the mercy that he showed to those who would see his purpose; that the Law has much ado with salvation! Jesus pointed to Moses to make his point about mercy and grace. He did not point to Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John! Jesus pointed his finger at himself.
  The bronze serpent on the pole, seeming to drip with blood, was what Jesus’s crucifixion did to the Serpent. For the Hebrews who looked at that “tree” with the Serpent dead upon it, realized that God would do that. What does the Law have to do with salvation? Quite a bit. Jesus, just as the prophets, psalmists, and such, further fulfilled the Law. Jesus defined the Law as two in one: The Greatest Commandment and the one like unto it:

Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Mat 22:35-36)

  Always, when those verses are read, the focus in on the Greatest Commandment (to love). What is missed is the last verse about the Law of Love hanging on the Law and the prophets. Jesus pointed at his Ten Words written by his finger! He implied that the Greatest Commandment and the one like unto it hang from the Ten Commandments. It turns out that the first four Words of Jesus is the Greatest Commandment and the last six Words are the one like unto it – to love one’s neighbor as himself.  Hence, the Ten Words are the Ten Prescriptions for eternal healing, and each Word is one of the prescriptions for love!
  Jesus not only pointed to the Law and prophets, but he also pointed to the psalms (Luke 24:44). The longest psalm is numbered Psalm 119. It makes sense that Jesus was pointing to that Psalm to explain the Law and the terms of the Law. Mosaic Law is the body of Laws from the Old Testament. Many are Moses’s words and are ways to observe God’s Laws. They were written on manuscripts which would decay, and were regulations to see that a remnant of the Jews would survive their times to fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant. However, Jesus’s actual Words were written on stone for perpetuity. They would always be efficacious in some manner for blessings (bliss in Heaven).
  It turns out that “Commandments” is not the best translation from the Hebrew. The Ten Words of Jesus is much better; thank you Jews! Like any parent, their words are law, and children show respect for the law by obedience. Obedience is as a spiritual hug and a verbal, “I love you!” Obedience to the Ten Words are expressions of love for Jesus. All ten are the metrics of love. How can I love you God? “Thou shalt not have other gods before me.” How can I love you friend? “Thou shalt not steal from me or lie to me.” How can I love you, enemy of mine? “Love me as you would a friend!”
  Look at the pointer Jesus left, as he pointed toward the psalms:

Lord, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments.

My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly.

I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee. (Psalm 166-168)

  David, likely the writer, wrote that he loves to keep God’s Commandments! Why would that concern God? Because the Commandments are God’s Will for things for us to do. “Will” is the key word. David did not say that he was required to keep the Law, but loved to! His will was in harmony with God’s Will. His willingness to please God, just as Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice, is the difference between must and want to. Psalm 119 is filled with passages that indicate that commandment-keeping is pleasurable, and not a burden. People’s attitudes about rules is what makes them enjoyable or a burden. Indeed, keeping the Law because it is a MUST is burdensome and makes people slaves to laws.
  The only MUST BE in the Bible is to not be amazed at this, but, “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7). Commands are not MUSTS. They are DESIRES. Christians desire to have no other gods! Why? Because they reciprocate God’s love for the ultimate sacrifice of Himself! Christians must desire to bear only truth. Why? To demonstrate love and respect to others. Now, perhaps you can see why the Law is important but not saving. They are not the cause for the effect of salvation, but rebirth is the cause for the affect of loving the Law.
  Now let’s look some more at Psalm 119:

My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.

Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts.

I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord; and thy law is my delight.

Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me. (Psalm 119:172-175)

  Christians, when born again, twist from unrighteousness to righteousness. It is a process just as darkness twisting from light (from Geneses 1). What is righteousness? “Thy Word” is Jesus, from that psalm, and David says, “All thy (Jesus’s) commandments (Words) are righteousness.” The Ten Words of Jesus summarizes the entire Law.
  David longed for God’s salvation. He delighted (was overjoyed) to keep the Law. For his soul to live on (salvation), the Law is how to praise Jesus, and the Law is how Jesus is to judge David and us! The Law has two purposes: (1) For us to judge our own degree of love so that we are without excuse, and (2) for Jesus to judge us with the same metric and a fair scale.  How could we be held accountable if God did not decree standards for love in that love is what saves in the end?

My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.

The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts. (Psalm 119:110-111)

  Christians cannot forget the Law. Things that we love, we reflect upon often. To love the Law is to keep it in mind continually. However, the cunning Serpent uses the Law to his advantage. Given one Law in the beginning, the Serpent figured out a way to get at God; to trick his creatures to misuse the Law. Eve added to it, and was damned. Never can we add to the Law that it is redeeming, for it is not. It is more behaviorial attitudes in gratitude for spiritual safety! The Devil uses the Law to ensnare non-discerning people. Eve erred. David promised not to do as Eve did. However, when he was in sin, he was snared by the Evil One, and his “snare” was naked Bathsheba.
  Why is “Thou shalt not covet,” one of the Commandments? So that we won’t do as David did. Look at all the consequences of David’s coveting. He sinned against Uriah, and had him killed because David coveted Bathsheba. By grace, God covered all those sins, because one sin led to another, and David sinned all Ten Words in some form or the other!

  The following says so much:

Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.

Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. (Psalm 119:132-133)

  The psalmist asked for mercy, and the giving of mercy is by grace. Psalm 119 is all about by grace alone, but it is predicated on love! David asked that his steps be ordered. Jesus’s Word is the order in which people are to step. The continuous “stepping” is the condition for mercy; not stepping to a drill sergeant’s commands, but to a loving God’s gentle Words!
  Why “step” according to the Way of Jesus? So that iniquitous behavior will not “step” on us. If we step to Master Jesus, the steps of Devil can never master us! That is the safety that Jesus provides along the Way until we are out of the way of Satan in the end!
  I encourage the reader to read and study Psalm 119 yourselves. I have merely touched on “the Gospel of Psalms.” Psalm 119 is full of mercy and grace, and the significance of the Law. Abandoning the Law of God is denying the Words of Jesus.

DAVID DANCED (credit: pininterest)

THE HOUSE THAT GOD BUILT

KEY PASSAGE:  ^73b When the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities (Neh 7)…  ¹ And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. ² And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. ³ And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law. ⁴ And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood (named the men from all their cities). ⁵ And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: ⁶ And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. ⁸ So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. ^9c For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. ¹⁰ Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. ¹¹ So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. ¹² And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them. (Neh 8)

  The Second Temple had been built. The Jews had a Church; they had built God’s House. With the Temple built, it seemed that it was not needed. The Chronology Study Bible has these passages subsequent to the building of the Temple. If subsequent, why were the Jews considering the words of God outside, and why would they need tabernacles (tents) again? (Keep that in mind, while I deviate a little.)
  A common thread throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation of the re-genesis is that, “trees are; as men walking” (Mark 8:24). The First Psalm echoes from the future the same vision:

¹ Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. ² But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. ³ And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (Psalm 1)

  Note that the psalm presents men; as trees standing by the River of God! Likewise, I see within the Garden of Eden, trees; as men standing by the River of God facing the Tree of Life.  Why are trees so significant in scripture? They represent people. Why were they so important during the time of the key passage above? Nehemiah 8 has the prelude to the Feast of Tabernacles. What do tabernacles have to do with trees?  The Tree of Life brought/brings forth twelve fruits, and are gifts of the Spirit. The “trees” of the psalmist also brings forth spiritual fruit!

¹⁴ They found written in the law which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month: ¹⁵ And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths. (Neh 8)

  Something really spiritual happened when Ezra read the Law… from the Water Gate, no less! As Ezra read, living water flowed forth from the Word of God, and made them all understand the Words of God in their own dialects, “They read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading” (key verse 8). “Sense” in that passage is taking their new knowledge and it giving them understanding. The men from all the tribes of Babylon represented confusion. The language of the Babylonians was Aramaic, and even some passages of the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah are written in that confused language. Aramaic is an impure language. It is a mixture of many languages. Jesus is believed to have spoken in the language of the common people of his time, and that would be Aramaic.
  Ezra read the Torah (Books of the Law) in Hebrew, but everyone regardless of origin, understood what he read as if it was in their own tongue! Their understanding was not their own. Most certainly, the Holy Spirit of God was giving them understanding to hear and discern God’s Will for them. They learned from Holy Scripture that God had a Plan and a future for them! With that new understanding, they surely understood Moses holding the bloody serpent on a tree! The remnant of the Jews were born again, and they were what Jesus said, you must be (John 3:7).
  The key verses end with the Feast of Tabernacles. They built canopies of trees and limbs. Those tabernacles perhaps represent the trees in the Garden, at least the branches, and the structure were tree thick branches or the tree trunks. The tabernacles represent God in His people. Jesus clarified what the tabernacle means: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Where did the material for God’s House come? From hand-worked (hewn) timbers. From where did the material for the tabernacles come? From the One who Created them, just as Jesus indicated. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman” (John 15:1).
  Jesus acknowledged that he was the supporting structure of the Church, but God Created the material. Jesus, as the Tree of Life, is the “Vine,” or “Thick Branch,” and Christians are the lesser branches. Christians are as trees walking, and tabernacles are as trees standing. Ezra confirmed that: “Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood” (and named all the men of the various tribes.) Ezra symbolizes the Word. He stood upon a pulpit made from wood. My bet is that the pulpit was made from a tree that was fabricated by them! Why? Because it surely represents the foot-rest of Jesus when he died on his “tree” (Acts 5:30).
  Envision this: Ezra appeared to them as Jesus on the Holy Cross (key verse 10). They raised their hands (verse 6), and if like the early Christians, they were raised to form a cross-shape. From the church fathers, we know that, that was the early Jewish mode of praise. Then they bowed down on the ground, representing Jesus’s death and entombment. It should be clear that all those from the different tribes understood that Yahweh is “Yahweh Saves.” They, in their mind’s eye, saw Jesus in the Word (John 1).  Not only did they understand Jesus, but it was through the Holy Spirit whom they sensed (verse 8) from the water from the nearby well. Perhaps that is the same Living Water of which Jesus spoke about coming from the well (John 7:38).
  The understanding of the Hebrew tongue in their various languages is akin to those at Pentecost who understood Hebrew as if their own tongue.
  Note that Pentecost is in the sixth month, and that the Feast of the Tabernacles is in the seventh. In the New Testament (Acts 2), the Holy Ghost entered those from different lands. That is, God’s living waters entered walking temples of God, as Paul wrote, “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (1 Cor 3:17). Note that tabernacles made of trees were the canopies that Ezra had built for the Feast. In Moses’ time, tabernacle worship was each Hebrew standing in their own tent, looking at the Cloud of God in His Tent. That “Cloud” was pre-incarnate Jesus. They, as Moses did not, and could not see God’s Face for it was concealed in a cloud.
  The people who heard the Word of God saw Ezra’s face, and surely it was a picture of Jesus, because they bowed to him after demonstrating to him their crosses (their lifted hands).
  Ezra and the people built still tabernacles for the filling with those with the Spirit. At Pentecost in apostolic times, the people also came from all tribes (nations) to become “temples.” The Feast of Tabernacles came soon after Pentecost. I believe that Nehemiah 8 is a foreshadowing, and is a picture, of Acts chapter 2 when the Holy Ghost came and filled the temple of understanding Christians from everywhere! Like the Jews in Ezra’s time, the Jews of Luke’s time were all of one accord.
  From the Book of Acts, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1). Compare that to our first key verses: “When the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities…  1And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate.” In the time of Ezra, the people from various nations were gathered by the water gate. Why would that be? They were waiting for water from the well, which we found out from Jesus is living water, or the Holy Spirit. The Jews got a “drink” of living water in Ezra’s time, and a filling of living waters at the same place – Jerusalem – from the same God, Jesus!
  Only the King James Version makes a distinction between the times. The early Jews received the Holy Spirit, whereas the believing Jews in apostolic times received the Holy Ghost: “(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” (John 7:39). That verse explains the difference between “Holy Spirit” and “Holy Ghost.” It is one of experience only. The Holy Spirit is God before He experienced death, and the Holy Ghost is truly the Ghost of the Man, Jesus – God after He experienced death!
  The Jews in Jerusalem in the fifth century before Christ (B.C. Jews), received the Spirit of God who had yet to experience death, and the Jews in the first century after Christ (A.D. Jews) received the Holy Spirit who had experienced death! He is the same Spirit of God, but one of different experiences. The B.C. Jews saw Jesus as a withering tree before he died, and the A.D. Jews saw Jesus as an alive, walking, glorified “tree!”
  As I wrote before, the common thread in scripture is that trees represent mankind whether standing still or walking – waiting or moving along the path to Paradise. The early Jews were as trees walking, but once they returned to Holy Ground, they were regenerated; they again were like trees standing in the Garden of Eden. They were again standing there in Paradise listening to the Voice of God through the reading of the Word. For those dispersed out into the world, indeed, their exodus home again, was a return to Paradise. In like manner, in apostolic times, the Temple was rebuilt, but in the hearts of mankind. The B.C. Jews had built for God a House of trees, and the D.C. Jews built for God a House with them as the “trees.” They stood still as they received the Ghost of Jesus, as did the B.C. Jews who received a drink of living water.
  The Church was made from those “trees” as branches, and Jesus is the main Branch, or Vine. The Tabernacle built by the A.D. Jews still stands to this day, but the Second Temple which the B.C, Jews built, perished in 70 A.D. The Feast of Tabernacles is a representation of the Christian Church, first called that at Antioch. To this day, many Christians still consider churches as tabernacles. I see the trees of the Garden of Eden as myrtle, palms, olives, and pine trees, as well as cedar and fig, just as the psalmist did. He described a canopy, and so it seems were the trees of the Garden of Eden!
  Picture this: Ezra standing in the midst of the tabernacles of living “trees” appearing to them as the Tree of Life. Ezra appeared as the thick branch, as Jesus did as the Vine. Compare that scenario to the Garden of trees and vines, with all the various trees standing still facing the Tree of Life.
  Note that nowhere did the psalmist mention fig trees, but Jesus did. He mentioned the fig tree as withered. It was not used for building tabernacles because it represents the Wisdom Tree in the Garden. It is beautiful, fruitful, and plentiful; but nowhere is it holy!
  The myrtle tree represents Esther’s God-given name (Hadassah), the “star” that Xerxes worshiped. Can it be that Esther is a foreshadowing of the “star” that wise men from Persia followed? Was Esther, who the writer of the book provided a confused lineage, be an angel? Could she represent the star that lead the Persians to Jesus?
  Aries was the alignment of the sun, Jupiter, the moon, and Saturn. That alignment happened one time, and calculations show that it will never happen again. Could that alignment be the Star of Bethlehem that wise men from Persia followed. Could it be that Esther – the “star” Venus – was not a star at all, but Aries?
  For those not familiar with the time of Jesus’s birth, it has been determined to be March 20, 6 B.C. on the Christian Calendar (Nisan 1 on the Jewish). That was the period when Aries waned and Pisces waxed. The Christian era is the Zodiac period of Pisces, hence the fish symbol represents Jesus, and myrtle represents Esther. Was a tree of the Garden the spirit of Esther? Could Esther, since she was not known to history, be an angel who waxed for Xerxes, then waned for mankind, but then waxed again for Jesus, and then waned at his birth?
  The olive branch represents the Prince of Peace, and the palm the majesty of Jesus. Vines represent Jesus’s giving of  life, and its fruits those of the Spirit.
  I see trees standing still looking at Jesus in the Garden, I see men as “trees” looking at Jesus (Joshua) standing in River of the Garden (the Jordan River), and I see “trees” looking at Ezra and understanding Jesus. I also see rebellious “trees” surrounding the Tree of Jesus on the Place of the Skull of Adam, gawking at him as nothing more than a tree.
  I see myself as a withering fig tree that Jesus made a living branch of the Vine. I see those who live for pleasure, as fig trees with what seems to be beautiful fruit for now, but will soon wither and die. The vision of Christians should be to see themselves as one of the branches in heavenly Paradise on the Tree of Life! The Jews saw Ezra as the Tree of Life and themselves as the branches, and I see me as a myrtle tree when Jesus sees me as a star.

Ezra on His Pulpit (Wikipedia; Ezra 8)

MULTITUDEOF SINS FOR ADAM AND EVE

KEY VERSES: Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, “Do not commit adultery”, said also, “Do not kill.” Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. (Jas 2:10-11); And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. (1 Pet 4:8)

  Sometimes Christians get comfortable in doing whatever is their strongholds. “Strongholds” are those behaviors and attitudes that Christians are not able to overcome for whatever reason, but always because they don’t deliver everything to God to cover with His blood. Strongholds are affronts to God. Rather than cleave to God, in essence, strongholds are cleaving to Satan.
  First off, should Christians be law-keepers? To be honest, God is not impressed with those who merely keep the law. Why so? Because they cannot keep them all! It’s that simple; there are enough laws that everyone is sure to break one. God is pleased, though, when Christians are willing to keep all the laws. The best example is Abraham who was willing to do what God commanded, although he hated the thought of it. He was willing to sacrifice his only remaining son (Ishmael had been emancipated), although killing was repugnant to him. The faith of Christians is measured by the faith of Abraham (Gal 3:7).
  Christians aren’t called on to sacrifice their son, but their own flesh, as God did. I bet you never thought of the crucifixion in that manner. It was God’s Flesh that suffered death. His Flesh (Jesus), however, did not die, but was resurrected and Jesus lives again. The death of God’s Flesh was gain for Him because it redeemed all of mankind. That was God’s Purpose all along, and death consummated His Purpose!
  Note that Jesus did not get partially crucified. There was no mercy wherein at the last minute, he was reprieved. He suffered death until his Purpose was finished (John 19:3). What was finished? Many things, but they all amount to the same thing - the Covenant with Abraham was finished. God’s Name, written in blood, signed off at the bottom of the Covenant, part one of three which was, “In thee (Abraham) shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen 12:3). What did God mean, “blessed?” Blessed is living in bliss. It is glorification – immortality in the Presence and Goodness of God. It is salvation from the Adversary, and in an entirely good place, namely the Paradise of Heaven. It is eternity with Jesus who Comforts and his virtue keeps glorified flesh entirely good just as in the Garden of Eden.
  Maintaining those strongholds is as if the flesh of sinners has only been partially crucified. One sin is as if sinning proliferantly, breaking them all with one swipe. However, love covers them all with one swipe as well (1 Pet 4:8 above). As always, I go back to original sin by Adam and Eve because it is the prototypical sin.
  In the beginning, there was one law:

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen 2:16-17). 

  God made other edicts, but there was only one command, and by the way, it is the same command that is still extant with the Greatest Command and its corollary:

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. (Luke 10:27).

  By obedience to that first command, it was obedience to the Greatest Commandment. The First Command was written on stone for perpetuity as the First Commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me (in my face)” (Exod 20:3). We demonstrate to God the love that we have for Him by eating of the Tree of Life, and refusal to eat the fruits of the (false) Wisdom Tree. The Tree of Life is the Doctrine of God and is symbolic of Jesus. The Tree of Knowledge is the doctrine of sin, and represents God’s Adversary – the Serpent. By eating of the Tree of Knowledge, Adam and Eve demonstrated who was truly the God they loved. Who was he? The Serpent? The Tree of Knowledge? No; they loved themselves more than the Word of God (Jesus; John 3:1-2,14).
  Essentially, Adam and Eve broke only one Law. That was the “law of love:” (“Love is the fulfilling of the law;” Rom 13:10). There was one Law, they broke it, and showed not love. It didn’t matter which unspoken command that they broke, because effectually there was only one Command!
  For the benefit for those with excuses (rationalizations), God elaborated on His First Law. He reworded it for clarity because his creatures didn’t get the point because they were easily beguiled. They failed to understand that disobeying God in any respect was denying God love. Even today, when Christians sin, it is withholding love that is due God. Why should anyone love God? Because He is their Creator and potential Re-Creator. There is no one else who could do those things; let alone us creatures saving ourselves.

  Just think on this: Your own father chooses to conceive you because he wants your love. In spite of all the complications that you will have, he chooses to have you despite the certain insolence that is soon to come. Then after you are born, you soon learn disobedience, and disrespect your father. He afterwards loves you as he did before – when you were but a glint in his eye and an innocent baby.

  Well, that’s how God loves us so! Fathers are proud of their sons, and God is proud of His creatures, and desires that we not perish. Any sin that people do, is perishing. Christians must endure to the end, but one sin leads to another. Satan entraps to prevent spiritual endurance to the end to demonstrate to God that sinning Christians lack the love they proclaim.
  Did Adam and Eve commit one sin or many? I propose that they broke all of the Ten Commandments! “How so?” you ask. By breaking even one is as if breaking them all (from the key verses). Did they actually break them all? Let is check:

(1)    “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”  Adam and Eve never abandoned God. They became syncretic; they perceived themselves as God, just as the Serpent accused them (Gen 3:5).

(2)    “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” It is easy to think of “graven images,” or manufactured idols. However, read on: “any likeness of anything.” It seems that either the Serpent or the Wisdom Tree became their idol, but it was actually their own flesh! How so? They pleasured their flesh… their senses: “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Gen 3:6). What changed? Their flesh was appeased. It is to be noted that their spirit was not!

(3)    “Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.” The Lord’s “Name” is Jesus who is the Word (John 1). The Word said, “Thou shalt not eat of it (the Tree of Knowledge of Evil),” but they ate of it anyhow. They took God’s Word in vain; meaning that Eve hearkened unto the voice of the Serpent (Gen :13), and Adam to the voice of the woman (Gen 3:17). Jesus was the Voice of God who spoke that command and walked in the cool of the evening when He questioned them! The two took God’s Name with apathetic disinterest. Thus, they were guilty of disrespecting the Word of God. (Note that the breaking of any command is taking Jesus frivolously because the Commands were written on stone by the “Finger of God” (Exod 31:18)). God when manifested is Jesus, and “the Face of God” is Jesus’s face for when we see Jesus, we see the Father (John 14:9).

(4)    “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” God rested on the seventh day; the day after Adam and Eve were created. Nowhere in scripture does it say that Adam and Eve kept the Sabbath. That’s the day of rest for us as well, and the time to honor God. It is not known the exact time of the original sin, but chronologically, the activity previous to sin was God creating woman. The next activity would be the Sabbath on the seventh day, and as can be seen, the next activity coinciding with the Sabbath was Eve’s temptation and sin. Then Adam copying the woman. It appears that the first sin was on the Sabbath, and Mosaic Law was to perform no unnecessary tasks on the day of rest (Exod 20:10). What was Adam and Eve doing? Harvesting fruit, and thusly, failing to honor the Sabbath!

(5)    “Honour thy father and thy mother.” With that command, Adam and Eve did a great sin, for it is THE one than would result in longevity: “That thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” Hidden within that promise is eternal life. How is that? Because we know from Revelation 21 that New Jerusalem will come down to the promised land. In order to have eternal longevity, fathers and mothers must be honored. By disobeying God, both Adam and Eve dishonored their Supreme Father supremely. Dishonoring parents is a great sin, and both Adam and Eve did that and deserved death!

(6)    “Thou shalt not kill.” That should be easy to dispel. Did Adam and Eve kill anyone? Did they harm the Serpent? Did they kill God? First off, hatred is as murder (1 John 3:15). I don’t believe that Adam and Eve emotionally hated God because they were sorry later that they had offended him. However, they did “kill” God. Since God (Jesus) died for the sins of all mankind (John 3:16), and that Adam and Eve sinned, they were accomplices to God’s crucifixion. Their sin was even greater than Pilate’s. Jesus said that, “He (and her) that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin” (John 19:11). All people delivered Jesus unto Pilate because he died for all our sins. Yes, Adam and Eve killed Jesus, and later Adam, who was responsible for the willingness to sin (Eve was beguiled), was pardoned by grace (Gen 3:15). Since the reason for Jesus was original sin, Adam was the first man who killed God. Scripture even says that: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom 5:12). That “one man” was Adam, and one person of “all men” is Jesus. However, not because he sinned, but because Adam did!

(7)    “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Neither is the sin of adultery obvious. Some theologians somehow believe that sex was part of original sin. One reason is because they immediately covered their genitals with an apron of fig leaves (Gen 3:17); that was not sufficient, so God covered all their flesh with a coats of skin (Gen 3:21). It seems that this sin may have been missing! However, God refers to flirting with other gods as fornication (Exod 34:15). Why would that be adultery? Because Adam and Eve had just become one flesh, and already, Eve was hearkening unto Satan. Not by coincidence, adultery from the Hebrew can also be defined as “idolatrous worship.” Who was it they were appeasing? It was themselves; their own flesh. Adam and Eve experienced self-love for the first time ever, and fornicated against God. Rather than even loving each their mate, they loved themselves. That flies in the face of “loving others as thyself,” the corollary to the Greatest Commandment. (It is not looking good for our antecedents, and not for us either, since each sin we do is as if all the Commands are broken!)

(8)    “Thou shalt not steal.” This violation should be easy: Whose fruits were on the Wisdom Tree? They were God’s, and they were entirely good. God commanded that those fruits not be eaten, and then Adam and Eve did just that. They stole from God who had provided all the nourishment that they needed for sustenance. They did that because the fruit of the forbidden tree looked better than the twelve fruits that God offered on the Tree of Life. Those two stole fruit from God, and at the same time, humiliated Him by rejecting His fruit for what on the surface appeared to be better fruit. Adam and Eve were the first Epicureans as those who Paul admonished (Acts 17:8). Just like the Greeks in apostolic times, when Adam and Eve stole from God to appease their senses (idols or flesh), they suddenly forgot (sic) just who their God Is! Like the Greeks, their God became unknown gods, but they were themselves. Shortly, God straightened them out in regard to their new evil philosophy; that they were not really gods, but He Is.

(9)    “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” Eve lied! How so? First off, God gave the command to Adam before Eve was even created. God didn’t tell Eve anything, but she said, “God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die” (Gen 3:3). She exalted herself in the first breath, then said something that God did not say: “neither shall ye touch it.” That was an outright lie, even if God had spoken to her. Eve lied to herself and to the Serpent. Satan was pleased with that. The first lie would lead to many more. The “false witness” was Eve saying something that God had not said. She said something that she had not witnessed, and what she said was entirely false. Strike ten for Eve. How about Adam? He was part of the coverup. He stood by and listened to the false witness, and said nothing. He as well as lied himself because he stood silent to a falsehood!

(10) “Thou shalt not covet… any thing that is thy neighbour's.” The specifics that I left out are unnecessary. “Any thing” coveted that was not theirs was sin. What occurred before Eve picked the fruit to eat? She coveted it. What did Adam do as she ate. He coveted it as well. People always seem to covet the forbidden things. Coveting is to desire intensely. Both the two wanted the fruit so badly that they risked their immortality for a moment of pleasure. Coveting is a negative attribute (sic) of mankind that Satan uses to his advantage. He tempts because he knows that human beings are prone to desiring things intensely to satisfy the senses. Effectually, everyone are Epicureans, even Stoics, because they satisfy themselves with asceticism. Satan uses the flesh to provoke people to sin, and that’s why the flesh must be crucified. The crucifixion of the flesh is cutting off the desire to covet anything that gets between people and God. What stood between Adam and Eve and God? Seemingly better things than what God provided!

  I rest my case; Adam and Eve broke all Ten Commandments, and they would have died except for God’s grace! All Ten were accounted as one sin, but effectually, just as the first of the key verses says, they broke them all! God’s one act of love covered all their sins as if they were one (the second key verse)! Whenever anyone sins even one sin, they as well have broken them all. Since obedience to God’s “Ten Words” are how to demonstrate love (John 14:15), then disobedience to them exhibits hatred toward God. Ironically, breaking any one of the Commandments is breaking the First Commandment (hating God), and that is what Adam and Eve did by original sin.

THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT IN TEN WORDS (CREDIT: Msgr. Charles Pope)

GAMBLING WITH SOULS: URIM AND THUMMIM

KEY VERSES: These were they (a list followed of people and priests) which went up also from Telmelah, Telharesha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer: but they could not shew their father's house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel (Neh 7:61)… These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found: therefore, were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood. And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim. (Neh 7:64-65)

  The wall around Jerusalem had been rebuilt. Symbolically, the “hedge” had been restored around the middle of the Garden Paradise where there was safety from their adversaries - the mixture races paying homage to the King of Persia. They feared Nehemiah and the Jews because they saw them gaining power. The prophets spoke of a King for Israel, and the governors perceived that he would be a rebellious king from whom they would lose their power. Therefore, Nehemiah’s adversaries sought to kill him, and tear down the newly restored walls around Jerusalem. They never understood two things: (1) That the walls were for preservation of the remnant of Jews whose line was promised by God to have a Messiah, and (2) that the Messiah would be King of the Jews (aka Jesus) centuries later.
  Thinking they were preventing Nehemiah from obtaining kingship, their device was alternately to keep Jesus from reigning in the World. They sought to destroy the Kingdom of God in earth! Jesus said to pray as this, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven (Mat 6:9-10).
  The governors saw Nehemiah as the “king” who would do God’s will in Jerusalem, as it is done in heaven, not as it was done in Persia! Think of Jerusalem as the midst of the Garden Paradise wherein God (the Tree of Life) stood. Nehemiah was creating another Heaven on Earth. The Persian governors were agents of the Serpent, so to speak, who sought to enter into “Paradise” by force. Hence, the Jews who guarded the gates of Jerusalem were symbolic of cherubim, the same guardians of the gate to the Garden of Eden.
  From the key verses, it is seen that groups of people sought safe haven within the walls of Paradise. Most of the Jews were allowed to enter based on genealogy. They had to prove their descent from Jacob (aka Israel). Their credentials were as heirs to the Abrahamic Covenant. They identified themselves as God’s chosen people, and because they had been brought safely by God to the gates of Jerusalem, they were considered worthy.
  On the other hand, those from outlying provinces were brought by God as well, but they were without genealogy. They were “peculiar” from the chosen people, and some may have been Gentiles. Jews were peculiar and chosen (Deut 14:2). They were chosen by genealogy and peculiar by behavior. Those who were allowed to enter without reservation were God’s people who did God’s Will. The remainder (see key verses) were from afar; neither were they known to be of the promise nor was their true allegiance to God known. Perhaps they were Gentiles! The list of them included even the priests whose doctrine would be tested by God by the Urim and Thummim. The Urim and Thummim are generally taken to mean, “Light and Perfection,” respectively, and were worn on the breastplate of the High Priests to discover God’s Will, or in effect, What is truth, and who is perfect?
  God makes the imperfect perfect for those who depend on Him for their well-being. The Thummim was to determine which of the “peculiar” people were willing to follow God’s precepts. The Urim was to determine genealogy from God. Who among them were truly “sons of God?” Those known to be Jews were allowed into “Paradise” by genealogy, but those without genealogy from Israel, were to be allowed in by their lineage from God. The Urim and Thummim were the early way of discovering who God will protect from perishing. They would decide who, other than the Jews, were worthy of protection. Those peoples of the key verses represent Gentile Christians.
  Timothy told the Christians at Ephesus in apostolic times this:

I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned… (1 Tim 1:3b-5).

  The Church was to give no heed to endless genealogies. In Nehemiah’s time, God promised the Jews safety, but he allowed them in without genealogies. Like the Gentiles at Ephesus, so were the people of Telmelah, Telharesha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer. They may have not been Jewish at all, but Gentiles who shared the same “Spirit” as the Jews. Christians are not peculiar by heritage, nor chosen to be kept safe, but those who are charitable “out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience and of faith unfeigned.” In Nehemiah’s time, God determined who would be allowed into “paradise” by Urim and Thummim, and it is God who will determine the “pure in heart” to delegate the heavenly Paradise.
  Jews could have been allowed into the walls by checking the males who were circumcised. However, books were used which revealed genealogies. God could have checked the foreskin of the others to see who were Jewish, but instead used Urim and Thummim to check their hearts for circumcision.
  God judged the Jews based on the Promise to Abraham, and He will honor that until the end for faithful Jews; not those with only circumcised foreskins, but those willing to have their heads “circumcised’ …” them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus” (Rev 20:4). For Christians, God will only check for circumcised hearts and snatch them up to Paradise before the “governors” of the apocalypse come to behead them!
 Who of the Christians will be snatched up to Paradise? God will again use the Urim and Thummim process:

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Mat 7:22-23), and His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. (Mat 25:21)

  The Urim and Thummin were the Old Testament way of revealing God’s judgement. The Chief Priest cast lots to see who got through the gate and who did not. God does deal in human affairs and is a personal God. For each person, God decided the outcome of the lot. It was not gambling because it merely revealed God’s judgment. Lots were cast for Jesus’s clothing… the clothing of a dead man, but God still determined Jesus’s lot. He had to died, and the die was cast back before the foundation of the world.
  You can see from the verses from Matthew above, that people cast their own lots for inside or outside Paradise. As royal priests, Christians decide their own fate by how they live and what they believe; whether their hearts are circumcised or not, regardless of genealogy. The sinners decide their own fate by casting their lot with their “father” the Devil, and the Great Serpent decides their fate. What shall it be? I never knew you, or well done, my faithful servant. Wise people cast their lot with the latter, and are grateful for Jesus’s handing out the “lots” for all to cast!

Urim & Thummim (0n "vest" credit: crustalinkscom)

WALLS

  President Trump campaigned diligently for repairing and rebuilding the wall at the border with Mexico… with a big beautiful gate to allow those in who do not threaten our existence. Why would people want that? Others do threaten our existence. Of course, people offer different types of threats, but the main reason was to keep out drug dealers, MS13, human traffickers, and others who are dangerous to our country. Foremost of the “others” are Islamic terrorists. They have shown that they can find and cross any walls not high enough, those in need of repair, and places where there are no walls!
  The walls of Jerusalem were not torn down by armies of evil-doers. God allowed them to tear them down for His purpose – to teach the Jews a lesson. He removed the cherubim from guard duty. What had the Jews done? They allowed pagan gods to enter their Great City by peaceful means. Jews married pagan wives, and they worshiped pagan gods in the midst of what was likely Paradise.
  Ironically, America builds walls to keep dangerous people out, but the most dangerous come in by legal means. “Walls,” then, are more than brick and mortar, but invisible protections. Behind the scenes are walls in the form of laws that keep undesirable people out. (Allowing those under Sharia Law to be U.S. legislators is the epitome of foolishness!)
  Progressives, whose doctrine is Marxist socialism, demand that there be no walls. Socialism is a globalist doctrine whether it be communist socialism or Nazi socialism. The main difference is who is the “generalissimo” in charge. To be honest, Christianity is also globalism, but the main difference is whose ideology governs. Socialist globalism is based on Karl Marx’s tenants, and Christian globalism, the precepts of God. Marx seems to be their “god.”
  Walls have two purposes: (1) To keep people safe within, and (2) to keep those dangerous without. Gates are to scrutinize those who desire entry to test their motives for wanting entry. Gates are a type of regulator valve to judge who deserves entry. Deserving is based on standards of civility. Those standards are the laws of the land in which entry is sought.
  Paradise had some type of wall around it because the gate for entry was guarded by cherubim (Gen 3:24). Those angelic guards were similar to America’s ICE security, and America is seen as a Paradise for many third-world countries. No one can blame them for the American Dream is to live in the Paradise of America. For many, America is their hope, just as Paradise is the hope of Christians.
  I believe that the Kingdom of David is the location of the Paradise of Eden. I believe that the gate, eastward in Eden, was on the Euphrates River just north of Babylon at Ahava, Iraq. For now, I won’t go into “why,” but it seems to be the location from scripture. The Euphrates River may have been the east “wall” which kept the undeserving outside Paradise and the Kingdom of David. Of course, the western “wall” was the Mediterranean Sea. There were some natural “walls” and others that needed to be built, just as in America.
  Jerusalem, I believe, was the midst of the Garden (Gen 2:9) where the Tree of Life stood. That Tree is a metaphor for the Holy Trinity, with the visible being representative of Jesus Christ. (It’s root - the Father, and the waters below – the Holy Spirit.)  The Jews, unable to retain the entire promised land – the entire Kingdom of David, sufficed with building a wall around Jerusalem, much as Washington, DC is protected by all sorts of invisible walls.  (We find that they need more invisible “walls” to keep Muslims our of the government.)
  “Paradise” was lost with the incursions of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. Likewise, it was always in distress because of the Arabs and all the non-Jewish peoples surrounding them. Nearly 100% of those peoples today are Muslims. I believe that the wall around Jerusalem, built to keep pagan non-Jews out, was aimed to stand forever – to keep those who would be Muslims out. Likewise, I believe that the end-of-time (apocalyptic) government and religion shall be Islam. Why would America need walls? Because scripture foretells the Great Tribulation which is likely distress by the caliphate of Islam. (America, it seems from scripture, will be part of the communist, or Sharia Law, Islamic caliphate.
  The Paradise of the Garden was lost when sinners entered in through cunning means (Gen 3:1). Paradise was lost, perhaps, just as Jesus ascended into Heaven, Paradise did as well because only its “foundation” remains. The Jews had been taken outside the safety of the walls of Jerusalem where they and their God resided. They fought for God and God was their salvation. It was an ideal arrangement, but other nations with other religions wanted to spoil their “paradise.”
  In ancient times there were no “walls for the separation of Church and State.” All kings represented their gods, and whichever king was strongest, were recognized as having the strongest God. Once the Hebrews exited from Egypt, their miraculous escape from Pharaoh’s army, made their God the strongest in the eyes of the pagans which they came to overcome. They built Paradise in the midst of “devils” and put a wall around it to keep evil-doers out.
  The people intermarried with pagans and Satan cunningly created a gap in the wall around people who before had lived in safety. Satan sneaked into the safe haven of the Jews by intermarriage. Just like the beauty of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, the Hebrews were beguiled by foreign wives, and took them into their safe abode. Satan entered in amongst them, and eventually Israel, Judah, Jerusalem, and even God’s House were destroyed by the subtility of the Serpent. Nehemiah viewed that destruction from the Serpent’s Well. Nehemiah came to build a wall around Jerusalem. Why would he do that?

(1)    It was holy ground since God’s abode (the Temple) was therein.

(2)    It would keep adversaries out.

(3)    It would be the place to worship the True God.

(4)    It would be the place God’s Laws were kept.

(5)    It would control who entered because there would be gates.

(6)    It would be another means to enforce God’s desire to prevent intermarriage between those with pagan gods and Jews.

  What it was not, was a place to imprison those inside walls! Judeo-Christianity represents freedom. The Jews could leave freely, but re-entry was filtered. They needed some type of identification. For Christians or anyone to enter Paradise, the “password” is Jesus. There is safety in no other name (Acts 4:12).
  Now for the wall protecting America: It is not to keep Americans out of Mexico, but to keep America’s adversaries out of our country. Trump proposed a “beautiful gate” to allow some to enter, and perhaps he called it that from the Beautiful Gate of Acts 3:2 and 3:10. The Beautiful Gate, allowing some to enter the Temple at Jerusalem means, “at the right time.” In other words, there was criteria for entering-in, and laws for regulating entry. Likewise, the same exists for Trump’s “beautiful gate.”
  The walls of Jerusalem were built sturdy. It was not truly Babylonians (evil-doers) which tore down the walls. Long before the city fell and the walls were torn down, they had been vicariously torn down by Satan slipping-in by cunning devices. He encouraged Jews to marry those with foreign gods to allow their gods entry. With that said, I do not fear terrorists, and certainly not Mexicans (Catholics), but I fear Isa – the revenging Islamic prophet, who will gain entry via the Islamic religion under the disguise of peace. We must remember, all but a few Muslims have shown in public demonstrations that they are cheerleaders for the evil “things” terrorists do (“things,” according to Ilya Omar!)
  A wall is being built between Mexico and the U.S so as the control who enters the country. The gates between the two countries are much like the gates the Jews placed in the walls protecting their God and city. My fear is that the Islamic “god” Allah, will replace the Christian God Jesus by subtill means, just as the Serpent did with Eve. It won’t be done by terrorists, but intermarriage with Muslims and the worship of other gods as happened in Judah and Israel.
  Now consider the impetus for my commentary, and let it stand at that. You do the comparison and I will hush my commentary:

But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.  And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves?” (4:1-2)

Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, “Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.” (4:3)

So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work. But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites,  and the Ashdodites (the bad governors), heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth. (4:6-7)

And Judah said, “The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall. And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.” (4:10-11)

From all places whence ye shall return unto us they (those who were left behind at the diaspora and ciitzens by birth) will be upon you. (4:12b)

“Remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work. (4:14b-15)

In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us. (4:20)

  I can’t resist one comment: Think of the irony of their walls’ protection while it was being built - “the sound of the trumpet.” Who protects our wall being built? The voice of President Trump! Secularists may not believe this, but prophecy is fulfilled daily until the apocalypse comes and Jesus comes to save the day… and Christians.