GOD'S QUID PRO QUO

  Everyone has a quid pro quo. It is human nature. Even God expects something for something. God's is spiritual and those who govern should be to compromise in civil matters. Individuals are civil for safety, security, and nourishment. Ironically, those things are what God provides as well. Should our faith then be in government or in Christ? Faith in government is the essence of socialism and faith in God is righteousness.
  Jesus did not die for naught. He expected something. A leading Christian preacher said that God's love is loving us, and expecting nothing in return, That is a Big Lie, but was wrought innocently it seems by such a godly man. God does expect something from us! His grace did not come cheaply but at great cost. Christians think of the person of God dying on the Cross in our stead, but it was God in three substances who suffered death. Should God not get something in return? Just what is it He expects. Surely not faith from the charity of men, but to respect the sacrifice of Himself.
  What is our own quid pro quo? It is not something for something, but something for nothing (quid pro nihilo). Now on with God's quid pro quo:

KEY VERSE: … ¹³ they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words… ¹⁸ Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection… ²⁸ And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? ^34b And no man after that durst ask him any question. (Mark 12)

  Today, I will continue from yesterday about the snares that the officials set to trap Jesus. If one snide question did not entrap Him, they merely turned to another. All the His adversaries knew the Law, but the scribe (lawyer) knew it thoroughly and knew its intent. When Jesus stated the Law, the scribe reinforced what Jesus was saying with what Christians call the “Old Testament.” I submit that Jesus equated His Commands to the Law when He quoted Psalm 110:1 and Leviticus 19:18. With that reference, Jesus dismissed the idea of two different “testaments” or covenants. There never was a “Covenant of Law” and a “Covenant of Grace” but it was always by grace. Paul, in his writings, referenced the “mystery of Christ:”

²⁴ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. ²⁵ Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, ²⁶ But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith” (Rom 16:24-26)

  First off, Paul spoke of the “grace” of the Lord. As is written about David who said, “the Lord said unto my Lord” (Psalm 110:1). Jesus as the “son of David” was David’s “Lord.” The first “Lord,” Jesus, was speaking. When God manifests Himself visibly, audibly, or in text; that is pre-incarnate Jesus speaking because David’s Lord before was the Spirit of Jesus. When Jesus speaks the concept is grace. The Old Testament was always about grace, and not the Law. Jesus said, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Mat 22:40). Thus, the Law was always about loving God and loving others, and that is what grace entails.
  The legalists were confused both in Jesus time, and in the Old Testament. The “lawyer” speaking to Jesus understood that the Law and the Grace of God is one Covenant! The Pharisees were still confused about the Law, but Jesus and the lawyer understood; Jesus because He is Lord, and the scribe because He knew the intent of the Law.
  In ancient times, The Lord confused the language of the people and scattered them throughout the world when they built a tower at Babel to make a name for themselves (Gen 11:4). They sought “Heaven” without God’s direction. By that, they diminished God. Those early skeptics failed to understand that God is not up there, but with them. Emanuel was Jesus and He was always with them and “full of grace” (John 1:14).
  The lawyer understood that. Although the Lord died because He was full of grace, there was a quid pro quo: I am full of grace to save you; now you love me in return. That something for something is, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). God’s love is the quid and the redeemed person’s the quo. John 14:15 is essentially the quid pro quo of the Abrahamic Covenant to which the Law is the conditions to that Covenant. The Abrahamic Covenant was the Covenant of Grace, and The Ten Commandments were the itemized conditions. Essentially, that is I will give you an eternal home as My heir, and you will love Me by doing those things that I Will for you. What is God’s Will for His heirs? That they continue doing His Will, and Ten of them are listed. They are not really “Commandments” but a list of God’s Will for His people. It is the legacy for His heirs — those who He adopts as His.
  The legalists missed the point in the Law. It was not performing the Law perfectly, but the willingness to do God’s Will even when failure is certain. The faith of Abraham was due, not to obeying God’s Command, but that he was willing to. The scribe understood that, and Jesus commended him for it. The scribe was not trying to entrap Jesus but his “client” was misunderstood. He helped the confused legalists understand the quid pro quo. Ironically, Calvinists to this day fail to understand that grace alone (sola gratia) is redemption but the Greatest and Second Commandments are gratitude for it.
  What should the redeemed do? Show gratitude to the Redeemer. How is that done? Loving God by doing what the Lord desires them to do; and that is loving Him and others that God values. The Ten Commandments are the metrics of love: the first four are ways to love God and the latter six are ways to love those who God desires not to perish (John 3:16). How do you love them? By showing them the same grace that the Lord shows to them.
  The mystery of Christ is that redemption was always by grace, and it was always for everyone — Jew and Gentile (the whosoever in John 3:16) — and redemption was always through the Messiah, called the Christ. What was that mystery?

⁶ That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: ⁷ Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. (Ephes 3:6-7)

  “Fellow heirs” says much. The Abrahamic Covenant was for Abraham’s heirs. Gentiles’ redemption was by grace. The mystery is that the Jews’ redemptions was always by grace as well. God does not have one Plan for Jews and another for Gentiles; it was always by grace. The scribe understood that “mystery” and Jesus commended him for it. The teachers of the Law failed to understand the Law but the scribe knew it thoroughly and understood it. All the others were confused, and tried to diminish Jesus, and that would elevate themselves; to make a name for themselves if they tripped up Jesus!
  I hate to teach against the doctrine of others. It is scripture as they understand it. However, just as God is not God as we understand Him, but God as He IS, the Doctrine of God is not as we understand it, but how it is written and intended. The teachers failed to understand the Law, and Calvinist-minded Christians are as confused as the teachers of the Law. They, however, should be commended for their right teaching of by grace alone, but should emphasize works as a way to demonstrate gratitude for redemption. The Law of God was written on stone for perpetuity by the finger of God, or Jesus. The scribe surely knew that he was reasoning with God Himself!
  The Sadducees reasoned as well, but theirs was not about the mystery. For them, it seemed silly that people could die and live again. It was not scientific and was unreasonable. Mysteries are beyond reason but look at science; they cannot believe in the resurrection because they fail to believe in the erection of existence. Teachers of evolution — something from nothing (aliquid ex nihilo) — are as confused as the Sadducees and alchemists of the Dark Ages.
  The Lord Created and the Lord can Re-Create and the Way to be Resurrected is by God’s Grace, and furthermore, it has always been. Thank Him for it, for doing what He Wills for you to do.
  And lastly, skeptics quit trying to trip-up Jesus. Being born again is when we come to realize that Jesus can save us but we, not really gods, cannot. We are not to diminish Jesus as the teachers of the Law tried, but to magnify Jesus by understanding the truth; that it was His blood all the time that redeemed mankind!
  And when Jesus explained the mystery, the discussion ended as He answered their cunning traps so wisely.

(picture credit: Message Magazine)

THE DEEP STATE ENSNARING JESUS

KEY VERSE: …Then saith he unto them, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.” (Mat 22:21; Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25)

  The Pharisees and the Herodians sought to trip up Jesus, knowing if He answered either one of two ways, he would either offend one group. The two opposing groups colluded together to undermine Jesus. “They took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk” (Mat 22:15). They asked if it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar. For the Herodians who supported the Roman government to whom they paid tribute, their law was Roman law. To the Jews, their law was the Mosaic Law. Just which law was Jesus to submit? They knew that He was not a respecter of persons and would offend one group or the other.
  The plotters were not after truth but were only trying to snare Jesus into offending one law or the other, and to divide the people against Him. Plotters always seek to discredit and divide, but Jesus stuck to the truth and they marveled at His discernment (Mat 22:22). In modern times, those two groups would parallel the Democrat and Never Trumpers “Deep State.” As I wrote recently in my blog (https://kentuckyherrin.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-real-deep-state.html), in whatever era and whatever government, there is a “Deep State” seeking to undermine and destroy the legitimate government.  
  By Roman law, they were the legitimate government, but by Mosaic Law, the Sanhedrin was. By God’s Law, Jesus was the King of the Jews, and even Pontius Pilate seemed to recognize that! The Herodians, representing Caesar, were the “Socialists” of that era (Democrats in the modern Lexicon) and the Pharisees the “Never Trumpers” (Republicans in name only). This analogy is not to address modern times, but for the reader to understand the dilemma that Jesus was in was much like the enigmatic situation of Donald Trump.
  Now consider for a moment the words of the different apostles: Matthew said that they tried to “entangle” Jesus, and for that Jesus called them wicked! Does that not sound familiar; Jesus called them what they were, and Donald Trump is condemned for using nearly the same words!
  Mark, however, used a different description when he wrote, “Jesus, knowing their hypocrisy” (mark 12:15). They were accusing Jesus of doing what they were doing. The Herodians paid tribute to both the Sanhedrin and to Caesar! They had “two masters” without choosing one or the other, but as Jesus said, they denied Him (Psalm 118:22-23).  The Pharisees were fakes! They bore “fake news” against Jesus.
  Luke wrote that Jesus, “perceived their craftiness” (Luk 20:23). Between the three we find that Jesus’s adversaries were wicked, hypocritical, and crafty. They had their laws, knew them well, and endeavored to force Jesus’s into ensnaring Himself. This was not the first time, but a series of traps that Jesus’s adversaries set and failed.
  Does that not ring true to the Democrat Deep State of present-day United States! I repeat; there has always been and always will be a “Deep State” and usually it is socialistic in nature; not so much in doctrine but methodology. They always attempt to overthrow the legitimate institutions, divide, entrap, propagate misinformation, and undermine the legitimate authority. Jesus was the long awaited Messiah and as such the Herodians and Pharisees should have recognized the coming of the Kingdom of God; not unlike many righteous people in David’s time recognized him as the legitimate king even when Saul was king.
  Jesus was and is God’s heir to His Kingdom. Satan is His adversary. He is the “George Soros” of modern times — the Satanic (adversarial) man almost invisible to the world who operates in stealth through numerous complex organizations. All those work against the legitimate American government and are there to trip-up those who follow the Constitutional and clerical laws, especially of Christians and Jews. Understand that there is always a Deep State because Satan is always adversarial to Jesus. His “useful idiots” are different in each era, but in Jesus’s time, it was the Herodians, Pharisees, scribes, and such! There was even an independence movement by zealots which finally were not content until their vigilant tactics destroyed the Jewish state and faith!
  The importance of the Deep State is of interest in Roman/ Herodian times, and is of interest today. But of most intense interest is the Deep State of the Apocalypse — the complete and final destruction of the world! That word is a misnomer. It is the destruction of the world that is ruled by the “prince of the power of the air” known as Satan, but Jesus will reign afterward for one-thousand years as legitimate King. Satan is and has always been a mere pretender to God’s throne (Isa 14:12). He is the wicked “Deep State” against the righteous Kingdom of God, and the same adversary who always undermines legitimacy.
  The Apocalyptic one-world government will be ruled by the Beast’s (Satan’s) “useful idiot” the Antichrist who will think that he is Jesus Christ. He will be “a god” as Caesar long before him and will be the universal “caesar” (czar). The first 3-1/2 years of his reign will fool even Christians (the elect), but many cannot be fooled. 144,000 Jews will convert to Christianity, many Gentiles will follow suit, and both groups will reject the adversarial civil and spiritual “Deep State” in the following 3-1/2 years. The seven year “tribulation” period will see a loved and respected socialist-type of state show its true colors; it will reveal that it is communistic because death will be used to “encourage” dissidents to believe in the Antichrist, Marxism, and the Law of Sin.
  Furthermore, there will be an alliance of all religions. That is why fundamental Christians abhor ecumenicalism; namely that Truth cannot be compromised! However, the Catholic Church and liberal Protestantism will ally themselves with pagan religions, especially Islam. I have written before that I believe the end-of-time religion will be Islam and the “communistic” government Sharia Law. It is not only the Catholics who will go completely awry, but the entire minstream “Christian” church who propagate “social justice” over righteous judgment.
  Just as in America today wherein the liberal church is allied with secretive officials to undermine Church and State, the end-of-time government will have the same type of “Deep State.” As a Christian, I despise shadow governments and dark liberal church doctrine because both are adversaries against civil government and true Christianity. When government freedom fails, Christianity pales. The freedom to worship Jesus in Spirit and Truth without government interference is imperative, but socialism is against God and the U.S. Constitution.
  Why would cunning groups of people try to undermine Jesus? To diminish Him when it came time to impeach and execute the innocent man! Indeed, there is nothing new under the sun.

(picture credit: Ray Downing of Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, Scribes, and High Priests)

CLOTHED FOR THE MOTHER OF ALL WEDDINGS

  There are two main groups of people that will turn on God. The two groups are the government and the official religion. By “official” I mean those churches that are acceptable to the government and its leaders. Their doctrine will be doctrine of the world, and the government will be global. In the gospels, the common people believed Jesus to be a prophet, but the religious leaders feared that Jesus would diminish their authority, even though they believed His miracles. They did not reject Jesus because He was a convincing prophet, but because He was obviously God. I believe no one realized the identity of Jesus more than the scribes, Pharisees, and other religious leaders.
  On the other hand, Kings Herod and Antipas feared Jesus because they feared that He would be King.

² The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, ³ And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come… ⁸ Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. ⁹ Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. ¹⁰ So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. ¹¹ And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: ¹² And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. ¹³ Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen. (Mat 22:2-14)

Let’s identify the people, activities, and institutions that are represented:

·         The “marriage” represents the kingdom of heaven in that Holy Matrimony is symbolic of Jesus’s relationship with the true Church.

·         The “wedding” represents the “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9), or entry into the kingdom of God in the end.

·         The “king” is as the Father aspect of God; God’s Will.

·         The “son” represents Jesus.

·         The “servants” represent the official church; the one organized my men.

·         “Bidden” is the invitation and God’s calling them to come into the wedding feast (John 6:44).

·         “Worthy” are those in proper attire; those wearing appropriate wedding garments.

·         “Highways” represent the entire world; whosoever is invited (John 3:16).

·         “As many” represents all that are willing to attend the wedding feast. None were forced to come. That represents free will. Everyone was invited to the wedding.

·         “Gathered together” is the Great Commission; to go unto the nations and teach the gospel.

·         “As found” represents those with a desire to respond to the invitation, unlike the servants who were there but rejected the invitation.

·         “Both good and bad” indicates that their status, vocations, and works are insignificant. They could be servants or adversaries.

·         “Wedding furnished” represents the true Church. The Church is for the lost and believers, and as the Church is represented by Ornan’s threshing floor, God will sort them out. All are welcome in, but some shall be cast out, depending on their wedding garments. The Groom furnished the right clothing for the occasion.

·         One man was not dressed in proper attire. He failed to wear a wedding garment. That will be discussed more thoroughly shortly.

·         The “servants” who are to bind the man without proper attire are angels.

·         “Speechless” is without excuse (Rom 1:20) as that man failed to understand the majesty of God in the Creation.

·         “Darkness” represents Hell and that is a place of isolation. The “weeping and gnashing of teeth” represents torment in Hell.

·         Many are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb, but few are chosen. That represents that nobody deserves entry, but only God decides. Some come anyway but are rejected because they are not dressed as servants would dress.

  The most important thing in that parable is the wedding attire. What attire would be appropriate for a wedding feast for commoners? I submit that coats made of lambs’ skins is the most appropriate, but any dead domesticated animal would do. Obviously, wolves clothing would not be appropriate dress!
  Think back to Adam and Eve: They made aprons of fig leaves. The fig represented bad taste for the pair and their own craftsmanship was not good enough for the wedding they would soon have.  God made for them appropriate clothing — coats of skin (Gen 3:21). God killed an innocent animal to cover the flesh of Adam and Eve. The proper attire for the wedding feast of the Lamb was the flesh of the Lamb (Jesus). It is not by ones’ own handiwork that they are worthy of the feast, but God’s handiwork of allowing His own Flesh to die to prepare the good and bad for the feast.
  God’s Flesh (the sacrificial Lamb) died that the corrupt and/or filthy “flesh” of the good and bad are worthy. It is to be noted that man’s “goodness” is as filthy rags in the sight of God (Isa 64:6), and God discarded the leaf aprons of Adam and Eve as He would a filthy rag. Perhaps their insolence had made their aprons filthy!
  Adam and Eve were the bad and good for they ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of both. The skin coat — likely the skin of a lamb — covered the good (Gen 3:24) and their bad (Gen 3:5). Their estimation of themselves “as God” was covered by God’s coat which hid their own evil flesh from view. That implies that Jesus’s death covers all sin and attempts at goodness, and the coat allows God to “forget” the sin, albeit sinners must still suffer the consequences of sin as the two must when they were cast out.
  In the wedding hall at the feast, most were dressed appropriately excepting one. If you recall, the Kingdom of God (the Garden of Eden) had a hedge of some type around it, and the way back into Paradise was guarded by cherubim whose job was to “keep the way of the tree of life” (The Way of Jesus) with a flaming sword (Gen 3:24). Adam and Eve someday would be able to enter back into Paradise. That is the Edenic Covenant. Why so? They were dressed in clothes that God gave them!
  In ancient days, Jewish weddings were quite formal. The groom would provide wedding attire appropriate for Holy Matrimony. The wedding feast of the Lamb was formal and appropriate clothing was required to eat of the Bread of Life (Jesus). The man dressed without God’s “suit” was cast out by servants, just as cherubim will cast out those who endeavor to enter the wedding when they are not worthy. To be worthy is not something that the invitee has made and worn, but clothing the Groom provides. Those born again with the old flesh gone and clothed in new flesh (John 3:7) are worthy. Those born again do not re-create themselves, but God gives them new flesh suitable for the marriage supper of the Lamb.
  I could continue endlessly about the wedding feast and worthiness but would encourage others to study the wedding that will take place and ensure that they are dressed in appropriate clothing for the feast. Nothing fancy; John the Baptist wore a coat of camel hair, and he was allowed entry to the wedding. What will you wear? John, like the Son, wore a coat stained in blood. That is appropriate apparel!
  By the way, the feast was not held in a church building but the heavenly realm. That does not mean the place Heaven but the invisible universal Church building where there are no walls of brick nor stone, but Christians who are the living stones in the pillars that hold up the Cross.

(picture credit: Catholic World Report)

WHY THE FIG TREE WITHERED

  Throughout the Bible the fig tree on occasions represent “good” (1 King 4:25;  2 King 18:31; Prov 2:18; S of S 2:13; etc.), and at other times “evil” (Jud 9; 1 King 4:25; Isa 34:4; Hos 9:10; etc.) That the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was an apple tree is false. “Malus” in Latin can mean both “apple” and “evil.” Hence, that the fruit was apples came mistakenly from the Latin translation (Wikipedia in Simple English). We must not look to translations for the fruit but scripture itself.
  In Genesis 3:6, Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden tree. Immediately, in 3:7 they made themselves aprons of fig leaves. There is no indication that they had moved from where they were under the forbidden tree. Then, to cover their guilt, the two hid themselves among the other trees of the Garden (verse 8). Only did they move after they sewed fig leaves into aprons.  I submit that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was a fig tree, and metaphorically, a “Philosophy Tree” (my nomenclature) which Jews call the “Wisdom Tree.”
  I have written on that before, and also that the Tree of Life was an olive Tree, and metaphorically, the “Jesus Tree” in that it represents the three substances of God, or the Holy Trinity.  Now consider the key verses:

KEY VERSES:

¹⁰ Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be… ¹² Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? … ¹³ Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom… ¹⁴ But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. ¹⁵ This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. (Jas 3)

  James was speaking of knowledge and wisdom (key verse 13). Knowledge is of God and is “good.” However, “this wisdom” of which Mark wrote was false wisdom, and it is “devilish.” James was apparently speaking of the metaphorical “Philosophy Tree,” or the “Wisdom Tree” as the Jews call it.
  James also speaks of the dichotomy of what I will call the “Speech Paradox” — “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing” (verse 10). That was as well said, Out of the same TREE proceedeth blessing and cursing, for immediately James mentions the dichotomy of the “fig tree.” Whereon fig trees cannot bear olives and olive trees fig berries (verse 12). Then James refers to the wise man with “good conversation” identified as “meekness,” and compares it with “evil attitudes” that are lies (verse 13). I believe James was alluding to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and was providing the fruits of the two Trees which were in the midst of the Garden of Eden. Now examine Old Testament prophecy:

¹² Were they (the wise) ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the Lord. ¹³ I will surely consume them, saith the Lord: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them. (Jer 8:12-13)

  Jeremiah, for some time in the future, indicated that the wise in regards to the world’s philosophy would be abominable, and neither will they be ashamed of their abominations. That contrasts well with Adam and Eve who gained evil wisdom from God’s body of knowledge and committed the ultimate abomination. However, they fell, but were ashamed. Adam and Eve fell, as the wise will do, but God did not consume the two, albeit He will those who are not ashamed. God made for Adam and Eve coats of flesh, representing His eventual death on the Tree of Life (the Holy Cross). Those who are not ashamed will be consumed.
  Then Jeremiah prophesied the time when those with false wisdom would not have contrition: “There shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade.” When would that be? When Jesus caused the fig tree to wither because it had no figs to resolve His hunger. In this case, a fig tree bearing fruit would have been good, but that specific fig tree which Jesus approached was metaphorically evil. In the lesson of the fig tree from Jesus, there is crucial doctrine, among them are: (1) The quick withering of the fig tree demonstrated the power of faith through Jesus (Mat 21:21), that the withering of the fig tree was the curse of which Jeremiah prophesied (Mark 11:21; Jer 8:12-13), and that the fig tree was the cursed Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen 3).
  My point is that the fig tree is symbolic of the forbidden tree and surely bears the same fruit as the Tree of Knowledge. What does faith have to do with the Trees that were in the midst of the Garden of Eden? Adam and Eve had faith in what the forbidden tree would provide above what the Tree of Life can! God had already provided nourishment from the Tree of Life and the hope of eternal life. Not satisfied with that — being a lack of faith — they ate of Epicurean fruit, namely figs, but from that tree came additional knowledge; to the knowledge of good was added the knowledge of evil. Wisdom does come from that tree because God made it “very good” (Gen 1:24), but Satan in that tree had bestowed falsehoods to the two. His body of knowledge was added to God’s knowledge of only good. God’s knowledge was “right” and Satan’s deceptive in that he spoke good and true things in a manner which was meant to deceive by adding slight tinges of false knowledge that we call “lies.”
  It seems that Jesus was cursing the Tree of Knowledge because of the deceptive practices of the Pharisees who condoned the “root of all evil” — the love of money by themselves, the money-changers in the Temple, and later Judas Iscariot who Satan had entered (Luk 22:12).
  I have written before of the evidence that the “Judas Tree” from which Judas hung himself was a fig tree just as the “Serpent Tree” was a fig tree. Why would Satan’s tree be different in those occasions? Jesus came to wither Satan’s tree, and it seems that the fig tree represented the demise of Satan just as Judas, hanging from his Tree, also was Satan’s vicarious death on the same day that Jesus (the Tree of Life) fulfilled His Purpose. And that is effectively withering Satan until the root of all evil is finally destroyed in the end! Jesus told Pontius Pilate that he came for that end (John 18:37).
  Jesus destroyed the Philosophy Tree (the Doctrine of Sin), the fig tree’s bearing no good fruit, Satan in mankind with the death of Judas in his tree, the Serpent of old, and the power of the Prince of the Air; namely Satan. The fig tree has been freed of its iniquity by Jesus’ hanging on His own “Tree” as Luke described the Holy Cross in the Book of Acts.
  For me, the continuity in scripture represented by the fig tree increases my faith. Blind Bartimaeus saw “trees as men walking” when his sight was partially restored. I appreciate the day that God allowed me to see trees as men walking, worshipping, and serving. When I look at the olive, I see Jesus as the Tree of Life, and when I see figs, I believe that Satan is as well as dead because Jesus killed the Serpent on the Tree of Life which is the Cross.

(picture credit: BibleOutlines.com)

THE NEED FOR ACCORD

  Don’t be frightened by the subject about Pentecost. This commentary is not about speaking in tongues, so read on.

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. (Acts 2:1-2)

  Pentecost is on the fiftieth day after the Passover. Pentecost is “feast of first fruits.” Not only does it follow the Passover when the Jews were saved from Pharaoh in Egypt, but it was fifty days after Jesus translated to heaven. Jesus is the Father’s “First Fruit.” Pentecost, therefore, celebrates Jesus, salvation, and the resurrection.
  Jesus ascended to Heaven and fifty days later His Holy Ghost descended to Comfort mankind. On the day of Pentecost, Jesus’s Ghost appeared from heaven; not the place “Heaven” but from the unseen realm. He was always there in the proximity of the Jews, but on this specific day, He showed Himself. As is the custom, I write personal pronounces referencing the Holy Ghost, but Jesus is His “Person.” The Holy Ghost is the invisible Presence of the Lord. Christians know Him through His Power. In the case of Pentecost, His Power was evidenced by a Jewish group that had a certain characteristic (Acts 2:3).
  Focus on one key phrase from the key verses: “They were all with one accord in one place.” “They” are the disciples, mostly Jews, but foremost they were all God’s peculiar and chosen people from many nations (Deut 14:2), and as disciples of God, the Gentiles who trust in Jesus are God’s chosen and peculiar people. (1 Peter 2:9) that were not born into the Promise but were persuaded and reborn to be God’s adopted children. Although those at Jerusalem were mostly Jews, Pentecost is also a celebration for Christians of all races.
  There were people there from many nations. That is known because they all understood each other in their own language.
  Pentecost eliminated division. All those from different nationalities were able to see and hear Jesus coming back to Comfort them. They were no longer alone!
  Jesus said that He would cause division between family members and not peace (Luke 12:51). Here we have a gathering of the nations, and there was not only peace but accordance — they were with like mind and in harmony. When would that ever happen again, but that one time when celebrating Jesus’s victory over death and the world?
  “Of one accord” (accordance) does not mean that they were all of the same mindset, culture, language, rituals or anything, but that they loved one another as Christ loves the world. When Jesus’s Holy Ghost returned, He turned discord into accord. As such the decryption of the Divine language encrypted at the Tower of Babel was enabled.
  When building things, humans inevitably disagree as to purpose and even structure. The people’s focus was on themselves — each and everyone of them — “to make a name for themselves” (As peculiar and chosen people; Gen 11:4).
  At Pentecost, God built the Church and at that time, the Jews and Gentiles together made a name for themselves, but the Name was not for them alone but Jesus Christ. The focus at Babel was on the people, but the focus at Pentecost was on Jesus and the Comforter! The Church is God’s chosen and peculiar people that the Holy Ghost persuades to be part of the invisible universal Church. There was no argument about the purpose of God’s Temple or its design because the Holy Ghost of Jesus would reside in their Temple, or soul.
  With that background, Pentecost is not about speaking in tongues. It is about a new generation of people all in accord with God. Discord was finally put aside after thousands of years, and the Church was built. Of course, the “foundation” was the prophets and apostles with Jesus as the Cornerstone and the Cross pointing to Heaven at the precipice.
  Babel was where the first pass at temple-building failed because it was for men. Pentecost was when the True Temple was built, one that required no materials, walls, nor stone foundation for it had already been laid well to the stone that the builder’s rejected.
  Confused and dissenting people endeavored to build the temple at Babel for their own sakes. There was discord among them and God. They were not truly even building for themselves as a group, but themselves as persons. That was the discord at Babel and God confused the language of a confused and discordant group. At Pentecost, God’s Plan was used for the building of the Church and willing workers built it in agreement and harmony. Everyone who were willing workers there in Jerusalem where the Church as built.
  The Tower of Babel was not even built at the right location. Its foundation was at harlot Babylon. God’s Temple was meant to at the “foundation of peace” in Jerusalem. Jesus Himself revealed that in seventy years Herod’s Temple, not His, would be destroyed, and consequently God, never requiring structures, built His own Church starting at Pentecost. It was His Church, for Him the Groom married to His Bride, and not for those who would have self-love.
  Returning to the key words in the key verses now; “of one accord.” They loved God because He showed Himself to them, and they loved each other! That is the Greatest Commandment. The True Church’s “mortar” was love and was exhibited by mutual understanding and kindness toward each other and God in the Language of God.
  Remember that Jesus would not even bring peace to the family but discord? But He could with multitudes of people in the Family of God. Pentecost was the event spoken of when He was born — Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men, but it only lasted for a short time. Peace will finally come when Jesus returns to reign for a thousand years.
  The point to this commentary is that accord among people is when God’s Holy Spirit reveals Himself. Why don’t we see Jesus very often? Because of discord in the world, and especially among family and church members. Satan has captured the traditional family and they now belong to him. He is in the process of kidnapping the entire Church that God built, and when that happens, the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord is at hand. Are we there yet? No, but the world is headed to destruction at an extremely rapid pace as people, even God’s chosen ones, walk the way of the world. Satan smiles because we have been “had” by his cunning.
  If you died right now, are there those who you should honor and love who you do not? Nobody can see Jesus unless they are in accord with Him and others. If you have not reconciled with your parents, brothers, sisters, and even your enemies, you shall never see God on His throne in His Temple. Now is the time that your salvation is at hand; not cheap grace without accordance, but costly grace because Jesus loved you, and that you must love others. The best feeling you will ever have is when you forgive and forget. I have done that with my personal enemies and with family members who seemed to have done me wrong. Reconciliation is doing what is right regardless of who is wrong (Mat 5:23-24). That is Christ’s Will for His chosen people!

(picture credit: UMC)

THE CUP

KEY VERSES:

⁴¹ And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, ⁴² Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. ⁴³ And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. ⁴⁴ And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 41)

  Jesus, anticipating His Cup would be broken, overflowed it in agony. Jesus asked His Father to, “remove this cup from Me.” As usual, there are different meanings in scripture because of the inexactness in translations. The apostles had just drunk of the cup of Jesus at the Last Supper. It was wine which represented His blood. They were to drink of that cup in remembrance of Jesus. Now, after the cup had been drank of, Jesus asked that the cup be removed from him. Obviously, the cup from which they had drunk was not there, so Jesus made reference to something else. Hence, there were at least two “cups.”
  At Jesus’s death, he said, “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.” It was then that scripture said, “It is finished” (John 19:30) as He tasted the vinegar taken from a cup, placed on His tongue and forced into His mouth. At the Last Supper He did not drink of the cup because “it” was not time yet. His purpose had not been fulfilled (Luke 22:18) which is as he said, “until the Kingdom of God shall come.”
  The Cross was whereon the Kingdom of God came. At its top was “King of the Jews.” His death on that Cross is when His Kingdom came, and when “it” was finished.
  What was finished? When His ministry started, Jesus was filled with the Holy Ghost (Luke 4:1). In this context, “Ghost” is the Spirit of a dead person. Jesus was as dead because that is why He came. His Purpose was to be the “cup” that would hold the Spirit of God to enable God to experience death in three substances on the Cross. Only Jesus when John baptized had the Spirit remaining upon Him. Only the “cup” of Jesus could fulfill His Purpose.
  All the apostles but Jesus drank from the cup at the Last Supper. Judas did. However, he had Satan enter into him undoubtedly so that he would be the “cup” to save mankind. In a mockery Jesus, Judas hung himself to pay the price, but it was only the price for thirty pieces of silver. No one could sacrifice themselves to pay the price for mankind’s sins but Jesus. Satan attempted to pay the price with Judas, but it merely paid the price for that one man, and the price was not enough! Judas’s “cup” was dirty as Jesus pointed out to those whose “cups” were merely clean on the outside. (Mat 23:35; Judas was one of the hypocrites to which Jesus spoke those words).
  It should be clear that Jesus’s “cup” was ultimately His Purpose. Just what was His Purpose? First note what was said about Adam’s and Eve’s Holy Matrimony: “They are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mat 19:6). “What” is an important Word. It applies not only to Holy Matrimony between a man and a woman, but the “marriage” between Jesus and the Church. Jesus died to establish a Covenant of Grace between Himself as the Groom and the Church as the Bride.
  God Created Jesus in the Flesh, and at His baptism, God joined His Spirit, in bodily form by the way (Luke 3:22), with Jesus’s Flesh and both attributes of God was in One Vessel. Jesus referred to that man-shaped “vessel” as His “Cup.” When Jesus died on the Cross, the “Cup” was emptied when Jesus’s Holy Ghost departed from Him when it was finished.
  Thus, Jesus’s “Cup” was His body and it was filled with His Holy Ghost. Therefore, His soul was the body-shaped Ghost that came down on Him when He was baptized. It was finished when he died and the Cup was emptied. Thereafter, for three days, much seemed to happen; as Jesus body slept for three days in the “cupboard” His body-shaped Holy Ghost was depositing all the sins of mankind to Hell, and transporting the soul of the thief on the Cross to Paradise that day.
  It was God and only God who put asunder what He had made, thus validating Matthew 19:6. God was finished with Jesus’s “Cup” (His Body and Flesh) when the sacrifice was made once and for all forever on the Cross. Therefore, it leaked water and blood when the centurions pierced the cup, and it was that Broken Cup that saved mankind!  King David who had the Holy Ghost on Him before the Holy Spirit had experienced Flesh, said this:

What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. (Psalm 16:12-13)

   What could David render unto the Lord for his own benefit? That was rhetorical! It was by grace that David shall be saved in then end, and for us likewise. What is the Benefit? The Cup of Salvation is calling upon the Name of the Lord. The Lord’s Name is “Jesus.” Jesus is the “Cup of Salvation” — His Body for the Container for His Soul; His Cup to perish that we need not. The Cup emptied of blood and water so that ours need not eb sacrificed. David was somehow aware of Jesus Flesh as the Cup of Salvation and that he could not pass the Cup to any other. Only by One Name can any be saved, and that is “Jesus.” He is the One and Only “Clean Cup” from which to drink of salvation.

(Picture credit" Alamy)

REGENERATION: ACT OR PROCESS?

  Generation is “the action or process of producing offspring (procreation); the process of coming or bringing into being; or origination by a generating process” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Regeneration is bringing back to the same state as that generated. A synonym of regeneration is “resurrection” (ibid). As such the Creation is the erection of existence, and the Resurrection it’s re-erection. The Creation of mankind was the erection of living souls, and the Resurrection will be the re-erection of the same, or of immortal living souls. “Living souls” are elements that came to life as Spirit is breathed unto it (Gen 2:7). After that, scripture uses the term “very good” but in the Hebrew mankind and all existence was entirely good (Gen 1:31).
  Regeneration, then, is mankind, and for that matter all existence, returning to the state of entire goodness which was and will be “bliss.” On Earth, never again will things be “entirely good” until after Jesus comes again. For that reason, regeneration will not be completed until that time.
We are taught by Jesus to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Mat 6:10). Jesus is speaking of the resurrection of the earth and of mankind since “wills” are mentioned. He is not speaking about on Earth or in Heaven, but that there would be a re-erection of things in this physical existence, to the same as in the unseen spiritual existence. Perhaps just as the elements of the body have life breathed back into them, that the physical world will have spiritual life breathed back into it. Hence, Paradise in earth and Paradise in heaven shall be regenerated, as well as the Spirit of God breathed again unto the souls of men, making them entirely good.
  Generating is a process. Note in the source above that all definitions in this context are for the “process” of bringing into existence, and regeneration is bringing back those processes. Scripture describes quite well the regeneration of the heaven and the earth, therefore, it will be just as it was generated in the beginning. Thus, regeneration of people is a process which begins at conception, crowns at rebirth, and is finished at the completion of the re-erection, or what is called the “Resurrection.”
  Regeneration is not one event at any given time, but various events over time. Ideas are conceived in the heart leading to one of two things: sinful thoughts for ill will toward men or God (Acts 5:3-5) or the opposite — goodwill toward men or God (Rom 12:2). First things first; the heart conceives a thought for good or evil. The first step in the regeneration process is that you must realize that you yourself cannot prevent your own spiritual death, but Jesus can (John 3:14). That realization is the spark that illumines (John 3:19) and the idea is conceived.
  After contemplation, the sinner has become persuaded (Luke 16:31), and when the “Light” is seen, then, “Marvel not; ye must be born again” (John 3:7). That is when the spiritual “baby” crowns and as he first sees the light; not yet clearly, which will come with time, but enough to stay alive.
Real babies need nourishment, comfort, and safety. Parents do that with God’s assistance. Spiritual babes in Christ require much the same. The Holy Ghost provides Comfort and Safety, and the Word provides nourishment. The spiritual “infant” has then progressed through two stages of the regeneration process; and all the while Satan induces the will to abort by various deceptive practices. Those who endure the trials of the world and its “prince” until the end “shall be saved” (Mat 10:22). One more stage in the process is completed at that time.
  The end comes with death. That is the next stage of the process. “To live is Christ; to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). “Living” is having God’s Holy Spirit breathed unto the human soul. Living is Christ within His Temple of His Holy Ghost. Death is the stage in the process where the flesh gives up the soul and the flesh perishes into the dust from which it came (Gen 3:19). At that time, the soul has finally been saved, but the body has yet to be re-erected.
  The soul is in heaven in another realm protected from the wiles of the Devil, but the body remains “asleep” as Jesus calls it. The soul never sleeps as some believe but is always aware. When Jesus comes with the sound of the trumpet, the dead in Christ shall arise followed by those remaining alive in Christ.
  With that “rapture” (snatching up) compete (1 Thes 4:15-17), then the Regeneration process is near complete. Note that for the dead that are resurrected their regeneration is near its conclusion with the resurrection. For those who remaining alive in Christ, their “Resurrection” occurs without physically dying as they have already become dead to the world. Finally, those still living will be made alive from sin in the world (Rom 6:11).
  The rapture is a snatching-up to the Presence and Glory of God. Hence, the process concludes, and becomes stable and irreversible when the body is glorified, standing in the Presence of God with a regenerated entirely perfect body alive in harmony with a perfect willing Holy Spirit.
  Regeneration will not be exactly as it was in the Garden. Perhaps that is the reason why the translators rendered the Hebrew “very good” rather than “entirely good.” The difference is that in the heavenly Paradise there will be no Lucifer and no Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil! Why would glorified people who have been entirely regenerated need to know about evil? They have been saved from evil and from Lucifer! Lucifer no longer has any utility as his role was merely as testing agent for God. Finally, regeneration is salvation from Lucifer and habitation in a realm that has no sin.
  With Satan gone and sin non-existent, the world will be regenerated back to its near previous condition — “entirely good” for sure and forever! Then New Jerusalem, the City of God, will translate to its original place by this time cleansed by intense heat. Finally, the meek shall inherit the earth (the physical realm); back to where it all started in the midst of the Garden of Eden in Jerusalem on the very foundation stone now protected by the Dome of the Rock.
  Let me end here by noting that the Dome of the Rock was built because of Judas Iscariot but is to preserve that holy location for Jesus’s Kingdom finally on Earth in earth. (It is my contention that Jerusalem is the “midst of the Garden of Eden, and Adam will be resurrected from his tomb there under Golgotha. That is the premise of my book, The Skull of Adam” of anyone desires to pursue that line of thought further. Also, that Judas is the Isa of Islam.)

(picture credit: Sojourners "Lazarus raised from the dead.")