The Prescription for Eternal Healing

     What does it take to please the Lord and to keep the Covenant of Prosperity with Him? By that I mean eternal "prosperity!"

But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents. (Josh 22:5-6).

     Let's list all that was prescribed from those passages:

• Be diligent - steady, earnest, and motivated.
• Heed - pay strict attention to. Hearkening is how to heed. 
• Do! That word is sacrilege to Calvinists, but there are things which must be done to be blessed by the Lord. Doing is making it happen. Doing is the action and blessings are the reactions. What must you Do to be saved? Trust Jesus for eternal life and He will DO the rest! It is still by grace alone because God enables trust by the gift of faith. All sinners need to do is be persuaded. The entire Bible is about persuasion. Heeding the Word of the Lord is persuasive, and diligence is stedfast belief.
•  The "commandment" is one of the two things which must be done. I prefer the alternate translation which is "prescription" because that makes more sense in relationship to "healing." Jesus heals the nations. The commandments are prescriptions for that healing. 
• Better said than "the law" is God's Will. The Law is His Will! Even if breaking The Law is not damning, does it not make sense to still do God's Will? Thus, rather than The Law being coercive, it is a measure of willingness and at the same time gratitude for God's healing (salvation). It shows that people are not taking God's Name - Jesus - vainly.
• The Law, in the Old Testament and the New, is "to love your God." That is not god as you understand him, but the God who generated and regenerated you.
• And to "walk in His ways." Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). God's people were crated in the image of God, and those re-created are to walk in His image. Jesus is God walking. The Way of Jesus is walking the walk that he walked. Jesus was innocent of all sins! That was the way Adam was created (very good; Gen 1:29). Walking like Jesus is a return to the innocence in which Adam was created.
•  We are to cleave and serve God; to firmly adhere and be a servant to. That is what God meant by "dressing and keeping the Garden" which is serving and preserving! Those are also accurate transliterations from the Hebrew.
• How to serve? "With all your heart and soul." Jesus called that "The Greatest Commandment" and specifically to "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (Mat 22:37) and to that Luke added "all thy strength." That's how you DO it! Loving is hard work, and you are expected to work the work of love 24/7. You cannot love only part time; it is a full-time obligation with great pay - eternal life. The wages of sometimes loving and sometimes not is eternal death!

     Joshua blessed them (the tribes of the East bank in Jordan) and sent them on their way. What "way" was that? Walking like Jesus would walk! Joshua was symbolic of Jesus. That would have been Jesus's name if he had lived in Joshua's time. It's as if saying, "Jesus blessed them!" What does blessed mean? Enjoying the bliss of Heaven (Webster). Joshua was explaining the prescription for Heaven. That presription is written on stone and never expires. The way to be blessed with Heaven now is the same as then. Christians need to consider these passages as the prescription for eternal healing and residence in Heaven. 

     The tribes east of the Jordan thought Joshua was talking about the prosperity of the land, but what he said, was the prescription for the soul!

The Wisdom Tree

     There were two trees in the Garden of Eden. One was The Tree of Life and the other The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and evil. All that is known in Genesis of The Tree of Life was that it was good for food and pleasant to the eyes, and that the two inhabitants could eat of it freely (Gen 2:9).
     Also known is that the creation was "very good" (Gen 1:31) as was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. There were two choices: (1) freely eat of The Tree of Life, or (2) do not eat of The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen 2:27). God said nothing about the beauty of the forbidden tree, but did note that its fruit would make one die if eaten.
     Why was God so graceful to Adam and Eve? Because they didn't understand death, neither physical or spiritual death. But that is another subject.
      Adam and Eve were also created "very good." God's work was perfect and as only God is good (Mat 19:27), and at the time of Jesus that was true. However, in the beginning the two were created in the image of God, and were good. They could freely eat of The Tree of Life because they were "good" enough to do so... but they chose not to! They ate of the forbidden tree and were despoiled. They were no longer "very good" and not even "good" at all. Now consider The Tree of Life: What have you to say about that tree? It was "very good?" Yes it was; extremely good - perfect.
     Being a literalist, I believe that there were real trees in the Garden. I believe that two of those trees are still represented. What kind of trees were in the midst of the Garden? Let's take the easy one first. The forbidden tree was likely a fig tree. Why so? Before the pair left the vicinity of their sin, they made aprons of fig leaves (Gen 3:7). They tried to cover their wrongdoing themselves but their covering was ineffective. That was an attempt to redeem themselves and was impossible because they are not god(s). Then God made them a coat of skins to completely cover their flesh (Gen 3:21). Ones own works to save their own flesh was and still is ineffectual to live forever. God's grace was the antidote for the sin virus, not the work of men's hands.
     The fig tree, then, is associated with humanity and humankinds free will. Because they had already eaten of the forbidden fruit, God allowed them to continue to do so if they wanted. In the sacred books of Adam and Eve, we find that the pair carried around a fig the size of a watermelon but were afraid to eat it although God gave it to them to nourish them.
     Note that God said nothing good about the forbidden tree. Neither did Satan describe it's appearance, but deceived Eve in the consequences of eating it. It was Eve who saw the tree: "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." (Gen 3:6). She saw more good in the forbidden tree than God did, and even Satan. She believed it offered better fruit than any of the other trees, The Tree of Life inclusive. Since
 that time mankind has always viewed two "fruits" and most often choose the worldly fruit over the spiritual fruit.
      There is an irony with the forbidden tree. It was to make one wise (Gen 3:5-6). The Serpent deceived Eve with that and Eve believed it. She ate the fruit of the forbidden tree without even biting into the real fruit. Hence, she did not have an appetite problem but an attitudinal dysfunction. She made God a jealous God by not choosing His fruit!
     Although the tree was claimed to "make one wise" it did not. Eve was foyled. She thought she would not die, and was foolish. Adam didn't see here die so he ate. Neither were wise but both foolish.
      Christian call the forbidden tree, "The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil." The Jews do not; they call it "The Wisdom Tree;" albeit it is false wisdom. Not knowing that, a few years ago, I wrote of it as "The Philosophy Tree." I was wrong; it was "The False Wisdom Tree" because wisdom was only knowing "good" but after eating, they acquainted themselves with the knowledge of evil. Guess which  mankind most often chooses?
     Both Adam and Eve became "Philosophy Trees." In the New Testament blind Bartimaeus "saw men as trees, walking." (mark 8:24). I marveled at that because throughout the Old Testament, especially Genesis, I saw trees as men walking. Adam and Eve were the first philosophers. They began to reason with God, mingling truth with hyperbole. Eve blamed the Serpent, Adam blamed Eve, and the Serpent was well pleased.
     The Philosophy Tree became full-bloomed in the Enlightenment - The Age of Reason. The unseen fruit on that fig tree was human reason. It is still alive and well in the field of psychology. The attitudinal problem of the forbidden tree was faulty reasoning. Philosophy is the love of wisdom, not God, and psychology is the study of the soul without the inspiration of God who is the Creator of the human soul.
     The other "tree walking" is Jesus Christ. That tree was surely the long-living olive tree which may still be alive in the Garden of Gethsemane since some have estimated those trees to be over 4000 years old. That makes sense because the olive tree represents peace and Jesus is the King of Peace.
     The spiritual Tree of Life is Jesus Christ. He still lives in the same Garden Paradise which like Jesus has ascended into Heaven:

In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Rev 2:22).

     Thus, The Tree of Life represents Jesus. What about the Wisdom Tree? It's utility is the love of wisdom., hence the philosophy of living and dying. The main philosophical question is, Why am I? Of course, the answer is because of The Tree of Life. The giver of life is Jesus Christ - the Tree of Life. You are because HE IS!
       The Tree of Life is Jesus since anytime God is manifested, His manifestation is called Jesus (Mat 1:16).
     Who does the Wisdom Tree represent? First off, God made it very good, as he did the lowly snake. Satan corrupted both. God allowed that to test the free will of mankind. Satan, as Lucifer, also had a free will. He rebelled. God needed Lucifer to test the faith of His new creatures.
     The Wisdom Tree, the snake, and Lucifer were made for the purpose of testing. Adam failed the test, but God granted him a reprieve because of His grace. God saves mankind whosoever trusts Him. (John 3:16). Adam once trusted the Serpent, then when he felt sorrow, he trusted God.
      The Wisdom Tree represents Satan, as does the serpent. When Satan entered into the serpent, the Serpent became Satan. Not all snakes, but that specific "BEAST." Surely, the original serpent (little s) died and Satan needed another being. Lying low until the opportune time, Satan chose Judas Iscariot.

Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.(Luke 22:3). And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. (John 13:27)

     It is to be noted that Satan entered the Serpent to kill mankind, and he entered Judas to kill the Savior of mankind. Why would he do that?

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. (Isa 14:12-13)

     Satan used the very good wisdom tree, the very good snake, and the not so good Judas to  exalt himself above God. Judas Iscariot and Jesus both then died on a "tree." Jesus an innocent Man who IS God, and Judas whose existence was used by Satan to unseat God just as he had the snake earlier. Judas was the son of the pretend god, Satan - the pretender to God's throne.
     Satan is not through yet. Most Muslims don't believe that Jesus died on the cross. Of course, the flesh of God did, but God never died. Judas hung himself on a tree because he could not live with Satan within him. Most Muslims credit Judas as the savior of mankind, and Jesus as a mere prophet.
     Without boring the reader with Greek verb tenses, Iscariot is from the same root as "Quran," the sacred book of Islam whose name means 666. I believe that Iscariot, from the same root, also means 666. During the Great Tribulation, a new "Judas" will arise from the Mid-east. Satan will enter another creature. That initiative is to kill off all Christians, but again, Satan will fail! The lowly Serpent, then, was the Antichrist, as were Judas and some Mulsim leader to be proclaimed later on. I am on the watch for the physical return of Satan.
     If you have read and understood this, you shall have discernment. It may save your head someday from Islam. Beware of vain philosophy (Col 2:8) and false knowledge since truth comes only from God. Beware of psychology because the knowwledge of the soul comes only from God!
     The Wisdom Tree bore very good fruit and very bad. Humans must use reason to trust God or deny Him. Those who fairly consider God are the real "free thinkers." To deny God without considering Him is the sin of Adam. Mankind still fails that same test. To return to the "very good" condition in which mankind was generated, they must be regenerated. That is being persuaded that Jesus died for all mankind. Satan still attempts to make your rationalizations co/ntrary to that seem reasonable, but they are not!

The Rock

     Although the name Peter means "rock," Peter is NOT the Rock on which the Christian Church was built. Ironically, though, Peter is believed to be buried beneath St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The Church at Rome was physically where the western Church was built. However, contrary to their belief, they are NOT the only Church. "Catholic" means "universal." In early times, other churches were organized; to wit: the Coptic, Armenian, and of course, the churches of Asia. The Roman Church was no more important than any of the other ones. However, God picked it to grow.
     The catholic Church in Rome, like it or not, is the parent church of most of Christianity. Immediately, when that church became too powerful and worldly, it began to decay. In just a few hundred years, that Church divided into the Eastern and Western who today are the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. The former is the catholic church of those to the west of the Baltic region, and the latter, those to the east. The Baltic States are eclectic in that they are a mix of each.
     A thousand-years later Luther's reforms for the Roman Catholic Church were introduced as he nailed them on the cathedral door at Wittenburg (The Ninety-Five Theses). The Roman church had become corrupt and the Theses were an attempt to correct the heresies. The Roman church rejected them, and Protestantism was born.
     Now, Protestantism is as rotten as the Roman church. Together, by the end of time, the corrupt "Church" will be the end-of-time blasphemous religion. (I have written before that the church of the Apocalypse will be a universal church much like the Univeralist- Unitarian church is now. It will include all religions, obviously led by Islam who will convert the world by the blade.)
     Many believe that Rome will be what John called, "the harlot Babylon." I have written before, that is not the case. Present-day Jerusalem is the "harlot Babylon:"

And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. (Deut 31:16 NKJV)

     That is important because Israel at this moment is the harlot. Now don't get me wrong, I support Israel, but that land is covered with harlotry. When Jesus comes for his millennial reign Israel, will be cleansed and consecrated to the Lord. The harlot Babylon is symbolized by Mary Magdalene.
     The shrine to the harlot stands today on the Temple Mount. It is the Dome of the Rock. There is much history and tradition about that particular rock. It is believed to be the Foundation Stone from which the earth was born.
     It is also believed that Adam was generated thereon! Furthermore, as the "threshing floor of Ornan," it will be the place of judgment as God threshes the good grain from the chaff. It's where Abraham was about to sacrifice his only remaining son as God would do years later. It is the very place Solomon's Temple and the second one stood. It's where Herod rebuilt them.
     Tradition has it that the Holy of Holies was beneath the Foundation Stone, and that the abyss beneath was the place water gushed forth for the flood of Noah's time, and where the damned will be winnowed to Hades.
     As the "navel of the world" the Foundation Stone is the spiritual, cultural, and even continental center of the world. (Pangea was the land before continental drift, and it seems to have rotated around that point to form the Earth as we know it today.)
    Peter is certainly not the "Rock" on which Christianity was founded! Who was then? God is the Rock of Salvation (Deut 32:15) and Jeshurun (Israel) scoffed at Him. Scripture tells why Moses was not worthy of entering the promised land. He struck the rock twice from which living water poured forth at Meribah Kadesh in the Wilderness (Deut 32:51). God was to bring forth the water but Moses intervened. That presented a blasphemous image to the eyes of the Israelites. By striking the rock, Moses was symbolically striking THE ROCK OF SALVATION. He struck Jesus. "Jesus?" you marvel! Study the  passage below:

1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. (1 Cor 10)

     There is no Jesus AND God; it is Jesus who Is God. Jesus, of course, is God in the Flesh, but he is also God in the fire, God in the cloud, God in the burning bush, God wrestling with Jacob, and God in the fiery furnace. It was even The Word "Jesus" who was the Voice in the Garden, Jesus who spoke with Abraham, and Jesus appearing as Melchizedek to whom Abraham tithed. It Is Jesus all the time in the Old Testament because there is but One God. To be honest, legalistic Jews never understood that, and many Christians do not to this day!  
      Wherever God is, it is holy ground. God communed with the priests in the Holy of Holies. He was beneath the foundation rock. Standing on that solid rock is standing on THE ROCK (Christ). Of course, "all other ground is sinking sand" as the song goes. The Church was founded the same place it was originally. On the Foundation Stone and on the "Rock" beneath... on God who appears to mankind as Jesus Christ.
      Catholics... desist with the pride. The Christian Church, yours included, was founded on Jesus Christ. The Foundation Stone was the solid rock on which THE ROCK spoke from beneath, and walked across as he cleared the Temple of the merchants who defiled it. Jesus threshed some that day, and I believe in the end, at the Great White Throne Judgment, that His "footstool" will be on that very Foundation Stone as sinners are cast into the abyss with their father, the Devil.
     Islam has their "rock." It is the Black Stone of Kaaba in Arabia. Their "rock" is not Jesus. Theirs is the Beast, Isa. They don't stand on the solid rock but the sinking sands of Arabia and Isa. The writer of the song got that right!
     Moses failed to enter the Promised Land, but saw it from a distance. Finally, before Jesus died, Moses saw God on the Mount of Transfiguration. In the cleft of the rock, Moses was required to look only at God's back, but at the transfiguration, Moses saw God - The ROCK - face-to-face. He was in the Promised Land after all those years. Because he saw Jesus face-to-face and lived, Moses will be one of the first resurrected when those dead in Christ are caught up with Jesus in the sky!
    The Old Testament is the "Plan" of God, and the New Testament fulfilment of the Plan. THE ROCK is the focal point of both testaments, and essentially, they are the same: Everyone who enters the heavenly "Promised Land" must stand on THE ROCK OF SALVATION! Prosperity was not the property Joshua was entering, but the Paradise of New Jerusalem in the end.

The Hanging Tree

Now let's look at another Old Testament passage: (key verses)

18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: 19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; 20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. 22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: 23 His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. (Deut 21:18-23)

     This passage (key verse) from the Old Testament has great significance! It is, of course, to be applied to the Hebrew people, but face it, the Hebrew people were the antecedents of Jesus. Their sole purpose was two-fold: (1) Be God's peculiar people and (2) to provide a Savior with Israelite blood. As such the Israelites were a "vessel" for Jesus's incubation much as Mary was. Like Mary, they were to be clean and holy, and have fidelity to God. When Moses wrote the words above, it was for one specific day. However, Israelites were special people with special laws. They had rules for a disobedient, stubborn and rebellious son. Let's stop there for a moment.

     Jesus was known as "a stubborn and rebellious son." He was not, but the religious Jews perceived him that way. How so? Jesus spoke as if he is God! That was Adam's sin; acting as if he was God. (Gen 3:5). The "First Prescription" for eternal "healing" was, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." A better more understandable translation would be, "Thou shall have no other gods in my face." That eliminates all false gods who were worshiped alongside God, but think deeper than that: Jesus was the face of God. (Exod 33:11). 

     Whenever God appeared to men, it was the face of God, or more notably, Jesus. In the New Testament, Jesus presumes to be God's "face." That was blasphemous! Therefore, in the eyes of the law-keepers (those of the Levitical priesthood), Jesus was a rebellious son, and stubborn in that he would not recant.

     That law was custom made for Jesus's purpose; Jesus was born to die just as a common trouble-maker would be. God was making a law early on that would convict and sentence Him to His own death!

     Let's examine more of that passage. The rebellious son would "not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them." 

     Jesus forsook his mother, but never his Father! He asked, "But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Mat 12:48-50). At that time, Mary would have had her doubts, and here was her Son denying her. The legalists believed that Jesus broke another precept - to honor his father and mother... and ironically to have a long life - which was appended to that precept!

     I am avoiding the use of the word "commandment" because that is a misrepresentation. 

16 This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. 17 Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice: 18 And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments. (Deut 26)

     Moses, inspired by seeing God with his back to his face, was given the purpose of the "Ten Words" which were the "prescriptions" for long physical and spiritual lives! Note, that it was by grace that the Israelites were reproved, let lived, and blessed. Doing God's will does not exempt anyone from doing what He wants them to do!

     They were to keep them with all their hearts and souls. Where have you read that before? Jesus said that was the Greatest Commandment. That means all ten of them! When Jesus spoke about that, he added: "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Mat 22:40). Then John reaffirmed that, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15).

     In the key verses, it was the parents who made the accusation. Without regard to that, children are to honor their father and mother without reservations. As for Jesus, it were those that he claimed were his parents; those outside his biological family. Those who should have been his spiritual family... in other words those who were religious. What did those religious people do? Present him as rebellious and wayward... "He is a glutton, and a drunkard.." The Jewish leaders did just that (Mat 11:19)!

     Was Jesus stoned as foretold? "And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear." We do know that Jesus was beaten as he was taken to be crucified. According to Jewish law, then he was likely stoned.

     The crime was perceived rebelliousness, stubbornness, gluttony, and drunkenness. The "jury" convicted Jesus of all those things, even though the legal representatives did not! (Does that sound familiar with today's Russian Hoax?) Accusation is what sinful people do! Old Testament Law punished severely for false witness. It was not Jesus who sinned but the Jews. Jesus even told Pilate that theirs was a greater sin than his! (John 19:11); The wrong people were on the "tree."  

      Death by crucifixion was a Roman thing. Crucifying ancient people was unheard of until the Helenistic era and practiced mostly by Romans. When Moses wrote the key verses, he likely saw the cross in his mind's eye and referred to it as "a tree." Perhaps God called it a "tree" and Moses wrote what he heard. That may be the case because the cross of Jesus was a tree (Acts 5:30). The key verse describes the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. The Law was made so that by grace Jesus would be crucified rather than us rebellious and stubborn sinners, who by the way, are gluttons and drunkards!

     Read on: "His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day." Jewish law required that criminals be buried within 24 hours. Jesus died and the evening sky turned dark. That night, he was put in Joseph's tomb (of Arimathaea) (Mark 15:46). 

     Jesus's mock trial and death was prepared for in Moses's time. Even his burial was! No wonder Jesus said,

17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 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)

     Jesus was speaking of his death as fulfilment of the Law! The penalty for law-breaking was stoning and hanging on a tree. Both Judas and Jesus did that, but only Jesus was accused of being God! Islam believes Judas paid the price on his tree. Satan was the one who was vicariously crucified that day, but it was God, not Allah, who died in the Flesh!
      Paul said it well: "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." The "Ten Words" condense to "one Word:" love thy neighbor as ourselves. How is that? With all our hearts and souls! Loving our neighbors is willingly to not offend them by sins against them, and by doing that, God is loved! It is, therefore, important to not consider the "Ten Words" as commandments but "Ten Prescriptions" for healing the souls of mankind!

     

     

     

Witnesses

     The Old Testament is significant. Mosaic Laws were NEVER bad but are still useful for healthy, civil, fair, and loving relationships. on the other hand, DOING those Laws were not saving, but still the will of God: Let us examine a couple:

15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. 16 If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; 17 Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; 18 And the judges shall make diligent inquisition. (Deut 19:15-18)

     Does that not sound familiar? Well, look no further!

15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church. (Mat 18:15-17)

    It should be brought to the reader's attention that "THE WORD" inspired  Moses to write the first passage, and that Jesus Christ parlayed the second passage. Of course, THE WORD is Jesus (John 3), and His Law still stands. It was not the Law of Moses but The Law of God. It is not a commandment, but a prudent and fair means for a just outcome. If anyone who has a grievance with another, this is a fair way of handling it. Fairness is immutable, and that "law" still stands.
     Years ago, I had a disagreement with a person whose version and my version of events were much different. To resolve the issue that we could not, I asked to take it to the church, and thus be in accordance with the will of God. The person became angry and refused, my guess is so that the person knew that version to be false. To this day there has been no reconciliation. My conscious is clear; not that I was exonerated, but because the person was self-condemning. That person self-incriminated by failing to use God's directions. If the person had been entirely truthful as claimed, there should have been no problem sharing it with the church!

    Tomorrow will be another example.

Two Prophets

     Islam has two "prophets." They are Mohammad and Isa ibn Maryam - "Jesus son of Mary." Their "Jesus" has all the characteristics of the Christian Jesus except for one: Muslims differ whether Jesus died or not, whether it was Jesus who died on the cross, or whether Jesus merely ascended into Heaven. Their "Jesus" is an unknown "prophet." To those who believe that, let me proclaim to you the True Prophet: He is Jesus the Son of God and Mary was the surrogate used to incubate God and provide flesh for him, making Jesus also the Son of Man.
     The Son of Man had desire much as we do since scripture indicates we were made in his image (Gen 1:26) and he in the flesh of mankind (Heb 2:17). The difference between Jesus as man and mankind is "He is the image of the invisible God" (Col 1:15). Isa was NOT! Isa, their Jesus, had one nature. He indeed was a "prophet" but there are two kinds of prophets.

18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. 20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? 22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. (Deut 18:18-22)

     There were two prophets and two types of prophets.  We think of prophets as those who foretell the future. The Greek word prophetes is specifically a prophet who foretells the future, but more generally an "inspired speaker." The Hebrew word for "prophet" in the scripture above is nabiy or generally "an inspired man" with no foretelling defined, but implied in that inspired people foretold future biblical events accurately. The emphasis, for "prophet," then, needs to be on inspired speaker.
      In the passage above, there are two types of "prophets." The first is capitalized by the translators, because obviously it is in reference to Jesus: (1) A prophet like them which Jesus was, (2) God will put words in his mouth, and it is known from John 1 that Jesus is the Word or God in the flesh.
     Obviously, although not specifically a prophet, Moses was a prophet because all that the man did was inspired by God. Moses became God's "mouthpiece" and spoke the word of God. Hence, Moses was not Christ but a type of Christ. Jews credit Moses with too much as he was not holy enough to enter Canaan.
     Moses, unlike Mohammad, though, was a true prophet with small "p." Mohammad spoke much truth from scripture, but he added to what was there. That is forbidden in Deuteronomy 4:2 and elsewhere.
     The entire book of the Quran not only adds to but distorts the Word of God. The Quran is the deception of the Serpent and not the truth. It is no wonder that even Muslims associate the Quran with "666" and the root verb for Iscariot shares the same meaning with Quran. In fact, some branches of Islam believe it was Judas Iscariot, who scripture says "Satan entered" (Luke 22:3) who died for mankind. Not by coincidence, both Iscariot and the Son of God died on a "tree."
     Judas was the only person in scripture who Satan entered into. It can only be accepted that Judas is THE Antichrist, and when he comes back, that person will also have Satan who entered into him.
     The Serpent was not the Devil. Satan entered into the Serpent. Therefore, Judas was the manifestation of Satan just as the Serpent and the Beast will be at the end of days. Muslim's Isa is likely the Beast and will be a person that Satan has entered into. At least Judas, the man, was a type of Antichrist if not THE Antichrist. Will he be raised from the dead?

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. (Rev 13:1)

     The "seven heads" may represent the original "seven pillars of Islam" which is now reduced to five. Those seven pillars represent the seven holy mountains of Islam, not the seven hills of Rome. Furthermore, they also represent the seven tribes of Canaan mentioned in Deuteronomy, the Girgashites even people with feet of clay.
     Moses was making reference to the Ten Commandments. The "ten horns" of the beast are their perversion of the Ten Commandments. Rather than precepts of God, they are precepts of Mohammad. Clearly, Isa represents the Beast and Islam the doctrine of Satan.
    "Prophet" as an "inspired speaker" are of two types. From the passages above, one type speaks the Word of God. The Ten Commandments are known by Hebrews as "The Ten Words." Thus, a prophet of God must proclaim those Words. Jesus said that he came, not to eliminate the Commandments, but to fulfill them. Jesus, then is the True Prophet of which Moses wrote.
     Since Islam denies the Ten Words, their prophet is false. Whereas Jesus is the Prophet of which Moses wrote from God's inspiration, Mohammad and Isa are false prophets. Mohammad was merely "commendable" but Isa is from the old German, and in that language, does not mean "Jesus" but "Ice" or "Iron." (Wikipedia; Isa). Well, from Revelation, Jesus was to rule with a rod of iron, but we find out that the Antichrist did as well... in the place of Jesus! The Quran indicates that Isa will come back with a vengeance, hence ruling with a rod of iron.
      Inspired by whom is differentiating! The Prophet Jesus is inspired by God because what he speaks is the Word of God. The false prophet written of by Moses is the Antichrist. What they say must come to pass. Jesus has a perfect record. Mohammad and Isa do not! Mohammad is dead wrong in his writings, and they don't even know who Isa was! Not only that, but Isa (The Antichrist) will be destroyed. Mohammad was wrong about that as well!
     In those passages, God foretold Jesus's coming, and warned about Islam. It seems that Islam occupied Jerusalem over the centuries made Jerusalem "the harlot Babylon" in Revelation. It will be cleaned up, re-consecrated, and New Jerusalem will come down. (Rev 21).

The Riddle Solved

Another mystery solved by studying:

Verse: God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant (Gen 9:27).

Known: the Shemites are both Arabs and Jews, but in this context, it is obvious that scripture refers to "Jews" because tabernacles (tents) were where they worshiped in the wilderness.Thus, "tents of Shem" refers to Judaism.

Japtheth shall be enlarged and dwell (worship) in Shem's tabernacles of Judaism. Western Gentiles are from Japheth's line. This promise was fulfilled when Paul turned to the Gentiles to grow (enlarge) Christianity.

Now for "Canaan" who "shall be his servant." The implication therein is they would be Shem's servant. Well, it turns out that all the occupants of Canaanland were descendents of Canaan, son of Ham: Hitties, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Since all those tribes were descended from Canaan, as a people they are all Canaanites. Hence, the people who occupied the land of Canaan before the Shemites (Jews) came were Canaan's line. (I believe they are the seven "hills" mentioned in Revelation and are the "Harlot Babylon." - not  Rome as most think.)

The meaning of the key verse obviously meant that Canaanites would serve Shemites. They did that. They built Jerusalem, all the cities of Canaan, and were rural growers in the land of milk and honey. Their service to Shem was building the country of Israel into a prosperous nation. "Prosperity," in the Abrahamic Covenant is both the land and the religion whose God is Jesus.

Ironically, Canaanites still "serve" Shem. Since the diaspora Canaan has kept Canaanland alive. Even Saludin (a Moslem king) rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. Moslem Canaanites have kept Israel from being destroyed until it became a nation in 1948. By that, Canaan has always served Shem!

They will continue to do so until New Jerusalem comes down. Thank you, Canaan, for your service. Now the riddle is solved!