BIRTHDAYS

  Today is the day that the young welcome and that the old dread! My birthday is today; not actually the day I was born, but the anniversary of it. We celebrate life, but face it; life is tribulation. Actually, the world gets in the way of happiness. It is a great source of pleasure and entertainment, but at the end of the day, the day is done, and all that remains is you all alone. Fortunately, most of us have families that make us feel less alone, but in the end of the “spiritual day” that we call “life,” it is just me and God!  In this case, “me” is me, but put your name in there as it applies to everyone.
  Family and friends do serve purposes. They allow us to feel togetherness. There is one big problem with families; they are under attack. Holy Matrimony is about extinguished, and even the institution of secular marriage is under attack. With the family torn asunder, the family system is in jeopardy. After generations of blended families, each isolated from the other, the institution of the family has eroded. No one, it seems, is as close to their family as was the previous generation. Soon, people will be entirely alone as the family is no longer a unit, but in disunity.
  Satan is responsible for the erosion of marriages and the disharmony within families. He wants both institutions to fail because those institutions are ordained by God to be forever. I remember when my own son’s wife left him all alone. He had a placard on the wall, and on it was written, “Families Are Forever.” His marriage was torn asunder and his family dispersed. Satan, two; son zero since that was the second time at “bat.”
  Since birth is merely the commencement of tribulation, perhaps we should rue the day that we were ever born as Jeremiah the prophet did. What did Paul mean when he wrote, “To live is Christ; to die is gain?” He meant for those who live their lives for Christ, and not themselves, death is gain. What is gained by death? Life! Is that not ironic?
  Death ends tribulation for Christians, and unfortunately begins it for those who are not. Blessed are they that trust the Lord. “Blessed” means bliss. No one can fathom the tribulation for most that lies ahead, and neither can they the bliss for the few! We cannot begin to understand what bliss will be. One thing for sure is that blissed Christians will never be alone or feel alone. Their family will be everyone. Wives will become sisters and husbands of the wives will become brothers. Everyone who is blissed will have a great and numerous, family of God.
  No longer will those blissed in Heaven have a heavy heart. Never will they miss those whom they left behind. Those who despised them in life will not be with them in death. Strangely, though, they will not be missed; it will be as if they never existed.
  I can’t imagine ever leaving those that I love. I can’t imagine Heaven without my family. I wish that I could pray them there, but only they can pray the prayer for bliss.
  One atheist made a great point; that if Christians were truly loving that they would not sleep at night, knowing that others are going to Hell. Indeed, that does keep me awake at night! A birthday without people would be lonesome, but an existence without anyone to love would be no existence. I, as well as you, were born to love God. That is the reason that we exist. Imagine the lonesomeness that God feels when those He loves are not with Him.
  Birthdays are of little importance, but rebirthdays are! Nobody told me how important my rebirthday would be, so the exact date is long forgotten. It would be better to forget one’s birthday than never to have a rebirthday.
  Satan can make me feel isolation on my “birthday,” but on my one and only rebirthday, he is helpless. For that reason, I can look the death angel in the eye, and say, “Death is gain for me.” Sure, I dread passing over, but what is on the other side is blissful! I will see my Dad and Mom, and my brother Joe and Rich. Just think of the reunion when they meet me at Heaven’s Gate! My family will never die. My desire is that I too will meet my children there someday as well. I can hardly wait to say, “Well done, good and faithful servant of God!” I can just hear the angels applauding when the door for them is opened.
  You see, age is not to be despised, but only nearer the time of salvation than when I first believed. Bliss in death is the hope of Christians. God seemed t understand old age. It is not more than we can handle, as He promised. The tribulation in the world acclimates one to the meeting with the angel of death. Christians tire of the distress in the world and look forward to better times. One year gone by is one furlong closer to the prize. Do not pity the elderly because with their weak vision, they see what’s on the other side of death.
  What is here today seems so precious, but imagine a world without hate, strife, jealousy, impatience, and such! Today I am merely an angel-stride closer to my reward. I can almost hear the cherubim opening the well-oiled gate now; oiled with the blood of Jesus. I can almost hear the seraphs song; singing about a not so lonesome dove. Now, I hope you see that death is not so bad, and that life is mostly tribulation; just a prison from which to escape unscathed by the barbs of the evil one!

(Credit: google images)

TREES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. (Isa 61:3)

  Trees as allegories for people never cease in scripture. Again, I recount the story of blind Bartimaeus, who said, “I see men; as trees walking” (Mark 8:24), as he saw for the first time. Likewise, I see the   trees of the Garden of Eden as the living souls of men standing still. For what reason? To become as trees walking.
  Why as trees standing still? “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exod 14:13), “And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan” (Josh 3:8), and “(The eunuch for Jesus Christ) commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him” (Acts 8:38). Many places in the Bible, people stood still to see the salvation of the Lord. The Hebrews stood still and saw Jesus as they were saved by the water from the sin of Egypt, Joshua stood still in the Jordan as a symbol of salvation and baptism, and the eunuch with Philip stood still as he believed and was baptized.
  Standing still awaiting God’s grace is a significant doctrine. I believe the trees of the Garden were standing still awaiting the salvation of the Lord just as in those three examples. What were they waiting for in all cases? That they might be glorified as they stood still glorifying the Lord!  
  Isaiah, in the passage above, understood the significance of that. “Trees of Righteousness” were standing still that they might be glorified. Who are those “trees of righteousness?” Those that “mourn for Zion.” I believe that Zion is what scripture referred to as “the midst of the Garden,” and is where God IS (Gen 2:9). As I have written before, the trees of the Garden with their canopies, standing still, and facing the Tree of Life in the center of the Garden is a “picture” of both Tabernacle and Temple worship. Why was “standing still” so important? Because they came to God and stood before Him. That would change much later.
  Jeremiah saw the day when the Jews were not to stand still: “Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind” (Jer 51:50). After Babylon fell, the Lord remained with the Jews in Babylon. He did not stay in Jerusalem as temple worship ceased, but he went to Babylon with them. The diaspora of the Jews in Babylon was symbolic of “God With Us” (Emanuel). The prophecy meant that Temple worship would become unnecessary. God had said that He never needed a House. Tabernacle worship was the way that God created worship in the Garden of Eden, and the way Moses and the Hebrews worshiped in the wilderness.
  How could evangelists fulfill the Great Commission by going unto the world if they stood still? Note that the eunuch was likely an African who was driving a chariot. He was transporting the Word as he read his Torah, but he stood still, just for a short time, while God entered into him, then he walked to the river and stood still again as he was baptized by the Lord. Jesus was called “Emmanuel” (Mat 1:23). He is “God With Us;” not God behind us or before us! God seemed to be Rooted in the Garden. Maybe He was as there was only two people to glorify Him. But all that changed with the planting of new “trees.” God no longer stood still, but was “God With Them.” God left the Garden alongside Adam and Eve to serve and preserve His transplanted, or “trees of righteousness.” Why were they all of a sudden righteous? Because God covered their Ten Sins (see my commentary on a “Multitude of Sins for Adam and Eve;” https://kentuckyherrin.blogspot.com/2020/02/multitudeof-sins-for-adam-and-eve.html).
  Standing still was acceptable in the Garden. However, straying to forbidden places was! Adam and Eve strayed to the forbidden tree and entered unto temptation. Christians are to be steadfast in faith, and not stray too far:  “O Lord, why have You made us stray from Your ways…” (Isa 63:17a; NKJV). Adam and Eve strayed from dressing and keeping the Garden to being served by the Serpent with the fruits from the Tree of Knowledge. It should be obvious that trees, if not kept well, will have mutated fruit. Adam’s and Eve’s fruits went from twelve fruits of the Spirit to a multitude of withering fruits (Gal 5). Before sin, all the fruits of the trees of the Garden were righteous fruits, but with sin, they mutated to unrighteous fruits. How can anyone know of which fruits are of the trees of righteousness? To find all the twelve fruits of the spirit, only the Latin Vulgate version lists them (the others list only nine):

Fructus autem Spiritus est caritas, gaudium, pax, patientia, benignitas, bonitas, longanimitas, 
mansuetudo, fides, modestia, continentia, castitas. Adversus hujusmodi non est lex. (Gal 5:22-23; BSV)

  For those a little rusty in their Latin, the twelve fruit(s) are: charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity (kindness), goodness, longanimity (forbearance), mildness (gentleness), faith, modesty, continency (self-control), and chastity. I have been writing “twelve fruits” (plural). Scripturally they are one “fruit,” for just as failing one commandment is as if failing them all, not having one fruit is as if not having any fruit! For instance, how can one be at peace if they are not kind? How can one be gentle if they do not have self-control. Indeed, the righteous tree has one fruit, and that one fruit is righteousness. How so? Righteousness is exemplifying all the twelve fruits. A person is not righteous if he or she fails even one characteristic of righteousness. This is hard doctrine, but all things are possible with God!
  I could write a book on righteous-types of trees as well as the unrighteous-types. I won’t though, because Galatians chapter five lists the unrighteous-types of trees for us to avoid! (Hint: Open your Bible and read Galatians chapter five!)
  Perhaps trees not standing still tells us something. Should Christians only GO to church, or are they TO BE the Church wherever they are?




 (credit eprophetic)

SEARCHING FOR ZION

KEY VERSES: And he saw that there was no Man, and wondered that there was no Intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak… And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; “My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.” (Isa 59:16-17, 20-21)

  The etymology of the word, “Zion,” is ambiguous, but is extremely important. No one knows for sure what the word means, but the place “Zion” is a small mountain presently outside the walls of Jerusalem, which was at one time within its walls. Zion was at first a Jebusite fortress, and the place where David built his palace. Later, it changed to the Temple Mount, and then moved to its present location. It came to represent the city of Jerusalem, and finally all of Israel. “Zion” is thought to mean “dry land” or/or “a bald spot” (Wikipedia; “Mount Zion”). 

  Perhaps Zion is not an exact spot on the globe, but a condition. The psalmist seemed to understand the meaning of Zion more than anyone: “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.” Perhaps, “Zion” is the dry and thirsty place within the souls of men in need of “water!” Maybe Jesus was teaching that to the woman at the well (John 4). 

  I believe that Solomon,who was describing his love in the Song of Solomon 4:15 as, “A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.” His love seemed to be a woman, but was he really describing Israel and the place of peace, Jerusalem? In several scriptures, Israel is likened unto a woman. I believe that Israel was the love of Solomon, and her “heart” was Jerusalem. The love which flowed from the “heart” was the “living waters” of whom Solomon wrote!

  Much later, Jesus said, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38).  When Jesus touches anyone, virtue flows from him to the other person; as an example; Mark 5:30. But when Jesus died, virtue flowed out enough to cover the sins of the world. Jesus, when he died, shed blood and water, and those two things provided salvation (John 19:34; 1 John 5:6). “Water” represents the Holy Spirit. It is likely that blood (representing God’s physical Presence), and water (representing God’s spiritual presence) must be trusted for salvation. 

  Now back to Zion. Perhaps it wasn’t a place, but a condition wherein mankind has a longing for God. Perhaps it was that empty place on the Temple Mount whose baldness yearned for occupation. Perhaps it is the hollowness in the souls of mankind which must be filled with something. That “something” is the spiritual presence of God!

  Zion, to Isaiah, seems to be the faithful longing for God’s blood and water. Perhaps “Zion” to Isaiah was Calvary! That place of baldness (another suggested meaning for “Zion”) needed Jesus’s blood and water. Isaiah likely envisioned Jesus on Zion. Zion, the dry and bald spot in Jerusalem, was begging for occupation. The Occupant was to be the Redeemer. He would come to fill the “bald” spots in the hearts of men! 

  Read again the key verses. On Zion, there was no “Man,” The holy mountain of Zion desired Jesus. “Zion,” in that case, had to be Golgotha – the skull-like place which Isaiah called “Zion.” Perhaps theologians have missed one spot having a need for Jesus! Zion traveled with the purpose of God. Right now, Zion may be that emptiness in the hearts of men which Jesus can fill with his Holy Ghost. Zion was the Temple Mount when the Holy Ghost came (Acts 2). Now Zion is in the Temple of men (1 Cor 6:19). Perhaps “Zion” is God’s place; where he desires to be. Perhaps “Zion” is God’s desire to commune with mankind. Perhaps Zion is God’s need for requited love!

  Now compare the key verses to this:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil… Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephes 6:10-11, 13-17)

  We no longer go to Zion; Zion comes to mankind! Isaiah was speaking of Jesus, and Zion was then the Temple Mount, albeit he must have known that Zion is in the hearts of men. Zion was originally a Jebusite fortress. The whole armor of God is the fortress of Christians. Zion is around us Christians, keeping us safe from the evil one, until Jesus returns to Zion and snatches up those who he redeemed!

  Isaiah concluded that thought with, ““My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.” The Spirit of the Lord, His Holy Ghost, shall be on God’s people. He says, “My Words” shall be in his people. “My Word” is Jesus. The Lord made a Covenant with the Jews, and it applies to everyone… “thy seed’s seed.” And furthermore, it is a perpetual Covenant. There within chapter eight of the Book of Isaiah, he writes of the Covenant of Grace. If you examine it closely and compare with all the other covenants before, it is the same Covenant of Grace. The Jews merely needed it phrased in a different manner for them to understand, but they to this day, fail to understand God’s grace!

  How do I love thee? Solomon implied that “Israel” was his love, but it was really the seed of Israel that was the love of his life. How do you love him? Do you long for his love? Does that empty spot need filling with love? You, as the new Zion, seeks unrequited love, and Jesus love never quits.

Zion on Topigraphical  Map (credit: Wikipedia; "Mount Zion")

MEN AS FIG TREES - Part 2of 2

  The words, “Islam” and “Iblis” share a common descriptor, which is despair! The root verb of “Islam” in the Arabic is “balasa,” meaning “he despaired.” The word “Iblis” would mean, “he who despairs.” (Wikipedia; “Iblis’). It seems that if Iblis is their Satan, then Islam is the religion of Satan.
  A common tactic of Satan is to be the first to accuse. (He is the Accuser as well as the Adversary).  He knows what he is, and as such, knows what you desire TO BE. Sin is essentially Satan wanting “TO BE” God (Isa 14;12) and sinners wanting “TO BE” like God (Gen 3:5). Islamists are those who unknowingly receive despair, thinking that they are obtaining spiritual prosperity.

  My motive is not to attack the faithful in Islam, but the doctrine of Mohammad. His is the doctrine of Iblis, and he has deceived billions of people. I don’t think Mohammad is THE Antichrist, but as his prophet, is an antichrist. Isa will be much more vengeful than Mohammad, causing despair all over the world.     

  Yesterday’s commentary was background for today’s point - devotees of Islam are as fig trees.  In review, the olive tree surely was the Tree of Life; the cedars, pomegranates, palms, myrtles, and such surely represented the faithful, and perhaps the fig tree the Serpent himself. Since the Serpent is Satan, or Iblis, then the Iblis would have been symbolized by a fig tree, and Satan as the real Serpent.

  In some sects of Islam, Isa is Judas Iscariot. Judas, just as the Serpent, had Satan in him (Luke 22:3), as he did the Serpent. Isa is the “Beast” – the Serpent – as well as the “beast” Judas, and the “Beast,” the Antichrist. The Quran indicates that in the end, Isa will return with a vengeance, as is written in The Return of the Prophet Isa:

Allah said: “And there is none of the people of the Book, but will believe in him before his death, and on the Day of Judgement, he will be a witness against them’ This refers to the time when Prophet Jesus will descend to the earth before the Day of Judgement, and kill the swine, break the Cross, impose the Jizyah (tax), and will not accept (any religion) except Islam.”(Al Bidayah wan Nihayah). (https://islamqa.org/hanafi/darululoomtt/52170). 

  The prophet Joel wrote about the time of troubles (of the Jews), and their restoration… or did he? Joel was more focused on the end-of-days. His words were prophetic of the apocalypse, and specifically of the Great Tribulation. John the Revelator saw a vision of those times:

I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Rev 20:4)

  John saw 144,000 Jews who were beheaded because of Yahweh’s Name, Jesus. It was a time of “communism” (e.g. Sharia Law). The economy in the end of times is important, as John wrote: “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Rev 13:7). Communism, in the end, will be the economic law, and Sharia, perhaps, both the civil and religious law. Why? Because the Antichrist will be the “czar” (Caesar) and will proclaim himself TO BE God. That time will fulfill Isaiah’s description of Lucifer. For a while, Satan will pose as God. Since the word “Quran” is from a verb meaning “666,” as some Muslims claim, then accepting the Islamic faith will be taking the mark of the Beast!

  The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which the Jews call the “Wisdom Tree” was likely a beautiful fig tree laden with fruits. As such, I call that tree, the “Philosophy Tree,” and by that, those who believe in the philosophy of men dominating the Law of God (Col 2:8). Muslims currently occupy the Kingdom of David (aka the Kingdom of God), and the Jews only the midst of it. What I mean is that Israel, and specifically Jerusalem is the exact place that God’s Tree of Life was in the beginning, where He was crucified, and where He will return and rule after the defeat of Islam, communism, and the Antichrist. Now, let’s examine the prophecies of Joel:

For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. (Joel 1:6-7)

  That “nation”, I believe, will be an Islamic caliphate. A religious caliphate already exists in the Kingdom of David. The intent of the Muslims is to make the world an Islamic caliphate. That coincides with the Antichrist’s objective, and with Lucifer’s – “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” (Isa 14:13). It is not coincidental that the objective of Lucifer is the same objective of Islam and Isa! Their “Jesus” (Isa), by their own philosophies, will be the Antichrist.

  Lucifer is pulling a scam on Protestants. He has them looking at Rome, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Pope when they should be fearing the Muslims. If you do not have Islamaphobia, you best get it because it are they who Christians should fear, according to the beheadings that John saw! Of course, by that time, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism will be an amalgam of philosophies, and nothing more. If you recall my former commentary, Islam is nothing more than an amalgam of Mohammad’s philosophies from Iblis. 

  Joel wrote that the great lion laid God’s “vine” waste, and barked His “fig tree” clean! Jesus is the Vine (John 15:1), and the fig tree is God’s “Wisdom Tree” that Iblis (Satan) used for his vain philosophy. The Devil Satan is portrayed in scripture as a “roaring lion” just waiting to devour God’s people (1 Pet 5:8). It is the Devil that is debarking God’s fig tree. Ironically, Islam pulls another scam much in the same manner as Satan. Muslims call Christians the “devils” when it is them that are!

  Whereas Christians are symbolized as palm trees and such, Muslims are possibly symbolized by fig trees. In fact, all pagan religions are, but remember the unholy philosophy of Islam is triune: Judaism, Christianity, and paganism. Mohammad did nothing more, instructed by Allah, than combine three philosophies, or doctrines. 

  At the end of days, Joel describes the Kingdom of David in the following manner:

The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. (Joel 1:10)

  Indeed, most of the Kingdom of David is wasted already. Islam has destroyed the land from Iran to as far as Israel. They have turned the “fertile crescent” into a combat zone. Is it no wonder their symbol is an unholy crescent rather than a Holy Cross? They have wasted God’s “field” as Joel described their land.

  “Corn” in that passage is not corn. It is “grain.” Corn is not indigenous to the middle east, but was to the Americas. Other versions use “grain” instead. The righteous are the grain and the unrighteous the chaff. Islam has destroyed the “grain” throughout the Holy Land. That “grain” are the Jews and Christians. 

  Muslims in general forsake wine. Truly, except in Israel, alcoholic “wine” has dried-up. Olive oil is the oil of peace, and certainly there is no peace in that spiritual Islamic caliphate. And perhaps the oil which will “languish” in the end is their oil reserves giving-out. Joel continued with the prophecy:

Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. (Joel 1:11-12)

  Yahweh is the “husbandman” and Jesus the “Vine” (John 15:1). The “vinedressers” are the righteous who “dress and keep” (serve and preserve) God’s vines and trees in the Garden (Gen 2:15). The “harvest” is the Church and the wheat and barley are allegories for Christians and Jews. Then, Joel repeats himself a little – “The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth.” The fig tree is an allegory for the languishing Muslims, I believe. It is used in the same sentence as the “vine is dried up.” Judeo-Christianity (the vine) has dried up in the Holy Land. What’s remains is dead “fig trees,” so to speak. 

(Jesus) seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, “No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever.” And his disciples heard it. (Mark 11:13-14) and, he went out of the city. And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, “Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.” And Jesus answering saith unto them, “Have faith in God.” (Mark 11:19-22)

  The fig tree therein, I believe, represents the end of time philosophies because by that time, religion will be nothing more than the philosophies of men. It is likely that Allah and Yahweh will be combined into one god, and that is occurring as I write. Allah is NOT Yahweh, and it is imperative to understand that Allah has no personal identity; Isa is NOT Jesus, and Allah has no loving personality! Also, Islam is not a peaceful religion. It is the one religion that converts with a sword, but to the throat, not to the heart as Christ does. Their sword will debark God’s “fig tree.”

  The fig tree (Tree of Knowledge) belonged to God. The Serpent became its “husbandman.” In Islam, Iblis is their husbandman, and the fig tree is allegorical for Iblis. With that, Muslims are characterized by fig trees, and Jesus declared that the fig tree would be cut down when the time comes (Luke 13:6-9). I believe that represents Islam and Isa. 

  Think on the coincidence (sic) of that! Judas Iscariot hung himself from a tree. Jesus was hung from a “tree” by the mob. Nobody even thought that Judas was a prophet, let alone Jesus, but many Muslims believe that Judas is Isa! Well, Jesus will cut down Judas, the flesh of the Antichrist. We don’t know for sure what the Judas Tree was, but a fig tree is a prime candidate!

  Joel goes on to mention the pomegranate, palm, and apple trees. The Tree of Knowledge certainly was NOT an apple tree, but the fig. (That notion came about by accident.) Those three trees are symbolic of Christians of different attitudes. Yes, even Christians shall commit heresy, and be cut down with the fig! Those trees represent the false religions of the world, even Christian heresies, that God will cut down. Not only should we fear Islam, but ourselves! We must let the “Husbandman” dress and keep our trees or they too will wither and deserve to be cut down!

  What trees are not mentioned? The cedars! Think on the cedar tree… it is enduring, upright, and aromatic. It is the incense of God. The trees still standing won’t be the pomegranates, date palms, and apple trees – each of which are beautiful and capable of bearing good fruit, but oftentimes they wither as well. The cedars never wither! 

  Take the palm tree allegory. It waves beautifully in the wind and bears good fruit. It dances to God in Heaven, and perhaps whispers a song in the wind. However, its longevity is short. It is unlike the cedar. I think of the contemporary Church. They are the “palms” who dance and sing, but are not sturdy like the cedars. The praising psalms will wither away just as the fig tree as in the “Parable of the Barren Fig Tree.” Christians (the cedars) can neither worship with fig trees (Muslims), nor rock with the palms, apples, and pomegranates! Worship is more than praise. It is imbuement of the very Word of God!

  Always keep the tree types in mind when reading scripture. Endeavor to be a cedar tree standing tall and firmly toward God in Heaven. The True Cross was made of wood. Many believe it was from four types of trees. Perhaps the vertical “tree” was the sturdy cedar. I like to think so! 

MEN AS FIG TREES

  According to scripture, Adam named the animals. In Islam, Adam also named the trees. However, the same as I do, Muslims believe the Tree of Life was the olive tree. However, Islam seems to miss the point, for allegorically, the Tree of Life is the Holy Trinity – the doctrine that they disbelieve.
  Adam was ordained by God to name the animals. However, according to the philosophy of men (i.e, Islam), Adam named the trees. Trees, in their philosophy are as pens (Quran Surah 31, 27). For them, trees represent different “sayings” or philosophies. In Islam, then, it seems that the Tree of Life is just another cosmic “saying” alongside other philosophies. Indeed, Islam is an amalgam of Judaism, Christianity, and diverse pagan religions. Mohammad cunningly blended many philosophies into one, thus their “god”, Allah, is an eclectic one who was created by the philosophies of the world.
  Trees in Islam represent philosophies. Rather than Allah being one God with three identities, he is one god with many identities. Mohammad very slickly created one false “god” from many philosophies. (Religions of the World, Mohammadism). They (per Ibn Arabi) claim that, “A Muslim is a person who has dedicated his worship exclusively to God...Islam means making one's religion and faith God's alone.” The clumsy deception there is that Allah is exclusively God, although Islam is the combination of the philosophies, or doctrines of multiple gods. Allah is not the Creator, but the created one by false philosophies. The First Commandment is, You shall have no other God’s before Me.  Islam is having numerous gods besides God. Note that as the apostate Jews never entirely abandoned God, but only took other gods besides Him, the Mussalmen (Muslims) have done the same heresy. They are the same as the Semites who were left behind in the diasporas in the days of the kings.
  I believe that Islam is a composite philosophy; not one of truth, but falsehoods. Perhaps, and I believe it intensely, Allah is THE very false “god” in God’s face as the Hebrew is more precise in that. Islam is syncretic in their philosophy as the errant Jews were in theirs, and that is God’s first “dismay” with His creatures! If one reads about “Esoteric Islam” in the website of the same name (by Sachal Smith Jun 22, 2018), it should become clear that Islam is as much a philosophy as a religion, and trees are allegorical of the various philosophies.
  Compare that to Christianity wherein their allegory is that trees are as men. In Judeo-Christianity, rather than Adam naming the trees, he was to “dress and keep” them (Gen 2:15). A more applicable meaning is to “serve and preserve” the trees that represents men as blind Bartimaeus inferred, and as the prophets wrote. Albeit, trees are represented as men, they also represent types of men – their attitudes more than philosophies. Yesterday, in my commentary, I wrote about palm-typology and cedar-typology, representing praising Christians and steadfast Christians, respectively. I believe that the fig tree was apparently the, “Philosophy Tree,” because it brought forth the knowledge of evil, in addition to the good knowledge the pair already had. Of course, the knowledge was not false, but both evil and good. Both in Christianity and Islam, the stories go that the Serpent (Iblis in Islam) confused Adam and Eve. He was to bow down to them, but he was too prideful.
  Islam does use some truth. If they did not, then it would obviously be lies. They accept the genesis of the universe, but misrepresent it. For instance, that Adam named the trees when he was to only serve and preserve them, and not only the trees, but the entire Garden! Islam uses the very strategy that the Serpent used in the beginning – one dose of truth, one does of lies, shake the tree a little, and voila… out comes Islam. I do believe that some being spoke to Mohammad. I believe it was the demon angel Iblis, who Christians call Lucifer and Satan, and who posed as a mere serpent.
  In the Books of Adam and Eve, it is alleged that all the animals of the Garden spoke. It would not have surprised Eve that a snake spoke to her, if that is the case (You animal lovers may understand that more than most.) However, a demon angel – an Iblis – would have frightened her immensely. Lucifer has the ability to take on different identities for different purposes. He appeared as Judas Iscariot, and someday will appear as the Antichrist “Beast.” I believe he appeared to Mohammad as Allah.
  Islam is much different than other false religions. Many of the others are outright philosophical – The Vedic and Buddhism for instance – and were created into religions, whereas Islam took religions and created philosophies. Oriental religions pass themselves off as philosophies, but the Islamic philosophies pass themselves off as a religion – the true religion. They have even kidnapped Jesus alive (they think) and held him hostage to seek revenge on those who trust Jesus. In the end of times, their “Jesus” who they call, “Isa,” will return with a vengeance. Christians should call him Judas!
  Iblis was adopted from Egyptian pagan worship. Perhaps Iblis is the “Lilith” of which Isaiah wrote; which would use trees for his or her nesting. I used the pronoun “her” as well because Satan can appear as he pleases. Lilith is believed to be a female demon bird (owl in one translation) of darkness in the beginning. Perhaps Iblis and/or Isa is the Lilith of the tree!
  This is getting long. Tomorrow I will get to the key verses from Joel 3 about the fig tree and the vine.

I AM A CEDAR, BUT TO BE A PALM

  For those who are my regular readers, you must know by now, that I was enlightened by a blind man! Blind Bartimaeus, as his sight was restored, had an intermediate stage. He told Jesus who he saw in his mind’s eye and had faith in him, “I see men; as trees walking” (Mark 8:24)! It struck me that in the Garden of Eden I had often seen “trees; as men standing, praising, glorifying, and singing.” I saw them bearing fruit, and I saw Adam serving and preserving trees; as men! It came to me that the trees of the Garden were allegorical of the souls of men praising God. Once a formerly blind man saw that, I saw trees throughout scripture as allegorical to mankind worshiping their Creator, of Whom the Tree of Life is symbolic!
  That is not to say that the trees were not real, but that there was something spiritual going on in the Garden. God knew us before the foundation of the world (Ephes 1:4), and some thing represented mankind’s immortal soul. Just as the Tree of Life represented the Holy Trinity, and the main “branch,” Jesus, the other trees of the Garden surely represented men, their souls, and them as sons of God - in the image of God.
  This morning in my studies, I saw men; as trees flourishing:

The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing. (Psalm 92:12-14)

  There is something about the righteous that is unique. The ‘righteous,” in that context, are those vindicated by God. They have not been pure, but God consecrated them to make them pure in His sight. In the beginning, God made Adam (man) in His image - in the image of the Creator, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. When the Jews returned from Babylon, the exodus from there was operationalized by God, and as such, the returning Jews had the faith to travel with God and depended on His preservation. Those who returned to the Promised Land were essentially “born again,” or made righteous again by God! Those who had not been preserved in Babylon were destitute from God, and they were not righteous.
  Psalm 92, perhaps, was sung upon the Jews return to their homeland, and it was only the “traveling church” from the exodus from Babylon that could grow like trees in Jerusalem. Therein, the “trees” that had sojourned from Babylon were planted firmly on holy ground. The psalmist likened the returning Jews to flourishing palm trees and the cedars of Lebanon. If you remember, the Temple of God was built from cedars of Lebanon. Well, those same types of cedars perhaps represent the souls – the living, walking, glorifying souls of the Jews!
  Cedars are steadfast, enduring, resistant to destructive things, aromatic, and fast-growing. They are used as incense, and surely smell as good to the Lord as to us. Cedars are allegorical for “souls growing” as the psalm says.
  Now for the palm tree. Any who have grown palms understand that most grow like corn. You can almost hear them grow, and in the course of a day, a new leaf can be born and mature. In other words, palm trees flourish given the right climate and conditions. Righteous men are as trees flourishing! Imagine a date palm, common to the Holy Land; it has a great canopy of leaves and bears much fruit. Whereas fig trees are allegorical of philosophers of the world, as “Wisdom Trees,” and symbolize the Prince of the World - Satan; palm trees symbolize men as trees firmly planted and flourishing with life! The olive tree, perhaps, symbolizes God since it is the tree of Peace.
  Do you see the Serpent in his tree? Can you not see God in the Tree of Life? Can you not see yourself as a sturdy cedar or a flourishing palm tree? To be honest, I did a self-examination this morning; for God saw me as a sturdy cedar, but he did not see me as a flourishing palm! What do palms do? They flourish.  As the psalm says, “Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.” My soul is as rigid to God as the cedar of Lebanon, but we are not in Lebanon; we stand firmly in God’s House. We are the cedars!
  But that’s not all we are to be; we are to be flourishing as the palm trees! Palm trees sway in the wind, and seem to dance to a tune. One can almost hear them singing a quiet song. The psalmist wrote a song for the Sabbath day. The Christian Sabbath, right or wrong, is the Lord’s Day, or Sunday, and God’s House is the Church. When I read Psalm 92, it came to me that God may not see me as a “flourishing palm,” but only an “upright cedar.” He desires more that fidelity, He wants praise; to wit: “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night” (Psalm 92:1-2).
  The palms flourishing are the giving thanks and singing of those verses, whereas the lovingkindness and faithfulness is as the upright cedars. What is missing from my “tree?” I am upright, but do not flourish. It came to me that I can sing, albeit not so well, but God hears my noise (a joyful noise) as music to His ears.
  “What keeps me from singing?” I ask myself. The toxic environment. The perception that the other “trees” resent me. I hesitate to use the word, “hate,” as trees cannot hate, but they flourish better when the palms are in the sun and have their own canopy, away from the shade of mine. With that said, I am my own tree and my Canopy is God. Thus, as a palm, I will change. My new attitude is to flourish in song and praise, although I am still just a plain old “cedar tree.”
  Did God speak to me today? I believe so! My “cedar tree” heard his words in the wind. My tree wants to be a palm! Now it’s up to me to flourish and not to pay heed to what the other “trees” are whispering in the wind.

Palm Tree (Credit: Gardening Knowhow)

PRESERVATION OF THE SAINTS

He (the Lord) will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. (Psalm 145:19-20)

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. (Psalm 118:24-26)

  Singing of the future, the psalmist wrote, “This is the day the Lord hath made.” What “day” is that? “The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord.”

And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. (Joel 2:30-32). 

The “great” part of that day is for those “whosoever” calls on the Name of the Lord. That prophecy of old imparts John 3:16 when “whosoever” shall not perish, but have eternal life, the latter for which it is the “great day” and “perishing” the “terrible day.” The criterion for deliverance is calling upon the Name of the Lord. And only by the Name, Jesus, can whosoever be saved. (Acts 4:12). There is a gospel message in the psalms! The message throughout the Bible is that anyone can be saved who trusts Jesus for eternal preservation.
  Let me make a distinction. “Preservation” is the state of keeping fresh. “Freshness” is rebirth – when an unbeliever trusts Jesus for salvation, and is born again (John 3:7). “Salvation” for those who are born again is on the Great Day (for them.) It is when they are rescued from destruction on that Terrible Day (for others). Therefore, Christians are preserved until they are preserved until death and saved in the end.

Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 97:10) 

  “Saints” are the faithful who endure to the end, “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” Hence, God preserves the faithful, but to be saints required enduring faith. The saints (those who maintain faith) will be saved in the end – on that Great and Terrible Day of the Lord.
  What must be endured? Being hated because of Jesus. Those who hate is as murderers (1 John 3;15). That’s not to murder anyone physically, but to kill their soul by emptying God’s Spirit from it!

  Think of the soul as fruit because it should have any number of the fruits of the spirit if the soul is right with God. He makes them good because no one can clean and preserve themselves. That realization is the climax transforming the natural man into the spiritual man (or woman), and is called “born again.” God puts that “new fruit” into a nice clean container, and seals it (Ephes 1:13).  Those with fruits of the spirit are preserved for a future time. Those who are faithful trust the Preserver and the preservation process until Judgment Day. On that Day, Jesus opens the seal, so to speak, unscrews the lid, and checks the “preserves” inside. Is it still good flesh and fruits, or has contamination despoiled it. God preserves the fruit within His “jar” (Jesus referred to it as a “cup”). Jesus’s “fruit” remained unspoiled in his “jar” to be without sin to take on the sins of the world!
  With the “jar” (wineskin, if you prefer) all new, God puts the purified “fruit” – the new person – into the “jar,” puts on a “Ball seal” and clamps on a “Ball lid.” Then the Holy Spirit, as with fire, purifies the jar and all within it. With that done, the saint is preserved and sealed for further use. The purpose of the preservation is for eternal use, with eternity starting on the Great Day of the Lord.
  Now Satan is clever. He knows the fruit will be despoiled if the seal is broken, even if cracked just a little. Once the sin “yeast” finds its way in, then the old “lump” of flesh (the fruit) is despoiled. Sin multiplies, and eventually the gases accumulate, the seal is broken, and the preserved flesh explodes and perishes.
  It is imperative not to allow that first mite of sin to squeeze under the seal, or log-sized sin will enter in. Once that seal is loosened, it cannot be restored unless the jar is examined, opened, cleansed again, and the preservation continued. However, it must be the same new flesh as before. Putting despoiled flesh in the jar, one with no fruits, cannot have the seal maintained. In other words, it is as if crucifying Jesus afresh, if his blood that preserved is taken vainly. Our flesh can only be saved one time, but by God’s grace, confession and repentance will continue the preservation process.
  Satan can break the “seal.” He has cunning on how to do it! He contrives with the flesh to experience life fuller, and the flesh itself breaks the seal. Rather than the twelve fruits of the spirit, any one of the bad fruits of the demons will despoil the entire “jar.”
  Before Jesus preserves the fruit, the bad part must be circumcised of its hardness. For those who are reborn, the Lord circumcises the hard flesh from the heart, then quickly cleanses what remains, contains it in its “cup,” seals it with His hand (Jesus), cold-packs it with the Power of His Spirit for preservation, and then awaits the Day of the Lord’s Delight! God takes out the preserved flesh, garnishes it to perfection, and then God is served a glorious “meal.” He says, “Well done, My preserved!”
  The Lord allows sin to endeavor to penetrate, but the person inside must nudge the lid and mislocate the seal just a tiny bit. Satan encourages that by always suggesting, “You are not ready yet for this sanctuary; have some more world to experience for a while. You deserve more of my fruit, and preserved, you cannot eat of it!”
  What keeps the flesh from contamination? It is preserved with many good fruits: love, kindness, patience, and so forth. If those fruits remain active, then there is no space in the “cup” for fruits with yeast – those that have  fermented. God even has a recipe for preservation. It is the Word of God. Specifically, the flesh and fruits are preserved with Loving Hands, and the fermentation inside is evacuated and replaced with love.
  Where is love obtained? From God’s “recipe” for preservation. His “Ten Words” were written as the prescriptions for preserving the flesh in its fruit, until the time God calls for it. On that Great Day, God will find fresh flesh fit for garnishing if the fruits within it remain palatable. If the flesh appears to be bad and the fruits vile, then God will dump it into the trash – that place called Sheol.
  Allow God to preserve you until the time of your salvation. You aren’t saved until the shelf-life has expired. Each day, those who are preserved are nearer the day of their salvation than when they first trusted God for preservation: “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Rom 13:11).
 What “time” are Christians saved? On that Great Day when they are judged as preserved to the end! The “prosperity” mentioned in Psalm 118 above is the day the preserved flesh is garnished with glorification… the “gain” is death, as Paul said, and Psalm 115:15 – “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints”   …and you thought it was monetary! When the “jar” is opened with death, then God has delivered His precious fruit-filled flesh to His table. Isn’t God good?

Preserved Flesh Awaiting Consumption (credit; Smuckers)