No. 78 - TREES: A WONDER OF GOD By: John J. Blanchard Monday, October 24, 2005 Feast of Tabernacles The oldest and the largest living things on planet earth are trees. Trees take the longest time to reach maturity. To get to their full height can sometimes take a hundred years or more. They are the strongest plants on the planet. They also have the greatest variety of uses. They are so massive, yet they get so large by just soaking up the sun, soaking up water and soaking up minerals. From a tiny seed, sometimes so small you can hardly see it, a huge plant can grow. In some cases it can weigh hundreds of tons and be hundreds of feet tall. Different kinds of trees have different qualities. They have different characteristics innate in their wood (in their fibers). Just from the point of view of a builder, which I am, carpenters work with different woods, and we choose them carefully because they have different qualities. If we are looking for something very, very strong but not necessarily easy to work with, we will often select oak. If we want something very strong but a little easier to work with, we will select Douglas Fir. Now this, of course, is in the Northern Hemisphere. If you hear this sermon in the Southern Hemisphere, you do the same thing by selecting the natora or the kwila. If you want something not quite so hard, jarrah. But these are very strong woods that can do certain things when you apply them. If we want wood that is going to resist rot, in the construction industry we select cedar or redwood because they are so rot resistant. If we are making furniture and we want it to be very strong, we select oak, maple or ash. If we do not care if it is quite so strong, we select pine or cedar. If we are making tools and we want strong handles, we select ash or ironwood. This would be in the day and age before composites, although still to this very day my favorite hammer is a wood-handled hammer. The old implements that the farmers used were ironwood. That would hold true for baseball bats and hockey sticks. You would use ash. In construction in framing for houses and what not we use pines often, more than any other wood. We use the spruce, the pine or the fir. If we want a very strong pine, we will use one called southern yellow pine. It is a very dense and very strong pine that will not give up its nails very easily. Hemlock fir is like that as well. It will not give up a nail very easily, but it tends to have lots of slivers and splinters in it. So it is not used quite as often. If we want to make plywood, we use, once again, pine or fir. But if we want to manufacture chip board or oriented strand board, we will often use poorer quality trees like popular, aspen, jack pine and scotch pine. We grind them up and make 4 X 8 sheets like when you see people getting ready for the hurricanes. They select these woods. They are cheap. You can make a 4 X 8 sheet of material fairly inexpensively. Some trees are for food. Some are for paper. The very Bible that you and I are reading came from trees. Some trees are used for chemicals. All kinds of chemicals come from trees. Some are used for heat because a tree really stores a lot of energy from the sun, and it can be used for a source of heat. All you need to do is light it. Around our homes and buildings and the city green spaces we use trees for shade and for beauty. In farmland we use trees for protection from wind and storms and to prevent erosion. Interestingly enough, science is discovering more and more trees are used for medicinal purposes. There are a lot of medicines that come from trees. All trees do something else, too. All trees take a poison gas called carbon dioxide and exchange it into oxygen. As a matter of fact, a huge forest in South America that is so lush (the rain forest) is actually sometimes called the lungs of the planet, because it takes so much carbon dioxide and changes into oxygen so that you and I can live. Where would we be without trees? I have just started to scratch the surface. It is an amazing thing that we have trees and all of the good things they do for mankind. But we want to look at trees today from a little different angle. Turn, if you would, to Romans chapter 1. We have read this before during the Feast, but just as reminder we will reread it. You probably do not even need to turn there because I think we have referred to it a couple of times. Romans chapter 1, verse 20: “For since the creation of the world His…” (that is God’s) “…invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse…” If all things are made to help us understand the invisible attributes of God and to understand what He has in His mind for us (to understand His thinking), certainly trees must figure into this. Certainly they must! The grandest of all the plants must figure into this. So we need to know why God created trees, and we need to know the thinking that went into them and what He wants us to learn from them. Of course, this all started, as we learned years ago, with two trees in the garden. THE TWO TREES Turn back to the beginning of your Bible to Genesis chapter 2 where those two trees are spoken of. We will be reading Genesis 2:8-10 where God talks about the Garden of Eden and the two trees in that garden. If you will notice, there were other trees there, but there were two main trees. This river that was in the garden was there, obviously, to feed the trees. Trees require lots of water, and then they can produce fruits and seeds. Back up to Genesis chapter 1, verse 29: “And God said, ‘See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.’” God said I have made the trees to produce food and seed for you to eat. In that garden there were two trees, one called the tree of life and the other the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Obviously, as we know the story with the fall of Adam and Eve, one tree was very, very harmful. The food and the seed there were very harmful. The other one called the tree of life had much goodness to it, as well as the other trees that God had planted in the garden. Only one tree there was evil. Between the fruit of these two trees is the opposition that is existent between God and Satan. This opposition is ancient. This enmity is very old. We studied that a little bit earlier in the Feast, too. There is enmity between Satan and his seed and the woman, which became the Church, and her seed. This enmity goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. We learned that Jesus Christ is the tree of life. We just saw in Genesis 2:9 that there is a tree of life. Turn back to Luke chapter 23. Jesus Christ tells us He is a tree. Read Luke 23:26-31. In verse 31 in the King James Version it says “green tree”. And what will be done to the dry tree? Of course we know Christ won that battle, and He is now in the midst of His Churches. But if you turn to Revelation chapter 2 in His first message to the Church He tells us in verse 7: “‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.’” Here we are at the end of the Bible, and another description is given of what we saw in Genesis. It is a tree that is good for food in paradise (in the Millennium) and in the world beyond. That tree is Jesus Christ. A seed generates itself, as we saw in Genesis 1, When a seed even in the physical world produces seed, it is to produce trees of its same kind. That is what the seed does. When it sprouts, a pine tree gives you another pine tree. An oak tree gives you another oak tree. A maple tree gives you another maple tree. If Jesus Christ is a tree, when He begets seed, it is to produce more trees like Him! GOD’S FOREST God is producing a forest, brethren. It is a forest to care for the earth. Trees are the firstfruits. They take the longest to grow. It is taking six thousand years to get this forest completed. They must be very strong and endure many storms and much wind. If you have been watching the hurricanes lately, you will see the trees bending in the wind. They are resisting getting torn up by the roots. They are resisting getting snapped off. Some do get snapped off, and some do get uprooted, but most of the trees stand firm. It is amazing! Even in the tsunami overseas many of those palm trees had fifty foot waves go over them, and they are still standing! It was incredible to see the strength in a tree. The word “tree” comes from the Hebrew ets and atsah which means to be firm, to have wood fiber. It is related to a word that means the spine, as giving firmness to the body. You can picture that. You can picture a tall tree like a spine, standing there in the wind to give the body strength. We are going to see that trees do a number of things for us spiritually, and God has much to say about trees in the Bible. We cannot even begin to touch them in one sermon. Turn, if you would, to Isaiah chapter 61. We will begin to look at some of the amazing things that God says about trees. Isaiah 61 and read verses 1-3. The anointed One is Jesus Christ, the tree of life. He has come with seed that He is producing that will become trees of righteousness. He was to come and bring healing, liberty and comfort. Also He was to come to release the prisoners and to wipe away the tears of all of those who mourn. So also the trees of righteousness who will come with Him will have that job to do. That is what trees are supposed to do. Turn to Psalm chapter 1, if you would please. Read Psalm 1:1-3. When we seek to be righteous after receiving the Holy Spirit and grow, God says we will be like a tree planted by the river. We will be able to soak up lots of water to grow big and strong. Go forward to Psalm 52. King David understood this very well, and he wrote this for us at the inspiration of God. David said the following of himself. Read Psalm 52:8-9. At the beginning of this calendar year as we started going through the holy days, we studied the temple and how God used lots of beautiful woods to build that temple. There were many living stones that pictured human beings. There was wood that pictured people as trees of righteousness. If you study the ancient books and chronicles and put it together with what God did there when Solomon built the temple, you will see He overlaid the fine woods with gold. We even read that in one place the nails that they used were 50 talents of fine gold, and they overlaid all the wood with gold. God is doing something awesome with trees. We can see that trees bring good tidings, healing and liberty, but there are many other kinds of trees in the forest. There are many trees, and all together they work to do a wonderful work. Turn now to Psalm 92. There are many trees mentioned in the Bible. Just like the tree of life, within Eve was the seed for all diverse talents within humanity. Within that tree of life and its seed existed many, many talents. There were many abilities that God would give. We can see here that several trees are mentioned in Psalm 92:12. “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree…” This means to grow great, tall and straight. “…he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” A cedar means it will resist rot and have a very strong root and be very tenacious. I have seen cedar trees on the coast of the ocean growing on bare rock, and they grew to be a big size. Verse 13: “Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.” Courts means “in His gardens”. TREES SYMBOLIZE TEACHERS Verse 14: “They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” Trees are there to proclaim God’s glory and say how righteous and good He is in all that He has done for the trees and for all mankind. Therefore, teaching is one of the things that all of these trees have in common. They teach by preaching, by example, by word, by deed, by works. Turn, if you would, to Mark chapter 14. We will look at a few scriptures that prove to us that one of the jobs of a tree is to teach. Mark 14, verse 48: “Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?’” This is when the Pharisees, Judas and a mob came to take Him away for His crucifixion. Verse 49: “‘I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.’” Christ knew His destiny and what He had to do to release mankind from prisons and bring the good tidings. It was started with His teaching. He taught every day in the temple. Turn to John chapter 3. Nicodemus and many of the Pharisees knew that Jesus Christ was sent by God to teach. Nicodemus says that right there. John 3, verse 1: “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’” He admitted Jesus Christ was there to teach. He admitted that Jesus Christ, and those who would eventually follow Him, would be for the true signs and wonders. He said the Pharisees knew this. He had to come at night to tell Jesus this because his life would have been in danger. Turn to Isaiah chapter 61. We are going to put a lot of precepts and precepts together, line upon line, here and there a little to understand God’s woven thoughts through your Bible about trees. We read this earlier, Isaiah chapter 61, verse 1: “‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound…’” THE BODY OF CHRIST MUST TEACH Jesus Christ did this in His physical life by freeing people from demons, by healing all who came to Him, and by teaching the good news so that their hearts would no longer be broken. But the job was only beginning. It had to be done through the body of Christ for two thousand more years, with Him working through the trees that His seed would produce. We must be like Christ, and we must teach. We must give firmness and strength to the body and have backbone. We must not be driven by every wind of doctrine but hold fast to the truth. We have understood for years that we were training to become kings and priests, and priests are there for teaching. Kings are there for ruling. This was an awesome job that we were given. It was an awesome responsibility to learn how to do this, and we are supposed to be trained by those who learned ahead of us and were educated in the scriptures. Yet something has gone terribly wrong in the last days. God says He would set up a body of Christ to take care of His flock so that each person would be a little tree, and hopefully eventually grow into a king and a priest, a strong tree with backbone. Turn to I Corinthians chapter 12, verse 27: “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” We understand that this is the body of Christ, a very precious body. It is where He dwells. Verse 28: “And God has appointed these in the church…” God appointed these. “…first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.” God says I will put this in the body so the body will have what it needs to get the truth ground out of the scriptures. The body of Christ is to grind the grain to feed the people to make the trees grow strong. They should be fitly framed together, all working toward one common goal to bring the glad tidings to the world. Their tyranny has ended, and they are set free. TREES BEARING GOOD FRUIT As trees, we are supposed to have certain characteristics. They differ, as we just saw here. We are not all the same. We vary in stature. We vary in character development. We vary in the talents and the gifts that we have been given, but nonetheless, we work together. We are fitted together to make a wonderful body. As trees we should be soaking up plenty of sun, plenty of light, plenty of water, plenty of the minerals that revive us and strengthen us so that we can go about this character development and go about the jobs that God has set before us. Matthew 12 tells us something sobering about trees. Just like the physical trees that God talks about in the garden with their spiritual attributes, we can look at the physical and learn something about the spiritual. If I saw the fruit of a certain tree and I could hold it in my hand, I could tell you what tree that was. If I had an apple in my hand, I could tell you in came from an apple tree. If I had an acorn, I would tell you it came from an oak tree. Read Matthew 12, verse 33-37. It is very sobering. Once we are called to develop into a tree of righteousness, we cannot mix God’s words with evil. Here He says to choose. Be a good tree or a bad tree. Do not walk in the middle. Make up your mind, because a tree will be known by its fruit. If the fruit is both good and bad, it is just like the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You cannot mix a little evil with good and still be a good tree. This is very sobering, brethren, because we want to be good trees bearing good fruit for God. It is by our words that it is revealed. It is revealed by our teaching and by our example. What kind of tree we are is revealed because the fruit will show what kind of tree we are. Good food stores up lots of energy. Good food is for healing. Good food is stored energy that we can use, like we said earlier, over the long winter. This is why it is very important to use God’s word to receive good food from the tree of life so that we can be strong, healthy and vigorous trees of righteousness. Interestingly enough, mankind is learning this lesson physically. In the last half of the previous century, it seemed as if in almost every case mankind thought we can do this better than God did. They did not say that to themselves, but they said we can duplicate food in the laboratory. We can take food and we can use certain chemicals and make this tree bear more apples. Or we can make the tree’s apples not rot. We can genetically alter the food so that this tree will be more abundant or that plant will be abundant. Or we can use chemicals that actually taste just like the food. What did we find? After half a century of eating food with chemicals that tasted just like the real thing, all of a sudden we started to get sick. People are starting to realize sickness comes from bad fruit. We realized we have to stop this, and there is a way of having good food. I want to show you a few things and what mankind is learning. I brought a couple of juices here. This is Nature Blessed Concentrated Cherry Juice. I have the literature that I picked up off the shelf at the grocery store here that states how it is a natural anti-inflammatory. It is a natural medicine to take away the pain of arthritis and swelling in the body. They just discovered this. It was there all the time. People were going to drugs all of the time to get rid of their pain not realizing there is a natural way. God provided it from a tree! Here we have pomegranate juice mixed with cherry juice. Pomegranate trees are mentioned in the Bible. Pomegranate is the wonderful fruit they call the healing fruit. It had a little tag on it. It is so high in antioxidants that they have not found a compound yet with more antioxidants than pomegranates. Second I think is blueberries. Those come on a lower bush. This comes from a tree. It is very, very good for our health. I have a few more things here. This is something mankind has discovered at the beginning of the last century. Mankind came up with charcoal. They are pre-burned trees that are compressed very hard that can be re-burned. When lit, it gives light and heat. It is stored energy in a tree! They found this at Henry Ford’s factory when he was making cars. The pallets that were coming in were mounting up, and somebody discovered when they burned them it formed charcoal. We have seen that for a long time, but when relit, there is more heat. Mr. Kingsford learned how to compress it into charcoal, and it is just compressed energy from the sun. That’s all charcoal is. The tree took the sunlight, compressed it into a plant and we can now have charcoal. To keep prying eyes from seeing these bananas, I hid them with a towel. On these bananas it says “super food for your heart”. They have learned that bananas are super food for your heart. The potassium in a banana can keep you from having a heart attack if you eat it every day. Mix that with the cherry juice and the pomegranate juice. You may be able to get rid of some of those drugs that we have come to be dependent upon so much. I want to show you plants from around the world. Everyone can relate to the truth of God around the world. In tropical regions they have mangoes. I can know a mango tree just by looking at its fruit. We have plums and oranges. On television in the advertising they say this is sunshine on a tree. The same with this grapefruit. It is the Florida sunshine tree with grapefruit and oranges. Here is the orange. It is compressed sunshine. You can put it in a glass and drink it. That is also very good for your heart. Grapefruit is very good for your immune system. Pomegranate means “a glorious tree”. It is good for ornamentation but also good for your heart. It is a tree that produces something good for what ails you. It is so beautiful God put carvings of them in the temple and wrapped them in gold. Science is discovering just how good pomegranates are for you. It is awesome! Pears can be grown almost anywhere in the world. They are good for you. In Mexico they take limes and cut them up and put it with their beer. It really enhances the flavor of the beer. It is full of liquid sunshine once again. Here is a coconut from the palm tree. This does not look too appetizing dried and brown because it is here in North America which is a long way from where they grow, but when it is fresh, I am telling you it is one of the best things you can drink. When I was overseas and Down Under and also in the little country of Vanuatu, they would climb up the tree and get them for me. They would show me how to cut the top off. It would be as if you were to open up a can of pop when you take the top off a fresh one. When you open a pop, you pop it open and it is all fizzy. It does that, and it will keep for months and months because air cannot get at it. Pollutants cannot get at it. Go back and read how many stories came as a result of the tsunami of people floating on the ocean for weeks on a palm tree eating the coconuts to survive. That is how good a coconut is for you. The milk of a coconut tree can help you survive for extended periods of time. Here is a lemon. It is more liquid sunshine. It makes your water taste great. It is good for you in so many ways. How many times do you hear doctors and people who are in the know say don’t use those hydrogenated oils anymore? Use olive oil. The secret to the Mediterranean diet where they are not dropping dead left and right from heart attacks like we are is they cook with olive oil, which pictures the Holy Spirit. It is the most fuel-efficient oil on the planet. They talk about trying to find a fuel that does not release pollutants. Olive oil is the cleanest burning oil on earth. If you get the extra virgin olive oil, it has never been mixed with a chemical. That is what that means. It has been cold pressed. It is natural. It is one of the best things you can have to cook your food in and be good for your heart at the same time. It comes from the olive tree. Up North in the area of the country where I live, maple syrup comes out of the maple tree every spring. It is the fruit of the maple tree. A maple tree is not just good for lumber and furniture, but it has a wonderful sweetener that is actually good for you. I love maple syrup. Just south of where I live in Traverse City, Michigan is the largest production of cherries anywhere on the planet. It is in a cherry tree that they are finding the anti-inflammatory agents that remove the pain of arthritis. They bottle it, and now they are starting to realize they should not mess with it. Just use if plain. Maybe put a little sweetener in it, but do not take out what God put in it and then try to put in some coloring agent or some fake cherry juice because they took so much out of it. Use it the way God made it, and then it is wonderful for your health. Here are pitted dates with a picture of the palm fronds on it. Here is a jar of olives themselves. They are Spanish Queen olives. If you just studied olive trees in the Bible and all that olive means, just that one bit of information, you could probably study for months. Every aspect of olives still is not understood. It is a marvelous fruit. God uses it to picture His Holy Spirit. Fig trees are mentioned a lot in the Bible. It is the wrong time of the year so I could not get any figs. I did get fig bars here. I bought natural ones that are organic. If anybody wants to taste natural organic figs after services, here they are. Here is a mango. I like mangos. What other things do trees produce? They produce nuts. Here we have hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts and almonds. Remember Aaron’s rod was an almond branch that was dry, and miraculously it budded overnight and grew leaves? That was a sign that he was part of the priesthood. Study that. The Bible has a lot to say about almonds. Brethren, you are just seeing a little bit of how we can look at a fruit and know its tree. We can know where it came from. In the Bible we can study what is meant by almonds, pomegranates, palm trees and the fruit thereof. If we just understood everything there is to know about the two trees and their offspring, we would be ready for Jesus Christ in a heart beat! This Church would be ready by just understanding what God means by the word tree. That is why He said in the Garden of Eden the tree of life was there. He concluded the Bible by saying you will be able to eat of the tree from Paradise if you hold fast. We of all people should understand this. We of all people should not be surprised by these things. Yet as I learned about this, I was surprised and shocked as anyone by what God says about trees. GOD’S FOREST IS SICK Brethren, right now God’s forest is sick. It is not doing well. In the State of Michigan we have a variety of diseases attacking our trees. To the south in the Lower Peninsula we have had millions of ash trees having to get cut down and burned because of the Emerald Ash bore. In the north in the 50’s and 60’s we lost almost all of our elm trees. They went dead. The branches became bare, and they fell down. I remember when I first moved to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan there were so many dead elm trees the first five or six years I lived there that all I did was cut down and burn elm trees in my wood burning fire place. Dead elm trees are all I took to heat my house. Now we have a disease in our beech trees. They are forming a white fungus on them. The branches are going dead. The trees dry and the branches begin to fall. They are very dangerous. That is one thing about a tree when it gets blown over in the wind or it gets sick and dies and the branches fall off, it is very dangerous. I work in the forest quite often. We call them “widow makers” because they are that dangerous. A big tree limb falling on your head will kill you. That is true in the Church. When a big tree falls over, it is dangerous. If it has not held fast, it can really hurt people. I was discussing all of these diseases with a forester, and he told me one thing. He said I try not to get discouraged about it, being in the forestry business, because we have learned over time that somewhere about two to three percent of trees will have natural immunity to whatever disease comes along. We have already determined about two to three percent of the ash trees are going to survive, just like the elm trees. Since he said that, I drove around keeping my eyes open for elm trees. There are little elm trees springing up all over the Upper Peninsula! That two or three percent that survived the Dutch Elm Disease of the 50’s and 60’s now have immunity, and the seeds are proliferating. It is amazing! We are seeing all of these beautiful little elm trees. They are not the big behemoths that I used to cut down when they were dead, but they are four or five or six inches in diameter and smaller. They are growing, and they will become great big trees so they will survive. The same can be said spiritually, brethren. But we have to keep in mind, as mankind has learned, if you want to stop the disease, you have to cut down the tree. You have to burn it, otherwise it keeps spreading from one tree to the next tree. It keeps spreading. Turn, if you would, to Matthew chapter 3. John the Baptist understood this. Read Matthew 3:1-11. To survive, brethren, we have to have the water in us. We have to be fruitful trees. We cannot make the same mistake the Pharisees made. We have to stay in touch with the root that will provide the water and the fire within that will give us the assurance God is with us (the Holy Spirit). Matthew chapter 7 goes along in the same vein. Matthew 7, verse 15: “‘Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.’” Paul spoke of the same thing after Christ’s death. Verse 16: “‘You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’” When we see physical fruit, we know from what tree it came. We also can tell what kind of word we are hearing out of a teacher’s mouth. When the scriptures are misused, the bad fruit becomes evident, for the tree can be known. We can know the tree by the fruit. It is a very important lesson to be learned at this time, because God is about to do something major in the Church. The results of the bad teaching of false doctrines must be dealt with in order for God to have a healthy forest. Just as mankind in the world has learned we must cut down these trees, burn them and get rid of them, there is a spiritual ramification because all creation shows us the invisible attributes of God. It shows us how He must deal with bad fruit. Turn now to Isaiah chapter 14 for just a moment. Isaiah chapter 14 gives us a very strong warning. Isaiah 14, verse 24: “The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, ‘Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand…’” He said My word is correct. I will make sure it comes to pass. Then He goes on to curse the Assyrians here. We know there are lessons to be learned for the Church in this day and age from the king of Babylon (the king of Tyre) and also the king of Assyria. He goes on to say in verse 25: “‘…that I will break the Assyrian in My land, and on My mountains tread him underfoot. Then his yoke shall be removed from them, and his burden removed from their shoulders. This is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth…’” This is not just talking about the ancient nation of Assyria. He is talking about the whole earth, because Satan rules over it right now as the god of this world. Continuing in the last half of Isaiah 14, verse 26: “‘…and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?’ This is the burden which came in the year that King Ahaz died. ‘Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia, because the rod that struck you is broken; for out of the serpent’s roots will come forth a viper, and its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent.’” We are warned. There is a bad tree out there with bad roots. Let’s not get connected to bad roots and take up bad water. Continuing in verse 30: “‘The firstborn of the poor will feed, and the needy will lie down in safety…’” God says no one can stop Me. I will come through for My people. “‘…I will kill your roots with famine, and it will slay your remnant. Wail, O gate! Cry, O city! All you of Philistia are dissolved…’” This bad tree is going to come down, and the false government is going to come down so that the needy will have rest and peace. “‘…for smoke will come from the north, and no one will be alone in his appointed times.’” God is going to do this on schedule. There is much that we have to learn about what is being taught and what we say, because what we say can be devastating. Before I learned the truth of God the way I see it now so hopeful and wonderful, I said incorrect things, too. We can change, brethren. It is not easy to change. To unlearn something is difficult, but it is worth it. If we are not careful our words, our teaching and our example can be devastating to other people. James chapter 3 explains this very, very clearly. James 3, beginning in verse 1: “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” I find today that so many people want to set themselves up as teachers without understanding the first thing about what God is really saying in His word. That is scary! It frightens me! Verse 2: “For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!” Boy, have we seen that! A little false doctrine there, a little false teaching there, a little lie here and the forest was engulfed in a conflagration. Continuing in James 3, verse 6: “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body…” Didn’t that happen! “…and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.” This is because it has come from the wrong tree. Verse 7 of James 3: “For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” In order to control it what do we need? We need God’s help. It is a miracle of God. When He preaches through us by teaching us His ways and His knowledge, that is a miracle! We need to beg Him for help with this. Verse 9: “With it we bless our God…” With our tongue we bless our God. “…and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.” That is, the image and the likeness of God. OUT OF BOTH SIDES OF OUR MOUTH Continue in James 3, verse 10: “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.” Brethren, from the Church of God is coming both hope and disaster! We preach the Millennium is coming but after the world is destroyed. It will come after you all die! Out of one side of our mouth we preach hope. Out of the other side we turn everybody off and scare them to death. This ought not to be so. Can a spring, meaning the teacher’s mouth, provide both salt water and fresh water? It cannot be done. Because a little evil ruins everything. Study what wormwood is in your Bible, and you will see. Wormwood is bad water. It is actually false teaching. It comes from the roots of a bad tree. We have to clean up the things that we say and teach. Give the world the good tidings. It is the hope of what is just around the corner for everyone. ROBBED OF OUR TREASURES We need to have faith that God is going to win. Isaiah chapter 10 gives us a little more insight into what has happened in our time. Now that we have the blinders off as to what God means by trees, this set of scriptures in Isaiah 10 will have more meaning for us than we ever dreamt. We have probably read over it many times. Isaiah 10, beginning in verse 13 where this is speaking of the king of Assyria again: “For he says: ‘By the strength of my hand I have done it…’” You will see this speaks of the destruction of the Church. “‘…and by my wisdom, for I am prudent; also I have removed the boundaries of the people, and have robbed their treasuries…’” He has robbed us of our treasures in heaven because we went backward. He has moved the boundaries of God’s appointed time. He moved His nation (the kingdom of God) to suit his purposes. “‘…so I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man.’” Think of the son of perdition. Continuing in Isaiah 10, verse 14: “‘My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, and as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; and there was no one who moved his wing, nor opened his mouth with even a peep.’” This means not even the angels were allowed to help us for a little while! That is what Satan is saying here. For a little while, God even held back Michael and Gabriel. That is why in Daniel we are told at a certain point in time Daniel was told Michael will stand up. That is the angel with the wings who is going to fight for God’s people. God is speaking in verse 15: “Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood!” God says who do you think you are? I allowed this! As usual, Satan thinks more of himself than he really is. Verse 16: “Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will send leanness among his fat ones; and under his glory he will kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day.” God is cleaning up the Church by burning up the thorns and the briers. Verse 18: “And it will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, both soul and body; and they will be as when a sick man wastes away.” This is referring to when the body of Christ wastes away. If God did not cut this time short, there would be no flesh left of the body. Continue reading Isaiah 10, verse 19: “Then the rest of the trees of his forest will be so few in number that a child may write them.” The forest is going to get sick and get chopped down, but not the whole forest. We may get down to such a small number that a child could come in and count in the Church of God the trees that remain. But from those trees, God is going to do a great work! It will be a wonderful work. THE PARABLE OF THE TREES Turn back to Judges chapter 9. We are going to look at very unusual prophecy in the midst of a story, but we will not go into the story. We are just going to look at this prophecy. It is something that without the insight of the knowledge of what God means by trees, we could not even possibly discern what is happening here. Judges 9, verse 7: “Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted his voice and cried out.” This is a very strange parable here. “And he said to them: ‘Listen to me, you men of Shechem, that God may listen to you! The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them. And they said to the olive tree, “Reign over us!” But the olive tree said to them, “Should I cease giving my oil, with which they honor God and men, and go to sway over trees?”’” Certain trees went before the olive tree (God’s tree, the tree of life, God) and said reign over us. He said not the way you are! Continue reading Judges 9, verse 10: “‘Then the trees said to the fig tree, “You come and reign over us!” But the fig tree said to them, “Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to sway over trees?” Then the trees said to the vine, “You come and reign over us!” But the vine said to them, “Should I cease my new wine, which cheers both God and men, and go to sway over trees?” Then all the trees said to the bramble…’” This is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. “‘“You come and reign over us!” And the bramble said to the trees, “If in truth you anoint me as king over you, then come and take shelter in my shade; but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon!”’” He is saying you will do what I say or else. CAN A TREE LIVE AGAIN? Brethren, it is a very scary parable, but we have hope. God says I will never leave or forsake My people. I will never leave you. If I step out of the way for a temporary time, it is to help you repent. It begs the question: can a tree live again and can we find the answer in scripture? Go back to James chapter 5. As we said the other day, James chapter 5 is a very interesting chapter. We are just going to read James 5:7-12 this time. James 5, verse 7: “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned.” We are told, watch how we treat each other. “Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!” One of the things that made us poor, blind, wretched, naked and miserable with Christ standing on the other side of the spiritual door was grumbling against one another. There was complaining and judging going on. Verse 10: “My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience.” They went through their suffering thousands of years ago, waiting for what we know and the hope that is just ahead for us and them! Verse 11: “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” The end intended by the Lord is revealed in Job. It is a good place to start when we want to look for some hope as to what can happen with a tree. Turn to Job chapter 14, brethren. We are going to start reading in verse 1. “‘Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and fades away; he flees like a shadow and does not continue. And do You open Your eyes on such a one…’” (speaking to God) “‘…and bring me to judgment with Yourself? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No One!’” But wait! Verse 5: “‘Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass. Look away from him that he may rest, till like a hired man he finishes his day.’” He finishes his life. Continuing in Job 14:7. “‘For there is hope for a tree…’” He says there is at least hope for a tree, unlike a man. “‘…if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease. Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant. But man dies and is laid away; indeed he breathes his last and where is he? As water disappears from the sea, and a river becomes parched and dries up, so a man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor be roused from their sleep.’” He is very despondent here, but he knew there was a promise from God. He says at least a tree can live again. Verse 13: “‘Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, that You would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes.’” He says You promised some sort of resurrection. I am going to take You at Your word, but I do not see how it is possible. But he said I can see how a tree can live again. He did not know he was a tree! Turn to Isaiah chapter 11. This is speaking of the Millennium that we are portraying here today. Read Isaiah 11:6-10. There is a root that will stand, brethren. That root will enliven the tree. Every branch of a tree looks like an individual tree. We are called to be in the household of God, but we are individual houses. The tree will once again be healthy if those who are part of the tree scent out the water and look for the water that can make the tree healthy. Then it will once again be healthy. But we do have a job to do. Open the door, scent out the water and let the living water come back in. Turn to Proverbs chapter 12. Verse 3: “A man is not established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous cannot be moved.” Do not partake of the bad root. Stay tapped into the good root. Drop down to verse 12 of Proverbs 12. “The wicked covet the catch of evil men, but the root of the righteous yields fruit. The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips…” (his false teaching) “…but the righteous will come through trouble.” The righteous will come through this trouble, brethren. Verse 14: “A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, and the recompense of a man’s hands will be rendered to him.” Our faith and our works will go together if we have the water within. We will be called trees of righteousness. We will be judged by every idle word that came out of our lips. May we now start saying what is the truth. Bring the good and the glad tidings to the world, and to the brethren we say our trials are almost over. The forest will be healed. You can be a part of it, but you must choose to do so. THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE Turn to Matthew chapter 24 please. We are going to read a little bit of a verse that will now make more sense to us than it ever did before. Matthew 24, verse 32: “‘Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.’” There is a generation that sees the Church go dry. It sees the forest go down and sees the fig tree dry up. Look at the parable of the dry fig tree on your own. When the fig tree starts to put forth new buds and when the dry tree begins to put forth new fruit, know that generation will not have been allowed to pass away until Christ comes. When you see that happen, the kingdom is near, even at the doors! Brethren, this is an exciting time to be alive. It is very exciting. God is going to fulfill His promise. His words will ultimately come to pass. At least some of the trees are going to survive. They will be planted along a wonderful river. Turn to Revelation 22. The trees will have a job to do forever. THE RIVER FROM CHRIST Read Revelation 22:1-4. This is the hundred and forty-four thousand. Continue reading in verse 5: “There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.” This is the hope we are looking for. It is the fulfillment just around the corner. Turn to see where this river and these trees are also spoken of in Ezekiel chapter 47. Ezekiel records this amazing experience that he had in vision. Beginning in verse 1: “Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. He brought me out by the way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side.” When Adam and Eve were sent out of the garden they had no more access to that river of life. When Jesus Christ died on the cross and they speared Him in the side, He was the temple of God. He said destroy this temple, and I will rebuild it in three days. When that blood and water came out of His side it started a little trickle that began to go out. Continue reading in Ezekiel 47:3. “And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles.” There were twelve apostles and a few people. Verse 4: “Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist. Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed.” It is talking about more and more people getting converted. It is the innumerable multitude coming along. Verse 6: “He said to me, ‘Son of man, have you seen this?’ Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river. When I returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees on one side and the other. Then he said to me: ‘This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed.’” God says the waters of the earth will be healed. Drop down to verse 12 of Ezekiel 47: “‘Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.’” It is the hundred and forty-four thousand. God’s Church, His temple (the body of Christ) will bring healing to the entire planet with the waters that flow from Jesus Christ. These trees must first take up that water, become strong and grow so that they have backbone, a spine and good fruit. The future for them will be extremely bright and the rewards awesome. Turn to Zechariah chapter 3. Speaking of Joshua, Joshua means Jesus. Joshua led the people into the Promised Land. It was the Millennium of their time. The body of Christ is supposed to lead the world eventually into the Millennium. Here are some words to Joshua. Zechariah 3, verse 6: “Then the Angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My command…”’” We know Jesus Christ never failed in that, but the body of Christ has. “‘“… then you shall also judge My house, and likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk among these who stand here.”’” Verse 8: “‘“Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, you and your companions who sit before you…”’” This is because Jesus Christ, the High Priest, dwells in us. “‘“…for they are a wondrous sign…”’” God’s people are a wondrous sign. “‘“…for behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.”’” This is the tree of life. “‘“For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua: Upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its inscription,”’ says the Lord of hosts, “‘And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day,”’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘“Everyone will invite his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree.”’” A FOREST WITH GOOD FRUIT Now we see the government of God, a healthy fig tree. Every man on earth will be able to sit under the hundred and forty-four thousand. They will have a fig tree of their own, to bring good fruit, to bring knowledge of God and righteousness. Soon all people will dwell under a Godly forest. It will be a canopy of good branches. Healing leaves are good fruit for all. We portray that here at the Feast of Tabernacles, brethren. Turn, if you would, to Leviticus chapter 23 where we were told to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Leviticus 23 points us way back in the Old Testament to a time that we are about to enter just ahead! Leviticus 23, beginning in verse 39. “‘Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days; on the first day there shall be a Sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a Sabbath-rest. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month.’” That is what we are doing here. That is why we are here to receive some good fruit. They were told to gather that fruit and to do something with the branches. Verse 42: “‘You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord our God.’ So Moses declared to the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord.” They dwelt in booths because their wanderings were temporary until they arrived in the Promised Land. We are to dwell in temporary dwellings and picture beautiful fruit that we gather and branches put over us. Why? Because our situation is temporary. Soon we will have an earth under some beautiful branches. It will be the canopy of a lovely forest. We can be part of that forest. They were depicting what the Church will be for them in the Millennium. It will be a forest of good branches and trees and wonderful fruit that they can partake of month after month. It will be good food for healing, for medicine and for releasing of the captives. As you drive around today, look about you at God’s beautiful fall harvest and the foliage that is on the hillside. As we come down and as we partake of the Feast of Tabernacles, what happens to the trees? They became gloriously beautiful! They are shining with the light of the sun. There are many brilliant colors. The leaves on a thousand hills are aflame, proclaiming to the world the soon-coming fulfillment of all the promises that we understand when God says be trees of righteousness!