Perhaps, one Bible incident that is known to almost all people is the fall of Adam and Eve. But as to what sin they committed, that is a "mystery," so they say. Many people believe it is an apple that they ate. No apple tree nor its fruits are ever mentioned in the Bible regarding the sin. Bible authorities account their fall to disobedience. They refer to the eating of the forbidden fruits of the Tree of Knowledge. But what is this tree? Why did God forbid them to partake of its fruits? Hypotheses abound about the "original sin" which are all figments of the imagination. The Bible speaks of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil as the forbidden tree. What is it? What are its fruits? What makes these fruits so abominable to God that to eat them caused the downfall?
Equally mysterious to man is the SOUL. Like the forbidden Tree of Knowledge, who can elaborate about the mystery of the soul? There are some people who do not even believe that they have it. Perhaps, the presence of the soul is clearly perceived when man compares himself with the most intelligent animals. The dolphin, some sharks, chimpanzees, and dogs are considered the most intelligent animals. But still, no sensible comparison can be made with the intelligence of man.
Here, intellect and instinct separate the two creatures. The former is exclusive to man. No man, therefore, can deny this distinct characteristic that separates him from the most intelligent animals. In addition, he has his feeling or emotion that is far beyond the range of instinct of the most clever animals. We find this exclusive domain of man at his creation:
GENESIS 2:7 "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
The SOUL is often referred to as the spirit of man. Can the spirit of man compare with the simple instinct of the animal? Are the intelligence and feeling, the attributes of the SOUL, ever found in animals? It is the SOUL that distinguishes man from the animals.
God’s plan for man
We ask God, "LORD, WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE IN CREATING MAN?" As if God is saying, "Don’t you know that in the beginning I was alone?"
NEHEMIA 9:6 "Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven..."
"I created the angels, but they were not in My image. I, therefore, planned to create beings who are ‘in My image and likeness’ who are worthy to be My eternal companions. I created man for that purpose -- to be My companion in eternity:
GENESIS 1:27 "So God created man (Hebrew Ish) in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
"Take note that I am typified by Adam, the first man, who was alone like Me."
GENESIS 2:18 "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him."
"My plan was illustrated when I created the woman (Hebrew Isha) to be man’s companion."
GENESIS 2:21-22 "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man."
"The woman was taken out of man, just like MAN created in My image:
GENESIS 2:23 "And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
"You can see now that I am typified by Adam, the man; while Eve, the woman, represents the people, both male and female:
GALATIANS 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female..."
Man in the image of God
We ask God: "LORD, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY ‘MAN CREATED IN YOUR IMAGE?’ HOW COULD IT BE? YOU ARE A SPIRIT, WHILE MAN IS A PHYSICAL BEING?"
As if God is saying, "Have you forgotten how I manifested Myself in the flesh in the person of JESUS CHRIST?"
1 TIMOTHY 3:16 "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh..." (KJV only)
COLOSSIANS 1:15-16 "Who is the image of the invisible God...for by him were all things created... all things were created by him, and for him:"
John 14:9 "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?"
"Man, therefore, upon creation was in My image in the person of Jesus Christ, a physical being like you! However, that image was shattered upon the fall of man. But My plan to have an eternal companion has to be executed. I have to repair whatever was wrecked by man.
The fall of man
GENESIS 2:15-17 "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden..." And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
We ask God, "LORD, THE FALL OF MAN IS VERY VAGUE TO US. YOU SAY THAT EVE WAS TEMPTED BY THE SERPENT TO EAT THE FORBIDDEN TREE OF KNOWLEDGE. NO THEOLOGIANS OR BIBLE SCHOLARS HAVE EVER EXPLAINED THE SIN TO OUR SATISFACTION. WE ARE, THEREFORE, AT A LOSS AS TO THE REAL CAUSE OF THE FALL OF MAN. LORD, WILL YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN TO US EVERYTHING RELATED TO THE FALL? FIRST, WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE GARDEN IS, THEN, THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE THAT MADE THEM TO LOSE, OR BE SEPARATED FROM, THE TREE OF LIFE."
As if God is saying, "You said your questions regarding the fall of man have not been clearly explained by theologians and Bible scholars. What did I say regarding spiritual knowledge? Did I give this to the ‘wise and prudent?’ or to the ‘humble like babes?’"
Matthew 11:25 "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes."
"If you lack wisdom why don’t you ask Me and trust Me to clarify everything that bothers you? Who can explain the PARABLES? My Apostles? My servants? Remember, I alone and no one else can explain the great message of My words:
MARK 4:34 "But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples."
JEREMIAH 1:6-9 "Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth."
"The trouble with you is you put your trust in men more than you trust Me. Try Me if I will not answer all your questions, if only to prove that I am alive through My words.
The SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE of God
We ask God, "LORD, IN MANY CASES, WHY CAN’T WE UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE SAYING? As if God is saying, "Don’t you know that I am speaking SPIRITUAL THINGS, while you are limited only to literal-physical things? To follow your literal understanding of My words, I would have been the liar, instead of the serpent, in the following:"
GENESIS 2:17 "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
"Did Adam and Eve die in the day that they ate the forbidden fruits? You yourself know that they did not die within that day! In fact, they bore many sons and daughters thereafter. I speak "spiritual things," and I alone can explain them, through My words. Am I not being represented by My words? Who can understand that Adam, indeed, died within one day if I will not explain it? Your day is different from Mine:"
2 PETER 3:8 "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
"Take note that Adam, indeed, died within one day. In fact, he was short 70 years from 1,000 years, which is one dayfor Me.
GENESIS 5:5 "And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died."
Can you now trust Me for the clear understanding and explanation of My words? Remember I alone should you trust.
JAMES 1:5-8 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."
Non-transferability of sin
To take the word of God literally, the sin of Adam appears to have transferred to mankind:
ROMANS 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
But God says that sin is non-transferable:
EZEKIEL 18:20 "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him."
And punishment is for the sinner alone:
DEUTERONOMY 24:16 "The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin."
God will now explain, through His words, how the sin of Adam and Eve is imputed to all the people. We will notice that God put man in the garden.
The Garden
We ask God, "LORD, WHAT IS THE GARDEN OR GROUND WHERE THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE IS FOUND? As if God is saying, "Don’t you know that I am speaking My SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE? To you, a garden is a literal ground. But look! Is garden an inanimate object in the following?
SONGS 4:12 "A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse..."
"A spiritual garden, therefore, is a human being, female, and a WIFE! I am the principal character in the verse who is the husband, and is called Rose of Sharon:
SONGS 2:1 "I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys."
"Could you now relate the spiritual garden to EVE, the wife; and Me, the husband, to Adam? Do not forget that Eve represents the people, while Adam portrays Me. It is for this reason that Jesus Christ, Who is My physical image, is called the last Adam:
1 CORINTHIANS 15:45 "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit."
"If Eve, the woman, and wife of Adam, represents the people; could you now understand what I said that ‘I am married unto you?’"
JEREMIAH 3:14 "... saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family..."
ISAIAH 54:5 "For thy Maker is thine husband..."
"Now you have a clear understanding that garden represents you, in particular, and the people in general. In addition, ground also symbolizes the people. Abraham got this revelation in:
GENESIS 18:27 "And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:"
"And, did I not refer to mankind as dust?
GENESIS 3:19 "... for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
"Now wherever you look at garden and ground, they both refer to you, the people. Look, how your Literal-physical compares to My Spiritual Language. No wonder the Natural Man cannot understand ‘spiritual things.’ Remember, My words are in PARABLES, and I never speak except in parables:
MARK 4:11-12 "And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables. That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand..."
Trees in the Garden
Try asking people about the trees found in the garden or ground. You will be surprised with their answers compared with what is written:
GENESIS 2:9 "And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil."
On careful scrutiny, there are actually three (3) kinds of trees growing on the ground:
1st - Tree pleasant to the sight and good for food
2nd - Tree of life
3rd - Tree of knowledge of good and evil
What is the explanation of great theologians and Bible scholars for these three kinds of trees? Do we expect them to give a common answer? This is the best proof why denominations proliferate, because of the different explanations of their respective theologians on the word of God. Varied doctrines are formulated from the same word of God. Unwittingly, but with all the best intentions, man is tempted to use philosophy and human reasoning or wisdom which God hates.
As usual, we will just ask God. By this time, God must have won our confidence. "LORD, WE NOW REALIZED THAT ONLY YOU CAN TRULY EXPLAIN YOUR WORDS. WILL YOU PLEASE TELL US THE MEANING OF THE THREE KINDS OF TREES IN THE GARDEN, AFTER YOU HAVE REVEALED THAT THE GROUND SYMBOLIZES US."
As if God is saying, "Remember, I created man in My own image and likeness, that is, in the image of Jesus Christ. Now, I tell you that this is My spiritual image in My physical manifestation. I have revealed this to My prophet Isaiah:
ISAIAH 42:1 "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my souldelighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles."
"To whom do you think am I referring to? Who shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles? Do you know that I am referring to Myself, in My person as Jesus Christ? Matthew wrote about this, and this points to Me in My human form -- as model and example:
MATTHEW 12:18 "Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles."
"I had My physical BODY like you. I also spoke of My SOUL; all incorporated in My person as Jesus Christ. In SPIRIT, I was in Him. Can you now imagine the original representation of man upon creation in that image of Jesus Christ?" He was composed of BODY and SOUL, and I was with him in SPIRIT!"
"If the garden or ground symbolizes mankind, in the image of Jesus Christ with three components; can you now relate the three (3) kinds of trees to the three (3) components of man? Of the three kinds of trees, which do you think corresponds to the BODY:
1st - Tree pleasant to the sight and good for food?
2nd - Tree of life?
3rd - Tree of knowledge of good and evil?"
"Very clearly, the BODY is nearest to the 1st kind: Tree pleasant to the sight and good for food! ‘Pleasant to the sight and good for food’ refers to the senses to which the BODY is identified with: sense of sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste, sex."
"Of the remaining two kinds of trees, which do you think matches the SPIRIT?
2nd - Tree of life?
3rd - Tree of knowledge of good and evil?"
"Remember, the SPIRIT refers to Me in Spirit. My Spirit, is the kind of tree that bears fruit(s) pleasing to Me:
GALATIANS 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance..."
"No doubt therefore that the tree of life perfectly matches the SPIRIT -- My Spirit!"
"Ergo, by elimination, the TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL is the SOUL!! The forbidden tree is the soul!! Who could understand and accept that? Is that not foolishness to many people?"
The Tree of Knowledge and the SOUL
Before God gave the meaning of the Tree of Knowledge, how many people know that it refers to the SOUL? Now we have many questions pertaining to the Soul and the Tree of Knowledge, which is the forbidden tree.
Let us first ask God regarding the BODY that corresponds to the "Tree pleasant to the sight and good for food." We ask God, "LORD, WERE ADAM AND EVE FREE TO EAT THE FRUITS OF THE FIRST KIND OF TREE? STATED IN ANOTHER WAY, WERE THEY FREE TO ENJOY THEIR BODY?
As if God is saying, "Did I forbid Adam and Eve to use their senses? Can they not use their eyes, ears, mouth, hands, and other things of the body corresponding to the senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch? Did I forbid them to have sex? Remember I gave Eve to Adam to be his wife and told them before their ‘fall’ to ‘be fruitful and multiply.’
GENESIS 1:28 "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth..."
"Man, therefore, is free to ‘eat the fruits of his body.’ Don’t forget My original plan, for people to increase that they would be My eternal companions. Freedom in the use of the body is a part of My plan. My regulation for the use of this freedom, however, is for man’s own good, and My glory."
We will ask God: "LORD, WILL YOU PLEASE ELUCIDATE FURTHER WHY THE SOUL IS THE FORBIDDEN TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL? As if God is saying, "Did I not reveal the very nature of the ‘tree’ by its name? Is it not called the tree of knowledge? This is the wisdom of man which I condemn."
ISAIAH 5:21 "Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!"
1 CORINTHIANS 8:2 "And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know."
"If you will notice, wherever you open your Bible, you find how I rebuke people for this wisdom and knowledge that come from them. I keep on emphasizing humility, if only for man to forget and forego his ego and pride. I extol the characteristics of a little child, an infant.
Matthew 18:3 "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 11:25 "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes."
2 Timothy 3:15 "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."
Isaiah 28:9 "Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts." (KJV only)
"Is it not human wisdom for people to explain My words? Can they understand MY SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE without Me deciphering it? Who is the source of divine knowledge and wisdom? As a matter of fact, Lucifer the highest of the angels was the first to do what I hate. As you know, misery loves company. That is where you find the Serpent, also called Satan, tempting Eve to eat the fruits of the forbidden tree of knowledge."
GENESIS 3:1-3 "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die."
"Take note that the forbidden tree is in the midst of the garden. Truly so, the soul is ‘in the midst’ of man, invisible and intangible."
"Man, if only to refute My words, will try to reason out saying, ‘Did God really condemn the use of the intellect? If man has not used his intellect, people of the world today would not be enjoying the progress in science, economics, society, and politics. Otherwise, many of them would have died of famine, diseases, etc.’ "How foolish could man really be! Has man not read that I allowed Adam to use his intellect in matters pertaining to his physical life?"
GENESIS 2:20 "And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field..."
"In this case, Adam using his intellect did not eat the forbidden fruit. It is because it was for his phyical life and not for his spiritual life. As a matter of fact, this is the thing that I told My Disciples about:
MATTHEW 6:8 "...for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him."
"I gave you the intelligence, more than any of My creation, for your PHYSICAL well-being. That is why I told you:
MATTHEW 6:25-26 "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?"
"I gave you the intellect precisely to use it to the fullest extent for the betterment of your physical life. Thus, you have progressed in the fields of science, economics, social and politics. During My physical sojourn on earth, I did use My intelligence in earning My living working as a carpenter. Never did I asked the Father to provide for My material and physical necessities."
"I therefore gave you the example to follow. Never did I meddle in the use of man’s intelligence for his physical life. On the contrary, I told My disciples, ‘To render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.’ Probably, many of you are thinking only of the separation of the church and state. It is more than that. I extol the virtues of the ants for you to see and apply the intelligence I gave you for your physical well being:"
PROVERBS 6:6-9 "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?"
"What I condemn is the use of knowledge in matters pertaining to Me and My words. People may appear to have religiously flourished before men, but never in My eyes. That is what the sects of the Pharisees and Sadducees perceived to themselves. That is what all religious sects are bragging about all the time. With their human wisdom, they see their organizations growing and expanding. They never learned the lesson of the Scribes and Pharisees and the Sadducees, who thought they were blessed of My Father when they won the greatest number of people to their side."
We ask God, "LORD, IF YOU SAY THE FRUITS OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE ARE THE INTELLECT AND FEELING, HOW DID EVE COMMIT SIN?" As if God is saying, "Have you forgotten that Eve represents you, the people? Do not only think of Eve falling into sin. It is the people who are ‘eating the forbidden fruits. That is why I said:
EZEKIEL 18:20 "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father... the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him."
DEUTERONOMY 24:16 "The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin."
"Perhaps, you have in mind what I told Paul to write about how the sin of Adam tainted the whole of mankind:
ROMANS 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
"I will clear all these things about what you call original sin that man has bungled because of his spiritual ignorance."
The Temptation
The serpent tempted Eve, or mankind for that matter, touching on the inner self, that is, the intellect and emotion. The Tree of Knowledge or the soul indeed is in the midst of the garden, or in the midst of man.
GENESIS 3:4-5 "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."
Let us now ask God the significance of the temptation. "LORD, WHY DID THE SERPENT TELL EVE THAT HER EYES WOULD BE OPENED UPON EATING THE FORBIDDEN FRUITS? THE SERPENT EVEN SAID THAT SHE WOULD BE as gods, KNOWING GOOD AND EVIL. DID YOU NOT GIVE YOUR STANDARD OF GOOD AND EVIL UPON CREATION?
As if God is saying, "You will notice that the serpent said the ‘fruit that would open the eyes’ is the intellect which comes from the tree of knowledge. Do you know why I forbade Eve to ‘eat the intellect,’ and told her that she would ‘surely die?’ To use the intellect on matters pertaining to Me and My words would mean rejection of knowledge that comes from Me. ‘Eating the intellect’ is the use of human wisdom. Can human wisdom recognize Me and comprehend My words?"
"When Peter recognized Me saying, ‘Thou art the Christ and the Son of the living God,’ was that through human wisdom? Don’t forget what I told him:
MATTHEW 16:17 "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."
"Did Peter understand, through human wisdom, what I told the multitudes regarding ‘clean and unclean food?’
MATTHEW 15:11-12 "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?"
MATTHEW 15:15-19 "Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man..."
"Did Nicodemus, a noted preacher in Israel, understand My words, using human wisdom, when I told him he had to be ‘born again?’
JOHN 3:4 "Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?"
"Look! To eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge or ‘to eat’ the intellect would make man use his LITERAL-PHYSICAL LANGUAGE! That is not My language. How can he understand Me? Will not man surely die if he cannot understand what I am telling him? How can he obey Me? He cannot even recognize Me! To him I am a great mystery, when all along I kept on introducing Myself to My chosen people.
"Did My disciples understand Me when I told them about the need ‘to eat My flesh and drink My blood?’
JOHN 6:53-56 "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you..."
"Because many of them used their intellect trying to understand My words, they left Me."
JOHN 6:60 "Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?"
JOHN 6:66 "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him."
"And now, hundreds of million of people are taken by human wisdom through philosophy justifying ‘eating My flesh and drinking My blood’ with literal bread and wine!" What did I say is the spiritual bread? Don’t people know that I am the Word of God?
REVELATION 19:13 "And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God."
JEREMIAH 15:16 "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart..."
"Do the religious wise men or scribes recognize Me through human wisdom?
1 CORINTHIANS 1:20-21 "Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God..."
"How many among you who ‘eat the intellect’ recognize Me and understand My words? Do you not openly declare that I am a mystery incapable of clear recognition, because of your finite mind? Do you not admit, deep in your hearts, that My words are full of contradictions because you cannot understand My Spiritual Language? Don’t you find My words boring, that you only select portions, because you cannot understand the great message. But you still insist on ‘eating the fruits’ of the tree of knowledge just like Eve did before you, for she represents mankind!"
"You want to be My follower as My disciples were, who were endowed with knowledge and wisdom. Was it due to ‘eating the intellect?’ In My eyes, My disciples were "little children" who knew nothing, could not do anything, but simply trusted Me on matters pertaining to Me and My words. That is why I explained everything to them:
MARK 4:34 "But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples."
Two Standards of Good and Evil
"What you have seen is a demonstration of eating one of the fruits of the forbidden tree. You will notice that the forbidden tree is not just Tree of Knowledge. Rather, I called it the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The serpent told Eve that she would be ‘as gods knowing good and evil.’ You asked Me, whether I taught man what is good and evil upon creation; because the temptation was for Eve ‘to know good and evil’ after eating the forbidden fruits."
"What do you think man was, when I created him in My image? Did I not give him My Standard of good and evil? Of course he did know My Standard! Now, what is this ‘good and evil’ that the serpent was talking about? Could you see now the revelation of the two standards of good and evil? My Standard and Man’s Standard (with the eating of the fruits of the forbidden tree)!
"Upon creation, man had My standard of good and evil. The temptation of the serpent therefore was, for Eve or the people, to leave that standard and adopt their own. I, your God, alone can set this standard. Lucifer in rebelling against Me set his own standard of good and evil. He wanted to take My role. He wanted to be a God like Me. This is how the serpent, actually Satan, got the idea and tempted Eve to ‘be as gods knowing good and evil.’ Is it not clear to you now that following My words to your own understanding, unwittingly, make your own standard of good and evil?
Emotion
"Where did I say does evil come from? Is it not from the heart with the use of the intellect?" These are the fruits of the SOUL, the forbidden fruits of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Would you accept what I say about the heart?
JEREMIAH 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"
"It is the intellect with the dictate of the heart that devises man’s way:
PROVERBS 16:9 "A man's heart deviseth his way..."
"It is the ‘eating of the intellect and the dictate of the heart’ that makes man spiritually blind:
EPHESIANS 4:18 "Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:"
"Because of spiritual blindness, man thinks that sincerity is all that makes him close to Me. He is wrong. Sincerity to be considered faith must be based on the knowledge of the truth:
ROMANS 10:2 "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge."
"Have you noticed how people differ in their ‘standard of good and evil?’ It is MAN’S WAY all the way! All religions and every denomination within each sect has its standard distinct from the rest. Religions such as: Bahai Faith, Brahmanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shintoism, Taoism, and many others have doctrines distinct from each other. So-called Christianity, as divided into denominations such as: The Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Aglipayan Church, Baptist, Methodist, Westleyan, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Pentecostal-Charismatic, Church of God, Church of Christ, Assembly of God, Anglican, Jehovah’s Witness, Mormons, Pentecostal Oneness, Seventh Day Adventists, and many others, while using the Holy Bible as the basis of doctrines, each sect has its distinct dogmas different from the rest. Who can deny that all these religions and sects do not use philosophy, the product of the intellect, and greatly influenced by the feeling, the product of emotion, as the foundation stocks of their creed? People only see MORALITY, which every religion teaches. Do you know that morality involves only the ‘cleanliness on the outside." They are, however, blind to SPIRITUALITY which is the truth in My words according to My explanation. SPIRITUALITY leads to the "purity in the inside.’
"Every man and group of men have their own understanding, thus, their respective Standard of Good and Evil. People speak different ‘languages’ just like when I confounded the language of the people in building the Tower of Babel.). They speak the same LITERAL language, be it English, German, Chinese, Hindu, Russian, Niponggo, etc., yet they cannot understand each other when they talk about My words. Can the different Christian denominations understand each other while speaking the same English or other languages?"
"Each thinks he is right. Everybody acts ‘as god in his own little world.’ You will note that I confirmed what Satan told Eve. This is after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruits. The serpent said, ‘be as gods knowing good and evil.’
GENESIS 3:22 "And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil..."
"After the fall man, like Lucifer, had been setting his standard of good and evil -- imitating Me. I am God alone and the sole authority to tell what is good and what is evil. You must distinguish MORALITY, your sphere; from SPIRITUALITY, My sole domain. Morality is cleanliness on the "outside." Spirituality is cleanliness in the "inside." Morality pertains to the PHYSICAL LIFE. You have your code of ethics, your civil laws, and unwittingly incorporating them with My words. Spirituality relates to SPIRITUAL LIFE which a person gets after truly born again in Spirit. How many of you can distinguish SPIRITUALITY from RELIGIOSITY? Religiosity is closely akin to MORALITY."
"By usurping My authority and formulating their own standard, people now reject My standard of righteousness:
ROMANS 10:3 "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God."
"This is the reason why I told Adam and Eve they would surely die if they eat the forbidden fruits:
GENESIS 3:3 "But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die."
"RELIGIONS DECEIVE THE SOUL! It is a case of the Soul trying to control the Soul, instead of being dependent to My Spirit. All religions promote MORALITY, which is what attracts people, believing that this leads to SPIRITUALITY. People do not know that MORALITY is just simple RELIGIOSITY that only ‘cleanses the outside.’ This is what I told the religiouspeople:
MATTHEW 23:25-26 "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter...cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also."
"It is only MY WAY, sans human understanding and feeling in My words, that leads man to SPIRITUALITY. Spirituality purifies first the ‘inside.’ This leads to the ‘cleansing of the outside.’ I will now demonstrate the ‘cleansing of the INSIDE that should precede the purification of the OUTSIDE, where the INSIDE refers to SPIRITUALITY and the OUTSIDE to MORALITY."
Physical and Spiritual Adultery
As if God is saying, "I will illustrate the application of the commandment: ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’ Using man’s intellect, adultery simply means having sexual relation with the opposite sex that is not the lawful spouse. But with My SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE, I will tell you who is the husband and who is the wife?
JEREMIAH 3:14 "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you..."
ISAIAH 54:5 "For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called."
"It is very clear that I, your God, am the spiritual HUSBAND, while you are the spiritual WIFE! As husband, I am planting My ‘seeds’ to you in order to bear children or ‘fruits.’ The seeds are My words (Luke 8:11). The ‘children’ are the fruit(s) of the Spirit: "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." -- Galatians 5:22-23
"Perhaps you are wondering who the OTHER person is with whom you may commit adultery. Who is trying to plant his ‘seeds or words’ in you?
REVELATION 12:9 "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."
"It is Satan, My rival, who is trying to plant his ‘seeds or words’ in you! If he succeeds, the ‘fruits of your adultery’ are the counterfeit ‘love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.’ You will see later the difference between the two kinds of fruits. The former originates from the INSIDE; while the counterfeit, from the OUTSIDE. The fruits from the INSIDE come from the Spirit; while those from the OUTSIDE, come from man’s discipline, mind-conditioning, and human capability. Do not forget what I told My disciples:
JOHN 15:5 "...for without me ye can do nothing."
"In My human manifestation, as model, I showed the Way. As model, I am the spiritual WIFE while My Father is the spiritual HUSBAND. Have you not heard Me say:
JOHN 5:30 "I can of mine own self do nothing... but the will of the Father..."
JOHN 5:19 "Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself..."
"Now you understand why I called My people, both in the Old and New Testament, as ‘adulterous generation.’ They accepted "seeds" or words other than Mine. If you are really faithful to Me and love My words, will you still accept words or teachings other than Mine? Spiritual adultery is ‘uncleanness in the inside.’ If you are truly "clean in the inside,’ will you still commit physical adultery? This is what I mean when I told the religious leaders:
MATTHEW 23:26 "Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also."
"I repeat, cleanliness on the outside is plain MORALITY. This is what people know about righteousness concerning this commandment. And, they are proud in following it as the Rich Young Ruler and the Scribes and Pharisees boast about. They missed cleanliness in the INSIDE which is SPIRITUALITY. The Standard of Righteousness of man is only limited to MORALITY. Man cannot comprehend the deep meaning of SPIRITUALITY. I preached it to the Jews during My sojourn on earth, but they were spiritually blind and deaf that they rejected it. That is why, until now they do not recognize Me! How could they understand My words if they do not even know Me? How about you, ‘Do you now recognize Me and the Father? Am I still a great mystery to you?"
"Who can refute the truth about the forbidden fruits of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? Is there any question that remains unanswered?
"Death on the day" of the Fall
God told Adam and Eve that they would surely die on the day that they eat the forbidden fruits:
GENESIS 2:17 "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
Perhaps, this is the first revelation of the SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE of God. To follow the LITERAL LANGUAGE of the serpent, God would have lied because Adam and Eve did not die "on the day" they ate the forbidden fruits. The literal day is a 24-hour period. Adam and Eve died in that short period as sworn by God, according to His language. They bore many sons and daughters after the fall:
GENESIS 5:4 "And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begot sons and daughters:"
Who was telling the truth? God or the serpent? Jesus Christ said that Satan is the father of lies. To follow the LITERAL LANGUAGE, Adam and Eve did not die "in the day of the fall," a short period of 24 hours. Therefore, God would appear as the liar. But God will never tell a lie. With His SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE, God was telling the truth. Adam really died "within one day" in the language of God:
2 PETER 3:8 "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
Proof that God was telling the truth, Adam really died "within one spiritual day of 1,000 years!"
GENESIS 5:5 "And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died."
Not only the period or time set by God in His words that exposed the deception of the serpent. It is in the punishment as well. Adam and Eve did not experience PHYSICAL DEATH on the day of the fall! Did God tell a lie?
God confirmed the statement of the serpent.
Using the LITERAL LANGUAGE of the serpent, Adam and Eve did not die physically. Satan, therefore, was telling the "truth" and God was not true to His words! That is the objective of Satan: to deceive. Now, look! How could God confirm the statement of the serpent? Here is what God said after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruits:
GENESIS 3:22-24 "And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever... Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden...So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."
If God will not explain His words, who can understand it? Where are the theologians and great Bible scholars to explain this? Let us ask Him. "LORD, WHY DID YOU CONFIRM THE STATEMENT OF THE SERPENT THAT MAN ‘WOULD BECOME ONE OF YOU TO KNOW GOOD AND EVIL’ AFTER EATING THE FORBIDDEN FRUITS?"
As if God is saying, "After man ‘ate his intellect and feeling,’ the fruits of the forbidden tree, he now forms his Standard of Righteousness. He will definitely reject My standard for it cannot reconcile with his perception and emotion. That is what you see in the world. Every man or group of men have their own standard of good and evil distinct from the others. Man, therefore, or the people for that matter, make themselves ‘as gods’ -- formulating their own standard of good and evil, which I alone as God can do."
Spiritual death at the fall
God said that man would surely die upon eating the forbidden fruits. We have seen that He was speaking His SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE. Now we understand what He meant. This is the separation of the Tree of Life, or the SPIRIT of God, from man. Without the Spirit of God in man, he has only his worldly BODY and the selfish SOUL. That meant spiritual death to mankind, as Natural Men, devoid of spiritual understanding.
PROVERBS 21:16 "The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead."
If we will notice, Adam and Eve did not eat the fruits of the Tree of Life or the fruit(s) of Spirit -- the Spirit is the Lord Jesus Himself -- is God Himself whose fruit(s) is:
GALATIANS 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
Adam and Eve did not eat this fruit(s). They chose the fruits of the Tree of Knowledge of: intellect and feeling. Using man’s perception of the word of God, the fruits of the two kinds of trees are perfectly compatible and complementary to each other. The use of the intellect and feeling is, in fact, needed for the fruit(s) of the Spirit of love, joy, temperance, etc. That is how the Natural Man views the fruit(s) of the Spirit.
Let us ask God: "LORD, WHY DID YOU SEPARATE MAN FROM THE TREE OF LIFE MAKING ITS FRUIT(S) INACCESSIBLE TO HIM AFTER ‘EATING THE INTELLECT AND FEELING?’" As if God is saying, "To you, the fruit of love, joy, temperance..., can be attained through man’s capability with mind-conditioning and self-discipline. I tell you, your perception of this fruit(s) is simply the ‘fruit of man’ instead of My or the fruit(s) of the Spirit. That is what you find in the Rich Young Ruler who professed to have followed the Ten Commandments since childhood."
"The fruit of man"
Let us ask God: "LORD, WILL YOU PLEASE ELABORATE ON THIS ‘FRUIT OF MAN’ AND THE ‘FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT?’" As if God is saying, "I will illustrate the difference on a particular fruit, say, TEMPERANCE or self-control. In your perception, SELF-CONTROL is attained through My words with will power and self-discipline. That is what every religion and religious sect teach using philosophy. To follow My commandment of ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery,’ you control yourself by conditioning your mind that it is a sin that will bring you to hell. It is immoral that will ostracize you before your peer and the people. That it is a cause of trouble in your family, especially your spouse. That it will result in many more unfavorable consequences, such as imprisonment or even death in the hands of the aggrieved party."
"You may succeed controlling yourself from violating this commandment. So you brag about following it as the Rich Young Ruler and the Scribes and Pharisees did. But I tell you, without those deterrent factors of: fear of hell, adverse public opinion, fear of trouble in the family, fear of imprisonment and possible death, it is still easy for you to violate the commandment. The sweetness of the sin is still in you. Therefore, given the opportunity to commit it, sans the drawback factors, your bannered SELF-CONTROL is already out of control. This is what I call self-control as a ‘fruit of man.’ This is not yet the fruit of the Spirit."
"Fruit of the Spirit"
Let us now ask God: "LORD, WHEN AND HOW DOES SELF-CONTROL COME FROM YOU TO BE CONSIDERED A ‘FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT?’" As if God is saying: "Do not forget that I am the spiritual husband and My Chosen Few, male and female, are My spiritual wife. In our union, I plant My seeds to ‘her.’ The seeds are My words. If ‘she’ is faithful, ‘she’ only accepts My words. Our union now produces this fruit of SELF-CONTROL which is not the result of will power or mind-conditioning and self-discipline. Rather, the physical man or woman who is My spiritual wife follows this commandment of ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery,’ because the sin ceases to be attractive to him or to her. The joy and peace that I give, and the sweetness of My words to him or to her, remove the attraction of the sin. In other words, sin becomes tasteless and unattractive. Remember, all sins are sweet to people. Otherwise, they would not have been committing them. But with My perfect union with My Chosen Few, sins lose their luster."
"Can the lusciousness of sin replace the sweetness of My fruit(s) of LOVE, JOY, PEACE, and GENTLENESS? Can there be sweeter than "honey" and more delicious than "milk?" My Chosen Few already have a foretaste of the heavenly glory even in their earthly life. This is found in their inner selves. That is why you all find them in a high level of sereneness and peace in the midst of earthly troubles. They enjoy "masticating and chewing" My words as they enjoy eating their physical food. They are contented with their SPIRITUAL and PHYSICAL life."
Spiritual nakedness
With man’s Literal Language, nakedness simply means physical nudity of the body. This may, therefore, be limited to the vulgar and obscenity. With God’s Spiritual Language, however, it means more than that:
ISAIAH 61:10 "I will gre; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath atly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God covered me with the robe of righteousness..."
God seems to convey here that there are two kinds of spiritual nudity. These are derived from the two kinds of covering:
1. The robe of righteousness
2. The garment of salvation
Let us ask God what these two coverings are: "LORD, COULD YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN TO US THE TWO KINDS OF NAKEDNESS, REPRESENTED BY THE TWO KINDS OF COVERING?"
As if God is saying, "You can best understand the two kinds of nakedness as they applied to Adam and Eve before and after the Fall.
Nakedness before the fall
Adam and Eve were naked before the Fall:
GENESIS 3:6-7 "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons."
Human understanding is limited only to the literal-physical uncovered bodies before the fall. As usual, let us ask God: "LORD, HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE NAKEDNESS OF MAN BEFORE THE FALL?
As if God is saying, "You must remember that Adam and Eve did not eat the fruit(s) of the Tree of Life.
GENESIS 3:22 "And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:"
"The fruits of the Tree of Life, or the fruit(s) of the Spirit, were available but they did not eat them. These are: "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23) In My eyes, therefore, they were ‘naked of the robe of righteousness.’" To illustrate:
"I was with them before the Fall, as I was with David, the conqueror of Goliath, and Peter, My apostle.
"See for yourself how David was spiritually naked of the "robe of righteousness." David My chosen king Israel, in order to win Bathseda, hatched a plan to kill Uriah, her husband.
2 SAMUEL 11:2-5 "And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her...and she returned unto her house. And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child."
2 SAMUEL 11:15-17 "And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die. And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were. And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also."
"Look, how David ‘did not eat the fruit of love, joy, peace, gentleness, faith and temperance.’ You yourself can see that he was ‘naked of the robe of righteousness’ and, yet, he was not aware of it that it needed My prophet, Nathan, to remind him of his ‘nakedness of the robe of righteousness!’"
"Another example is Peter, My apostle. He bragged about not leaving Me even if My other apostles would. Two times before the cock crowed he denied Me and, like David, he was not aware of his mistake. He was naked of the ‘robe of righteousness’ by not ‘eating the fruit of love, joy, peace and faith.’ At that time he was not aware of his spiritual nudity."
"David and Peter’s mistake was equivalent to Adam and Eve’s not ‘eating the fruits of the Tree of Life. They were ‘naked of the robe of righteousness.’ David and Peter remained My chosen inspite of their spiritual nakedness of the ‘robe of righteousness.’ So with Adam and Eve before the Fall. They have not lost their salvation before eating the fruits of the forbidden tree, the Tree of Knowledge."
Nakedness after the Fall
As in nakedness before the Fall, the Natural Man simply sees literal-physical nudity of the body after eating the forbidden fruits, which Adam and Eve became aware of.
Let us now ask God about this "nakedness after the Fall." "LORD, HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN NAKEDNESS WITH THE ‘EATING OF THE INTELLECT AND FEELING, THE FORBIDDEN FRUITS?
As if God is saying: "Intellect and feeling are not the means to understand My SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE. Did I not say that it is to the BABES and the "poor in spirit" that spiritual wisdom is given? Remember it is denied to the wise and the prudent!
MATTHEW 11:25 "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes."
2 TIMOTHY 3:15"And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."
"I told you before that the use of the intellect and feeling will make man set his own standard of good and evil. With the use of human wisdom, man will cease to understand My SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE. That is certain spiritual death for how could he follow My words if he cannot comprehend it? That is the realization of Adam and Eve’s nakedness."
GENESIS 2:16-17 "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
"This is what happened. After eating the fruits of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve realized their ‘nakedness.’ They became aware of the ‘lost of the garment of salvation.’ How could man, represented by Eve, not lose his salvation if he sets his own standard of good and evil? As promised by the Serpent, Eve or the people would be like god to know good and evil. The devil, of course, was referring to man’s standard of good and evil. Satan was the first to have his standard of good and evil. That is what rebellion against Me meant."
GENESIS 3:7 ‘...and the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.’
Fig leaves for covering
People who are not "babes" or "poor in spirit" do not realize their spiritual nakedness of the garment of salvation. One thing good for Adam and Eve was they realized their "nakedness" after the fall. They covered themselves by sewing fig leaves as "garment." This gives us the message that they tried to win back the salvation that they lost. Let us now ask God why He changed the fig leaves with "coats of skin."
GENESIS 3:21 "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them."
"LORD, WHY DID YOU CHANGE THE ‘FIG LEAVES COVERING’ WITH ‘COATS OF SKIN?"
As if God is saying, "Fig tree symbolizes man."
JUDGES 9:10-11 "And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?"
"The leaves, therefore, indicate anything coming from man. Leaves from the fig tree as covering symbolize the ‘garment of salvation’ coming from men. These are the precepts of men and religious traditions, the product of the intellect and feeling, which I condemn:
ISAIAH 29:13-14 "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me...and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men. Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid."
COLOSSIANS 2:8 "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."
"Remember, desire for salvation is not enough. Neither does sincerity corrects the erroneous way of attaining it."
ROMANS 10:2 "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge."
"Human ways of attaining salvation, apart from My way, lead to the rejection of My Standard:
ROMANS 10:3 "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God."
"That is the reason why I substituted ‘coats of skin’ for the ‘fig leaves’ that Adam and Eve tried to cover their "nakedness."
"Coats of skin"
We ask God: ‘LORD, WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ‘COATS OF SKIN’ AS COVERING? As if God is asking the following questions which everybody ought to know: "Can I get the skin of animals, say a sheep, without shedding its blood and killing it? Can you not now see the connection between the shedding of My blood in My human manifestation on the cross with this ‘coat of skin?’ Have you forgotten how I am pictured as a Lamb?"
ISAIAH 53:7 "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb..."
JOHN 1:29 "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
1 PETER 1:19 "But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:"
REVELATION 5:6 "And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne... stood a Lamb as it had been slain..."
"My death on the cross is symbolized by the ‘coat of skin!’ This is the acceptable covering for spiritual nakedness. This is the ‘garment of salvation.’"
We ask God: "LORD, HOW COULD YOUR DEATH BE THE GARMENT OF SALVATION?" As if God is saying, "Remember, Imade a Covenant, and this can only be fulfilled by the death of the Testator. I manifested Myself in the flesh for this purpose, aside from showing the Way by example. In My Testament I promised Myself to be the inheritance. I manifested Myself in the form of Spirit, so that I can dwell in My chosen to teach them My way - not man’s way, My Standard and not man’s Standard of good and evil."
"I repeat, nakedness after the Fall is spiritual nakedness of the garment of salvation. This is the result of the adoption of man’s Standard of good and evil with the use of the intellect and feeling. Fig leaves covering is man-devised ‘garment of salvation.’ This has to be replaced with My ‘garment of salvation’ which is the ‘coats of skin’" symbolizing the shedding of My blood on the cross."
"To summarize the two kinds of nakedness, before and after the Fall:
1. "Nakedness before the Fall refers only to the non-eating of the fruits of the Tree of Life. These are the fruit(s) of the Spirit. This is UNCLEANNESS ON THE OUTSIDE: David’s commission of physical adultery with Bathseba and physical murder of Uriah; and Peter’s literal denial of Me."
"This is not nakedness of the garment of salvation as David and Peter still remained My chosen. This is demonstrated in the Prodigal son’s leaving his father and squandering his wealth on the things of the flesh. He still remained the son of his father. His coming back is equivalent to David and Peter’s repentance."
2. "Nakedness after the Fall refers to the ‘eating of the fruits of the forbidden Tree.’ This renders UNCLEANNESS IN THE INSIDE. The use of the intellect and feeling in matters pertaining to Me and My words render spiritual blindness as not to see spiritual adultery, spiritual murder, spiritual stealing, spiritual telling a lie, etc."
"This is what I saw in the Scribes and Pharisees. Like Adam and Eve, they tried to cover their spiritual nakedness with HUMAN WAYS of salvation. But unlike Adam and Eve, the Scribes and Pharisees did not accept My offer of ‘coats of skin,’ or My Way. With their Standard, they tried to clean the OUTSIDE, by applying their intellect and feeling to My words. They, however, failed to clean the INSIDE. They remained spiritually naked without the ‘garment of salvatuion.’"
Man after the Fall
With the separation of the Tree of Life from Adam and Eve after the Fall, man is left only with the Tree bearing fruits pleasing to the eyes and good for food, and the Tree of Knowledge. These two correspond to the BODY and the SOUL. These are what make man worldly and selfish as we find ourselves today.
Without the Tree of Life or the Spirit of God, man devises and plots his way of salvation. These are the different standards of righteousness and Godliness that RELIGIONS offer to mankind. Philosophy, or the use of the intellect, and emotionalism, the "fruits of the forbidden tree," are the foundation of all RELIGIONS! They are all appealing to the people for they come from them. People see and accept different ways to eternal life. But God says, there is only one way - His Way, His standard. Man is blind to this Way without God opening his "eyes." How many people see this truth? Many or only a few? If ever they find it, how many of them will accept it? Many or only a few?
MATTHEW 22:14 "For many are called, but few are chosen."
The counterfeit
People believing in the Bible see Jesus Christ pictured as a Lamb, so they want to imitate Him. They, therefore, "cover themselves with wool" by "cleaning the OUTSIDE." From all appearances, they are spiritual lambs. Jesus Christ saw this in the Scribes and Pharisees, the religious leaders at that time, who claimed they have followed the commandments: "Thou shalt keep the Sabbath Day, honor thy father and thy mother; thou shalt not steal, kill, commit adultery, bear false witness, etc."
MATTHEW 7:15 "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing..."
With Man’s Standard of Righteousness, many people will be saved for "wide is the way." God says otherwise:
MATTHEW 7:13-14 "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
People followed them for their teachings of MORALITY and RELIGIOSITY. In the eyes of Christ, they had only cleaned the OUTSIDE:
MATTHEW 23:26 "Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also."
Our Lord keeps on repeating His warning to few chosen to beware of False Prophets in sheep’s clothin. Let us heed His call.
Of all people, not the murderers, not the thieves, not the corrupt political leaders, not the flesh merchants, but the religious leaders did our Lord call serpents and vipers:
MATTHEW 23:33 "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?"
Did the religious leaders know that they were as such? Of course not! They were, in fact, sincere in their beliefs that they even called our Lord "fool and having devils." In their view, they were on the right way to salvation. But the Word rebukes them:
ROMANS 10:2-3 "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God."
That is where we find people today under the different RELIGIONS, and SECTS and DENOMINATIONS within each religion. They all preach MORALITY and SACRIFICES in the form of long and pleasant-to-hear prayers, and other works acceptable to the people as basis of salvation. God, however, prefers knowledge about Him and His words:
HOSEA 6:6 "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."
HOSEA 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee..."
Jesus Christ preached SPIRITUALITY, or the cleansing of the INSIDE, as a prerequisite to cleansing the OUTSIDE. The Jews, to whom the word of God was entrusted, did not understand Him because they did not recognize Him. He, therefore, did not explain His words which are all spoken in parables:
MARK 4:11-12 "...unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand..."
He called them blind guides leading the blind:
LUKE 6:39 "And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?"
2 CORINTHIANS 4:3 "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:"
But for His disciples who "were converted into little children," can little children "eat the intellect and feeling?" Christ’s disciples were physical adults, but they were spiritual little children to Him. They were "poor in spirit," He, therefore, explained everything to them:
MARK 4:34 "But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples."
Tree of Life guarded
After the Fall, man was separated from the Tree of Life and the tree was tightly guarded:
GENESIS 3:24 "...He placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."
Let us ask God why He denied the Tree of Life from man, which symbolizes His Spirit: "LORD, DID YOU NOT CREATE MAN TO BE YOUR ETERNAL COMPANION? NOW, WHY DO YOU DENY YOURSELF FROM HIM?"
As if God is saying, "Yes, I created man in My image to be My eternal companion. But that image was shattered by his disobedience when he ate the fruits of the Tree of Knowledge. Did I not tell man, through Adam and Eve, that he ‘would surely die’ if he would disobey Me? Giving him access to the Tree of Life would mean restoration of ‘life.’ Does that not make Me a great liar? It is My enemy, Satan or the Old Serpent, who is the liar!
"I cannot just make available the Tree of Life, or restore life after spiritual death, and remain true to My words. Now you understand why the Tree of Life is tightly guarded. I cannot be a liar. I have to be true to My words. If ever I wanted to push through with My original plan of man to be My eternal companion, I have to rectify whatever he destroyed."
The Testament and Born Again
We ask God: "LORD, HOW DO YOU REPAIR WHAT MAN DESTROYED? HOW COULD WE GET BACK THE TREE OF LIFE?" As if God is saying, "May I remind you that I made a TESTAMENT. In this covenant I bound Myself, as Testator, to fulfill it with My death:
HEBREW 9:16 "For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator."
"This is foreshadowed by the shedding of blood of animals in the Old Testament. After I manifested Myself in the flesh, the Testament was fulfilled with My death on the cross:
1 TIMOTHY 3:16 "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh..."
"By this time, you must have been familiar with the INHERITANCE in My TESTAMENT. I promised Myself to be the inheritance. My Disciples received Me for an inheritance in My manifestation as Holy Spirit:
JOHN 7:39 "(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"
ACTS 2:2-4 "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost..."
"My death and resurrection marked the accessibility of the Tree of Life or the availability of the Holy Spirit to those who will believe Me. This is the atonement or expiation that I made for whatever man has destroyed in My plan. You have seen this at Pentecost when My disciples received Me as their INHERITANCE."
"That, in a nutshell, is My gift of love to those who will humble themselves as ‘little children.’ This is what I told Nicodemus, a great teacher of My words in Israel. Without access to the Tree of Life, he did not even understand what I am saying that one has ‘to be born again.’ He was thinking of literal-physical, while I was speaking spiritual things. Before Nicodemus had access to the Tree of life, he was a Natural Man. He did not yet have the Holy Spirit. He did not have the Inheritance I promised to the PRIESTS. The Inheritance is Myself! "
"These are the signs for people who have already the Tree of Life. These are the proofs for having truly received Me:
1. I give them a heart to know Me because they have come to Me with their whole heart.
2. I reveal Myself as I did to My prophets and disciples, that I am no longer a mystery or a strange God to them, not only in the Old but also in the New Testament:
HEBREW 8:11 "And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest."
3. Not only do I open their ‘eyes’ to recognize Me, but I also open their ‘ears’ to understand My words in My spiritual language:
1 CORINTHIANS 2:16 "For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."
"How many therefore can claim that they are truly born again? Many or only a few?
MATTHEW 20:16 "So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen."
The "sin and punishment" of Adam
It is to be noted that Adam "ate" the forbidden fruits at the instance of Eve. Adam was never deceived. It was Eve who succumbed to the temptation:
1 TIMOTHY 2:14 "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression."
Adam ate the "fruits" knowing that he would suffer the consequences of the transgression. So this is his "punishment:"
GENESIS 3:17-18 "And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it...in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee..."
Have we not seen that Adam personifies God being alone and needing a companion? Adam was created in the likeness of God, actually in the image of JESUS CHRIST Who is the image of the invisible God. Jesus Christ is referred to as the last Adam:
1 CORINTHIANS 15:45 "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit."
Because Adam was not deceived, eating the forbidden fruits was his show of love for his wife. Then he could share in her "punishment." This is a shadow of what Jesus Christ did for His "wife:"
1 PETER 2:24 "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness..."
Just as Eve was taken from the side of Adam,
GENESIS 2:21-22 "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man."
so is the CHURCH, the spiritual wife, composed of individual Christians, also taken out of the side of Jesus Christ:
JOHN 19:34 "But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water."
How is the CHURCH established?
JOHN 3:5 "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of waterand of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
"Water symbolizes the words of God; while the Spirit, made available out of the shedding of the blood on the cross, represents the Holy Spirit. It is through the word of God, therefore, and by the power of the Holy Spirit that a person is truly "born again." He becomes a real Christian belonging to the "household of God."
The thorns and thistles for Adam were actually the calvary and cross for Jesus Christ. It is not only the physical suffering of Jesus Christ, but His life as a whole depicted the spiritual thorns and thistles. We all know how He lived as a man. He was born in a manger, raised in the unpopular Nazareth by a carpenter, and He Himself was just a simple carpenter. He was derided, scorned, mocked, and greatly humiliated by the religious leaders, etc. Jesus Christ is the TRUTH. Expect the TRUTH to go through in the hands of the religious leaders today. TRUTH will be ridiculed, mocked and be "killed" like Jesus Christ. But it will surely resurrect!
Love is what characterized the relationship between Adam and Eve -- so with Jesus Christ and the Church. That is why God is called love.
1 JOHN 4:16 "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love..."
The "punishment" for Eve
This is the punishment of the "woman."
1 TIMOTHY 2:13-15 "For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety."
To take the word of God literally, "woman" refers only to Eve. But take note how God used the plural form "they" that actually refers to the real believers, both male and female. Again, to take the word of God literally, how simple it is for a woman to be saved by simply giving birth to children. But Eve represents the real Christians who are the "wife" of God. "Childbearing", therefore, means the fruitfulness of man, actually the spiritual wife, in union with God Who is the spiritual husband. The spiritual children are the fruit(s) of the Spirit:
GALATIANS 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance..."
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