HF156 - What About the Tree?
To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date: Wed April 19, 2006
Subject: Bible Study HF156 - What about the Tree?
Hebraics,
Why did God instruct Adam not to partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Perhaps the better question to ask is, 'Is there more to the story of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil than meets the eye?' It is generally taught that the tree represented a test for Adam and Eve. If this is the case, what then was the test really about?
In the study to follow we want to see how the SOURCE of knowledge leads to the abuse of knowledge. So, is it possible that we will find ourselves having to deal with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil at various times in our lives? (Allegorically speaking.)
One other thing. This study will have negative connotations to it, but I think it is crucial that God's people have a better understanding to the evil side of knowledge. It has to do with source. Let's talk about it.
This is Bible Study HF156 - What about the Tree?
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil cannot be said to represent the knowledge that man had collected through the ages. It had to represent something else. By putting varied Scriptures together we find that the tree had to do with 'sources' of knowledge.
It was never a matter of God not wanting Adam to have knowledge of good and evil. Adam already had considerable insight into this area. He enjoyed a relationship with God that no angel ever enjoyed. He had in him the life- breath of God. No angel ever had God breath life into them. In addition the Lord fashioned for Adam a most beautiful and mysterious of creatures. She would be his life companion, that is, his completer. No angel ever had such a companion.
Adam had the rule over all things. What could possibly add to this scene of completeness? Here comes the true test of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It has to do with source. The tree represented a forbidden source of knowledge. This is why God said, "From the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." (Gen2:17)
The test was about heaven's secrets. Satan in his deceiving way approached Eve and began to reason with her. It appears he was offering himself as the intermediary for God. God really wanted her to take from the tree. In partaking of the tree, Eve would understand divine secrets. She would become wise with God's wisdom.
So Satan says, "You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Notice what Satan is telling her. He is saying that God has two sides, that He knows and experiences both good and evil. And now it is time for Eve to have her own God-like experience of good and evil. The 'source' convinced her that it was the proper thing to do. The time had come. God wanted her to have secret heavenly wisdom.
Eve looked at the tree while under the influence of Satan. It says, "[She] saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise." The key words are, good, delight, desirable, and 'to make one wise.' Hence we see where Satan made the tree to connect with the secret wisdom of heaven.
Are you getting the picture? It is really all about 'source'. Satan enticed Eve. He became the deceiving influence in her life. Did you know that this is to be the fatal error of the endtime generation, including the visible church? (More on this later.)
The allurement of spirits is the promise of inside knowledge, of secret wisdom, of power, of the ability to control nature and life itself, and of the ability to foretell the future. This area is Satan's forte of spiritual workings. He is a spirit being. This area of the demonic working is also the basis of witchcraft.
After the fall of Adam this deceiving influence continued to gain the ascendancy over the human race. The Bible says that Cain followed after the evil one. Then we read, "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually." (Gen6:5) Thus the flood.
Peter lets us see how the evil of the ancient world connected itself with fallen angels. He said, "For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly... " (2Pe2:4,5)
In this we also see why Israel kept herself ensnared with the practice of idolatry. Idolatry is the world of spiritism. Supernatural things do happen. Israel followed after 'lying wonders.' Paul tells us that idolatry is the world of the demonic.
The bottom line remains the same. The enticement is always, good, delight, desirable, and, 'to make one wise.' And the danger point is also always the same. It all has to do with who is offering supposedly God-secrets. James said, "But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic." (Jm3:14,15)
Here we see where the power of deception takes on its true working. It begins with good, delight, desirable, and, 'to make one wise'. Yet its true works are unveiled as earthly, natural, demonic. A deception is earthly centered, nature involved, but above all, it is demonic at its core.
Satan's temptations are always something to be desired otherwise they would not be temptations. This is why it is so important for believers to remain on their guard at all times. We need to know what source is at working trying to bring the secrets of heaven into our lives.
Think about it. What was the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness about? Was it not similar to what had been offered to Eve, thereby to Adam, but even more overtly? Where Eve was deceived by the subtlety of Satan, the Lord dealt with him with knowledge. Yet did not Satan use a twist on Scripture in order to entice the Lord? What again is the issue in all this. Again it comes back to 'source'.
Can the 'source' work in a church setting? Yes, most certainly. The Corinthian church is an example. Paul said, "But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully." (2Co11:3,4)
Paul is rebuking this church because of their acceptance of something that is deceivingly demonic. The deception was masquerading itself as if from God. It claimed to speak for God and even used the name of Jesus. But Paul said it was another Jesus. It was another spirit. It was another gospel at work. Like Eve, the Corinthians were seeing things through the eyes of spirits not of God. They were being offered 'heavenly wisdom'.
When the serpent appeared to Eve, what do you suppose he looked like? He must have been a beautiful creature. In other words, the serpent must have looked like he could speak for God. Now hear Paul's description of the false apostles who were disguising themselves as apostles of Christ:
"No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds." (Cf. 2Co11:13-15)
Could it be that the serpent in the garden appeared as some glorious being, that is, pretending to be an angel of light? Why is it important to think along these lines? It is important because the Bible teaches that a great endtime deception along with a falling away of the church will follow a similar pattern as the deception of Eve. There will be men who appear to be servants of Christ but who are actually bringing perverted messages of the gospel, that is, 'You will be like God,' messages.
Can it happen today? It can and it does. I firmly believe that much of what comes under the banner of a 'new move of God' today can easily be spirits at work. And many are being swallowed up in a vortex of deception. Should we be surprised? Hardly. The prophets of old, even the Lord Jesus Himself, and the apostles all described the last days as days of deception.
Here is something to give us pause. New covenant prophecy is primarily the revelation of Jesus Christ. It can be foretelling but that is not its essence. The angel said to John, "I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Rev19:10)
Now compare this to all the fortunetelling you see going on in many circles today. It is all being done in the name of prophecy? But is it prophecy? Is it the testimony of Jesus at work? You can think this through for yourself.
Jesus said that tares would be among the wheat until the end time. But how do you distinguish the charlatans from the true servants of God? For the most part you distinguish them by a discerning of the Spirit. It is equally important to be aware of the message they are spreading. Are they preaching another gospel? Is there another spirit at work? Are they presenting the true Jesus of Scripture? Or, are they preaching the 'godhood' of believers and such like.
The apostle Paul gives insight into how this will play itself out in the last times. Listen to some of what the apostle has to say: "Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming..." Here we have both the antichrist and the second coming of Jesus.
Follow this further: "That is, the one (antichrist) whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon THEM a deluding influence so that THEY will believe what is false, in order that THEY may all be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness." (Cf. 2Th2:7-11. Caps for emphasis only.)
Did you catch it? Truth is a Person. And 'the' truth is the message of the cross. Someone is rejecting the true message of Jesus Christ. How about those who refuse the true message of the cross? God is sending upon them a 'deluding influence', or as the Greek also expresses it, 'an activity of error.'
In the last days the Lord will permit lying spirits to cover the planet, working through emissaries who purport to be servants of Christ. They will speak swelling lies and produce false wonders. It will all be done in the name of Jesus. These emissaries will be both deceived themselves, and will be deceivers of many. The end result is for the purpose of judgment.
Where does this leave the true believers? God knows those who are His. I believe that all who belong to Him will be brought to their senses and escape from the activity of darkness. This could very well be God's call out of Babylon. Babylon represents the confusing world of darkness.
Is it a scary picture? It is scary only for those who have chosen to follow after lying wonders. A promise remains for all who belong to Jesus. The Lord has something to say about those who are His. Jesus said, "But you [the nonbeliever] do not believe because you are not My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish..." (Jn10:26-28)
God will not allow a single one of His children to perish in the judgment of darkness. In fact if you read the Thessalonian portion closer you will see where the Lord removes His people from the scene at some point in the last days.
Hopefully you see what this has to do with the tree. Consider for a moment how the term 'tree' is often used in the Scriptures to represent men and the doctrines they teach. A tree can carry a good sense or a bad sense. The fruit of the tree is what people take into themselves from the good or the bad tree. The point is that God's people must be cautious about who they are listening to.
Now a word from the Lord for all of us. Listen carefully ...
"Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous will walk in them, but transgressors will stumble in them." (Hos14:9)
The study is open. Feel free to share your thoughts and/or questions.
Blessings,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web:
http://www.christianchallenge.org/
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)