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I set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, you chose

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“I call heaven and earth to recored this day against you, that I have sat before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: that thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:19-20

God has restored the tree of life. That gift is found in John 3:16, ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.’

According to John 4:14, ‘the gift of God is a well of living water springing up in everlasting life. It satisfies every thirst and hunger.’

The problem that most people encounter when it comes to receiving the promise is faith. They don’t know how to partake of the promises or the power!

The Spirit of Poverty

Ephesians 6:10-12, says our warfare is not with flesh and blood, but against spiritual principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places.

The spirit of poverty is a personality that strips the soul of any spiritual or moral value.

There are many battles being fought:

Battles of the soul– People who are inwardly tortured, suicidal, bipolar. Mark 9:14-29, young man who was thrown in the Fire and Water.

The man crying night and day in the graveyard and cutting himself with stones, Mark 5:1-19

Outward battles– prince of the power of the air! Demonic influences in and over communities. Matthew 4:16 (KJV) “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.”

Battles of between the flesh and spirit– Romans 8:5-10  

Spiritual battles– Jesus said, Luke 10:18, ‘I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning’

Cultural battles– The Hebrew & Greek widows, Acts 6:1

Corporate Battles– Union fighting against the move of God, Acts 19:1-41

Political Battles– Herod sought to kill Jesus when he was born! He murdered all the children two years and under that where in Bethlehem, and the coasts, Matthew 2:11-18

Racial Battles– The Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans, John 4:9

Family Battles- Genesis 25:19-23

We are confronted with the same spiritual forces of darkness that our fore-fathers struggled against.

One common excuse I heard as a chaplain in the jail & prison ministry, “I sold drugs to put food on the table. I stripped houses to buy diapers. I gambled my retirement, pension, disability, and social services check to hit the lottery for millions. I’m waiting on my favored number to hit. If you don’t play, you can’t win.”

Global forces of the spirit of poverty, which is of the “power class” of the demonic power structure is driving population shifts

We are in a season where there is a massive flow of people! People are on the move! The spirit of poverty strips people of resources and the ruler of the darkness of world are pushing people into prostitution, sex trafficking, political corruption, drug dealing and much more!

Decisions are being made in high places. The Whore of Babylon, the kings of the earth and merchants are fornicating in high places. They are plotting and planning global commercial endeavors.

“For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.” Revelation 18:3 (KJV)

Watch population shifts– During the late 1880s Europeans migrated to the United States from many different parts of the world bringing their cultures with them. In Detroit, these nationalities were separated into different parts of the city.

During 1900s, stories of extreme poverty had rooted itself all over the nation, especially in the south. You heard stories of extreme poverty but you rarely heard stories of people who honored God, applied his word and prospered. People were pushed into the darker side of life. People prospered off of vice. Their prosperity was always temporary. They had to plunge deeper into darkness in order to sustained the flow of income.

I was born in Detroit Michigan. My father and his brothers migrated from Granada Mississippi to Detroit to find work in the car factories. They were running from racism and economic hardships. The Detroit Rebellion of 1967 was a manifestation of the frustration many felt during those times.

The forces of global of economics

During the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, even into the 90s, the spirit of poverty drove people into darkness. The lifestyle of pimps and drug dealers was glorified as a way into riches.

Growing up in the north exposed you to a different kind of racism called corporate greed. The system provided certain population groups enough education to work as a laborer in the automobile plants.

As a young Christian, I remembered trying to fit into man’s system. I finished my military enlistment during the recession of the 80s when finding employment was difficult. I knew enough to give tithes and offerings. My faith in God kept me safe and blessed. I prospered but I didn’t know enough to keep prospering. As I look back on that time, I suffered from a lack of vision. I had other people’s visions. I amassed a large amount of unnecessary debt. All of that changed as God opened my eyes to his vision. Once I got God’s vision, means, and method, things changed for me.

Times have Changed

Times have changed, the spirit of poverty is still driving people into darkness. There are more millionaires and billionaires than ever before. A person can play $2.50 lottery ticket and hit the numbers for millions and millions of dollars. The same lie that the serpent sold Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden has not changed.

The Serpent said, “You’re not going to eat ‘Because God said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden! You shall not die, God knows your eyes shall be opened and you shall be like God knowing good and evil.’

Eve saw the fruit that it was good for food, pleasant to the eye and good to make one wise and she took the fruit ate it and turned and gave it to her husband!

After Adam and Eve experienced the consequences of what God told them would happen, Eve said, “The Serpent deceived me and I ate.”

According to Revelation 12:9, the same Serpent who deceived Adam and Eve is deceiving the whole world.

People are still buying into the lies of the devil and eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They want to be gods. They want to be judges of good and evil. It never works. It was always God’s will for us to eat from the tree of life.

Jesus said this about Satan: He was a murderer from the beginning, he doesn’t abide in the truth, there is no truth in him. He lies to take advantage of you. He is a lair. He is the father of the lie. John 8:44.

How can Satan be a murderer from the beginning? Satan used Cain to kill Abel because Abel was threat to Satan’s future. Satan thought that Abel could be “the promise seed” that would bruise his head, (Genesis 3:15). The truth is, he murders people!

The Lie

Over the years, I have heard the same lie over and over.

The American Pimps calls it “The game or Our Game”

The Mafia call it, “the Black Hand”; “Our Thing”

Adam Smith, the father of capitalism called it, “The Invisible Hand”

Old time Amway distributors called it, “The Business”

Internet scammers call it “The Black Hat”

Internet profiteers call it “The White Hat”

Rappers call it “M.O.E”, Money Over Everything

There are many names but its the same old lie

But really, “What is it?”

God says, “My ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-13

God gave Adam land in two places, in heaven and on earth. God gave Adam seed and fruit trees. Adam was to tithe the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as a sacrificial offering. Adam’s assignment was to transform earth into the garden of Eden.

God’s vision for earth has never changed. Whereas Adam’s assignment was producing beauty upon the earth; Satan turned the earth into a wilderness. He destroyed the cities and refused to open the doors of his prison (Isaiah 14:17).

Jesus does the exact opposite. He preached good tiding to the meek. He binds up the broken hearted, proclaims liberty to the captives and opens the prison cells of those who are bound, Isaiah 61:1.

Adam broke trust by eating the fruit of the sacrifice. The system judged him immediately because that’s designed of creation the beginning. Death began to manifest in their bodies. They applied the leaves of the garden as a healing balm.

The Serpent is now Adam’s new spiritual head and partner. The Serpent gained seed in the new partnership. The Serpent is enforcing his will on mankind.

God judged Adam’s sin in order to make a way out of eternal damnation. God never walked away from his vision for creation. God redeemed man to original purpose! He still hold people accountable.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 (KJV)

He still makes provision for the just as well as the evil, Matthew 5:45. God holds people accountable as in the days of Noah. Every person will judged according to their works, Revelation 20:11-15

Glorious Promise

Isaiah 55:8-12

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

All hell can be breaking out around you but the Word of the Lord shall stand forever. The Bible is full of examples of God’s ability to keep his word. One of the most powerful examples outside of raising Jesus from the dead is bringing 3 million people out of 400 years of bondage. He fed them 40 years in the wilderness. Their clothes did not wear out or their feet swell.

The testimony that came out of the forty year journey in the wilderness is, the people lived by trusting in the Word of God.Jesus spoke to this after spending 40 days fasting and praying in the wilderness. He testified when Satan tempted him to prove that he was the Son of God. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

What is the Word? God so love the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life!

As is often the problem, people don’t go on to perfection.They stop growing. They don’t have God’s vision, “be fruitful, multiply, replenish, subdue, have dominion over the earth.”

Seed is pro-vision, “for the vision.”

They don’t have his means: Seed, fruit trees and eternal life

They don’t have his method: Seed time and harvest

I believe, if the immigrants that are coming to the United States, would invest their energies into the Word of God. They could turn any part of the world into an oasis. Why?

Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all those other things shall be added unto you! Creation was designed to be a partnership between God and man!

The Truth is many governmental leaders, as far as partnership is concerned are fornicating with the Whore of Babylon (Revelation 17-18) and the people are suffering the consequences.

Get a bigger vision

Jesus said, I am the vine and my Father is the caretaker. Every branch in me that bears not fruit, he take it away. Every branch in me that bears fruit, he cleans it that it might bring forth more fruit. My father is glorified when you bear much fruit!

“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:7 (KJV)

Grace and Peace!

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Are you rendering or stealing?

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Who started the process of giving and receiving?

“These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.” Genesis 2:4-5

Wonderful thought, the heavens and the earth were not created in a series of six single 24 hour days. Yet, scriptures describes these things as created in the day, meaning it was, “a time for the foundations of the earth to be laid.”

Genesis 2:4, “These are the generations of the heaven and the earth in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.”

There was not a man

“And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.”

So God created a man from the dust of the field and breathed the breath of life into nostrils and man became a living soul.

God said to the first man, Be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, subdue it have dominion over everything that has life in it. He said, I have given you every seed upon all the face of the earth and every trees bearing fruit!

If you think seed doesn’t matter, wrong! God uses seed on many different levels. For example, He told the Serpent, the seed of the woman shall bruise your head. He gave Abraham a seed that becomes a nation that birth the Messiah. Then He uses the seed to given the gift of eternal life to whosoever believes

“If ye be Christ, then are you Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promises.”

God uses fruit trees! The first sacrifice was the fruit of a fruit tree. The first gift of eternal life came from a fruit tree. Jesus was crucified on a tree. The Tree of Life is in the midst of the paradise of God.

“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”

Partnership

Partnership as it relates to God, is probably the most elusive principle of creation. The system of the earth is based on partnership. This concept flows from Genesis through to Revelation. We understand partnership in bits and pieces.

God has been the greatest victim of theft. Man has never fully render to God his due fruits of the partnership. However, God stills holds people responsible for their share of the harvest of the earth.

God asked the question will a man rob God? You have robbed me even this whole nation. You are cursed with are curse!

Parable of the Wine Press (Matthew 21:33-46 KJV)

The parable pf the wine press illustrates the principles of failed partnership. Jesus told the story of a householder who planted a vineyard. He placed a fence around it and rigged a wine press in it. He build a tower in it. He put the responsibility of managing the vineyard into his employees. Last of all he took a long trip to a far country.

When it came time for the harvest to come in, he sent his servants to the managers of the vineyard to collect its fruits. The Managers beat up one servant, stoned one and killed another. The Householder continued to sent messages to collect the fruits of vineyard. The managers continued to treat each messages the same way.

Finally the Householder decided to send his Son, thinking the managers would respect his son more than his messengers. The managers decided to kill the son and take ownership of the vineyard.

Jesus asked the question of his audience, “When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?” His audience responded,

“They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.” Matthew 21:41

Partnership has always been about man rendering God the fruits of partnership. Yet, man took the fruits that were due God and consumed them upon his own desires. Genesis 6:2, “…They took them wives of all which they chose.”

“But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.” Jeremiah 5:23-24

Jesus quoted scripture,

“Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?”

Jesus said,

“Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruit thereof.”

The parable is about rendering to God his due fruits. People think this parable just applies to the Pharisees. No, it applies to followers of Jesus Christ as well.

The Parable of the talents! (Matthew 25:14-30)

Jesus tells a parable about three servants of a householder. For clarity let change the titles of subjects of this parable. Let make the man traveling to a far country, the president of a company. Lets make the servants employees. The president of this company is about to tell a long business trip. He called his chief employees together and committed the companies resources into their hands.

The first employee was given five pieces of gold. The second employee was give two pieces of gold. The third employee was given one piece of gold. After a long period of time, the president of the company calls his employees to give an account of their stewardship.

The first employee came to the president and said, ‘You committed to me five pieces of gold, I have gained five more.’ The president of the company said, well done good and faithful have you been, I will make you ruler over many things, come let’s celebrate together.

The second employee came to the president and said, You committed to me two pieces of gold, I have gained two more. The president said, well done good and faithful have you been, I will make you ruler over many things, come let’s celebrate together.

The third employee came to the president and said, You gave me one piece of gold and I was afraid of losing it. I knew you as a hard man reaping where you have not sown. So I took the companies resources and buried them in a hole in the backyard, here is your one piece of goal. The president said, You wicked and slothful employee, you should have put my money in the bank at lease I could have gained the interest. Take the talent from him and give it to the employee which gained the most of the resources entrusted to him.

The principle of accountability

“For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Many people are in a dark place simply because they didn’t take advance of seed time and harvest. They ate their seed. They neglected their fruit trees. They slept during harvest times. They were not conscious of the process.

God reserves the harvest! In other word, there is a harvest of increase in your future, simply because that is ow the system was designed to function. Sow seed, plant water and be patient unto God gives rain and increase.

God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Seed is for provision. Seed is pro (for) the vision. God’s vision!

You can’t limit seed to physical food. Seed will/can benefit you in every area of your life.

The power of sowing seed

In Second Corinthians 9:6-15, the apostle Paul encourages the Corinthian Church concerning making provision for the ministry to the saints. He said,

“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (KJV)

If you sown little, you will reap on the same scale. If you sow abundantly, you will reap abundantly. I learned this early in ministry. I learned this valuable principle. I deliberately found as many serving opportunities and started pouring into these field.

I served as a chaplain in the Wayne County Jail, Dickerson Detention Facility, the Detroit Rescue Mission and the Detroit Police Department of which I receive no salary. I also prayed with a group churches called the Detroit Regional House of Prayer as well as pastoring a church.

In my serving I recognized seasons of blessings. I was able to share these lessons with people I ministered to in prison and the homeless shelter. I enjoyed the grace of God in so many ways. The season that I am walking in today, as debt free, came out of those seasons of sowing into others.

Another amazing benefit is the level of your authority and dominion increases as well. What I mean by that, I master money instead of money mastering me. I experience the blessings of God in my body, marriage, home and finances. Why? Not because I am a good person. I have learned the principles of the Garden of Eden and I applied them to my daily life.

(As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruit of your righteousness;).”

God gives seed to everybody, to the poor

He is righteous always and all the time. He is good to all. He opens his hands and desires the desires of every living thing

-He ministers seed to you

-He multiplies the seed you sow

-He increase the fruits of your righteousness. When God increase the fruit of your works, simply means what you harvest becomes so much that your barnes will break out with abundant increase. He increases it to the point that there is an overflow of abundance. Remember, Satan didn’t create prosperity. God created prosperity as a way of manifesting his glory. All things were made by him and they were created for his pleasure (Revelation 4:11).

The Sower Sows the Word

Matthew 13:2-11 & 14, Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15

The parable of “the sower sows the word” is based on the same principles of all the other revelations regarding rendering to God his due fruits. Jesus came to reveal mysteries of creation that had been hidden or lost from the beginning of time.

“All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.”

Jesus spoke the mysteries in parables. His disciples asked him, why speak in parables? Jesus spoke in parables because the people continually rejected God. There was a pattern in the nation of people continuously rejecting God’s counsel so the prophesy of Isaiah 6:9 was fulfilled in that generation. The prophesy was

“By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive.”

People receive the blessings of God as they are able to hear, receive and keep the Word God ministered to them. Jesus said,

“He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.”

Of the four groups of people who hears the Word of the Kingdom of God:

  1. The group who hears the word by the wayside
  2. The group who receives the word into stony places
  3. The group who receives the word among thorns
  4. The group who receives the Word in good ground

There is loss of growth in the first 3 groups. The last group who hears, receives, and keeps the word of God in their hearts, reaps a harvest of 30, 60, and a 100 fold more than what was sown. What is the Word of the kingdom? It is the Word of Life, the message of life which was manifested in the life and ministry of Jesus according to 1 John 1:1-5. Jesus healed all who came to him in faith! Jesus said to Martha and Mary concerning their brother Lazarus who had died, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

“One sow and another waters but God gives the increase!”

“And he gave gifts unto men”

The Message of the Ten virgins

Five were foolish and five were wise. Both groups fell asleep while waiting on the marriage feast to start. When the cry came forth, “The bridegroom cometh.” All ten woke up, the five foolish didn’t have oil to light their lamps and asked oil of the five wise virgins. The five wise virgins counseled them to go to the market place and purchase oil. While the five foolish virgin were gone to the market place to buy oil; the bridegroom show up and takes the five wise virgins into the marriage feast. When the five foolish virgins show up, knock on the door and say, “Lord, Lord open up.”

“But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”

Again the principle is, understand the purpose for seed! Work it, Apply it. Reap harvests intentionally! Become a master of seed time and harvest!

Grace & peace!

“Up, Make us gods to go before us”

Exodus 32:1-2

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“And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gather themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.”

Aaron told the people to break off their golden ear rings, the ear rings in their wives, sons and daughters’ ears. Aaron fashioned the gold into a golden calf. Aaron build an altar to the golden calf upon which they offered burned sacrifices and they worshipped it. Aaron declared a feast and caused the people to strip naked and they danced before at the foot of the golden calf.

Aaron declared:

“These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.”

This same scenario plays to the same tune down from the generations. People seek an alternative system to meet their needs. They made the same decision in 1 Samuel chapter 8. They asked Samuel to appoint them a king to go before them, to fight their battles, and to judge them.

Israel got tired of waiting on Moses and they decided to make a substitute for God. They gave credit for their deliverance to the work of their hands. They build an altar, offered burnt offerings and offerings of peace to the golden calf. Aaron declared a in feast celebration to their new found gods. The Bible said, they sat down to eat and rose up to play. They stripped off their clothes and dance into celebration of progress (Exodus 32:25).

The golden calf fashioned by the hands of Aaron has followed them around for generations, See 1 Kings 12:28. And if you can accept this, the same golden calf sits near Wall Street in the symbol of a Brass Bull. The Brass Bull, “It symbolizes Wall Street and the Financial District.” It also represent “optimism and prosperity.” People rub his testicles for good Luck.

God said,

“For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 2:13

What are the two evils:

  1. Forsaken God, the fountain of living waters
  2. Investing in a broken system that can not contain value

Adam and Eve chose the tree of the knowledge of good and evil over the tree of life. They looked at the first lie spoken to a human being, which the serpent weaved for them and to them was granted death in all of its glory!

Mammon

People have made money their god. They celebrate it, worship it, sacrifice family for it, swear by it. The love of money is the root to all evil…You can not serve God and mammon…How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

The promises of Social Security, Med-care and Medicaid, loans, schemes to get wealth, daily barrage our ears with promise of prosperity. Jesus clearly says don’t store treasures on earth where moth and rust corrode and thieves breakthrough and steal. He said, store your treasures in heaven.

Man can’t fight your battles,

Your battles are spiritual in nature. We are in a warfare against spiritual forces. Jesus said, ‘Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.‘ People are stuck in the details of this love-hate relationship with God and money and they are unable to access life.

Man can’t lead you in this battle. God has put the source on the inside of you!

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and done all to stand.” Ephesians 6:10-13

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Grace and peace!

Prototype

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Think of the Garden of Eden as a model of a future reality. What is important is that the garden as it was constructed worked perfectly. There was nothing wrong with the design or the structure itself. Hebrews 8:2-6 says the tabernacle of Moses was a type and shadow of the pattern of the tabernacle in heaven which the Lord pitched and not man. I was little confused about this tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man until I understood, when God planted the garden in Genesis 2:8-9, it was the sanctuary that was being talked about. So the Garden of Eden is a prototype!

The definition of prototype is, “a first, typical, or preliminary model of something, especially a machine, from which other forms are developed or copied.” Source: Google Definitions

“A prototype is a test or original, model of a product or technology from which improvements, upgrades or fundamental changes can be made.” Source: Google Definitions

The garden of Eden, as revealed in Genesis chapter 2:8-14, is a prototype of the paradise of God as revealed in Revelation 22:1-6. if you compare the garden of Eden and the paradise of God, you have a similar setup in relationship to the trees and the river. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the tree where the fruit was offered as a sacrifice. In the paradise of God, you have the tree of life and the Lamb of God. The Lamb of God is a perfect sacrifice. The Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world, Ephesians 4:1-4, Revelation 13:8,

According to 1 Peter 1:19-20, we were redeemed, “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifested in these times for you.”

The City of Eden was a prototype

The City of Eden as revealed in Genesis 2:10 is a prototype of the New Jerusalem as revealed in Revelation 21:1-27.

In Revelation 3:12, Jesus made reference to the City of God that is going to be reveal in its in its future glory,

“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” Revelation 3:12

Partnership

God always work out of partnership. If you look the setup of the New Jerusalem God, Revelation 21, there twelve gates to the city which are named after the tribes of Israel. The city has twelve foundations which are named after the apostles of the Lamb. This heavenly construction project was always meant to be a shared project between God and man. God supplied the material and man supplied the labor.

The materials for the project

You will see streets of gold and walls encrusted with precious stones. You can see the true purpose of gold and precious gems. Gold was never created to be worshipped. It was meant to be construction materials! For example, in Genesis 2, one of the rivers that flowed out of the garden of Eden into earth was called Pison, and it was a source of gold and precious gems. Genesis 2:11-12

“The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and onyx stone.”

If Adam had finished his assignment, the city of Eden would have moved to the earth. Adam’s assignment was always meant to be a partnership between God and man. God was the architect and Adam was the general contractor. All of the trees in the garden were the source codes, a massive computer system from which Adam was able to gain access to knowledge and wisdom he needed to carry out his assignment. Adam was set up to be the richest man ever because the wealth of the nations would have been at his disposal.

Adam failed in his assignment God had to work around his failure. Israel becomes a prototype of the garden of Eden.

Israel becomes a prototype of the Garden of Eden

Israel is a prototype of the Garden of Eden. Moses was given a vision and in this vision he was given a pattern of things that already existed. This scriptures below, is speaking in reference to Jesus present day ministry as a priest in the temple of God. Jesus is operating in the place of Adam:

“Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priest that offer gifts according to the law: who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.” Hebrews 8:1-5

(When did God pitch the true tabernacle and not man? In Genesis 2:8-14, when he planted a garden eastward in Eden where the whole system was set up. In Revelation 22:1 the system is fully revealed! The river comes out of the throne of God and of the Lamb). The river is the source of unlimited unmatched power and it comes out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

And it was always designed to be your source of power, yesterday, today and forever! If you really think about it, the whole journey from the moment Adam ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil until the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was about getting the river restored. The Bible seems to the revelation two trees and It probably will be the story of two trees for eternity. You will look into the eyes of God and see the awesome love of his sacrifice. We will forever see the price he paid for our redemption.

Solomon’s Temple, prototype

Solomon’s temple is a prototype of the garden of Eden

-Solomon was a type of Adam.

-King David had prepared all the material for the construction of the temple of God, 1 Chronicles 29:2

-King David gave God all the credit for providing the material for the construction of the temple, 1 Chronicles 29:16.

-Provision is the original intent of creation, .

-A large labor force was employed to build the temple

-Tons of gold was used in the construction of the temple.

-Solomon was granted extraordinary wisdom to lead the people into fulfilling God’s will.

-Solomon offers the blood sacrifice, 1 Kings 8:5

-God moves into the temple

Christ is a prototype

-He is the Second Adam, 1 Corinthians 15:22 & 44-58,

-He is the Lamb of God, John 1:29 & 36

-His body is the temple, John 2:19

-He makes a new covenant, Matthew 26:26-29

-He gives them their assignment, Matthew 28:18-20

-The river is restored- power, John 7:37-39 & Acts 1:8 fulfilled in Acts 2:1-4

–The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

-Twelve apostles of the Lamb, Revelation 21:14

-The Wars of the Lamb, Revelation 19:11

-The Millennial Reign of the Lamb, Revelation chapter 20

-The New Jerusalem move to a new earth, Revelation chapter 21

“And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” Revelation 21:22

Summary

You are a type of Christ,

“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of Christ, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he justified, them he also glorified.” Romans 8:29-30

The system is designed by God to work for you. Christ has redeemed us to our original purpose. Prosperity is designed into the system. Provision is designed into the system. God gave Adam trees and seed on earth for meat; the trees of the garden were created for beauty and utility. In other words the trees were created to reproduce beauty, knowledge and wisdom. They were the source of his power!

“And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. AND OUT THE GROUND MADE HE 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, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

Grace & peace!

Cain & Abel:The Sacrifice, A lesson in the realm of the knowledge of good and evil

In Genesis 1:26, God said, “let us make man in our image and after our likeness.”

Replacement Theology on a whole different level

God never said, let us make man a god like us. Some people have erroneously taught that we were created in the same class with God to be like God.

Adam, the first man, was created to till the ground (Genesis 2:5) and manage the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15). God never intended for them to know good or evil. God intended for Adam to refashion the earth into the image of the garden of Eden and to enjoy the bounty of his blessing.

The Seventh Day

God created the Seventh Day as a Sabbath. The Seventh Day was designed to be the crowning glory of the works of God’s hands, the completion of creation. In other words, Adam was given ONE creation day, the seventh day, 1000 years, to finish the work of creation on earth.

If Adam had finished the work, Eden, the city of God, would moved to the earth and God would be with man for all eternality. The fruit of the tree of life would have been Adam’s reward. This is going to happen during the millennial reign of Christ. According the Revelation 20, Satan will be bound with a chain and cast into the bottomless pit. According to Revelation 21, after the 1000 year reign of Christ is completed, the city of the New Jerusalem will move to earth and there will be a new temple in the midst of the city. We are told, that God and the Lamb are the temple of it. In Revelation 22, the curse is finally removed and the tree of life is restore.

The knotty problems of Details

God never gave up on his plans. This is the reason he made the Sabbath rest a part of the 10 commandments to the nation of Israel. God is very serious about the Sabbath. The reason why the Sabbath is important, is because through the Sabbath rest people came to depend upon and trust God for his blessings which are vital to growth. The nation of Israel had to give the land a rest period every seventh year. Every 50th year, they had to release their debts. They had to tithe the first fruits of the land. Israel never fully gave the rest. They continued to work on the sabbath. This caused them to be cast out of the land until the land was about to enjoy its full set of sabbath rest.

Sunday is a legal holiday, (holy-day), as far as the government is concern. If a holiday falls on Sunday, it is observed on Monday. Israel’s Sabbath is observed from sun down on Friday to sun down on Saturday, the seventh day. Christian’s Sabbath is observed on the first day of the week, Sunday, the day Jesus was resurrected from the dead. As a matter of employment, workers are given two days rest period. Saturday was seen as a day of rest and Sunday was a day of worship.

This concept of the Sabbath is encoded in our laws and they are called blue laws. The blue laws are dangerous in the sense that God never made a covenant with no other nation beside Israel. The New Testament, is a covenant that is based on an individual personal choice; whosoever wills. It is a covenant based on grace and not the 10 commandments. Christians have been in God’s Sabbath Rest for 2000 years.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meet and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

You shall be as gods knowing god and evil

The serpent tempted Eve with this reasoning, ‘if she ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, she will become as gods knowing good and evil.’ Eve saw the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that it was a source, good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise. She took and eat the fruit the fruit and gave some to her husband. This is the exact reason why they were driven out of the Garden of Eden,

“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.” Genesis 3:22

You would think it was a good thing that man has become as God. Adam wasn’t created to be a god. He was created to serve, to be a servant and in this role he enjoyed the benefits of partnership with God. This concept is seen in Jesus coming to earth to serve and not to be served (Mark 10:29). You also see it in Revelation 22:3, in regards to man being God’s servants.

“And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.”

As far as earth is concern, partnership between God and man is first mentioned in Genesis 1:26-27 and is revealed in Genesis 2:19. The partnership was broken when Adam eat the fruit of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

“Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way to the tree of life.”

God had to keep Adam from access to the tree of life because its fruit could give Adam the ability to live forever as gods knowing good and evil. God places a flaming sword at the entrance of the garden of Eden, to protect the tree of life. He also place Cherubim’s in the garden of Eden. Cherubim are angels who are associated with worship. The Cherubim temporarily held his until Jesus arrived.

Adam is now in a fallen state. He is in a pace where he can make his own decisions independent of God. In Genesis chapter 4, we see the downward spiral of Adam’s descendants. Cain and Abel is an example of what it means to be a god.

God still demands a sacrifice

God still demands a sacrifice. The system he created demands a sacrifice. The system reward based on obedience.

Cain and Abel brings a sacrifice as did their father Adam when he was in the garden of Eden. God changed the sacrifice from a fruit based offering to the blood of an animal sacrifice.

Cain brings the fruit of his ground as a sacrifice. Abel offers the firstlings of flock as a sacrifice. God accepts Abel’s sacrifice. God rejects Cain’s sacrifice. What’s the difference between the two sacrifices?

Abel’s offering was called a more excellent sacrifice by which he obtained witness that he was righteous. Cain persisted to operate under the old order of sacrifice.

God holds Cain accountable

God asked Cain a question

“And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?’

In other words, God asked Cain, “why are you angry? Why are you depressed?”

God said, “If thou does well, shalt thou not be accepted? The word, “accepted”, means to, ” have excellence”. God is saying, if you do what is required of you, you will be blessed in the work of your hands.

Then God says to Cain,

“And if thou doest not well, sin liveth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.”

God said to Cain, ‘If you don’t do what is required of you, Sin is waiting at the door and it desires you but you must master sin.

Being a god demands that you master sin by doing what is required of you. In other words, give God what he requires of you!

What is sin? Sin is trespassing the bounds that has been set down by God. Who is God? He is the One who created the system.

Cain is languishing, Abel is prospering! Cain is talking with Abel of which the Bible doesn’t go into details. Cain rose up against Abel and killed him. God holds Cain accountable for his choices.

Cain chose to address his problem by murdering his brother.

“For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.” 1 John 3:11-12

Adam’s generations ended at the flood. God was grieved that he had made man. He strived with people to do right.

Genesis 6:5-8

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repented me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”

The people of Adam’s generation lived 900+ years. Noah and his family were the only ones who escaped the judgment of that period. Men took what they wanted and wickedness was great upon the earth. Every thought and imagination of their heart was only to do evil continually. Man’s whole purpose and desire was to do evil.

One of the consequences of sin in Adam’s generations, man’s life span was cut to about a tenth of its original potential, to 120 years, according to Genesis 6:3. Man’s original life span was 1000 years and with the rewards of the tree of life, its potential was eternal life, everlasting life.

The very first thing Noah does he gets off the ark, Genesis 8:20-22

“And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savor; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

Noah’s sacrifice of obedience, a blood sacrifice!

  1. God was pleased with Noah’s sacrifice
  2. God granted grace regarding men’s wicked imagination in that he promised to never destroy the earth by a flood.
  3. God lifts the curse off the ground by promising consistent harvest seasons. This is major blessing of grace because Noah fore-fathers struggled with the ground to get it to reproduce. According to Genesis 5:28-29, “And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: and he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath curse.”
  4. Noah gives God the required sacrifice! Noah’s name means grace
  5. God blesses Noah and his family, Genesis 9:1

The Benefit of the sacrifice

You need it daily. Your family needs it. Your community needs it. Your city needs it. The country needs it. The earth needs it. The blessing of God is not just in words. It empowers you to carry out the will of God. God’s original vision has not changed. God gave Adam dominion over all the works of his hands. God blessed him and said, be fruitful, multiply, replenish, subdue have dominion over everything that flies, swim, crawl or creep upon the earth. The system was designed around Adam to work for him not against him.

One of the benefits of the cross of Jesus Christ

Jesus redeemed us from the curse being made a curse for us that the blessing…. Galatians 3:13. Jesus disarms principalities and powers, evil forces. He blotted out the ordinances that were contrary to us nailing them to his cross, Colossians 2:14-15. He opens the way to this into the very holy of holies, by this dispensation of grace, Hebrews 10:12-22

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is still in our midst but also is the message of the cross. Jesus is called the Lamb of God. The book of Revelation, chapter 5, the fullness of the revelation and power is flowing into the earth!