Date: Thursday, 26th August, 2021
Ministering: Pastor Thompson Ehima
Text: Revelation 2:7, 22:1-5
We are in a season where we can accurately capture all of God’s provision. As we wait upon the Lord in the days to come, we will come to understand the precepts of this present truth. Just as we came into the precepts of Christ (Faith, Hope and Charity – 1 Corin. 13:13), the commandments of Everlasting Life will also become clear to us. We will come into the estate that the Lord desires that we come into.
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7). Eating of the Tree of Life is a provision or promise to those who will overcome; but before eating the fruit of the Tree of Life, one must first partake of its leaves (Rev. 22:2). The leaves of the Tree contain the lessons and the secrets of overcoming before one can partake of the fruit of the Tree.
The Tree of Life in Genesis was a shadow of the Tree of Life in the book of Revelation (Gen. 2:9, Rev. 22:2). Adam and Eve needed to overcome the tempter who is the arc enemy of man, so that they can be given the right of way to the Tree of Life. The honour of taking the fruit of the Tree of Life is not something we take upon ourselves; it has to be given to us (Heb. 5:4-5). The fruit is a reward to those who overcome.
“And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” (Revelation 21:22-23). What grew the Tree of Life was not the sun, star or moonlight; it is the light of the city. The light of the city is the Lamb. Natural trees normally use sunlight and water. However, this Tree of Life uses the light of the Lamb and the glory of the Lord God. Everything in the physical has a spiritual connotation. The light that grew the life of the city was the Lamb. The nations will walk in the light of the city.
“For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” (Matthew 13:15). We can see clearly that we need healing. There is a healing that is in Christ which we must first come into. When man fell and a law was enacted inside him, another life was transmitted into him. The provision of the leaves of the Tree of Life is what man would still need even if Adam had not fallen out of Eden. There was a water that grew the garden in Genesis; which John talked about as the water that flows out from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1).
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.” (Revelation 1:1). The program of things that must shortly come to pass is for servants -- men who are ready to serve after the order of Everlasting Life. Such men must have first served Christ so that they can go into the next allocation of service in God.
“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.” (Romans 14:17-18). There are things that a man must serve in Christ before he can be accepted by God. Righteousness and Peace are the first provisions of healing in Christ for the soul. When this has been achieved, such a soul can come into Joy. Man fell short of the glory of God when Adam fell. Adam and Eve did not need the program of Christ because they were in a place of high honour where they were supposed to learn and partake of the leaves of the Tree of Life. After the fall of man, there is a need for conversion/turning from the power of Satan; or a translation from the kingdom of darkness. The only way to turn us from the power of Satan is by the gospel of Christ which reveals the righteousness of God (Rom. 1:16-17).
A man is being healed when he continually turns from darkness to light. The first thing we must be healed from is the wisdom of fallen principalities and powers that blinded us. Then we come into the second program of healing, which is healing from the corrupted laws of fallen might and dominion. The calibration of the law of sin and death is called the power of Satan.
If there are rulers of darkness, then there are men that are subjects of darkness. Rulers of the darkness of this world specialise in vanity. Vanity is a life of this world; it is a life that is empty and will cause a man to find his fulfilment in earthly things.
”Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)” (Philippians 3:17-19). The cross of Christ is the faith of the Son. Some men are enemies of the cross of Christ (enemies of the faith of the Son of God) because of their walk. And if they continue to walk against the cross of Christ, they will walk into destruction and end up in the perdition of ungodly men. Any gospel that perpetually paints earthly things as the goal of salvation will make men end up in destruction.
Healing is in varying measurements. Although Adam and Eve had not fallen, they still needed healing from the tendency to be corrupted. This is because Adam and Eve were good but they were not perfect. God’s desire for man is to come into perfection. As such, Christ was a provision to heal us from vanity which is the hallmark of the life the kingdom of darkness perpetuates.
The program of sin and death, which is being perpetuated by the kingdom of darkness, is to turn man’s entire awareness and consciousness to vain things. It is wisdom from the pit of hell to keep man centred on earthly things; and this perverted wisdom would keep calibrating all manner of vanities. Solomon, the wisest man in his days, summed everything on earth in vanity and vexation of the spirit (Eccl. 1:2). Earthly things are meant to be added to us and not to be sought after by us; but fallen principalities and powers have changed our orientation and told us that we must seek after earthly things, even using God to do so. Evil spirits did that so they can have an advantage over man.
Our translation from the kingdom of darkness is our healing. This will happen when we serve righteousness unto holiness. This means when we serve righteousness, we will come into Life; and then when we serve holiness, we will come into Peace. Although it is possible for a man to be delivered from the law of sin and death, or freed from vain conversations through the learning of Christ, it is still not the end of healing.
In the journey from Faith to Charity, there is a program of overcoming evil spirits, and then rulers of the darkness of this world. Rulers of the darkness of this world teach us not to love the brethren fervently. It is by abounding in Charity that we would overcome the rulers of the darkness of this world. Darkness will no longer reside in the soul of a man that is able to love the brethren fervently (1 John 3:14). We must love the brethren fervently before it can be said that we are free from the power of Satan. Our service is our obedience of faith.
The last program of healing is to be healed from the spiritual wickedness in high places. We might be healed from darkness but we need to be healed from the gates of hell. The covenant of hell and death is a law inside the fallen seraphs and Lucifer himself. The provision of God to deal with those laws is the leaves of the Tree of Life.
“Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared…” (Hebrews 5:7). Death is also a wisdom we need the whole armour of God to overcome. We must strengthen our charity walk to overcome death.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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 armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:10-13). What constitute the wiles of the devil are fallen beings. We have the tendency to carry out works of spiritual wickedness in high places. “To withstand” in the spirit is not just to pray or quote scriptures; it is to have an inner capacity that would not bend to wicked spirits. To stand against the wiles of the devil is the ability to withstand the process of erasing the works of the devil in your soul.
The warfare of the last days is becoming fiercer; and the essence of the everlasting gospel is to strengthen us against them. What constitutes falsehood is not something external - they are things that have been in us (Psalm 51:5). This is why we must give our hearts to this provision of God in the leaves of the Tree.