"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).
The "sword" above refers to the logos Word of God, which, according to Hebrews 4:12, acts as a sword that judges the heart and the mind. The fact that the sword is a "flaming" sword refers to how God's judgments consume all unrighteousness and iniquity in us in order to perfect us. The sword's "turning" speaks of how the Word of God produces a process of conversion and transformation. In Scripture, the concepts of "circle", "roundness", and "wheel" are often associated with God's purifying processes that remove imperfections:
"But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." (Amos 5:24)
[The phrase "run down" was translated from the Hebrew word galal, which literally means "to roll", which speaks of a circular motion.]..
"7.And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way. 8And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole. 9And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day." (Joshua 5:7-9)
[The phrase "rolled away" in verse 9 was also translated from the Hebrew word galal mentioned above. The name "Gilgal" is derived from this word.]
'Therefore, Genesis 3:23-24 declares that the only access to the "tree of life" is through God's consuming sword of transforming judgments. Exposing ourselves to His judgments means dying (since swords kill) as we are exposed to His truth.'' Truth and judgment are inextricably intertwined:
"Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth." (Psalm 96:13)
"And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory" (Jeremiah 4:2)
[Notice how this passage says that the life of God is in truth, judgment, and righteousness.]
"But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things" (Romans 2:2)... PRAISE GOD!!
when Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), He was declaring that the only way to reach the life of God is by dying in His truth. We are placed on the "way" (or "road") when we give our hearts to Christ and are born again (Acts 9:2, 19:9,23). We are then called to have our minds regenerated as we go through God's flaming sword of truth in order to reach our final destination, where our emotions will find their fulfillment: the tree of life...
God's judgments always cause death, but their purpose is not death, but life. God judges us to transform us into His likeness so that we may eventually be able to be {{{ One with Him for eternity }}}, and that is {{ ETERNAL LIFE }}. God has called us believers to judge one another, not for the purpose of destroying each other, but for the purpose of building each other up:
"He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes" (Proverbs 13:24)
"For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips" (Proverbs 8:7)
"14.That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:14-16)
truth is inextricably intertwined with judgment, so the speaking of truth implies a willingness to make judgments. The passages quoted above declare that those who refuse to judge their fellow man are hating him instead of loving him, because they are sparing him from short-term pain at the price of long-term life...GLORY TO GOD!!
No comments:
Post a Comment