Grace Bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Sunday
December 21, 2014
The ultimate reward or decoration when we are abiding in Heaven after the JSOC will be the order of the morning star.
This decoration is taken from and named after our Lord’s third royal patent or title which is, “the King of kings, Lord of lords, the bright Morning Star; ” (REV 22:16, 2PE 1:19).
The winner believer can eat from the Tree of Life in the Paradise of God, located in the New Jerusalem.
Paradise – paradeisos according to the Theological word study of both the Old and New Testament is defined as a gazebo or a place of relaxation and entertainment.
This gazebo is located in Heaven it will be the quintessence of rest and relaxation for the winner believer who will be rewarded by God in a special way.
The Tree of Life is associated with perfect life and environment in the Garden of Eden as well as the perpetuation of a right relationship with God, GEN 2:9; GEN 3:22.
When man sinned and was driven out of the garden and he was cut off from the Tree of Life, GEN 3:24.
The literal Tree of Life is not seen again by man until the eternal state, REV 2:7; REV 22:2, 14.
The importance and prominence of the Tree of Life is that the human history began with the Tree of life in Gen 2 and ends with the Tree of life in Rev 22.
REV 2:7 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. to him who overcomes [nikao- the winner], I will grant to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the paradise of God.
The interesting thing is that in this life there is only one Tree of Life for mankind and it is related to the word of God or Bible doctrine,
PRO 3:18.
PRO 3:18 She [doctrine] is a Tree of Life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who hold her fast.
PRO 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled [positive volition] is a Tree of Life.
This is why the Tree of Life will be located forever in the New Jerusalem, REV 22:2.
It will be a place where the word of God is glorified and where desire is totally fulfilled.
1. The first category is said to be every tree being desirable to the sight is the first category which is designed for the prosperity of the soul.
So category one was designed for man’s pleasure of soul and for his capacity for happiness.
2. The second category of trees was the category called “good for food”.
Food and beverages were designed to express happiness, to stimulate, to perpetuate health.
3JO 1:2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.
3. The third category: The Tree of Life.
Today, the closest you can come to the Tree of Life is reaching spiritual maturity.
If man, in spiritual death, had eaten from the Tree of Life, he would have lived forever in his present state of sinful immortality, in the status of spiritual death, and would eventually be condemned with the entire human race totally to the lake of fire.
The point is that you cannot have God’s perfect happiness and live in spiritual death and sin.
1PE 2:24 and he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree.
Only winners in the Christian life have the privilege of eating continually and habitually from the Tree of Life in the garden of God in eternity.
REV 2:7 “To the winner, I will give to him the privilege of eating from the Tree of Life which is in the paradise of God.”
1. Every tree being desirable to the sight is the first category which is designed for the prosperity of the soul.
2. The second category of trees was the category called “good for food”.
3. The third category: the Tree of Life.
4. Category four is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
God in His grace has provided for us our own Garden of Eden which I call the PPOG, a perfect spiritual environment in this life.
After the fall, the purpose for the creation of man could only be perpetuated by cutting man off from the Tree of Life and providing a new Tree of Life: the cross.
God cut man off from the Tree of Life – another manifestation that justice has to come before love.
Judgment had to come because condemnation must precede salvation.
For you can’t have God’s perfect happiness without capacity.
1. Every tree being desirable to the sight,
2. Those good for food,
3. The Tree of Life
Good represented the plan of God, evil represented the plan of Satan.
We would not have known evil, sin, legalism, self-righteousness, religion, and the PPOG, if we had not fell or eaten from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Learning doctrine in time is as close as we can get to the happiness of the Tree of Life.
How do you discover the Tree of Life in time?
The word blessed is the word ashreey meaning happinesses.
Wisdom is chokmah which is the Old Testament word for epignosis doctrine or metabolized doctrine.
PSA 62:10 Do not trust in oppression, and do not vainly hope in robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.
It doesn’t say long life it says `orek jaamiym which means length of days referring to enjoying every day because you have capacity for life.
PRO 3:16 Length of days is in her right hand [the right hand represents the hand of power]; in her left hand [the secondary hand] are riches and honor.
The word pleasant is the Hebrew word no`am meaning gracious.
Peace is shalowm meaning prosperity.
PRO 3:18 She [chokmah, wisdom, metabolized doctrine] is a Tree of Life to those who take hold of her.
“to take hold” is the Hebrew word chazaq which means to seize, to be constant, to continue, to be established, to retain.
“to hold her fast” is the Hebrew word tamak which means to obtain, to follow close, to maintain, to retain, to hold, to support, or to hold strongly with.
PRO 3:18 she [chokmah, wisdom, metabolized doctrine] is a tree of life to those who take hold of [to seize, to be constant, to continue, to be established, to retain her, and happy are all who hold her fast who obtain, follow close, maintain, retain, support, or to hold strongly with her.
The tree of life is also related to divine good in PRO 11:30, “The fruit of the mature believer is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.”
The Tree of Life is also related to a tongue which doesn’t gossip, malign, judge, criticize, ridicule, discredit, slander, defame, mock, undermine, PRO 15:4.
PRO 15:4 “A healing tongue is a tree of life, but perversion in it is the crushing of the spirit.”
Positive volition is related to the tree of life in PRO 13:12, “Hope deferred makes the right lobe sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”