The Supernatural Promises God Has For You
The Tree of Life
Bonnie Nelson
This is a part of what happened in the Monday Night Forum, October 16th, where we are looking into the supernatural promises God has available to those who are seeking Him. In my study, I found several places where interesting things attached themselves to the promises, so there are as we say, a few rabbit trails included. This is part one – An Introduction to The Supernatural Promises God Has For You
Introduction
There are a lot of people who warn others about the consequences of sin with threats of hell, eternal punishment, death and fire, however it might be time for us to reconsider our witnessing techniques and begin to tell them about God’s Heavenly Promises & Rewards He offers to those who try to live their lives righteously following His Word and overcoming the trials and tribulations of this world.
Why should we wage war against sin in our lives and fight against evil in this world? What difference does it make what we do? Good vs Evil or Right vs Wrong, who cares? After all, we are our own judge and we have our rights. In this world today the mainstay is, “If it feels good do it and anything I want to do, I can do.” No one can tell me what to do, my opinion is better than yours and I if I don’t like it, you can’t do it or say it.
I don’t know about you but, as I look at our world today it looks really messed up. Everyone is saying whatever they want with no respect to anyone else. What was morally wrong suddenly seems to be right. People are fighting over issues from the past claiming they offended them, discrimination and racial slurs of anger and hate are being hurled at everyone and anyone, violent protests with destruction of property are acceptable and required to voice an opinion for or against something or someone; and those who were born male, suddenly want to be female and vice versa. Have I missed anything? I’m sure I have, but that is certainly enough for me to start with. Surely the time for Jesus to return is close.
For many of us, our spirits are grieving as we see what is happening and we are crying out to Yahweh to help us and our Nation through this pressing time as the minute one of us says something about hell, fire and damnation, people scoff and say who cares, if I burn I burn and if I die I die, so what! Don’t talk to me about that Bible stuff, its not real, its just a joke. Jesus is coming soon, “Yeah right, so what?”
So how do we handle that? What do we say next? Instead of shaking our heads and walking away, how about we begin to shift our witnessing away from the hell, fire and brimstone to, “Do you know all supernatural things God has promised to give you, if you join up with His Kingdom? You probably heard Jesus is coming soon and you may or may not believe that but, are you willing to gamble it is not true and loose out on all the supernatural promises God has written about, which could be yours? Do you know what the Bible says about you?
Think on this. How about eternal life, no diseases, no death and life without all the junk we are dealing with now? Do you realize you could be throwing away your place in the Kingdom of Heaven where you would to rule and reign with Jesus over cities, Nations, or get this, maybe even other worlds in other solar systems and galaxies in the heavens. You like Star Trek or Star Wars? How would you like to live in that type of world?
Maybe your dreams can’t come true here and you got a bad deal, the years are flying by and health issues have got you down, but when Yahshua/Jesus comes back, things are gonna change. Wouldn’t it be smart to check out some of the things, which are promised to you in the Bible, just in case they might be true?
Sometimes we have more faith in a chair to hold us when we sit down, than in a promise God has given us in the Bible. Many say the Bible is not true, but challengers to the Bible have found it is historically accurate regarding cultures, the history of nations and world happenings in the past. If the Bible has recorded accurately things in the past, what makes us think the things spoken to come – won’t happen?
If you can just stop for a moment and stir up a little seed of faith to believe what is written about the rewards God offers us when we choose Him over all the sin and evil in the world, oh man! You in for a great supernatural future. Hope for the future for when Jesus comes back, is an incredible thing to have in your soul, especially when you understand His promises of rewards to us.
The Scripture which confirms that God is a rewarder of those who come to Him is is in Hebrews:
But without faith it is impossible to please Him. For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6
Want to know about the rewards, the perks for seeking God and living a faithful life? I do.
To the Overcomer the Promise: The Tree of Life
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.
The Tree of Life is symbolic of Eternal Life
One of the rewards we are promised concerns our decision to not only resist sin and evil, but to rule over it. We have the right to say no to sin and overcome things which are not godly which try to steal our freedom and put us into bondage, because of the sacrifice Jesus made on the Cross. The Bible says this in Genesis 4:7:
If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
When Adam and Eve were in the garden and decided to disobey God and eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it symbolized they decided to take charge of what was right and wrong based on their “human reasoning & emotions.” Sound like what is happening today? They were not in control long before Satan took control and stepped in to rule over them. See Genesis Chapters 2-3
We all know the story about Eve being deceived and Adam disobedient. They both ate from the tree and most people say Satan deceived them in the form of a serpent. Question? Was Eve tempted by a snake?
What picture do you have in your head when we talk about Eve being tempted in the Garden? I think of the pictures on the Internet showing Eve with Adam standing by and the snake, known as Satan, wrapped around the apple tree. Is this what you see?
Most all of us have taken for granted a snake tempted her and she ate an apple.
Well, the apple was not a fruit know to the area they were in, so first off, it was probably a fig. What about the snake wrapped around the tree?
The Bible translate the Hebrew word “Nachash (Strongs Concordance #H5175), which is used to designate the beast that led her to sin.The King James and other versions translate Nachash, found in Genesis 3, as “serpent,” while other Bibles render the word as “snake.”
In our English language, both “snake” and “serpent” can mean the same thing. An elongated reptile that has no limbs and possesses scales. (dictionary.com)
It journeys from place to place by moving its body along the ground.
It might be, the animal (snake/serpent) we all have believed to be the culprit that tempted Eve and brought “the fall of man,” is NOT the same one described in the Bible. Interested? Genesis 3:1 reveals some interesting stuff about the beast.
No doubt the serpent (Nachash) was more cunning than any creature of the field, which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Is it true that God has said, “You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?” HBFV
The Bible shares this animal was created by Yahweh on the same day Adam and Eve were made and it was declared “very good”
24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
The serpent (Nachash) was even given a name by Adam. Genesis 2:19-20
This beast was made with “reasoning ability” as it was more cunning than ANY creature and it was ABOVE all other created beasts. It could Speak and had the necessary organs to allow it to do so. Plus, it was able to WALK erect and had (at a minimum) at least FOUR limbs.
These are amazing facts for us to think about concerning the appearance and ability of Nachash’s original physical and mental abilities. Bible Study Tools states the following.
“…the woman (Eve) no doubt having often seen him (the Nachash) walk erect, talk, and reason, and therefore she testifies no kind of surprise when he accosts her in the language related in the text..” (Adam Clarke Commentary on Genesis 3:1)
“Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on Genesis 3:14 shares: “If these words are not to be robbed of their entire meaning, they cannot be understood in any other way than as denoting that the form and movements of the serpent (Nachash) were altered..”
John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes share, “Upon thy belly shalt thou go – No longer upon feet, or half erect,, but thou shalt crawl along..”
Whatever the Nachash was that deceived Eve, it certainly does line up with what we know as a snake or serpent in our world today.
I also have questions about whether Satan entered the Nachash or the Nachash was just in agreement with Satan. I don’t believe that Satan manifested himself as the Nachash, however, I am reminded of the verse in Matthew 16:23:
Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men.” WEB
Another version, God’s Word Translation says this:
But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get out of my way, Satan! You are tempting me to sin. You aren’t thinking the way God thinks but the way humans think.”
Peter was not Satan, but this implies the things he was thinking and saying were being influenced by the thoughts of Satan. Could the same thing have happened to the Nachash or more importantly, could the same thing happen to us?
Rembrandt, the famous painter from the 17th century Renaissance did an etching in 1638 which portrays a slightly more accurate Biblical scene of the “temptation of man” than the depiction we are most familiar with. He shows an animal, with legs, tempting Eve.
The most compelling reason for us not to believe Eve was tempted by a being that we call the snake today is, it would mean Yahweh’s CURSE upon this beast would be meaningless! Going to Genesis 3:14 HBFV
“Because you have done this you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. You shall go upon your belly, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life….”
God cursed this creature with a punishment that was ABOVE all the livestock and animals of the field (which by the way all had limbs) by having it’s means of transporting (moving) itself CHANGED to crawling on it’s belly;
If the beast who deceived Eve was a snake, then wouldn’t the curse it received be redundant and meaningless, as it was already slithering on the ground to move! Think about that. It would also mean that Yahweh originally created a “cursed” land animal, when it says He made all creatures good (Genesis 1:21-25). God declared ALL the animals he made were “very good”, meaning “all livestock” and “every animal of the field” were not cursed in anyway.
So, the beast that deceived Eve could not have been a snake. The Nachash Satan used had the natural ability to speak, had certain reasoning (cunning) abilities, and could transport itself using its limbs.
The enemy of our souls know the perfect means to encourage disobedience and sin in humans (us). With Judas:
Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. Luke 22:3.
And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; John 13:2
The punishment which the “Nachash” received dramatically changed it from a walking, talking and reasoning creature to one that sliters, hisses and has only brute instinct. To my knowledge in our world today there is no animal which represents the Nachash. It could well be, the Nachash who spoke in the Garden of Eden to Adam and Eve, has ceased to exist? Probably so.
Part Two Adam and Eve Removed From the Garden