6. I Eat of the Tree of Life

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Revelation Chapters 2–6 must be taken together as one unit, for the removal of the seven seals is what this whole passage is about. For these four chapters, however, we have fourteen sessions, and fourteen Jesus Secret pages.

While writing A River of Life, I found such a wondrous match between each of the overcomings and the corresponding removal of a demon seal. We want to maintain those connections in part. When it comes to our victory, however, it takes a shotgun blast of all against all in order to remove the false.

Two Overcomings. Our passage, Revelation 2:1-11, contains two of the overcomings that are a matched pair. We could say it this way, “I eat of the Tree of Life,” and “I never again eat of the tree of death.” As I laid out the outline for this study, I saw that we must include two facing pages, with “The Gospel of Life” on one side and “The ‘Gospel’ of Death” on the other side.

When we speak of the ruling verses, then our analysis of Genesis 3:1-5 is how we describe the “gospel” of Death. But inside of battle, I am seeing ever more clearly how the seven seals describe the mighty stronghold opposing us.

Turn It All Around. Before we can even start, however, we must turn everything completely around. God wants to come Home. Jerusalem, the Church committed one to the other, is His Home forever. Humans want to keep God out, to drive Him away.

God is not at war with humans; humans are at war against God. And every element in the weave of Nicene Christianity is designed by the evil one to trick humans into standing firm as a shield wall to keep God OUT. Much Christian effort that appears to be “going into” God or “going to” heaven with honors, in actuality blocks God from coming Home.

God Coming Home. The Tree of Life, then, is NOT our “doorway to heaven,” but rather, a wide-open Door to God to come Home. Conversely, the tree of death is NOT about us, but about Christians keeping the Door closed against God.

They hated Me without a cause.

Nicene Christianity makes it all about humans becoming approved by God, with all the focus on the human and how sinful we are. Reality is all about God becoming approved by humans, with the focus on Christ Jesus as the Father’s vanguard and how capable He is.

Behind Enemy Lines. Who, then, is the overcomer? We are the sappers; we are the special forces dropped in behind enemy lines to direct the big guys, Michael and those with him, as they target the stronghold arrayed against God.

The overcomer is not us going into God; the overcomer is us sneaking God into His House, that He might win the Desire of His Heart. Our doing an “end run” around our opponents is actually God doing an end run around those trying to keep Him out, sneaking that “end run” through us.

God’s Way Through. The Holy of Holies, God’s Home forever, is inside of the Church upon this earth. Reality is so different from how we have always imagined it to be. God has turned us completely around.

An overcomer is one who is utterly turned around, and who is entering the battle over the Church as God’s way IN. This is the victory that has defeated the world, even our faith. Our faith is God’s way THROUGH all the forces, human and demonic, determined to keep Him from coming Home.

We are ready for the statements of faith.

The Statements of Faith. I hold to the ministry and authority of Christ as I walk in the midst of the Church. I am steadfast. I do not bear with evil; I prove out fake apostles. I hear what the Spirit says to the Churches. I eat of the Tree of Life; I overcome. I eat always of Jesus. I am every Word God speaks fulfilled.

I live inside the always first and always final. I was crucified with Christ, but am now alive. I do not fear suffering or travail. I am faithful as far as death; I receive from Jesus the crown of life. I hear what the Spirit says to the Churches. I do not war against humans. I do not act out from the second death, the death of contempt. I overcome. I synergeo with God, always turning all things towards goodness; that is, I give thanks inside of and for the sake of all.

Our Focus Today. The overcomer is one through whom God comes Home.

With that thought in mind, let’s look at the layout of each of these letters to the seven churches. I have, in the past, seen how these seven churches can be set against the history of Christianity to show seven distinct time periods. If I were again to teach a course on Church History, such an approach would be useful. But that is not our present focus. Our focus is on TODAY and the Salvation of God entering through us into our world. Our focus is the fight against spirits of anti-Christ that have tricked our brethren into fighting against God.

Three Parts. Each of these seven letters have three parts. First, Jesus introduces Himself out from one or another descriptive phrases found in Revelation 1:9-20, Christ in us. Second is a description of the qualities and defects found in each church. One has no defects – Philadelphia, and one has no good qualities – Laodicea. Yet through Laodicea the greatest promises are given. Then, each letter ends with a statement regarding the overcomer along with the same line repeated, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches.” We will look at that line in a later session.

I Walk inside My Church. In this session we are looking at two together, the letters to the Church in Ephesus and to the Church in Smyrna.

In essence, Jesus begins with this statement. “I walk inside My Church possessing all authority.” Or – “I am the reigning Lord inside My Body.” Or – “Listen, I am inside of you and I’ve got this. We know how to fight.” Corresponding with such a Jesus, then, the overcoming is eating of the Tree of Life, that is, living inside of John 14:20 and speaking Christ our only life until we KNOW God through us.

Then we have “losing first love” vs hating “the Nicolaitans.”

The Best Strategy for Evil. “First love” is filling one’s sight with Jesus alone – the “single eye” of which Jesus spoke. But here is what I read recently about “the Nicolaitans.” ~ Possibly a sect that placed the flesh on a pedestal, from the extreme of abusing it, that is, under control, to shameless immorality, that is, in control. ~

The opposite of “first love” is making the Christian life all about the flesh, what the flesh is doing or not doing. The best strategy there is, to set Christians into war against God, keeping Him out, is to get them to fight themselves, to exalt their flesh either by fighting it or feeding it.

“You Are the Enemy.” Here is a quote I came across just recently that fits here.
“If you aren’t destroying your enemies, it’s because you have been conquered and assimilated, you do not even have an idea of who your enemies are. You have been brainwashed into believing you are your own enemy, and you are set against yourself. The enemy is laughing at you as you tear yourself to pieces. That is the most effective warfare an enemy can launch on his foes: confounding them.” ~ Bangambiki Habyarimana, Pearls Of Eternity.

Most of my Christian life I was taught that “I” am an enemy of God and that I have to fight against myself in order to “be right” with God. – Satan laughing at us.

Galatians 2:20. The statement “those claiming to be apostles but are not,” we discussed in Studies in John’s Letters and will look at again when we get to “the false prophet.”

Then, in the letter to the Church in Smyrna, Jesus introduces Himself as Galatians 2:20, combined with an incredible quality found in His ability, that of being always first and always last. This is the Ark of the Covenant passing through the waters of the Jordan. Jesus always passes through death and into life FIRST and Jesus always comes LAST behind each little one who belongs to Him, being sure that each enters into life before He departs fully out from death.

The Ability of Jesus. Okay, we now see this, that Jesus begins each letter and each overcoming with a presentation of specific and differing aspects of His ability – the center of all Completion. This is so cool. – His ability inside of and as us.

This Church is tested by the evil one. – Galatians 2:20 is the most assaulted verse in the gospel. Indeed, it was Galatians 2:20 in which I stood for those nine months of 2008, and “Christ my only life” against which all the darkness wailed. “Christ is my only life” is far more hated by evil even than “I live inside of Jesus and Jesus lives inside of me.” The Tree of Life can be covered with fog, but “Christ my only life” is war.

Victory over Contempt. Now, the overcoming in this second letter is a negative. – The one presently and actively overcoming shall not hurt others, that is, shall not act out from the second death.

This is a wonderful negative, that we are forever free from contempt. But Jesus does include the positive just before the overcoming. – Be faithful as far as death, and I will give you the crown of life. This “crown of life” comes out from Galatians 2:20 – This One having loved me, having traded Himself for me. The “Crown of Life,” then, can only be “And we also,” that is, our sharing with Jesus His same redemption of others – victory over contempt.

Our Page Layout. Now, in our page layout, we want a working definition of “the overcomer.” And we have plenty to draw from for that. Then we want to look at “The Tree of Life,” isolated from all other consideration. Followed by “Safe from Death,” again, isolated from everything else. We will finish this page with an “Ask and Believe.” This is a topic we cannot be passive about, we must contend with God through faith.

I have this one thought concerning “fake apostles.” Although we do not fight against Christians, we realize that the spirits of anti-Christ do speak through fellow believers. Sometimes power-hungry Church leaders will choose the wrong side.

The Overcomer. The overcomer is one through whom God comes home, becoming known as Love inside the present Church, Jerusalem, His dwelling place forever. The overcomer defeats the spirits of anti-Christ working to anoint the lie among Christians that keeps God out. The overcomer does not “bring people to God,” but rather, brings the knowledge of God into the lives of His people through “love one another.” I am an overcomer; I cast down all that prevents my brothers and sisters from knowing and being the All-Salvation of God.

Come to Me. Jesus said, “Come to Me; learn of Me; eat of Me; drink of Me; dine with Me. – I am the Life.” That Life on the one hand is the Life of God, and on the other hand it is our only Life.

We learned in our study of John’s gospel that Jesus’ job is to transfer His substance to us, something He does totally from the start and continuously every moment. Then, our job is to be metamorphosed BY spending time with Him, by doing all this drinking of His Spirit and eating of His Word, staying utterly inside of Him. This we are doing, especially in speaking the Jesus Secret.

Two as One. The Tree of Life is John 14:20. – KNOW that I am inside of the Father and you inside of Me and I inside of you. We know the one True God [age-unfolding Life] through knowing Jesus Sent into us.

Yet all this eating and drinking must be personal between you and Jesus. It must be a continual Fellowship of two. God’s definition of “one” is not the elimination of persons, but two as one, two in sweet fellowship together, two in marriage union, two bringing forth God-Life together. Then Paul says that we many, as members of one body, drink of the same Spirit and eat together of the same Word.

Communion. This is the meaning of Communion, that is, the Eucharist, that is, “giving thanks” – many as one. Eating of the Tree of Life is an action that moves constantly from an intimate shared life with Jesus, Spirit and Word, to a shared life together, knowing one another.

The Completion of the Tree of Life is Love One Another.

Knowing God and knowing one another, both through knowing Jesus, are two sides of the same thing. Everything real and every Word God speaks is found inside this sharing and fellowship. Anything that casts a shadow against this Communion is our enemy, yet without reality.

The Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is the Lord Jesus Christ, I inside of Him and He inside of me, sharing the same form, two as one, sharing intimate communion together. Inside of Christ, Jesus Himself transfers His substance and life to me from the start and continuously. I become just like Him as I speak His same Word as my own story of self and as I give thanks inside of all. Then, inside this same Jesus, I know my brothers and sisters. We know one another as unique and of great value, yet also as Jesus to us. Just as we share intimate fellowship with Jesus, so we share fellowship together. The Completion of the Tree of Life is our love for one another. And inside of our love for one another, the Father Himself finds His Home.

Saved from Contempt. The Greek verb in Revelation 2:11 is not “be hurt by,” but rather, “act out from.” Now, John says specifically in Chapter 20 that “the lake of fire is the second death.” We take a word like this, indeed every Word God speaks, and we place it before our God, that it might rest inside of us “all night long,” until God shows us what it means.

Until that moment, we consider the one thing we know that threw Adam into death and that kills every believer who does not place his or her sin into Jesus – Contempt. Indeed, we might suggest the “second death” as “holding tightly to contempt inside the unveiled Love of God.”

Intentional Hurt. Then we see that this is not “feeling” contempt, for feeling contempt is normal to being human, something Jesus knew. It’s a matter of acting out from the feeling of contempt, that is, malevolently hurting others. We are very good at hurting others unintentionally. That’s what forgiveness is for. This is something else; the second death is hurting others deliberately, and especially for “religious” reasons.

Living together inside of the Tree of Life, loving one another, has one enemy. That enemy is acting out from contempt to hurt others, especially religious contempt.

God Saves Us. Jesus, crying out to God to be saved from death, Jesus, commanding God to KEEP us and to MAKE us PURE and devoted to God, God keeping us out from the “hour of trial,” all of it is being saved from acting out from contempt.

And when we find contempt for others inside our emotions, we take it into the Holiest place in the universe, just like David did, just like Jesus did, and we place it and ourselves utterly and entirely upon God. God ALONE saves us from death, from acting or speaking out from the same contempt Adam chose in the garden.

Being saved from contempt and sharing Hheart with God are two sides of the same thing.

And We Also. I want to take this thought a step further, for contempt is the one thing that breaks Communion apart. 1 John 3:16 “stuck its nose under my tent,” soon after I saw God as the One who carries me, for this very purpose, to save me from death. Yet even before then, right after I won the victory over accusation in knowing Christ my only life, God placed Buddy Cobb and Claude Mack before me that I might call them by the same Jesus living as them.

I say, over and over, “God this is You sharing Yourself with me – FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS,” that I might know LIFE free from death. Being saved from contempt is not a negative, then; it is “AND WE ALSO – for others.” This is the Crown of Life.

Safe from Death. Just as Jesus lives as me, sharing His Soul with me as my own, and receiving my soul as His, so I turn and relate with my brothers and sisters in the same way, receiving them as Jesus to me and imparting the Father’s love to them. I know that feelings of contempt for my brethren are normal and I place those feelings with myself always into God. At the same time, I ask God to save me from the death of acting out from those feelings to hurt other people. God always saves me. Then, I take my own feelings of hurt, and I synergeo with God to turn my agony into life for others. My Crown of Life is my brethren set free.

Put on God’s Armor. Put on and enclothe yourself with the full armor of God in order to be able to stand against the methods and schemes of the devil [the one who accuses]. Because we are not wrestling or contesting against blood and flesh, but against the rulers and sources, against the authorities and influences, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against the spiritual evil in the heavenly realms. Because of this, take up the complete armor of God that you might be able to withstand and to set against in the evil day, and in having done all things, to stand (Ephesians 6:11-13).

“Put on the armor of God” is just another way to say, “Ask and Believe.” Standing is for the sake of the Church.

Ask and Believe. Lord Jesus, You say that You give me to eat of the Tree of Life, to eat of You as my only life. You say that You save me from acting out from contempt by sharing with me Your own love for my brothers and sisters. Lord Jesus, I ask that You always keep me inside Yourself, always to acknowledge You inside of me. Lord Jesus, I ask that You share with me Your love for my brethren. I give You thanks, my Jesus, for You have answered me with Yourself. I stand therefore inside of Your authority in the midst of Your Church, and I direct every moment of our life together into goodness for my brethren, the Crown of my life.

A Disciplined Force. One final note. We looked at the Tree of Life and Safe from Death, just as themselves, and not inside the fight. That is what disciplined training is about. First we KNOW so intimately, so close and real, John 14:20 and Galatians 2:20, the only thing we know. But then, in the smoke and screams, the terror and blood of battle, we stand firm. We know what we are and what we are doing.

A highly disciplined force always wins, even 5000 against 80,000, even a thin red line against all the might of France. Because they know themselves, each other, and how to fight.

Reading for Next Time. The next lesson is titled “The Gospel of Life.” For that session, read Revelation 2:1-11 a couple of times again. This time through, however, draw from everything you learned in this lesson and apply it to what you read. Everything is so simple and clear, for all in John’s vision are simply the basic truths of Paul’s gospel confirmed by John.

We have two verses, John 14:20 and Galatians 2:20. And we have the picture of the Ark through the Jordan. And that also is a picture of our fight. Our war is against the powers of death and of hades, seeking to swallow up any believer in Jesus. We stand firm against such evil.

Let’s Pray Together. “God, our Father, we give ourselves to You, for Your sake, that You might come through our faith to be Yourself at Home inside Your Church. Salvation, Oh God, is You come through us into our world.

“God, our Father, we KNOW that we live inside of Jesus and Jesus lives inside of us. Thus we also KNOW that every Word You speak concerning each of us as members of Your body is fulfilled in and through us now in all completion. And we also know, Oh God, that the Church on this earth is the fulness of Christ Jesus who fills full all inside of all, that this Jesus is PERFECTED inside our human weakness.

“By the authority of Jesus complete inside His Church, we cast down the image and caricature of a “super-Christ,” an “above-you Jesus,” held in the minds of our brethren. You spirit of anti-Christ, you have no more power to prevent God’s people from knowing Jesus as every Word God speaks inside their hearts.

“God, our Father, we know that You save us always from the death of acting out from contempt against our brethren, even as we place our present humanity utterly upon You.

“I know, Father, that Jesus loves me, personally and utterly; I know that He gives me all of Himself to be my own and that He takes all that I am into Himself as His own. I know the Desire of Jesus to be with me and I with Him.

“Out from this wondrous Love, Oh God, You have given us the crown of Life, that we might share this same love of Jesus towards all who belong to Him upon the earth. God, our Father, we also set forth our souls for the sake of our brothers and sisters, that You might join with each one of them inside our hearts, utterly free of us.

“Inside of the authority of the One with whom we died, and with whom we are ALIVE forevermore, we bind the anti-Christ spirit that would hold other Christians in contempt. We cast the seal of that demon from off of our brothers and sisters, that Your people, Oh God, would open their hearts to You, that You might be Love through them into all Your creation. Let it be so, Oh Father, it is so.”