Cat Stevens: "King of Trees"

Did you ever have a tree which was special to you? One tree at Jericho Hill School for the Deaf and Blind was precious to me. I liked sitting in its branches, surrounded by its amber leaves. It was balm for my lonely soul. I felt heartbroken when the school cut it down to make way for a sunken garden.

Listen to this song about a special tree here:

Trees figure prominently in the Bible. For example, we know about the tree of good and evil which Adam and Eve ate of its fruit. What many believers don't know is the reason for keeping our federal parents from the tree of life.

Imagine the horror of living forever in a sin-cursed body. That's what God saved humanity from when he said in Genesis 3:22 (Bible in Basic English). "And the Lord God said, 'Now the man has become like one of us, having knowledge of good and evil; and now if he puts out his hand and takes of the fruit of the tree of life, he will go on living for ever.'"

Jesus likened us to trees in Matthew 7:18 (BBE) in regard to our conduct. "It is not possible for a good tree to give bad fruit, and a bad tree will not give good fruit."

We also see in Daniel 4:13 (BBE) how God gave Nebuchadnezzar a prophetic dream about a giant tree. "In the visions of my head on my bed I saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven, Crying out with a loud voice; and this is what he said: 'Let the tree be cut down and its branches broken off; let its leaves be taken off and its fruit sent in every direction: let the beasts get away from under it and the birds from its branches: But keep its broken end and its roots still in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass; let him have the young grass of the field for food, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his part be with the beasts.'" This was fulfilled when the King praised himself for making his great city.

A day will come when Christ perfects us and makes us fit for the new Jerusalem. As Revelation 22:14 (BBE) promises, "A blessing on those whose robes are washed, so that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may go in by the doors into the town."

If our blessed Saviour hasn't come for us by Monday, I'll show how cruelty can be kind.

Why We Must Be Angry At Hell

As I wrote before, the saddest aspect of hell is that even nice people end up there. Continuing to refuse Christ's magnanimous offer of salvation un till death is an insult to the Holy Spirit who draws people to Christ. And since it's impossible to repent after death, it's the ONLY unforgivable sin.

This is why Jesus said to the Pharisees in Matthew 12:31 and 32 (BBE), "So I say to you, Every sin and every evil word against God will have forgiveness; but for evil words against the Spirit there will be no forgiveness. And whoever says a word against the Son of man, will have forgiveness; but whoever says a word against the Holy Spirit, will not have forgiveness in this life or in that which is to come.

Religious people never think they need saving.  The same applies to whomever trusts in their own goodness. As Christ said in Luke 12:23 and 24 (BBE), "And someone said to him, 'Lord, will only a small number have salvation?' And he said to them, 'Do your best to go in by the narrow door, for I say to you, A number will make the attempt to go in, but will not be able to do so.'"

The only way to salvation is through Christ. He's our password that gains us access to heaven. As he himself said in John 10:9 (BBE), "I am the door: if any man goes in through me he will have salvation, and will go in and go out, and will get food."

Belief in the Lord and obedience aren't a New Testament requirement. We read this in Hebrews 3:19 (BBE) where those Israelites who disobeyed God died in the desert instead of the promised land. "So we see that they were not able to go in because they had no belief."

We also read what grants us entrance into heaven in Revelation 22:14 (BBE). "A blessing on those whose robes are washed, so that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may go in by the doors into the town." That "washing" is Christ's forgiveness and gift of righteousness.

If Christ doesn't come by Thursday, I hope to post about how God provides salvation from eternal punishment.