The Tree and River of - Grafted

The Tree and River of

Kingdom to Come

The tree of life and the river of life appear as creative forces in the capital city of the everlasting world kingdom. There the fountain of blessing is a giver—not a taker—giving riches to the tribes of the new world. Faith has given way to the realities themselves. The capital city and the kingly throne do not depend, like the cities of apostasy, on the products cf the land, or on taxation. The riches of this city and throne flow out over sea and land, spreading health, life, and happiness.

The tree of life yields twelve harvests, and stands in a dual form as a testimony of the past and coming realities of the Divine Dual Plan, The bread question has been eliminated. The new world, which God has promised through his prophets, is a reality—the past and the future are united in a complete whole. The onlooker exclaims, "I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away."—Rev. 21: 1.

The tree of life belongs to the ruling class, because Christ says, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." (Rev. 2:7.) The leaves do away with the often very unpleasant remedies of physicians, and to the victors is given the privilege of distributing this remedy to their foreign friends in the kingdom of Christ, in order to root out the sickness of those who have not yet gained victory. This is applicable during the millennium, when the kingdom of Christ will be established because of its judgment over the enemies of the kingdom. When death has been ended, sickness will be found no more; therefore John says:

"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever."—Rev. 22 :1-5.

The river of water of life proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Ezekiel also speaks of this river, calling it the double river which flows from the fountain of the sanctuary. It began to flow with only a little water—it was easy to pass over—but in the degree that the angel measured the thousands of cubits (representing the ages), it became deeper and larger, so that none could pass over it •without swimming. This is a symbol of the living water Christ offered those who were thirsty, which water forms in the drinker thereof a fountain of water of life, following the traveler on his way. Here, in the capital city, this clear crystal water flows out of the throne of God and the Lamb.

The city's street of gold is the tried and experienced path of Truth which follows the river and which the Master revealed, showing where the conquerors have journeyed forth to the throne of God by virtue of the power in the blood of the King of this hid­den government. The river is full of clear water, just as real as the tree of life, succeeding the river of falsehood and intoxicating drinks which has previously flowed out of the sanctuaries of Mam­mon and out of the militia-guarded thrones of the kings. The river of life ennobles everything it comes in contact with, both on land and in the seas, just as the river of intoxicants now degrades everything it comes in contact with, spreading disease, crime, poverty, sorrow, and death over the whole world. The last men­tioned river shows how impossible it is for Nimrodians to effect a successful and bliss-bringing regime without first having learned to rule over the lusts of their own flesh. Their wisdom is earthly, human, and devilish, separated from the ennobling and prophetic wisdom of the Word of God.

The influence of the capital city flows out with the river of life, says the prophet, through the land and out into the sea, bring­ing life and health to everything coming near it. Even the sea and the fishes are changed by its life power. Alongside of this river "upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed [the supply will not be wholly ex­hausted] : it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary [from the throne of God and of the Lamb in the capital city] : and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine."­Ezek. 47:12.

Notice that in the foregoing part of his book the prophet has spoken of the battle between the two governmental trees, and in the 37th chapter he has described the springtime of resurrection, or the victory of life over death. And here he speaks of the de­velopment during the millennium, when the land is divided as an inheritance to Israel redeemed. In the 48th chapter he describes how this land is divided, and it will be noticed that the inheritance of the twelve tribes of Israel is situated. around Jerusalem, the new capital city. Judah and Joseph are the chief ones among these twelve, because from them have come the King and his confidential assistant, the queen, whom he puts in charge of his house. Every tribe has its own entrance to the city, and the name of the city is "Here is the Lord–the Messianic King."

Enraptured by longing and admiration, we greet the day when the governmental Scepter of Life takes over the reins of govern­ment within "the new heaven and the new earth." See to it that you become grafted into this governmental tree before the time of assimilation of the Word ends and it rises from the dead for eternity!

The heaven and the earth again are joined together;

The Word of God all things In harmony can blend.

The earth from Death's harsh reign is then released forever;

The throne of God on earth its people will befriend.

The saints their glory throw o'er all the dales and mountains;

The whole creation drinks from Life's eternal fountains.

As soon as Paul discovered the very root of evil through the guidance of the Spirit, he found that the law condemned it. The discovery was not caused by the law, but by love toward God, because such love makes a person's mind keener. Paul adds, "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful."—Rom. 7:12, 13.

This shows that if the so-called "lucky eights" had known sin and the law as they should be known, and had passed their judg­ments from a position on the plane of the elevated sanctuary of faith, many of them would not have become transgressors of the law of God, to say nothing of the civil law of the world. Sin, when it is placed in the light of the faith of Christ, assumes ex­ceedingly large proportions. Sin is what kills. It seems to be un­forgivable, and a repentant person will die willingly with the crucified One in hopes of receiving grace and of obtaining life from the dead through the resurrection. Such a knowledge of sin and of the effect of the law forbids the transgression of the law.

The law of faith and the effect of grace. The law of faith knows of no limits when it comes to performing good deeds. That law does not permit even a thought of evil deeds, inasmuch as the letter of the law has been a schoolmaster which has given, instruction concerning what is right and wrong. The law of faith is demonstrated in the life of Christ, prompting each person who assumes a position on the territory of faith to strive for perfection. The Master said, `Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."—Mat. 5:48.

The propelling power of grace leaves good deeds, and the person who performs these good deeds claims no honor for them. He has received grace instead of a well earned sentence of death. This is why he loves his Benefactor, and is thankful and glad because of the conditional promises of salvation., which he believes with all his soul. This faith has united him with the tree of Christ—the Logos of God—as a grafted limb. This good power of life pro­duces fruit which is of service to the sick, to those wounded by sin, and to those sentenced by the law. However, a limb of faith brings forth only a small part of the pure power of the tree, of which he himself has been nourished during the time he has labored. So long as he remains in the faith, he can neither receive praise for what he has done nor punishment for imperfection; neither can he commit sin, that is, transgress knowingly.