JACOB'S LADDER

IS THERE A FIG TREE WITH FRUIT AROUND?

So today my wife and I are going to do something that is going to seem quite strange to many of you. We are going to visit a QUAKER MEETING HOUSE here in Smithtown NY. Now before you get all LOONEY and think “I knew it, JACOB is LOONEY TOON!”

Well, I’m not! Want proof? Listen to this, “Figgilly figgiilly diggilly doooooo!” You see I am completly sane!

Anywayl, I’m not a fan of any organized religion, but I am a huge fan of learning about them and meeting new people who want to know God. And after the research I did on the QUAKER FAITH you’ll find, it ain’t too bad… But don’t worry about my eternal soul people, I don’t believe I will be joining any new religion in the near or distant future… But for those who be judging I’ll have you know, the Quaker seems to be a peace loving, compassionate, caring, Christ seeking believer, so settle down you Silly Goose Head!”

Paul says it is good to be everything for everyman! This is why for years I have studied various faiths.

You’ll find I have a bunch of holy books I quote from on this blog. I try to hold back, as I don’t want to cause another to stumble… But how else do we meet people where they are at and learn from them, if we do not venture out and see if there be more.

Regardless, there is a reason for everything, even this post today. Which really has very little to do with the QUAKERS and has everything to do with People who hurt us and how this may very well be God’s will!
But I digress, I was led to the QUAKER faith, and it fascinated me. So I studied as much as I could. For no other reason than I just had to find out how they cornered the market on hot breakfast cereal!

BUT SERIOUSLY, I came across their faith quite by ACCIDENT (what I would think was by accident)… But what lately I have learned is Divine Intervention… Which means pretty much EVERYTHING that happens in life, is orchestrated by God.

Amos 4:13
He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth— the LORD God Almighty is his name.

Sometimes even the MEAT-HEAD things we do, God is inspiring IN US. Because it is out these very knucklehead moves that the LORD OF HOSTS brings us closer to the TRUTH.

SIDE NOTE: Ever consider what a HOST is? When you HOST someone, YOU are putting them up in your HOUSE, or BUSINESS, or INTERNET SITE. If you are a Parasite You LIVE off your HOST. Consider this, we are the HOST that GOD lives IN, THROUGH, BY AND FOR. He is the LORD of HOSTS (us) — we are HIS HOST – We are his TEMPLE, He is our LORD. He is at the WHEEL steering people.

So, even when we do something so dumb, like BREAKING OUR KNECK, something I did when I was eighteen… It was GOD that inspired my action to get me to do thus! Because this BROKEN neck BROUGHT me closer to my destiny, which was to be a writer, author extraordinaire… (anyone buy my novel today? hint, hint, hint — http://www.jacobisrael.org )

So, if I didn’t do what I did I wouldn’t be here writing to you all… You see, even our meat-head actions are GODS BEAUTIFULLY ORCHESTRATED PERFECT WILL for our lives. Bringing us CLOSER to our DESTINY and to our PURPOSE. Closer to Him! Remember…

Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Oh I know what you’re thinking, God ONLY takes care of the steps of a Righteous man. Well, let me tell you something. God is in control of us all. Good, Bad, and Bob Barker TOO!

Check out Joseph, not Mary’s Squeeze, but the one who got the funky many colored coat! NOW, just look at how foolish Joseph was when he spoke to his brothers after his awesome dream.

He must have sounded sooooo arrogant after telling his brothers about his dream, how they would all bow down before him. And that got his brother soooooo angry, that they wanted him dead, or at least they were going to PANTS HIM for it!

Genesis 37 6-8 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: 7For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. 8And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

Just think of how COCKY Joseph sounded to them, when he was alll like… “Listen to me my brothers, you and my Father will bow down before me! Yes, I am the greatest, I totally ROCK! I will rule over you! HA! HA! HA! And did I mention Reuben, you have bad breath and back hair! Simeon I am better looking than you! And Judah you are a punk and I can totally take you out in WII!… I AM JOSEPH HEAR MY ROAR!”

I mean, what older brothers wouldn’t take Joseph and dunk his head in the toilet a couple of times? That’s an older brother’s job, isn’t it? To humble the younger?

Well, that is why the CARNAL MAN, ADAM, IS HERE PEOPLE! You see, these stories are all ALLEGORIES, for us to learn from. Whatever is without is most definately from within.

THE ELDER (carnal nature) is here to HUMBLE THE YOUNGER. This is why Jacob was running scared most of his life. His older, scary, hairy, brother Esau!

The good news is, in the END the ELDER (carnal nature) will serve the YOUNGER (Christ)

These are PICTURES of the TWO NATURES at war WITHIN us. And each of these BROTHERS of JOSEPH are individual pictures as well. Here I will give you a brief history of the 1st Born and 2nd Born –

The HEBREW TRADITION stated that the 1st born NATURAL SON inherits all the birthright and possesions of the FATHER, this is why the BLESSING OF THE FATHER is so important… BUT RIDDLE ME THIS BATMAN? When it comes to the KINGDOM OF GOD, the FIRSTBORN is NEVER THE ONE WHO INHERITS, we always see the 1ST is cast off, for the 2nd!

WHY?

Because, this is an allegory. The NEW WINE is not prefered by the natural man, but the OLD WINE… The 1st MAN is NATURAL not spiritual and this is what NATURAL MAN WANTS but not GOD… this is why we see a trend in scripture. THE 1ST BORN is almost always what I call a DEATH DEALER, someone who brings death or kills, whereas you’ll see the 2ND BORN is always, ALWAYS a SHEPHARD! Sound like anyone we know?

That’s right, the Big Kahuna! CHRIST!

So the 1st Born is the (Killer, ignorant, carnal, first nature of man) and the 2ND Born seems to be the (Enlightened Christ, Shepherd Nature revealed after in man). We see the 1st born and 2nd Born again and again in so many stories in the bible, but because I’m lasy and my finger cramp, Im only going to list a few.

1st Born ADAM (brings death) —- 2nd Adam CHRIST (Shepard- BRINGS LIFE)
1st CANE (death) —- 2nd ABEL (Shepard – pleases God)
1st ISHMAEL (Hunter/slave/death/cast off) —– 2nd ISAAC (Shepard – Life)
1st ESAU (Hunter/Killer) —- 2nd JACOB (ME! LOL … Shepard – Life)

Getting the idea here? These are all wonderful word pictures.

Our first worldly nature is formed out of the DUST OF OUR EXPERIENCE.
Now for those of you thinking about your literal older brother or younger sister, STOP! These are PARABLES, they are symbols… these are NATURES IN YOU at work and WAR! This really has NOTHING to do with being LITERALLY BORN OF FLESH AT ALL!

John 1:13
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Two NATURES, two BROTHERS at WAR – 1st born and 2ND born.

Genesis 25:23
And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

The WOMB is where the CARNAL MAN and CHRIST are birthed from. The 1st born or 2nd! And you see, here we have BOTH inside fighting for control. But no worries, in the END, Christ overcomes the world, so will we.

1 John 5:4
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

This CARNAL MAN is a tough NUT to crack. ESPECIALLY if you were raised in my house growing up. But I assure you…

1 John 4:4
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

So, Joseph’s brother’s took sibling hazing a bit far by wanting him dead, But Joseph was sounding a bit cocky, you have to admit! However, this was ALL really just a SYMBOL of how CHRIST IN US is abused by our CARNAL NATURE and how the CHRIST WITHIN is made subject to this VANITY (OUR NONSENCE) for a time. Until the SOULISH MAN, realizes there is a FAMINE in the land, and humbly returns to the BROTHER (Christ) within, begging for help. This is a picture of how we all fall and return again.

But let us just FOR A MOMENT (how I hate to do this) look at the story of Joseph in literary terms for now.

Well, in this next little story in Genesis we learn how God WAS WORKING ALL the angles in Joseph’s life! He was behind it all. You would think the DEVIL would be behind the scenes getting Joseph’s brothers to act so horribly, but YOU’D BE WRONG! SO SUCK IT UP PILGRIMS, YOU’VE BEEN SERVED!

As we continue to read here, we will learn, it is GOD, that provokes the Jacob boys to such EVIL action… Hey don’t take my word for it… Check it out PEEPS! — This week, I decided to show the world how “down” I am!

After all JOSEPH endured, he understood, his BROTHERS were doing GOD’S WORK! And I hope after this paper you will understand the same.

It really shouldn’t be hard after all, I mean it is written there in black and white in Gen 45. But we know those RELIGIOUS FOLK, using the bible as a BAT but never as a “book” written by the inspiration of God, so we can read, and allow the Holy Spirit to inspire REVELATION within for us all!

You see, Joseph didn’t blame those who abused him, accused him, used him, and flibbity floosed him! He didn’t even get angry with his brothers. He understood they had no power to do anything BUT what God MADE them do. They weren’t acting by their own evil hand. GOD DID THIS TO JOSEPH!

“WHAT JACOB? How dare you say that? God doesn’t get people to do bad things?” Some will say.

ZIP IT YOU! … Jacob says right back at you! (what are you going to do, shut the computer off tough guy/girl…. ooooh I’m scared! Just kidding. I loves ya and wants to hugs ya! (insert smiley face with arms extended for hug)

Well for those who say, God doesn’t make people do bad things… I say… REALLY? What about Hardening Pharaoh’s heart? Hhhhm? And there is that little thing called the Crucifixion? Didn’t Jesus say to Judas… “Go do what you MUST do.” Do you think JUDAS had a choice?” – Jesus was pretty clear, he HAD to be betrayed, which means one man HAD TO BE A BETRAYER!

BY THE WAY: This is also a picture of how our CARNAL NATURE betrays our TRUE NATURE which is CHRIST! This is all the PLAN OF GOD from the beginning. This is why it is not EVIL for God to bring EVIL in the land, people! So settle down. So long as this EVIL brings about the GOOD. — Oh and EVIL is not (listening to a Marilyn Manson Album Backwards – EVIL is ERROR) just so you know!

But I digress:
You would think MURDERING AN INNOCENT MAN (Jesus) would be an EVIL act, RIGHT? However, few “Christians” would say that doing that was EVIL… AND fewer still would say, GOD WAS NOT IN CONTROL!
Because we ALL AGREE, God sent his son into the world to SAVE THE WORLD, so ALL COULD BELIEVE AND I REPEAT so ALL, not some, COULD BE SAVED! God’s hand WAS MOST DEFINATLY behind this EVIL OF THIS SCENE, righhhhhht?

But is it really Evil? If the end result, is SALVATION FOR ALL? And YES I MEAN ALLLLLLL!

Because in the end, it SAVED THE WORLD (meaning ALL!)

Phil 2:10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Some people say, this scene above is a picture of God standing over all of creation, they realize how wrong they are, and confess Christ… Then the Bad religious go on to say, Jesus will say TOO LATE! Now GO TO HELL FOR EVER AND BURN!

The problem is, the last line. THEY CONFESS CHRIST, TO THE GLORY OF GOD! – It does not glorify God to confess TRUTH because you are scared of what will happen if you don’t. To GLORIFY GOD means you understand the TRUTH and your actions and THOUGHTS are a GLORY TO THE LORD.

So much for the ENDLESS SUFFERING THAT COMES AFTER THAT. (see my articl: to hell with hell)

So JUST like JESUS, we learn that Joseph had to suffer as well. And GOD was provoking his brothers and all the tormentors in his life to do so. We learn this in Genesis 45. God was behind Joseph being thrown in the EMPTY DRY/BARREN WELL… (which is a picture of humanity barren soul/ignorance – no truth), then sold him into slavery (bondage of the flesh/sin) then PRISON.

In the end however, JOSEPH held tight, and he RULED ALL OF EGYPT (A picture of how the YOUNGER brother CHRIST rules over mankind’s SOUL the Older).

And what is good for one, is good for ALL! Meaning, the servant is NOT ABOVE THE MASTER! If God sends mean grumpy tormentors into the lives of those guys, guess what? All these jerk pants that are pestering us, are doing God’s will as well!

For those still having a hard time grasping that the evil doers in your life, may be doing God’s will TO BETTER YOU AND SAVE YOU…
Well, check this out NAY SAYERS! When Joseph’s BROTHERS came to Joseph and expected to be put to death for all the evil they had done to him. Joseph said…

“YOU DID NOT DO THIS TO ME… It was GOD!”

Genesis 45
“I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. [a]

After all the evil and all the lies and all the treachery, Joseph says to these Jerks, “Don’t be upset for doing what you did to me, you DID IT TO ME SO I COULD SAVE YOU AND THE WORLD… GOD SENT ME HERE AHEAD OF YOU!… And by the way Reuben and Simeon, I’m still better looking!”

His brothers must have been like… “SAY WHAT, WILLIS?”

But seriously, the most heinous of crimes and God’s hand was behind it all… NEED MORE PROOF? Well, look to the next line. Watch what Joseph says next,

8 “So then, it was not YOU who sent me here, but GOD.

It wasn’t his brothers it was GOD! If only we could get this through our thick heads.

Think about how much more peace we would have. When hard times come, we would not see it through the eyes of sorrow, or grief. We would step back and say, this is happening because it is so a great day of deliverance can come.

Okay, my point with all this is, today I am going to a QUAKER MEETING PLACE… Sounds a bit nutty? Not that QUAKERS are nutty, but how random that is… RIGHT?

Well, not for me. I look at life as the Captain of a ship look at the signs of the sky. When the signs tell me turn left, I am curious to see what will be found down that left turn.

Matthew 16:3
And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

There was a time, years ago, I had a wonderful revelation on the sands of a the sea shore, and no there was no Shelly selling Sea Shells there.
It was the last time I went looking for a man made “church”… I was HUNGRY (spiritually hungry) I mean. Like Jesus was the morning he left BETHANY, which IRONICALL means (House of MISERY)

Like Jesus, I had just left the HOUSE OF MISERY as well, called DIVORCE… I really wanted to be FED spiritually in a church and find a fellowship of believers, as I had been so disappointed in the past with the many congregations I had found and walked out of.

So I had gotten up that morning, and prayed GOD let me find one, I am so very hungry for your WORD (TRUTH). I am going to intercut the passage I read and finally understood at that beach after my “fruitless” search that day.

18Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.

Ironically, here we see Jesus RETURNING to Bethany (House of Misery) to be fed. The very place he left, that made him Hungry to begin with.
I suppose it was foolish of me to think that the very thing that I had left, would somehow miraculously change and be able to bring me life, but I was STARVING for DEEPER INSIGHT into the things of God! I should have considered the words IN-SIGHT which is not spellled OUT-SIGHT… but as you all know, I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

So, there I was driving on the Boston Post Road in my 12 year Old Jeep Wrangler which kicks Major But! “Wrangler” another great allegory for my life’s journey.

So, when I saw this huge Church… I came up to it, went it, sat and listened, fell asleep, got up, left, and walk out hungrier than before. I found NOTHING in that “CHURCH” that would nourish me… and I said in my heart… THIS PLACE WILL NEVER PRODUCE ANY FRUIT FOR ME! I knew if would NOT produce FRUIT for anyone ever again. As I walked away that FIG TREE was cursed in my eyes and I knew it would never be a source of life to any who entered its doors. NOW CHECK OUT THE J-MAN’S account.

19And when he saw a fig tree in the way he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

I, like Jesus, was just looking for some SPIRITUAL FOOD… For those of you who thought Jesus was looking at a literal FIG TREE think again, he was looking at ISRAEL! He saw that MAN’S WAYS were bankrupt. Jesus CURSED MAN’S WAYS, as many of us do, because we know that it will bear NO FRUIT FOR US…

You see the FIG TREE is not just MAN MADE RELIGION, but it is MAN’S THINKING and MAN’S WAYS, which are far beneath God’s ways. And when we begin to understand that God in control of ALL THINGS and we let go of all the fairy tales we have been sold over the years from their salesmen of faith and we go to God WITHIN TO BE BROKEN and SET FREE, we too will see as the disciples saw.

20And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!

The instant we understand man can not offer us entrance into the things of God, we will quickly stop looking for answers there. As I did. I then drove to the beach, grabbed my handy dandy bible. And read, and within minutes I understood the parable of the fig tree, and I was FULL!
You would think with all the intelligent people that go to some of the mislead “miracle healers” and “RELIGIOUS LEADERS” out there, that they would see through the smoke and mirrors and be disgusted at the work that is being done in the land at the hand of the so called miracle man. (I’m a poet and I DID KNOW IT!)

But even these chooches have their place. So settle down everyone, God has a point and a purpose for them as well, and we must love our inbred brothers and sisters TOO. THE FIG TREE that has no fruit has its place for the moment. And so do the LIARS. Who do you think is inspiring the lying?

1 Kings 22: 23 Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.

That’s right Ya’ll… It just may be GOD PUTTING THE LIES IN THEIR MOUTHS! So, Don’t be hating! Why? You ask… WELL, the lies just keep getting STUPIDER, God knows one day, we all are going to WAKE UP ALREADY! He is doing this, to deliver us!

Who do you think created that FATHER OF LIES to begin with? GOD, that’s who. There is a great work being done in the land today. This is cause for us all to rejoice.

I know we are all going through some hard and difficult times, if you’re anything like me you’re probably regretting half the things you say and twice of the things you write! LOL… But seriously, there is a work being done within us, a humbling process is begun. And yes we may loose our patience, and yes we may cry and we may whine and complain, but THAT IS ALL PART OF THE PLAN!

John 9:2
And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

You want to know whose fault it is that we were BORN TO BE SUCH IGNORANT MEATHEADS? Well, it wasn’t OUR fault… AS MOST religious teachers would have you to believe, as if God someone is an incompetant creator, who bumbled around up there in Heaven and Man messed everything up… NO, A SEED MUST DIE TO PRODUCE MANY OTHER SEEDS! DEATH WAS ALWAYS SO WE WOULD KNOW LIFE!

Romans 8:20
For the creature was made subject to vanity, NOT WILLINGLY, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

You see, we didn’t WILL THIS, God did. So, we need to stop judging everyone, stop being so hard on ourselves, start trusting that EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALLRIGHT, THAT GOD IS IN CONTROL!
You see we were BORN BLIND (Ignorant of God’s truth) So when we can SEE, GOD would be GLORIFIED!

3Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

So, today my wife and I are going to visit our “FRIENDS” at the local QUAKER meeting house. I have already brushed up my Old English and broke out the only two stereotypes I know of, to try and poke fun at our ignorance at this very cool faith. But if you want to get a bit more familiar, or want to try and get a cool hat like the QUAKER OATS GUY… check out this link below.

http://www.quaker.org/

While in this chatroom yesterday I met an enlightened chap. Who I surprisingly found out was Quaker. For the next couple of hours I consumed all I could about the faith, which is very neat. Coincidently, their views are very close to mine. They don’t judge others, they believe in the CHRIST WITHIN, and see this in other religions as well, and believe in a UNIVERSAL CHRIST in all people, not just some. They don’t condemn, they don’t have a hierarchy, there are no Pastors, leaders, etc, they don’t vote, etc, etc, they were one of the first faith’s if not the FIRST FAITH to recognize the EQUALITY of ALL MANKIND, man, woman, black, white, yellow, green, blue, purple, and striped.

They don’t have typical “church” they have meetings once a week Where everyone gathers and sits in silence to wait upon God, then people SHARE WITH EACH OTHER as they feel led, pray for each other, AND OFFER EACH OTHER MAPLE SYRUP HOT BREAKFAST CEREAL TO EACH OTHER! Isn’t that awesome?

Now this seemed like my cup of tea, even though I can’t stand tea! Unless it is BRISK BABY! So I told my sweet, sweet, Danielle about it, and she was like… YOU’RE OUT OF YOUR MIND, YOU NUT BAG! No, she was like, COOL AND ADVENTURE, and she’s been on Youtube all morning checking it out.

Now, are we going to become QUAKERS? Highly unlikely as I like my Sunday’s to my family, Im selfish that way! But, I pay attention to the signs that led me to my research of the religion, led to my wife and I snuggling and talking and (other things) and then this article this morning, and now a cool adventure waits… will it be akward? Possibly. Will it be weird? I’m sure of it. But will it be fruitful? We’ll see… That, is what I am hoping for… FRUIT! Because, I am hungry again people, and perhaps it is time for me to start looking for fruit in the land today, because the SIGNS OF THE TIMES are saying, THE FRUIT IS BEGINNING TO SPROUT in the hearts of some TREES. The Times they are a Changing. I’m here to shake up the ground and I hope you’re digging it!

PEACE OUT PEEPS! Love you all,

Jacob!