THE OLIVE TREE

THE OLIVE TREE

                “…I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. For if their rejection be the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? And if the first piece of dough be holy, the lump is also and if the root be holy, the branches are too. But if some of the branches were broken off and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”

                “Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief and you stand only by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you. Behold then the kindness and severity of “God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also if they do not continue in their unbelief will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again.” Rom. 11:13-23

                “For I do not want you, brethren to be uninformed of this mystery lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in and thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written “The Deliverer will come from Zion He will remove ungodliness from Jacob and this is My covenant with them when I take away their sins. “ From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Rom. 11:25-29.

                There is perhaps no other chapter in the entire Bible that is more misunderstood and purposely ignored than Romans chapter 11. What Paul tells us here is that the branches that rejected Jesus were broken off to make room for the grafting in of the Gentile nations. That is to say that we Gentile Christians are only a part of God’s plan because we have been grafted into the Jewish olive tree, (Israel) It then goes on to say that once the fullness of the Gentiles has been grafted in, He will graft the cut off Jews back in because God is under an eternal and irrevocable covenant with them to take away their sins.

                This chapter is literally pregnant with a hundred sermons and yet the church has all but divorced itself from the olive tree and cut the Jews off of it as well. The church furthermore has denied their Jewish roots and as a final apostasy in our day, parts of the church are seeking to remove the Torah and the Old Testament scriptures from the Bible altogether. Never mind that Jesus used the Old Testament scriptures to prove His own identity (Luke 25:27, 44, 45) and in spite of the fact that Jesus told the Samaritan woman that salvation is of the Jews.  Was Jesus vainly bragging about His own Jewish race or was He stating an eternal truth?

                About two years ago I was on my exercise bike and praying in the spirit when I received an open vision of sorts. In it I saw Jesus and His disciples standing around the perimeter of a giant olive tree with swords drawn. The tree stood in the center of town and there were three avenues leading into town and bands of armed soldiers and thugs were approaching from all three directions brandishing clubs and swords and shooting fiery arrows at the Olive tree. The tree was sustaining heavy damage and Jesus and His disciples were both sad and resolute as they guarded the tree. As the armies approached, an ox cart full of straw was coming up the road led by a young maiden and an old lady. (Probably her mother or grandmother)  When they saw the approaching army they turned the cart around and fled. I did not see Jesus and the disciples fighting with their swords, but nevertheless the armies disbanded and went away.

                For some reason in this vision, I turned and ran down the road to see what had happened to the maiden and the old lady. I found them in an alley. The old lady had been killed and the maiden raped and left for dead. I was sad and I turned to go back to Jesus and His disciples but the vision faded away.

                I can’t even begin to tell you what the vision meant or why I had it, but it seems to me that when Israel is attacked in the future, the ones who are supposed to protect her will be weak and feeble and will flee the scene. It reminds me of a passage in Ezekiel 38:10-23. Gog of Magog will come against Jerusalem at a time when the once barren land has been re-inhabited and its people living in peace and safety in un-walled villages. The nations will stand back and ask Gog if he has come to take a spoil but they will not move to defend Israel. Then God Himself will deliver Israel with a great earthquake and He will cause confusion so that every man turns his sword against his brother. And God finishes that chapter saying. “And I shall sanctify Myself and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will now that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 38:23

                We see these events rapidly building up in our world and at the same time we see Israel back in her land and dwelling in un-walled villages and that tells us that on God’s great prophetic clock, we are nearing the fullness of the Gentiles when God will begin to deal with Israel again. We are looking at the beginnings of the Time of Jacob’s Trouble and we as Gentile Christians should be watching these events with intense interest.

                Bonnie and I were having a very pleasant meal with Pastor Akers and his wife Alice and we were talking Bible prophecy and He asked me if I was pre, mid or post trib and I answered smiling that I was pan-trib and he laughed.

                No matter how staunchly we believe our particular view of coming events and the return of Jesus, we cannot really know for sure how it will unfold. Jesus said in Mt. 24:44: “For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.” Hmmm. What does that mean?

                On the other hand in Luke 21:36 Jesus says: “But keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape all of these things that are about to take place and to stand before the Son of Man.” Strength sort of implies the ability to flee more so than God’s ability to catch us away. But we can’t build doctrine on such nuances any more than presuming that God’s invitation to John to “come up here” includes the whole church.

                The truth of the matter is that God has seen fit to place us in the world at this particular time in history and we need to find out why He did and seek Him to fulfill our destiny and purpose in this late hour. This is why we absolutely need to learn how to walk in the Spirit and pray in the Spirit and study the Scriptures in the Spirit and to do all things in the Spirit for we don’t always know the will of God for our lives, but God does and so He has called us to learn to live our lives by divine appointment.

                The olive tree could not be completed until the Gentile nations were grafted into it, and yet it still cannot be completed until the broken off branches are grafted back in as well. This God will begin to do once the fullness of the Gentiles has been brought in… and if our attention is once again focusing on Israel it is because we are approaching the cosmic changing of the guard and we as soldiers of the cross need to stand with Christ… to overcome by the blood of the lamb and by the word of our testimony.

                When all is said and done, the olive tree will be complete.