Testimony of Brother Ben Howard
It was in July of 2010 that I preached a message here in Dawsonville, Georgia, concerning the uniting of the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil in this last day. The connecting of these two trees would produce children with eternal life. We read in Genesis 2:8-9, "And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil." Notice this part that says "grows out of the ground." This is talking about physical fruit. Then He goes into another realm which is spirit.
Notice, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden. The strange thing about this is that it never was authorized for them to eat of the tree of life but there would come a time when it would be. At that time the tree of life had to do with the reproduction of the human race, bringing forth children as God would give the revelation of the right time for Adam and Eve to come together. We know that they failed to wait for instructions as God foresaw they would, and that's why He made provision. That's why Christ was slain from the foundation of the world. God knew what would take place. The tree of life was there but God never did say, "Go eat of the tree of life." The Voice of Authorization hadn't come to Eve yet, but it would, had she waited for the voice of God to give instruction on this act that governed this sacred act of reproduction of their kind. But Eve couldn't wait. So Eve and the serpent partook of this act outside of the will of God. They ate of the tree of knowledge, and Eve persuaded Adam to do the same. Then God removed the tree of life and took it away. God said, "Lest you eat and live forever." But God's plan was still going on and He knew exactly what He was going to do. That Voice of Authorization is in Revelation, Chapter 10, where it says, "Go take the little book." Eve never did get that because she couldn't wait. There are people today that didn't get it because they couldn't wait for God's time to take the little book but formulated their own plan.
There was a time in the Bible that's called the kingdom of heaven age, and it has to do with the seven church ages. During that time God specifically permitted certain things to take place because He hadn't told them to take possession of the little book (tree of life). So He permitted certain things to take place until it ran its course of seven church ages. He said to even let the wheat and tares both grow together. The Bible says to let them all grow together and God would separate them at the end time, and that end time has already come. It's already separated. God has already given us the little book and we're eating. We are not under the church age law anymore. But some couldn't wait. Sometimes God lets a trial or a test be there. The serpent had some Word; for he said, "Yeah, hath God said." The serpent told Eve, "You don't have to wait on God." He told Eve to look at nature and said, "You don't have to wait on God. I will show you how to have a child without waiting on God." He persuaded Eve. She couldn't wait. That is typical of the foolish virgins today, they couldn't wait. They have to get out there and do something themselves rather than come in and wait upon the Lord. The Bible says, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They'll mount up with wings as eagles, and they'll run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint," because they waited. We have waited until we could see the way. The wife has the Word that's brought back again in this hour with the same Jesus, the same power, the same Spirit. Christ and His wife totally united in marriage. He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit.
So the tree of life was in the garden, and also the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God said concerning the tree of knowledge, "The day you eat thereof, that day you'll surely die." But I want you to notice the tree of knowledge was good and evil. It is good if you wait till the time. They say it takes time to make good wine. Sometimes you just have to wait on the Lord until He tells you what to do. It wasn't that the tree of knowledge was so bad itself, but it was the usage of the tree. It definitely could produce good, but outside of God's original ordained way it would be evil. That tree of knowledge was fine and it was good, because everything God made He saw that it was good and that includes the tree of knowledge and the tree of life. Of course, this was two laws, but they had to wait on God's time to connect them together and bring forth children with eternal life. This, Adam and Eve failed to do; thus the fall of mankind took place.
So how are children brought forth today? In the natural, strictly by the tree of knowledge, because the tree of life is not in that realm. It's in a new birth realm now. It's in a revelational realm. The latter part of 2 Corinthians 3:3 says, "Written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God: not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." He's telling them where the real Word is at. This is not talking about the Bible, because Verse 6 says, "Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life." This says "able ministers of the New Testament," and there was very little New Testament written at this time. Just like in Acts 19:10 where it says, "All Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus." This Word that they were hearing was Holy Ghost Word with life in it. It wasn't the letter of the Word. You say, "Are you discrediting the Word of the Lord?" No, I'm saying that you have to worship God in Spirit and in truth. You have to have the Word and the Spirit, because the next part of this says, "for the letter killeth." The letter killeth, (the tree of knowledge of good and evil - this Bible) unless it is connected to the Spirit (the tree of life).
It was the same thing in the Garden of Eden. It will kill you without God's Spirit. It will kill a congregation. A preacher can get up and condemn the people, spewing out condemnation, and all the time quoting scripture while he is doing it. The people walk out; and as Paul said, "It slew me." People will feel like they've been slain. They feel like they went to church and got slain, cut to pieces. Paul said, "It slew me." But when you go on to Chapter 8 of Romans, he begins to talk about the Spirit of Life, which makes us free from the law of sin and death. Notice, here he says, "The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life." There's life. There's the tree of life, the Book of Life. The Bible says, "The tree of life is in the midst of the paradise of God." The only way you can get to it is by revelation, not by studying, not by learning, not by anything, but by the revelation that the Lord gives you of that tree of life.
Please listen to the below audio or video messages or read the books for further understanding of the tree of life and the tree of knowledge.
The Uniting of the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life
Messages Delivered On June 20 - July 11, 2010 in Dawsonville, Georgia
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Was Paul's Message the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil?
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Was Paul's Message the Tree of Life?
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A Perfect Balance Is a Delight In The Eyes of the Lord
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The Gatekeepers to the Tree of Life
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How Jesus Disarmed Those That Were Armed with the Bible
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My Testimony
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