The LIVING WOOD+ . . . For the Discouraged of Heart . . . Revelation 2:7

He that hath an ear, let him hear what The SPIRIT saith unto the churches; to him that Overcometh, will I+ give to eat of the TREE OF LIFE which is in the midst of the Paradise of GOD. Revelation 2:7

MARVELOUS WORDS of both a Promise ( spoken)  and Warning ( implied ) from the RISEN, RESURRECTED, Un-CONQUERED, GLORIFIED LORD  Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA+, Maker of Heaven and earth and by WHOM+ all things consist. 

By far, the most interesting word in this VERY FULL verse is TREE. This particular TREE is the TREE OF LIFE, but the Greek word used here is not the Greek word we would normally expect.  

This TREE is a XULON in Greek, which USUALLY refers to TIMBER or something made from WOOD, a wooden article, in the New Testament.

 

This same  TREE OF LIFE  is familiar to us, being first mentioned in Genesis 2:9, and found in the midst of Garden of Eden, man’s first Paradise. 

 

And out of the ground made the LORD GOD [ YHWH ELOHIM ] 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 .

Genesis 2:9

From Scripture we know that both of these trees bore edible fruit, so they must have been LIVING plants, for those of us who read Scriptures literally. 

So HE [ The ELOHIM ] drove out the man;

and [ The ELOHIM ] placed at the east of the garden of Eden

Cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way,

to keep [ GUARD, Heb. ] the way of the TREE OF LIFE.

Genesis 3:24

The Hebrew word for tree in these verses is Atz ( pronounced “ates”). This word refers to BOTH a living tree and timber or the wood cut from a tree, in subsequent uses in the Hebrew Scriptures, such as the Atz which was laid upon the altar by Abraham in Genesis 22. 

However, the GREEK in the New Testament makes a difference between wood or timbers cut from a tree [ xulon : Strong’s 3586 ]  versus the living tree [ dendron : Strong’s 1186 ]  itself.

 

For a good tree [ dendron ]  bringeth not forth corrupt fruit;

neither doth a corrupt tree [ dendron ]  bring forth good fruit.

Luke 6:43

In contrast to the Living plant, dendron, a TREE, is the Greek word XULON, for TIMBER or WOOD cut from a tree. The following verses use XULON. 

And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and OF WOOD [ XULON ]: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Revelation 9:20

WHO+ His+ own Self+ bare our sins

in His+ own BODY+ ON THE TREE,

[ xulon: timber, wood ]

that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness:

by Whose+ Stripes ye were healed. 

1 Peter 2:24

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The XULON of LIFE  ---  the TIMBER- WOOD of LIFE – is found bearing FRUIT ( ! )  in Heaven.  

It is the FRUIT of THIS tree, the XULON of LIFE , that Over-comers will be given to eat, according to the words of Revelation. This FRUIT comes from the TIMBERS or WOOD !

And he shewed 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,  

 [ XULON ]

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.

Revelation 22:1-2

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to THE TREE OF LIFE, --- once again, the XULON , timber , wood --- and may enter in through the gates into the city. Revelation 22:14

NOW . . . Lest our natural minds reject the fruit-bearing WOOD, let us recall  Aaron’s Rod which bore leaves, blossoms, and Almonds and was placed in the Ark of the Covenant, Hebrews 9:4 

 And it shall come to pass, that the man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from ME the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you. Numbers 17:5

And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, BEHOLD!  the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds !  Numbers 17:8.

Also, let us keep in mind Ezekiel’s Valley of the Dry Bones . . . Can these bones live again ? . . . Ezekiel 37

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LET US PRAY

O Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA+ !   I am so sorry I have not embraced Your+ Cross in every area of my life.   I am so sorry I have pushed it away, insisting on my own way to find happiness. 

O LORD  Y'SHU+, the Wood of Your+ Cross looks dead and dried and VERY lonesome to me . . .  taking me exactly the opposite way of where I want to go and exactly the opposite of what I want to do in this life. 

But Your+ WORD shows me it is LIVING WOOD+.  It is able to bring forth LIFE and FRUIT in me when I embrace it FULLY. It is in reality THE TREE of LIFE, real, vibrant, pulsating LIFE which can only come from YOU+. 

( For I know that dry WOOD is nothing to YOU+, The LIVING LORD; is anything too hard for ME+? YOU+ said. )

That dry, brittle WOOD of Your+ Cross brings forth FRUIT for the HEALING of the nations, YOU+ told the Apostle John. 

Likewise, it must be the means of LIFE for me .  That is the precise way YOU+ have chosen to bring forth LIVING FRUIT in my Life, fruit I will enjoy, fruit which will last for all Eternity !

 

Like in the Valley of Dry Bones, call my dry bones to LIFE with the BREATH of The ELOHIM ( GOD: The FATHER, SON+, and HOLY SPIRIT ) upon my every move. 

O, NOTHING is too difficult for THEE+. NOTHING !  The dead shall live again and my dry bones will burst with LIFE   . . . even now, as I embrace the Cross+ YOU+ have placed in my Life. 

                                

For by that Cross+ YOU+ are saving me from my Self and saving my life from destruction. Strengthen me, O LORD  Y'SHU+.  Help me to HOLD ONTO this Truth. 

I yield to Your+ Great Good Will.

In Your+ Life-Giving Name, O Precious SAVIOR+, I  EMBRACE the dead wood of the Cross+, trusting that Your+ Life will flow through it to me. 

Amen. 

+  +  +

A FURTHER NOTE: In the New Testament, the Olive tree and Fig tree and Sycamore  tree ( plants)  all have separate Greek words, that is, not dendron, a green tree ( a plant).  

However, there is ONE verse which seems to use XULON as a “green tree.” 

For if they do these things in a green tree,

 [hugros XULON ]

what shall be done in the dry?

Luke 23:31

But upon closer inspection of the Greek, the Greek word for GREEN [ chloros: Strong’s 5515 ] is not in the verse, but rather the word for “WET” wood [ hugros, Strong’s 5200 ]. 

Thus , WET wood, as we know it , would naturally refer to timber or chopped wood which has not been cured or dried out.

Hugros XULON is not a living tree, but rather UNCURED WOOD.  

The TREE in all three verses in Acts which refer to the Cross of   Y'SHU+ , calling the Cross a “tree” , are XULON,  timber, wood. 

The GOD of our fathers raised up Y'SHU+,

Whom+ ye slew and hanged on a tree [ xulon ].

Acts 5:30

Likewise, in Galatians 3:13: 

THE M'SHIKHA+ hath redeemed us from the curse of The Law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: XULON, timber, wood. 

In the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint as we have it, there is a mixing of XULON ( timber, wood) with DENDRON ( a living tree ). XULON is used most of the time, however. This mixing of terms is not surprising since the Septuagint which we have is merely a 4^th century AD copy of the rather faulty Vaticanus – Codex B, 03. ( See the introduction to the Septuagint from any publisher. )