King read out loud Genesis 2:1 - 3. “‘Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.’” He nodded thoughtfully. “Isn’t it wonderful? I believe we’ve already used Psalm 33:6 for a supporting verse in Genesis 1, but it also supports Genesis 2:1. ‘By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.’”

“Predictive prophecy,” Barrington replied. “God said it.”

“Fulfillment of prophecy,” Lenox added. “It happened.”

Fronk had to jump in. “’Nuff said!”

“The boys are showing off again,” Erin commented with a grin, rolling her eyes.

Staci sat back and shook her head. “Don’t they always?”

“Ladies,” Fuller began, “I assure you that boys may show off, but God doesn’t. I think His work speaks for itself. I have found two verses from the book of Exodus which supports the seventh day.”

“By all means, then,” King replied eagerly, “please share them with us.”

Fuller nodded his head. “The first verse is, ‘For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefor the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.’ 1 And the second verse says, ‘It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.’ 2”

Fronk made a face. “Huh?”

“You have a question?” King inquired.

Fronk nodded. “Uh huh.”

“Then, out with it.”

“I believe,” Fronk began, but then he stopped to dramatically clear his throat. Then, he said, “Now I believe that God is all powerful, all knowing and all seeing. Can I get a witness?”

All of the men at the table responded loudly. “Amen!”

“Thank ye ever so kindly.” He regarded King. “My question, then, is simply this…If God is so powerful, why does He need to be refreshed as He is noted as being in Exodus 31:17? Q6” He raised his eyebrows. “Hmmm?”

King paused. “That is a very good question.”

“And is that your final answer?”

“Indeed, it is not. Surely God does not need to be refreshed for He is God. This verse must have a deeper meaning and we’ll have to research it out.”

Fuller nodded to Fronk. “Add it to the questions, William.”

“Aye, aye, Skipper!” Fronk began to write furiously into his notebook.

Shiva unnecessarily raised his hand. “I also have a question. David, is Genesis 2:1 - 3 where the Sabbath day comes from? Q7 Is this where it began?”

“In short, yes,” King answered. “The Sabbath day, however, truly is a subject for further study.”

“I’ll add it to our questions,” Fronk promised, still writing as if his life depended on it. The tip of his tongue protruded from his mouth as if it only added to his concentration.

King flipped through the pages of his Bible until he came to what he was searching for. “This should answer your question, Marc. Deuteronomy 5:14 says, ‘But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.’”

“I just had a thought,” Barrington replied. “About resting and being refreshed. If Jesus is to be our example while He was here on earth, maybe that’s why God rested. As an example for us to follow.”

“That is something to consider. God knows our frailties. After all, He did create us. Unfortunately for us, the world and the devil do not give us much allowance for rest.”

“We’re resting now,” Fronk pointed out. “We’re resting in Him and it’s so very refreshing.”

“Amen to that, brother,” Shiva agreed.

King smiled. “So we know God rested. ‘For he spoke in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.’ 3 Speaking of His chosen people, ‘And madest known unto them thy holy Sabbath, and commandest them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant.’ 4 The Sabbath is important. It isn’t just an example to follow. In the Old Testament to the Israelites, it was a command. Isaiah 58:13 - 14 says, ‘If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words…’ Watch this now. ‘…Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’”

“That’s heavy,” Shiva replied with a nod.

“You’re an ex-wrestler, Mr. Muscles.” Fronk pointed at him. “You can pick up anything!”

Shiva looked at him.

“What is heavy, my brothers,” King began to tell them, “is if we follow His commands, we shall be delighted in the Lord and it will be well with us.” He held up his hand. “However, let us move on. I assure you, we can spend a lot more time in the Sabbath, but let us continue along Route 66 for more of God’s Word. Yet before we do, I believe we are at our fifth comparison of the created world to the eternal world. Who has the Genesis verse…and who has the Revelation verse?”

Fronk imitated the Popeye laugh. “I have Genesis 2:1 - 3.”

Shiva raised a hand. “I’ve got Revelation 21:1.”

King nodded. “Gentlemen, read your verses and tell us what the fifth comparison is.”

“You’ve already read to us these three verses, oh king of mine,” Fronk said in a deep voice, “but I shall read them again and you cannot stop me.” He mimicked a sinister laugh. “Now then…Genesis 2:1, 2, and 3. ‘Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.’” He moved his glasses to the tip of his nose and peered over them at Shiva. “Top that, mighty Fury.”

Shiva nodded. “I will. Why don’t you listen as I read Revelation 21:1? ‘And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.’” He looked up. “We also read this before, about the sea. But we’re not talking about the sea in this comparison. We’re talking about the heavens and the earth.”

“Yes! Yes, we are. And what have we discovered?” Fronk looked at each group member at the table before continuing. “The heavens and the earth are finished! But the new heavens and the new earth will go on forever! This heaven and earth will be destroyed. It will pass. The new one will never pass.” He raised his hands. “Can I get a witness?” he exclaimed.

The group all shared a round of “Amen’s” that time.

“And now,” King began when they settled down, “let us get a bit more detail into what happens next. Let’s take a look at Adam and Eve in the Garden…”

“My brothers and sisters,” King began as he leaned forward at the table, a smile of anticipation on his face, “I feel like we’re just about to make a new discovery on Route 66. We’ve been in the area of Creation for quite a while, but now we’re going to get just a little more personal with the Creator. This new discovery is actually something we know, but sometimes when we go back to it, we may discover something new that God is wanting to show us. Again, I say this is personal. We are going to take a walk in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, and with God. Let’s look at the fourth verse of Genesis 2.” He held up his Bible and read, “‘These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens…’” He set his Bible down. “Moses is reminding us of the very first verse in Genesis 1. ‘In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.’ Everywhere in Scripture as we have already seen, we can see that God is the Creator. ‘Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hast formed the earth and the world , even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.’ 5 There is no other.” He smiled at Fronk. “Can I get a witness?”

Fronk shouted, “Amen!”

Erin jumped. Then, she narrowed her eyes at Fronk.

Before Erin could scold Fronk, King said, “Erin, would you please read to us the next three verses of Genesis 2?”

“You’re lucky,” Erin told Fronk, who was imitating the Ferengi cringe. “Genesis 2:5 - 7.” She cleared her throat and pushed her glasses up. “‘And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.’”

“And all of God’s children said…”

“Amen,” was the response from around the table.

King smiled. “Do you see what I mean by personal?”

Staci nodded. “Yes, I do. God breathed life into man. He gave man life. He gave man a soul. I don’t know how to put it into words, but as a doctor, I just know you can’t get any more personal than that. God breathed life into man and…and I believe He loved man more than the other works He did because…because He gave man what He created and entrusted man to work on the earth. To till the ground. I mean, if someone trusts you with something important to them, it says something about how they feel, doesn’t it? You wouldn’t give something so important to you to someone you didn’t trust, would you?” She looked around at the others. “Do you know what I mean?”

Fronk raised his hand. “Ooh! Ooh! I know what you mean. Like before Knox was saved, I would have never been able to trust him with my Gilligan’s Island DVD’s, but now that he’s saved, I can trust him.”

Everyone looked at him.

He looked back. “What are you all looking at? I’m serious.”

Fuller paused. “You are?”

“Yes! Come on, God entrusted man to take care of what He created. No, I didn’t create Gilligan’s Island, but you all know how much I love that crazy show and how I wouldn’t let just anybody borrow it. Right? So in a sense, I see what Staci is trying to say. What God did was so important to Him, He created, He wanted it to be taken care of and, well, sure, He could certainly take care of what He created Himself, but, hey, let’s get man to do it. God loves man. God wants to spend time with man and God may have figured that while man is taking care of His creation, He could fellowship with man while man worked?” He paused. Then, he waved his hands in the air. “Okay…I don’t truly know if that’s exactly the same as me letting Knox take my Gilligan’s Island DVD’s…but do you get what I’m saying? Is it close to where you were going, Doc?”

Staci nodded. “Uhm…I think so.”

King regarded both Staci and Fronk. “To a degree, you are both right. However, there really is much more to it than that. God created man to fellowship with Him, but he also gave man a free will so that man would fellowship with God because they wanted to. Not because they had to.” He paused. “This also brings up another interesting topic in our study. The area of work. It seems to me that God had intended man to be doing something. This is before the Fall and here we are, seeing man being created and man receiving a task, so this is an indication that we will all be doing something in heaven. We’ll all have some type of task. For now, we are simply man who was created by God. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, til thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.’ 6 You see, even though man is eventually forced to leave the Garden of Eden, I don’t believe work was intended to be as it is today. Some people dread going to work. God did not intend work to be dreadful. Adam was meant to till the ground. But Adam fell and Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.’ 7 The work became a bit more difficult for him to do.”

“You mean work now comes with all of the aches and pains, struggling to get up when that old alarm clock goes off.” Barrington nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah. Tell me about it.”

“Well, we all know there will be no aches and pains in heaven.” King held a finger up. “Come to think of it, there’ll be no alarm clocks either.” He jotted down scriptures on a piece of paper. “There is so much to look forward to, isn’t there?”

“Yes, there is,” Shiva agreed.

King smiled. “In the meantime, let’s look at some supporting verses. There are quite a few here, which go along with Genesis 2:7. These verses continue with the breath of God and how man is a created being. I’ve already quoted just a few of them, but who would like to look up Genesis 7:22 and read it for us?”

Staci raised her hand.

King nodded to her.

Staci turned a few pages ahead in her bible and read the verse. “‘All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.’” She made a face. “Oh, that’s not good.”

“Death never is,” King agreed. “If anything, however, this verse only goes to show us just who this breath of life is. It is God because He alone gives life. He gave us the breath of life…His breath. He also gave us His Son. The breath of eternal life. Everything comes from God. Even life.” He looked at the list of scriptures he had written down and read what they were to the group. “There are six verses left, so I’ll just go around the table and whoever wants to read one, just simply read. Staci, my sister, you’ve already read one, so let’s all turn to our brother, Michael. What verse will you read?”

Lenox already had his place in the Word. “I’m reading Job 33:4, which says, ‘The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.’”

King nodded. “Again, we are reminded of where life comes from. Albert…?”

“I have Psalm 103:14,” Barrington replied. “‘For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.’ Like dust we were when we came in and like dust we will be when we go out.”

Shiva looked at him. “That’s kind of what I have here in Ecclesiastes 12:7. ‘Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.’ God gave to us life and one day, He’ll take it back. But He’ll take us to where He is! It says so right there, that our spirits will return to God.” He shook his head in amazement. “That’s heavy.”

“You’re only saying that because you used to be a wrestler,” Fronk said to him. “I like this verse from Isaiah. It’s 2:22 and I do suppose you might see it as being heavy, too. It says, ‘Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?’” He made his nostrils move. “Ahhh! The breath of life is sweet indeed, my friends. And breath isn‘t heavy! It‘s light as air.” He held up a hand. “Although I do feel I should point out that some people I know who have the breath of life…should also have a tic tac or four in their mouths at all times. Or at least keep your distance and let me breathe in peace.”

Erin narrowed her eyes. “Are you saying some of us have bad breath?”

Fronk blinked innocently. “Why, no! Silly you. Whatever gave you that idea?”

“Well…my verse doesn’t talk about the breath of life anyway. It still follows the theme of being created and molded by the hand of God. The verse I’m reading is Isaiah 64:8.” She reached into her purse, took out a package of wintergreen mints and slid them on the table toward Fronk. She cleared her throat. “‘But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter: and we all are the work of thy hand.’ We were created by God.” She smiled at Fronk. “God also created those mints, brother, and you need to take the whole pack.”

Shiva chuckled. “Billy just got burned.”

There were chuckles of amusement around the table.

When the chuckling subsided, Fuller said, “I have Acts 17:25, but I’m also going to read verse 24 because it kind of leads into the verse. ‘God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.’ I suppose, William, God also created humor because He did create you.”

“He created everything,” King pointed out. “That’s what people don’t see. They just consider the Creation account briefly and go on, but what we have here is that God created everything. Now…let’s continue and see what other morsels of truth we can discover.”

“We come now to the Garden of Eden.” King paused to regard those who were at the table with him. “We will read verses 8 through 14, but before we do, know that the final three comparisons are found in this passage of scripture. We’ll get to them as we continue along, but I must be reminded of who our final three - or should I say six - participants are. Of the Genesis team…who has the Genesis verses?” He glanced down at his notes. “Oh, I see I have verse 10.”

Staci raised her hand. “I have a verse.”

“Me, too,” Erin replied. “I have two verses.”

King nodded. “And the Revelation team?”

Barrington said, “I’m ready with my verse.”

“Hoo-rah,” Lenox replied in military fashion. “I’m also prepared.”

Fuller looked up from his Bible. “And that leaves me also with a verse from the book of Revelation.”

King smiled. “Excellent! Then, let us continue as I read from Genesis 2:8 - 14. ‘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 God 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. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted and became four heads. The name of the first is Pishon; that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good, and there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon; the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel; that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.’” He looked at Erin. “Please read your verses.”

Erin read, “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 God 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.’”

“Darren, your verse, please?”

Fuller nodded. “Of course. Revelation 21:2, ‘And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.’” He pursed his lips in thought. “Well, David, it would seem to me the comparison here is that in Genesis, man is in a garden that was prepared for him. In Revelation, we have a prepared city.”

“That is precisely the comparison we have from Genesis to Revelation,” King confirmed. “Isn’t it exciting? Everywhere we look in the Bible, there is evidence of God‘s love for man. He prepares a garden for man, and now we also see God has prepared a city.” He began to flip through pages in his Bible. “Let us not get too ahead of ourselves now. Before we get to the ninth comparison between the Created World and the Eternal World, there are several verses which support verse 8. These verses tell us more about the Garden of Eden.”

There were a total of nine verses he found in his studies and he assigned them out to those in the study group. “Let us begin,” King replied. “Whoever has the first verse I gave out, just read it to us.”

“That’s me,” Erin replied, holding her hand up and then adjusting her glasses. “You read according to 2:8 that Adam was placed in the garden, or more specifically, man was. This verse I’m about to read also goes along with that. It’s Genesis 2:15, which I imagine we’ll return back to after this part of our study, right?”

King nodded. “Yes.”

She nodded. “Okay…‘And the LORD God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.’” She paused. “Is that a theme we’re seeing here, David? You’re telling us that God purposefully prepared this garden for man to work in. He’s also prepared a city for man…also to work in?”

“God simply has a purpose for man…Period. It is that simple, Erin. I do not believe God would have us to be so idle. We have a purpose while we are here on this earth, do we not? The purpose of gathering souls unto Him…that is our purpose now. When we reach Heaven, we will most certainly have a new purpose. To know God and worship Him forevermore.” He shrugged. “Until then, we must continue to run this race. It is a difficult race, but it can be done as the victory is already assured. My brother, Marc…?”

Shiva cleared his throat. “Genesis 3:24. ‘So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.’ Not a happy verse compared to the ones we have just read.”

Barrington shook his head. “I would say not. It seems man is given a task to perform in the garden, but he does it in his own way. He breaks a commandment of God - and I don’t care what anyone says. If you break one commandment, you’ve broken them all.”

King nodded. “Well said, brother.”

“Thank you, David. Anyway, he broke God’s Law and as a result was put outside of the garden. Sounds like all of us have been there ourselves. I know I have. It’s why I’m here with you instead of up in Heaven with Kate and April. I‘ve sinned and because of it, I couldn‘t get past the barrier my sin had placed between me and God.” He placed his hands in front of him as he tried to illustrate. “It’s like the garden is where God’s presence is and because man has disobeyed God, he gets booted out of the garden. His fellowship with God is severed. It’s gone. Man can’t even get back into the garden. I wonder if Adam tried to get back in. What I’m saying is that no matter what we do, in our own power, there’s nothing we can do to get us back into God’s fellowship. We’ve broken it. It’s gone. We can never get it back…” He held up a finger. “Unless we go to His Son, who paid for our sin and made a way for us to restore that fellowship.”

Lenox grinned at him. “You’re on a roll, brother.”

Fuller nodded appreciatively. “That’s good.”

“I’m speechless,” Fronk replied.

“That’s also good.”

Fronk narrowed his eyes. “Oh, yeah? Well, this is good, too. You can see right here that man has been barred from the garden. It’s like a continuation, but this one gets a little more personal because it has a name attached to it. This is found in Genesis 4:16. And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod to the east of Eden.’” He held up his hand. “Here’s a guy who killed his brother and is running from what he did…not because he was sorry but because he got caught by God. God asked him straight up, man! And this guy tells God that he isn’t responsible for his own brother and whammo! He’s on the run.” He shook his head. “Man, talk about being cast out.”

King looked at Fronk thoughtfully. “Cain cast off all fear of God, and attended no more to any of God's ordinances. Hypocritical professors, who dissemble and trifle with God, are justly left to themselves to do something grossly scandalous. So they throw off that form of godliness to which they have been a reproach and of which they deny the power. Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and we never find that he came into it again, to his own comfort because it would be far more comforting to be in God‘s presence than outside from it. Now the land Cain dwelt in was called the land of Nod, which means, shaking, or trembling, and so shows the restlessness and uneasiness of his own spirit, or the land of a vagabond: they that depart from God cannot find rest any where else. Those on earth who looked for the heavenly city, chose to dwell in tabernacles or tents; but Cain, as not minding that city, built one on earth. All who are cursed of God seek their settlement and satisfaction here below. This also illustrates how sin separates us from God‘s presence and therefore leads to death. God loved both Cain and Adam, as well as Eve, but their sin separated them from life, which is only found in His presence.”

Lenox nodded. “That’s an eye opener right there when you really give that some thought. Man has the option to choose either the Garden of Eden or the City of Nod. Most often, we don’t always make the right choices, do we?”

“We either choose to come to Christ,” Staci began softly.

“Or we choose not to,” Erin finished.

Shiva paused. “Well, I’m glad we all chose Christ.”

“Me, too,” Staci said with a nod of agreement. “I wouldn’t want to see any of you…or anyone else for that matter burning in…well, you know where.” She pointed down at the floor.

Lenox smiled at her. Then, his smile faded as he realized Staci was right. She may have put it into simple terms, but the message was still loud and clear. Those who died without Christ were going to face an eternity of hellfire and brimstone. They were going to be forevermore cast out from God’s presence and into eternal damnation where there would be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

“You’re right, Staci,” Lenox agreed. “I wouldn’t want that either. Not on my worst enemy. The unfortunate truth is that not every one will accept the message we have. Some of them will not even care to hear it.”

“No, of course they won’t,” Shiva said with a sigh. “Those are the ones who are busy trying to hunt us down so we can be executed for believing in Jesus Christ.”

Barrington shook his head. “Years ago, I would have never believed this could ever happen in our lifetimes, but when the Rapture happened…” He shrugged. “Well, now it’s the only thing that is certain. We’re considered to be fugitives and criminals because we refuse to conform to their ways. Because we refuse to obey the Antichrist and take his mark. They’re after us because they despise the truth that the Gospel message of Jesus Christ has to offer to all those who will embrace it.”

“Amen, brother,” Shiva agreed.

The entire Bible Study group agreed with Barrington.

“On that note,” Fuller replied, getting his Bible ready, “we’ll continue with a verse that actually has another area of land compared to the Garden of Eden. I’ll just read it…” He cleared his throat. “‘And Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah), even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as thou comest unto Zoar.’8 As I recall, Lot really did want to go into this area because his men and Abraham’s weren’t getting along too well. It was a very good land and Abraham agreed for Lot to go that way. I’m sure we’ll get into more detail of what went on here once we get to this section.”

King nodded. “Good. Yes, that’s a good idea.” He looked at Lenox expectantly.

Lenox read his verse out loud. “‘Have the gods of the nations delivered them whom my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan and Haran and Rezeph and the children of Eden who were in Thelasar?'9” He paused. “Seems we’ve run into a little history here.”

“Much history,” King confirmed. “A big area of study, which we will get into when we get into the books of Kings. That is I and II Kings. I believe it has something to do with the king of Assyria blaspheming the name of the Lord and boasting that the Lord will not deliver His people out of his hand. He refers to God’s people as the children of Eden.”

Staci unnecessarily raised her hand. “Uhm…this verse I have is kind-a the opposite. At least it sounds like it does, because it talks about…about how God will heal them and make their wilderness like Eden.” She paused. “‘For the LORD shall comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places, and He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.’” She smiled. “I really like that. Very positive.”

“What verse was that?” Erin inquired.

Staci looked at her notes. “Uhm…Isaiah 51:3.”

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome.”

Barrington chuckled. “Well, I have a verse that talks about merchants and mentions Eden. It’s found in Ezekiel 27:23 and says, ‘Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad were thy merchants.’”

King smiled. “I personally love Ezekiel 28:13. ‘Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering: the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold; the workmanship of thy taborets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.’ I believe that this is a wonderful verse about the Garden of Eden and about the God who created Eden.” He leaned forward. “Then, I believe we shall end this part of the study with Joel 2:3, which says, ‘A fire devoureth before them, and behind them a flame burneth. The land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.’ As God’s people, it is always best to go forward, not back. Because forward leads to where He wants us to go and it is in our best interest to heed His direction.” He clapped his hands together. “Now, let us look a little deeper into Genesis 2:9 and we’ll also see another comparison.”

“I feel we must go into the comparisons before we discuss further about what we find here in verse 9 of Genesis 2.” King sat forward with his hands before him, a look of concentration on his face. “Something tells me we may be in this verse for a while longer because there are a great many verses which help us understand further about the Tree of Life. What is the Tree of Life? What purpose does it have? Where is the Tree of Life?” He smiled. “This should be very exciting. I simply feel as if we are about to dig into something good.”

“Like a chocolate cream pie,” Fronk replied with a grin.

“Pies are good, my brother, but even you cannot compare feeding your body to feeding your spirit.”

The Crazy Man nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Then, let us look at the comparison to these two verses between the Created World and the Eternal World.” He turned to Staci. “Please read.”

Staci nodded. “Genesis 2:9. ‘And out of the ground made the LORD God 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.’” She looked up. “There are two trees mentioned.”

“Yes, and we will look into both of them.” He turned to Lenox. “My brother, do you have the verse from Revelation as a comparison?”

Lenox nodded. “Yes, I do.” He paused. “Revelation 22:2. ‘In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, there was the Tree of Life, which bore twelve kinds of fruit and yielded her fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.’” He set the Bible down onto the table in front of him. He shook his head. “I have to admit, David. I’m not seeing any comparison here.”

Barrington let out a chuckle. “You don’t like to be stumped, do you?”

“It’s plain to me,” Fuller replied with a shrug.

Lenox regarded them. “All I see here is that there is a Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden and there will be a Tree of Life in the New City.” He paused in thought. “Which must be the comparison.”

“That’s it,” King agreed with a nod. “The Tree of Life is fed by the pure waters of the river that comes directly from the throne of God. The very presence of God in heaven is the health and happiness of the saints. This tree is an emblem of Christ and of all the blessings of his salvation; and the leaves for the healing of the nations mean that his favor and presence supply all good to the inhabitants of that blessed world…the world in which we will one day enjoy. The devil has no power there; he cannot draw the saints from serving God, nor can he disturb them in the service of God. Service there shall be not only freedom, but honor and dominion. There will be no night; no affliction or dejection, no pause in service or enjoyment: no diversions or pleasures or man's inventing will there be wanted. We will have no need of it.”

“And time will be a thing of the past. A memory.”

“What do you mean?” Staci inquired.

“Time while here on this planet,” Lenox began, “will not matter. Here on this earth, at least for me, I always say there just isn’t enough time to accomplish the things I need to. In Heaven, we’ll all have all of eternity.”

King nodded. “All eternity, my brothers and sisters, to praise Him and to worship Him. We will enjoy all of eternity while we get to know our Lord and Savior.” He held up a finger. “Now, we were talking about the Tree of Life. As we have already seen, this tree appears at the very beginning of history and it will also appear at the end for eternity.” He looked at his notes. “We’re going to get into this study deeply now. I see in my notes I have written down Genesis 1:17 as a reference in regards of the Tree of Life…” He paused. “‘And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth…’” He shook his head. “I don’t see why I wrote this in my notes as it doesn’t relate to verse 9.”

“Maybe in your zeal to study God’s Word,” Erin began with a smile, “you just jotted the verse down.”

“Rabbit trails, you mean. Yes, this could be. Then, again, maybe this verse is also a comparison, for God did place two lights into the heavens. That is what this verse is saying. He placed two lights, one to rule the day and one to rule the night.”

Lenox snapped his fingers. “And now we see God placing two trees into the Garden of Eden. A Tree of Life and a Tree of Knowledge.”

King pointed at him. “Ah! See? You are catching on, my brother.”

“I thought the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge,” Shiva began, “were in fact both one and the same. Are they? Q8”

“There were two different trees. Eating from the Tree of Life was not forbidden. However, after the great deviation of Adam and Eve, the potential benefit of prolonged life it might have provided was removed as we will see in Genesis 3.”

Erin frowned in thought. “But God told them not to eat of the tree or they would die.”

King nodded. “Yes. The Tree of Knowledge is the tree He forbid them to eat from.”

She nodded in understanding. “Oh. I get it.” She scribbled notes down onto her notepad.

“Note that wisdom is compared to the Tree of Life in Proverbs 3:18. ‘She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy is everyone that retaineth her.’ But there is another comparison in Proverbs 11:30 and it is that of the man who is righteous. ‘The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that winneth souls is wise.’” He smiled. “We are Gatherers for Christ and it is our desire to win souls for Him. We are bearing fruit in His name and our fruit is as if it were from the Tree of Life. But who is it that gives us life? Not just life…but everlasting life.”

“The Lord Jesus Christ,” answered Barrington.

“That’s right, my brother. ‘The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him; the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches, nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.’10 Jesus is the one who gives us life. Abundant life. Revelation 2:7 says, ‘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.' The Christian life is a warfare against sin, Satan, the world and the flesh. We must never yield to our spiritual enemies, and then we shall have a glorious triumph and reward. All who persevere, shall derive from Christ, as the Tree of life, perfection and confirmation in holiness and happiness, not in the earthly paradise, but in the heavenly. This is a figurative expression, taken from the account of the garden of Eden, denoting the pure, satisfactory, and eternal joys of heaven; and the looking forward to them in this world, by faith, communion with Christ, and the consolations of the Holy Spirit. Believers, take your wrestling life here, and expect and look for a quiet life hereafter, but not until then for the word of God never promises quietness and complete freedom from conflict while we are here on this earth.”

“This next part of our study should prove to be interesting,” King began as he sat back and regarded each member of the group. “This could be a history lesson, if you like history. Or a geology lesson.” He smiled at Lenox. “You may not be a fan of math, my brother, but how are you in geology and history?”

Lenox chuckled. “Better. At least they’re far more interesting than numbers.”

“We’re going to discuss Genesis 2:10 - 14, and go over the final comparison.” He turned to Barrington. “In fact, Albert, let’s go over the final comparison between the Created World and the Eternal World now. For this comparison, I will read Genesis 2:10, which says, ‘And a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted and became four heads.’”

Barrington took his queue from there and read Revelation 22:1. “‘And he showed me a pure river of the Water of Life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.’”

“What is the comparison here?”

There was a brief pause as the Gatherers considered the question and the verses just read. Erin cleared her throat. “One river flows out of Eden. The other river comes directly from the throne of God.”

“The river created is from Eden,” Staci commented. “The river of life comes from God’s throne, which is eternal.”

King nodded. “Yes, yes…but note this comparison. All streams of earthly comfort are muddy, but the Water of Life as recorded in Revelation is…what?”

Shiva cleared his throat. “Clear.”

Barrington pointed up as if to raise a point. “Crystal clear.”

“The Water of Life,” King began, “which proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, are crystal clear and refreshing. They give life. They preserve life to those who drink of them and thus they will flow forever more. This also points to the quickening and sanctifying of the Holy Spirit, as given to sinners through Christ. The Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son, applies this salvation to our souls by His creating love and power.”

“You mean…” Staci began hesitantly, “we’ll be drinking from this Water of Life?”

He nodded. “Yes, my sister.”

“It’s just…a lot to take in. I mean, I can’t possibly imagine what it will really be like, but to be able to eat and drink…in Heaven…To be able to work or do anything like we do down here now…” She pursed her lips in thought. “It’s a lot to think about. I don‘t know what I will do other than to…to just fall at His feet and worship Him and praise Him…Will we really want to do anything else?”

“Will we be able to do anything else but worship him?” Fuller questioned, agreeing with Staci. “The Bible says, ‘every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’ 11 God saved us and is going to bring us to Him. I agree with you, Staci. How could we want to do anything else?”

“It is something to look forward to,” Barrington replied. “At least we won’t have any more of this world and all the trials with it.”

“Amen to that!” Fronk exclaimed. “Maybe I’ll be the first one of you all to dive right into that Water of Life if God will allow me to do so! I’d like to swim right up to the throne of God and thank Him for saving a wretched slob like me.”

Fuller was impressed. “William, that was as serious a statement as any I’ve ever heard from you.” He raised a fist. “Right on, brother.”

There were chuckles spread out among the Gatherers.

King grinned. “Brother William, since you are so exuberant right now, would you do the honor of reading us the next section of scripture in our studies?”

Fronk grabbed his Bible, stood up onto his chair and let out a loud holler.

Once again, he startled Erin, who moved her chair back away from the table.

Fronk cleared his throat. “I shall gladly read Genesis 2:10 - 14.” He looked down at the group around him. “Pay attention, peeps!” He raised the Bible and read, “‘And a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted and became four heads. The name of the first is Pishon; that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good, and there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon; the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel; that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.’” He bowed and then sat back down.

King couldn’t help but grin. “Thank you, my brother.” He paused. “The reference to Havilah we will come across again in Genesis 25:18...‘And they dwelt from Havilah to Shur…’ And you look confused, ladies.”

Staci and Erin glanced at each other.

“Michael doesn’t do math,” Staci replied, “and I don’t know anything about these places you’re mentioning in the Bible.”

“We like the Bible stories about the people,” Erin said. “We can understand people.”

Fronk shook his head. “Tsk, tsk, tsk, my dear sisters. People go to places and places are where people are found. Don’t you know that?”

Staci and Erin just looked at him.

“Ulp.”

King regarded them. “Do you just want to move on? Is that what you’re saying?”

Staci glanced at the others. “Well, no. That wouldn’t be fair to the guys. I’m sure we’ll be fine. If we don’t get it, we don’t get it.”

“We won’t stay here too long. I have notes I wish to go over concerning these four rivers. I will go over it quickly…Just so you have it and can discuss it further…now or perhaps at a later date.” He paused. “Pishon is mentioned in the Biblical account of Genesis, specifically 2:11, from which William has just read to us, as one of four rivers branching off from a single river within the Garden of Eden. The river is described as encircling ‘the entire land of Havilah’, which cannot be positively identified today. The only two identified rivers of the four streams said to issue forth from Eden, the Tigris, otherwise known as Hiddekel and the Euphrates, and these two rivers do not now rise in the same place. It must therefore be assumed that the topography of the area has changed after the Flood. In the Biblical Table of Nations, Havilah is associated with Arabia. If the two can be equated, Pishon may correspond to an ancient dry riverbed that terminated in the Persian Gulf. Evidence of this river is visible in satellite photos and a telltale, fan-shaped delta of gravel deposits at the old river mouth. Such identification is necessarily tentative. David Rohl, a British Egyptologist and historian, has identified Pishon with the Uizhun and placed Havilah to the northeast of Mesopotamia. The Uizhun is known locally as the Golden River. Rising near Mt. Sahand, it meanders between ancient gold mines and lodes of lapis lazuli before feeding the Caspian. Such natural resources correspond to the ones associated with the land of Havilah in the Genesis account. Certain Christian fundamentalists - and I myself hold to this - have sometimes appealed to the effects of the Flood to explain the seeming disappearance of the Pishon river and the supposed change in the upper courses of the Tigris and the Euphrates. In the Bible, names like Havilah and Cush may have come to mean different places at different times.” He shrugged. “Today, they have different names, different meanings.”

Shiva leaned on the table. “David…what is the Table of Nations? I’ve never heard of that.”

“Ah. Yes. That is an extensive list of descendants of Noah appearing within the Torah - the first five books of the Bible - at Genesis 10.”

He nodded. “Thank you.” He jotted notes into his notebook.

“That’s pretty cool,” Staci commented, nodding her head.

Lenox regarded her. “What is?”

“That God caused the flood and changed the way the land was. It kind of makes me wonder if He also did that to destroy the Garden of Eden.”

“Or did He just hide it?”

King chuckled. “Well…that certainly is another topic for debate, I’m sure. People have tried to look for the Garden of Eden but have never found it. Destroyed or hidden, only God truly knows.” He sat back and regarded the group. “Are you ready for the second river?”

They were.

King smiled. “Alright, then…Gihon is the name of the next river first mentioned in the second chapter of the book of Genesis we went over. In Hebrew, Giħôn may be interpreted as ‘Bursting Forth,’ or ‘Gushing.’ Gihon is described as ‘encircling the entire land of Cush’, a name associated with Ethiopia elsewhere in the Bible. As a result, Ethiopians have long identified Gihon with the Abay River, which encircles the former kingdom of Gojjam. However, from a current geographic standpoint, this would seem impossible, since two of the other rivers said to issue out of Eden, the Tigris and the Euphrates, are in Mesopotamia. The city in the Mesopotamian area that best fits the description is called Kish located in a plain area and resembles an area that is repeatedly flooded by the rivers today called Euphrates and Tigris. Gihon has also been associated with the Araxes river, or modern Aras, of Turkey. Another proposed idea is that the Gihon river no longer exists, or has significantly altered its course, since the topography of the area has been altered by the Flood. This is the case we have discussed with Pishon. First-century Jewish historian Josephus associated the Gihon river with the Nile 12. However, a quite different Hebrew word is used to designate the Nile elsewhere in the Bible, and even in ancient times it should have been obvious that the Nile could not have a common source with the Tigris and the Euphrates. Now I find this interesting…” He leaned forward. “Gihon is also the name of the only natural spring of water in the vicinity of Jerusalem. It feeds the Pool of Siloam. Another interesting note is that the Book of Jasher refers to the ‘Great Sea Gihon’, which is believed to mean the Atlantic Ocean.”

“What is the Book of Jasher?” Fronk inquired. “I am not familiar with this book.” He flipped to the page of contents in his Bible. “I don’t see any such listing here.”

“It isn’t a book in the Bible…but…” King smiled. “…it is referred to in two verses of the Bible. In Joshua 10:13, the Bible says, ‘And the sun stood still and the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hastened not to go down for about a whole day.’ And the second reference to this mysterious book is found in II Samuel 1:18. ‘Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow; behold, it is written in the Book of Jasher.’ Some say this book is no longer in existence today, so only speculation can be given upon it.”

“Well, that certainly is a curious thing,” Fuller replied. “Whoever wrote this book wrote about the sun and moon staying in place and also about…using a bow.”

“There was a battle somewhere in the Bible where the children of God fought with their enemies as the sun remained still, wasn’t there?” Barrington inquired.

King smiled. “Hey! Are you trying to get ahead of yourself? We’ve still got two more rivers to discuss.” He let out a chuckle.

“Well, I remember it happened.”

“We’ll get to it, my brother.”

“It’s in the book of Joshua, isn’t it?”

“I believe so…but the third river of Hiddekel is not.” King paused until he knew he had their attention. “Now…the Tigris, otherwise known as Hiddekel, is the eastern member of the pair of great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of Anatolia through Iraq.” He paused. “Interesting, isn’t it?”

Lenox nodded thoughtfully. “This river is around today and goes through Iraq? Yes…that is interesting.”

King looked at him. “I thought you might see it as such. The Tigris is approximately 1,150 miles long, rising in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey and flowing in a generally southeasterly direction until it joins the Euphrates near Al Qurna in southern Iraq. The two rivers together form the Shatt al-Arab waterway, which empties into the Persian Gulf. Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, stands on the banks of the Tigris, while the port city of Basra straddles the Shatt al-Arab. In ancient times, many of the great cities of Mesopotamia stood on or near the river, drawing water from it to irrigate the civilization of the Sumerians. Notable Tigris-side cities included Ninevah, Ctesiphon and Seleucia, while the city of Lagash was irrigated by Tigris water delivered to it via a canal dug around 2400 BC. Saddam Hussein's hometown, Tikrit, is also located on the river and derives its name from it.”

Lenox shook his head. “I’ll just bet he’d love to be in that river right now than where he is at.”

Barrington nodded in agreement. “Amen to that, brother. I’m sure he’ll have a lot more company when it’s all said and done.”

“Hard to imagine something so pure, which was created by God, now flows through a place where evil men want to destroy and kill Jews and Christians everywhere.” Staci shuddered. “It’s awful.”

King smiled reassuringly at her. “We are victorious in Christ, my sister. Don’t ever forget that.”

She returned the smile.

“Daniel himself also stood by this great river. Daniel 10:4 says, ‘And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel…’ Then, it goes on to talk about a vision Daniel had seen…but we will eventually get to that once we are in the Book of Daniel.”

“When will that be?” Shiva began with a grin. “We haven’t really even started here in Genesis, have we?”

“No, I think not.” Fuller shrugged. “Route 66 is the way to travel though. No matter where we are in the Bible, we’ll still get a lot out of it. All we have to do is be attentive to the guiding of the Spirit.”

“I’m glad we’re talking about the four rivers in Genesis.” Staci smiled at King. “I’m glad we didn’t skip it. I didn’t realize there was much to learn about the significance of these rivers.”

“There is great significance in everything God does,” King pointed out.

There were a round of “Amens” around the table.

King paused. “Now then…let us turn to the final river. The fourth river, which will have great significance on the final day.” He had their full attention now. He touched his fingertips together and said, “A river named Perath - Hebrew for Euphrates - is one of the four rivers that flow from the Garden of Eden according to Genesis 2:14. This Hebrew word, derived from either the word ‘stream’ or ‘to break forth’, has been translated as Euphrates. It is the fourth river, after the Pishon, the Gihon, and the Tigris - which is the Hebrew name Hiddekel - to form from the river flowing out of the garden. The river of the same name marked one of the boundaries of the land promised by God to Abraham and his descendants, Isaac, and Jacob. In the Hebrew Bible, it is often referred to simply as ‘The River’ - ha-nahar. It says in Genesis 15:18, ‘On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the River Euphrates…’ But in Revelation 16:12, it is prophesied that the Euphrates will dry up in preparation for the Battle of Armegeddon. ‘And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.’”

Barrington let out a whistle. “Man, that’s good. Any way you look at it, God is in complete control.”

King nodded. “Yes…He is.”

King looked up from the Bible in his lap as he sat back. “Genesis 2:15 is relatively self-explanatory. It simply says, ‘And the LORD God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.’ Now this is before the Fall of Man, so in this, we see that God had intended to give something for Man to do. We were intended not to be idle, but busy with our hands. Busy with the work that God had intended for us. Now…allow me to read verses 16 and 17 of Genesis chapter 2.” He looked at his Bible and read, “‘And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.’” He paused. “What we have here is the first biblical covenant. This is the Edenic Covenant, which provides the pre-fall basis that God employs to establish His rule and relationship to mankind. It provides the basis for social, political, and economic duties, as well as human responsibility before God. After the fall into sin, other covenants augment this foundational relationship.”

“What other covenants?” Erin asked.

King smiled and waved a finger at her. “Ah ah. Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.”

She smiled back.

“The covenant in Eden is the first of the general or universal covenants. Adam is charged by God to do several things. Does anyone know what he was charged with?” He looked at each member of the Gatherers seated with him at the table.

They all exchanged glances, checking to see who would respond first.

Barrington and Lenox began to look into their Bibles.

“I’ve got something…” Lenox began as he turned to King.

Barrington slapped the table with the palm of his hand. “So do I. Genesis 1:28 says--”

Lenox looked at him. “What are you doing? You just can’t cut me off like that.”

“ -- ‘And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.’” He set his Bible on the table and grinned. “Adam was charged to populate the earth.”

“You know, I ought to take you right outside and…” Lenox stopped, shaking his head. “It’s a good thing I’m a Christian now, because, buddy, if I weren’t…”

Barrington laughed. “You’re just slow. You were slow when you weren’t saved. You’re still slow. I still beat you to the punch.”

King raised a hand. “That may be true, my brother, but you only provided one of the five things God charged Adam with.”

“Oh, there’s five?”

King nodded.

Lenox shook his head. “You see that, Al? Always trying to rush things before you have all the facts, aren’t you?”

Staci pursed her lips in thought. “I heard that was you.”

He turned to regard her. Then, he realized all he could do was smile.

“And, David…doesn’t it also mention in the verse Al just read to us that God wanted Adam to subdue the earth?”

King nodded. “That is the second charge.”

Staci winked at Lenox. “Al’s right. You are slow.” Then, she smiled.

Lenox stared at her. “Man, you are tough!”

“There’s still three more, pokey,” Fronk informed him. “That is…unless someone gets to them before you do. Like me!”

“I don’t think so. I have the third charge and it is for Adam to exercise dominion over the animal creation.”

Erin frowned. “Isn’t that the same as subduing the earth?”

Fuller shook his head. “No. Adam was charged with first populating the earth, then secondly, he was charged with subduing or taming the earth. And then the third charge was having dominion over all of the animals God had created.”

“I have the fourth then,” Shiva said as he held up his Bible. “Genesis 1:29 says, ‘And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.’ I also found this here in Genesis 2:15. ‘And the LORD God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.’” He leaned back. “The fourth charge must be for Adam to care for the Garden of Eden and to enjoy its fruits.”

“That is correct,” King assured him. “There’s one more.” He looked at Fronk.

Fronk folded his arms across his chest. “Well…the ex-wrestler dude took my answer!”

Erin chuckled. “I have it.”

“Well…out with it, then!”

“It was to refrain from eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, under penalty of death. That’s in Genesis 2:16 and 17, which you just read to us, David.”

“You people are showoffs…” Fronk suddenly grinned. “But I sure do love ya’s!” He winked at Shiva. “Especially you, ya big lug.”

Shiva just looked at him.

King let out a chuckle. Then, he said, “Let’s all back up for a moment and take another look at Genesis 2:17. ‘But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.’ There are several verses which support this verse and we should take a look at them before we move on to briefly go over the Covenants of God. If we go back to Genesis 1:9, we see that God created the waters and the dry land…‘And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so.’ And God places the tree of knowledge in the Garden, commanding Adam not to eat from it or he shall die.

“But then we see the Devil making his entrance and we have the beginning of the Fall. ‘Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’ 13 He causes Eve to doubt God’s Word. And the Devil tells her, ‘but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.’ 14 He not only calls God a liar but he adds to what God had commanded. So when Eve took of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and when she shared it with Adam, they hid from God. When God finds them, he confronts them. ‘And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?’ 15 Then God gives a curse for what they have done. ‘And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.’ 16 ‘In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground, for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.’ 17”

King paused as he regarded his fellow Gatherers. “All of this is supported by other scriptures. I will tell you what they are. Can you tell me what the verse says and how it supports what we learn from Genesis 2:17 and the account of the serpent and the curse? The first verse is Romans 6:23.”

Fuller nodded his head. “I’ll take this. The verse, of course, is this… ‘For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ The end of sin is death. What Adam and Eve did in the Garden brought to them not only physical death but spiritual death. It separated them from God. God, however, made a way for them to return to Him. And He made a way for us also through the shed blood of His Son on the cross.”

“Yes, He did!” King exclaimed. “That was excellent, Darren. Now… how about I Corinthians 15:56?”

The Gatherers, except for King, began to flip through the pages of their Bibles. Shiva found the verse first and read it out loud. “‘The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.’”

“Would you like to explain that verse?”

Shiva paused. “It’s like what the Director said about sin bringing about death. That is the curse, isn’t it? The curse is death.”

“The sting of death is sin, but Christ, by dying, has taken out this sting. He has made atonement for sin. He has obtained remission of it. The strength of sin is the law. None can answer its demands, endure its curse, or do away his own transgressions. Hence terror and anguish. And hence death is terrible to the unbelieving and the impenitent. Death may seize a believer, but it cannot hold him in its power.” King paused. Then, he said, “James 1:15.”

Erin raised her hand. “I have it right here. ‘Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.’”

Fronk narrowed his eyes at her. “How’d you find it so fast?”

She grinned at him. “I looked up the words ‘sin’ and ‘death’ in the concordance and was ready to go when David gave us the verse.”

“Think you’re pretty smart, don’t ya?”

“Yep. I do. And sin brings death.” She turned to King. “No matter what sin it is…although in this verse, it is lust, but the end result is still death.”

King nodded. “Very good. Are we ready for the next verse?”

The Gatherers agreed that they were.

King smiled. “I John 5:16.”

Erin let out a sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

“I already have this verse, but I’ll let someone else read it because I read from James.” She pushed her Bible toward Barrington. “Here you go. You read it.”

Barrington smiled. “Thank you, Erin. But I have it, too.”

“Oh, great.”

“And this verse says, ‘If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask and He shall give him life, for those who sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death. I do not say that he shall pray about it.’” He paused. “Well, that’s a heavy, thought provoking verse, isn’t it?”

“Can you tell us what it means?” King asked.

“Well…I think it obviously is talking about helping your fellow brother out and pray for him. Especially when he is having trouble with a sin in his life. Other than that, I’m stumped.”

Lenox nodded. “So am I.”

“What does it mean?” Shiva asked.

King leaned forward and placed his hands on the table. “Upon all this evidence of sin and death, it is but right that we believe on the name of the Son of God. Believers have eternal life in the covenant of the Gospel. That being so, then let us thankfully receive the record of Scripture. Always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor is not in vain in the Lord. For the Lord Jesus Christ invites us to come to Him in all circumstances, with our supplications and requests, notwithstanding the sin that besets us. Our prayers must always be offered in submission to the will of God. In some things they are speedily answered, but in others they are granted in the best manner, though not as we had requested. We ought to pray for others, as well as for ourselves. There are sins that war against spiritual life in the soul, and the life above. We cannot pray that the sins of the impenitent and unbelieving should, while they are such, be forgiven them, or that mercy, which supposes the forgiveness of sins, should be granted to them, while they willfully continue such sins. But we may pray for their repentance, for their being enriched with faith in Christ, and thereupon for all other saving mercies. We should pray for others, as well as for ourselves, beseeching the Lord to pardon and recover the fallen, as well as to relieve the tempted and afflicted. And let us be truly thankful that no sin, of which any one truly repents, is unto death.”

“There are nine biblical covenants, and we just went over one of them. Let’s review the others briefly because we‘ll go into greater detail as we come to them. We will later see the Adamic Covenant in Genesis 3:15. Marc, would you like to read that?”

Shiva nodded as he turned the pages. “Sure.” He found the verse and read it out loud. “‘And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed: It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.’”

“This is the Adamic Covenant. This is the promise of a Savior as a result of sin, the first announcement of redemption. And that Savior, of course, is Jesus Christ, our Lord.” He held up a finger. “Now we come to the next covenant, and this one is the Land of Israel Covenant found in Deuteronomy 30:3. Who would like to read that?”

Staci raised her hand.

King nodded encouragingly at her.

When she found her place in Deuteronomy, she read it. “‘That then the LORD thy God will return thee from captivity and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.’”

King smiled. “In the 30th chapter of Deuteronomy, there is a plain intimation of the mercy, which God has in store for Israel in the latter days. This passage, Staci, you have just read refers to the prophetic warnings of the last two chapters, which have been mainly fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and in their dispersion to the present day. And there can be no doubt that the prophetic promise contained in these verses yet remains to come to pass. The Jewish nation shall in some future period, perhaps not very distant, be converted to the faith of Christ and, many think, again settled in the land of Canaan. The language here used is in a great measure of absolute promises. Not merely a conditional engagement, but declaring an event that is assuredly to take place. For the Lord Himself here engages to circumcise their hearts and when regenerating grace has removed corrupt nature, and Divine love has supplanted the love of sin, they certainly will reflect, repent, return to God, and obey him, and He will rejoice in doing them good. The change that will be wrought upon them will not be only outward, or consisting in mere opinions. It will reach to their souls. It will produce in them an utter hatred of all sin, and a fervent love to God. As they’re reconciled to God in Christ Jesus, they will love him with all their hearts, and with all their soul. They are very far from this state of mind at present, but so were the murderers of the Lord Jesus, on the day of Pentecost, who yet in one hour were converted unto God. So shall it be in the day of God's power. A nation shall be born in a day. The Lord will hasten it in His time. As a conditional promise, this passage belongs to all persons and all people, not to Israel only for it assures us that the greatest sinners, if they repent and are converted, shall have their sins pardoned, and be restored to God's favor.”

Fronk looked over at Shiva.

Shiva nodded his head. “That is heavy.”

“I knew he was going to say that,” Fronk replied, pointing at him.

Staci smiled. “But he’s right. It is heavy.”

“Well…I certainly couldn’t pick that up if I tried. I mean, wow! That was a lot. How do you get to know all this stuff?”

King looked at Fronk. “How do you get to know all about computers?”

Fronk shrugged. “I just do. I mean, it’s all I’ve known for most of my life. The stuff we’re studying now is brand-spanking new to me!” He paused. “Can I say that?”

King laughed.

The others did, too.

“Okay, I like to be the funny guy,” Fronk began, looking at the group as their laughing subsided, “but generally and as a rule, I’m funny on purpose. I didn’t intend to be funny then!”

“You’re always funny,” Erin told him.

“I am not!”

She looked at him. “Can I ask David a question when you’re done ranting?”

Fronk crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at her.

She smiled. “Thank you.” She turned to King. “What about the other six covenants?”

King nodded. “I’ll tell you what they are, but let’s not spend too much time with them as I am sure we will get to them as we continue along Route 66. I will tell you what they are and you can read the scriptures that go with them out loud, but remember, we won’t discuss them in detail now. Agreed?"

Erin nodded.

The others agreed as well.

“This just brings to mind the scripture which refers to there not being enough books to contain the things Jesus said and did.” King chuckled. “I suppose there isn’t enough time now to study everything we would like to, but some day…there will be.” He turned to Fuller. “I’ll start with you, Darren. This is actually the third covenant and it is the Noahic Covenant and it is found in--”

Fuller smiled at him. “Way ahead of you. I have Genesis 9:16, which says, ‘And the rainbow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.’ God will no more flood the earth.”

King wagged a finger. “Keep silent, my brother. No details. Now… the Abrahamic Covenant…Michael? Where would the scriptures for this covenant be?”

Lenox flipped through his Bible. “Hold on a second…I’ve got it.” He stopped. “It pays to have a concordance in your Bible, doesn’t it? I have Genesis 12:1 - 3. I love this verse because if you don’t know how you’re supposed to treat God’s people, then read this.” He cleared his throat. “‘Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.’” He winked at Staci. “That’s an awesome passage.”

She smiled at him. “You’re awesome.”

He shook his head. “Nah. Not me. God is awesome.”

“Well, you’re right. That is an awesome verse.”

King agreed. “Yes, it is…and I am very tempted to camp right here on these three verses alone for awhile. In short, this covenant spans across Abraham’s life. It begins with a promised land, goes to include an heir and ends with the promise of a nation through which the Messiah will come. ” He regarded Staci. “For you, my sister…perhaps the next part of our study we will take one small detour. I believe it will be uplifting for you.”

Staci smiled. “Thank you, David. What detour is this?”

He paused. “The detour is important because it will take us to several reasons why we as Christians should all support Israel.”

“Oh, David, that would be so good!”

He smiled. “Good…then, let’s quickly go over the last four covenants. Then…we’ll take our detour and after the detour, we’ll finish the rest of the second chapter of Genesis.” He looked at Barrington. “You, my brother, will take the next one. William…you take the one found in Numbers. Erin, II Samuel…and I will finish with the last one. Ready…? Begin.”

Barrington nodded. “Exodus 19:5 says, ‘Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.’ This is the Mosaic Covenant and --”

King held up a finger. “No, no. No details. We’ll find it when we continue with our studies. Otherwise we will never get out of Genesis chapter 2.”

Barrington chuckled. “Alright. I can see your point.”

“William…”

Fronk unnecessarily cleared his throat. “The passage of scripture found in Numbers 25:10 - 13 is referring to the Priestly Covenant. ‘And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned My wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for My sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in My jealousy. Therefore say: Behold, I give unto him My covenant of peace. And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.'“

King nodded. “Excellent. Erin…?”

Erin grinned. “Picking up the pace, are we?” She looked at her Bible and said, “‘And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee; thy throne shall be established for ever.’ The Davidic Covenant in II Samuel 7:16.”

King took the last one from there. “The New Covenant is found in Jeremiah 31:31 - 34. I shall read these verses and all I desire for you to do is to savor these words and hold them close to your heart. After I read them, we shall take that small detour and then finish our study with Genesis 2.” He read the passage of scripture pertaining to the New Covenant. “‘Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband unto them, saith the LORD. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith the LORD, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD. For they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD, for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.’”

King had his Bible open before him and was about to read a passage from scripture, but he had a better idea. He suddenly sat up and said, “On second thought, I will not be sharing with you why we should support Israel.”

“David,” Staci began, trying not to be disappointed, “then why did you say you would?”

“I’m sorry, Staci. I simply have a better idea.” He got up from the table and went to the back of the room where a television and vcr were on a rolling cart. “Isn’t it wonderful we have been able to receive much needed supplies from our good friends at unLimited Access of Materials to Barter? Thank God for Daryl Mix and his agents of mercy. If not for L.A.M.B., many Christians would be without.”

Fuller nodded in agreement. “Amen to that.”

“Isn’t it wonderful how God provides?”

“Amen to that,” Fronk replied, watching King. “What’cha doing? Are we watching Gilligan’s Island?”

King let out a chuckle. “No, my Crazy Man brother. It occurred to me that in the second month of the first year of this Tribulation period, our brother, John Saint, used his gift of teaching to broadcast one last message of hope…and as I recall, you helped him broadcast that message to the masses.”

“Yeah, I did, dude!”

“John instructed us on why Christians should support Israel, and as I recall…we have the tape here somewhere.” He rummaged through a drawer in the cart. “And here it is.” He turned on the television and the vcr and placed the tape inside. “Let us just watch this, shall we?”

He pushed play and the watched as John Saint took his place behind the podium of Willow Creek Baptist Church.

“Zechariah 2:7-10,” Saint began, “‘Deliver thyself, O Zion, ye that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. For thus saith the LORD of hosts: After the glory hath He sent me unto the nations which despoiled you, for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye. For behold, I will shake Mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants. And ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.’”

He paused as he stood at the pulpit, looking out at the congregation. “Before I begin, I would like to give thanks to God for such a large gathering of believers we have here today. At least, I hope you’re all believers because in case you didn’t know it, we are living in the last days. As the entire world is already aware of, the Rapture has hit our planet a little over a month ago. People vanished while they were driving to work…or driving home from work. They vanished in their beds. They vanished while they were out in the fields gathering wheat. Soldiers in Iraq vanished. People of every walk in life, of every nationality…vanished into thin air.”

Saint paused to regard the congregation before him. “But we were left behind.”

He looked down at his Bible on the podium and the notes he had there. “I’ve got a message I would like to share with you today. This message was prepared by our Pastor before he was taken in the blink of an eye by the trumpet sound. He was going to preach it the Sunday after…but as you know, he is now unable to stand up here before us to give this message…so God has laid it upon my heart to give it. I believe it is very important… especially now because it is the most Biblical thing a Christian can do for his God.

“The Devil doesn’t like this message. The AntiChrist doesn’t like this message. But all of God’s people had better like this message and live it because God will not be pleased with you if you don’t. And that is God’s honest truth.” He held up his Bible. “Amen?”

A round of “Amen’s” spread throughout the congregation.

The Gatherers watching the video agreed with “Amen’s” as well.

Saint smiled and nodded his head. “Alright, then. Let’s dig into this message and spread the word.” He glanced at his notes. “The Pastor called this message ‘The Apple of His Eye...Why Christians Should Support Israel.’” He paused once more to let that sink in as he watched the congregation. “Everything Christians do should be based upon the Bible, which is the Word of God. What we do should never be based upon how we are feeling, or what we think is right, or based on the approval of someone else. We all know that God’s ways are not man’s ways. That’s why we have His book. That’s why we have the Bible. So we can learn how to live our lives based on His Word and not our own or anyone else’s. What most people don’t realize is that this also includes how we view the chosen race of God. That is…the Israelites. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you seven solid Bible reasons why Christians everywhere should support Israel.

“If you would turn in your Bibles to Genesis 12, I will read to you the third verse where we will find the first reason why God expects us to support His people.” The turning of pages could be heard as the congregation turned to find the passage in their Bibles. “Here we see that God is making a covenant with Abraham…a very strong covenant. Usually, when a man makes a covenant or a promise, he often breaks it. Whether it is a small promise or a big one, man really has a problem with keeping what he said. Well, guess what? God doesn’t have that problem. God tells you that He’s going to do something, you’d better believe He’s going to do it. There’s no hemming and hawing. There’s no indecisions or second thoughts. God says, ‘Hey, I’m going to send you a Savior who will take away all your sin and save you so you can have eternal life,’ He does it. I should say, did it. Amen? Amen.”

“Amen!” agreed the congregation.

“Well, God made this unbreakable covenant with Abraham. You know, I really like Abraham. The Bible says that Abraham was a man of faith. His name is recorded in the Hall of Faith…not fame. Fame brings you nothing, but you can move mountains with Faith. And Abraham had it. Let’s look at verse 3 of Genesis 12 where we will discover the first reason why we should support Israel as Christians.

“Verse 3 says, ‘And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.’ You see, God has promised to bless the man or the nation that blesses the chosen people…the Israelites. History has proven beyond reasonable doubt that the nations that have blessed the Jewish people have had the blessing of God, and the nations that have cursed the Jewish people have experienced the curse of God. Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t want any curse on me. You want to know about curses, take a look at the Egyptians and see what happened to them when Pharaoh continued to refuse to let God’s People go. God is very serious when it comes to the Israelites. We should be, too.

“We have a second reason from God’s Word on why we should support Israel, and this passage of scripture is recorded in Romans 15:27. ‘It hath pleased them verily, and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers in their (the Jewish people) spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.’ Basically, what this means is that Christians owe a debt of eternal gratitude to the Jewish people for their contributions that gave birth to the Christian faith. Jesus Christ, a prominent Rabbi from Nazareth - and our Lord and Savior - said, ‘Salvation is of the Jews!’ 19 So consider what the Jewish people have given to Christianity. They have given us the Sacred Scriptures, the Prophets, the Patriarchs, Mary, Joseph and Jesus Christ of Nazareth. They also gave us the Twelve Disciples and the Apostles.

“It is not possible to say, ‘I am a Christian’ and not love the Jewish people. You just can’t do it. You cannot call yourself a child of God and curse the Jews. The Bible teaches that love is not what you say, but what you do. ‘My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 20’ I‘ve heard it said that a bell is not a bell until you ring it. Right? A song is not a song until you sing it and love is not love until you share it.

“‘Beloved,’” Saint began to sing, “‘let us love one another…’”

The congregation and the Gatherers watching the video joined in with the singing.

“‘for love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love. Beloved let us love one another…I John 4:7 and 8.’”

The congregation applauded.

“Do you love God?” Saint asked the congregation.

They applauded with shouts of praise.

“Do you love your brothers in sisters in Christ?”

They responded again.

“Do you love Israel?”

They responded with a loud agreement that they did.

After they settled down, Saint said, “Then let’s take a look at the third reason why we should support Israel. While some Christians try to deny the connection between Jesus of Nazareth and the Jews of the world, Jesus never denied His Jewishness. He was born Jewish, He was circumcised on the eighth day in keeping with Jewish tradition, He had his Bar Mitzvah on His 13th birthday, He kept the law of Moses, He wore the Prayer Shawl Moses commanded all Jewish men to wear, He died on a cross with an inscription over His head, ‘King of the Jews! 21’ Listen, don’t buy into the lies of Satan when you hear someone wrongly say that Jesus was not Jewish. The only one who gains from that lie is the Devil because if he can get you to believe that lie then he can get you to believe that Jesus did not die for us on the cross. But we know the truth, don’t we.” He held up the Bible. “It’s right here.”

There were shouts of agreement spread throughout the Church.

“Jesus considered the Jewish people His family. Jesus said in Matthew 25:40, ‘Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren (the Jewish people…Gentiles were never called His brethren), ye have done it unto me.’

“Moving on to number four, we read in Psalm 122:6, ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper that love thee.’” He looked up from the podium. “Man, I don’t know about you, but it really is looking like God intends for us to love His People. We should be praying for them…And if we love His People, what’s going to happen?”

The congregation answered with, “We will prosper.”

“We will prosper,” he repeated with a nod. “That’s a blessing for us. Especially in these last days. The scriptural principle of prosperity, people, is tied to blessing Israel and the city of Jerusalem.” He looked out at the church congregation and paused as he let the first four points of the message give room for thought.

Finally, he said, “There’s a fifth reason why we should support Israel. Why did Jesus Christ go to the house of Cornelius in Capernaum and heal the servant, which was ready to die? What logic did the Jewish elders use with Jesus to convince Him to come into the house of a Gentile and perform a miracle? If you don’t know what I am referring to, let’s turn to the Book of Luke…That’s Dr. Luke, as I like to call him, for he was not only the inspired author of Luke, but he was also a physician. And in the Book of Luke, in the 7th chapter and the first five verses, we read, ‘Now when He had ended all His sayings in the audience of the people, He entered into Capernaum. And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent the elders of the Jews unto Him, beseeching Him that He would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus they besought Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was worthy…’” He stopped at the fourth verse, looking up from his Bible. “This is a centurion we’re talking about. A Roman centurion. A Gentile. So what was this logic that the Jewish elders used to convince Jesus to come to the house of a Gentile and perform this miracle? The logic they used is recorded in the fifth verse. ‘For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.’” He paused. “What is the message here? This Gentile deserved the blessing of God because he loved the Jewish nation and had done something practical to bless them.”

He turned the pages of the Bible. “Let’s go onto the sixth reason. Why did God the Father select the house of Cornelius in Caesarea to be the first Gentile house in Israel to receive the Gospel? Well, the answer is given repeatedly in Acts 10. I hope you brought your roller skates because we’re going to pick up some speed here on this one.”

The congregation laughed.

While the Gatherers watched the video, Fronk slapped the table and let out a loud guffaw, causing Erin to jump in her seat.

“In verse 2...well, let’s read the first two verses, shall we? ‘There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian Band, a devout man and one who feared God with all his house, who gave many alms to the people and prayed to God always.’” He let out a chuckle. “I like that. The Italian Band. There’s a lot of things I’d like to know once we get to heaven and one of those things is…what is the Italian Band? Who were they? What kind of music did they sing?”

There was more laughter.

“The truth is this…The Italian Band is a regiment. The centurion is a leader of this regiment, so the regiment is referred to as the Italian Band. And contrary to belief, Rocky Balboa was not a member of this Band. There was no Italian Stallion in this regiment.” He paused. “This centurion we are talking about here in Acts was a devout man. And he feared God. I have to think that this man was a man who people knew. This man was a centurion of the Italian Band. When I read this verse, I get the impression that this was a band people knew of and talked about. Cornelius the centurion was devout, he feared God, and gave alms to the people, praying to God always. What people was he giving alms to? They were the Jews!”

He looked down at his Bible. “Continuing into the next verses…‘He saw in a vision clearly, about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God coming in to him and saying unto him, Cornelius! And when he looked on him, he was afraid and said, What is it, lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms have risen up as a memorial before God.’” He looked up. “God has noticed the alms he gave and He has also heard his prayers. And again, in the 31st verse of Acts 10, it says this about the centurion…‘thy prayer is heard, and thine alms have been remembered in the sight of God.’” He paused. “This point is made three times in the same chapter. A godly Gentile who expressed his unconditional love for the Jewish people in a practical manner was divinely selected by heaven to be the first Gentile house to receive the Gospel and the first to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. These combined Scriptures verify that prosperity - Genesis 12:3 and Psalm 122:6 - healing - Luke 7:1-5 - and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit came first to Gentiles that blessed the Jewish people and the nation of Israel in a practical manner.

“And finally…We support Israel because all other nations were created by an act of men, but Israel was created by an act of God! The Royal Land Grant that was given to Abraham and his seed through Isaac and Jacob was and is an everlasting and unconditional covenant. You can find this in Genesis 12:1-3, 13:14-18, 15:1-21, 17:4-8, 22:15-18, 26:1-5 and Psalm 89:28-37. We need to thank God for Israel. Support Israel. Stand by Israel. America has fallen. We can see that now in these last days. Why did America fall? Why wasn’t our country spared by God from the attacks that came at the same time the Rapture occurred? Maybe…maybe it’s because somewhere along the way, America stopped supporting Israel and that took away the blessings of God.” He paused. “I’d like to close in prayer…”