PAGE 52 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST(THE BAD FIG TREE

There are different words used used throughout the entire Bible to designate the group of like minded believers called out by Yahweh God to be holy unto him :  the main words are church, assembly, kingdom, bride and flock.  All of these words mean essentially the same thing and can be used interchangeably; they illustrate the different characteristics of the believer's relationship with Yahweh God. The term church is not used in the Old Testament scriptures, but assembly, kingdom, bride and flock are. 

The kingdom of Yahweh God was inside the borders of the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve broke their covenant,  the kingdom of Yahweh was to be found again in individual believers who then later became organized into the nation of Israel.  The church, assembly, kingdom, bride or flock of Yahweh God was officially born again at Mount Sinai under the leadership of Moses.  Moses speaks of this day in Deuteronomy 18:16:

"According to all that desire of Yahweh in Horeb (Mount Sinai) in the day of the assembly."

The covenant that Yahweh made with his people at Sinai was a marriage contract. This group of hebrew people officially became his bride, his assembly and flock.  They were to be a spiritual  kingdom of priests and a geopolitical nation attached to a specific piece of land.

However, once again, Satan is allowed inside the kingdom of Yahweh to corrupt and destroy it from within. 

The prophets Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Zechariah and Habakkuk  speak about how Israel had been led astray from the Tree of Life, the Messiah and the pure Word of Yahweh God,  by evil and false shepherds, wolves and snakes:

"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill.  My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As I live, declares Yahweh, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, therefore you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh.  Thus says Yahweh, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep.  No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them." Ezekiel 34:2-10

"The priests did not say, 'Where is Yahweh?' Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit." Jeremiah 2:8

"The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Yahweh, so they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered." Jer 10:21

"But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride: my eyes will weep bitterly overflowing with tears because Yahweh's flock will be taken captive." Jer 13:17

"Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture! declares the Lord." Jer 23:1

"My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains.  They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their resting place." Jer 50:6

"The idols speak deceit, diviners see visions that lie; they tell dreams that are false. they give comfort in vain.  Therefore the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd." Zechariah 10:2

"Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation, he makes idols that cannot speak." Habakkuk 2:18

By the time of the Messiah Yeshua's first coming, the flock of Yahweh had been totally taken over by the evil and false shepherds: the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes.  Yeshua describes what the nation of Israel looked like at the time of his ministry. He says:

"All that came before me were thieves and robbers." John 10

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." Matt 9:6

The Tree of Life had become the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil: the assembly of Yahweh's people that was to point people to their need of the Messiah as King, as the Great Shepherd, as the High Priest, and as their Groom to offer them salvation instead became an organization which pointed people to man's ability and  works in order to save themselves.