Trees Now and Forever

There is no issue more important, so it must be settled:  Is there a God?  Is there an afterlife in heaven or hell?  Will I be required to give an account of what I’ve done with my life?  Will there be a day of reckoning?  Surprising as it might seem, men are actually born with this yearning to know, which has been purposely planted in the heart.  The Bible calls it “the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).  Neuroscientists have concluded that the human psyche is hard-wired for faith. 

The world is full of gods with a little “g.”  The vast majority of the world believes in a god, but is there a one true God, even as there is only one real truth? 

England’s word-screeners once challenged the GodSaidManSaid radio commercial, which stated: “God said.”  The screener asked, “Which God?  I’m Hindu.”  We changed the script to “The God of the Bible said,” but that wasn’t good enough for the screener.  GodSaidManSaid was banned in England. 

This is GodSaidManSaid feature article 860 that will, for the 860^th time, certify the inerrancy of God and His Holy Book.  For those looking for truth, consider this:

🔘 There is no book like God’s Book.  Every book ever written must genuflect before it.                

🔘 There is no name like Jesus Christ.  Acts 4:12: “For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” “ To this Christ every knee shall bow and every tongue confess.” (Philippians 2:10-11)

🔘 There is no god like the God of the beautiful Book.  All shall stand before the God of the Bible in judgment. 

Are you born again?  Are you yearning to end your quest and to know the Christ?  Today, you are in the valley of decision.  Today, you can know the mercy and the grace of the one true God—the God of the Bible.  Click onto “Further with Jesus” for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God. NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, Psalm 1:1-3:

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

GOD SAID, Revelation 22:1-2:

1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

GOD SAID, Genesis 3:22-24:

22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

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.

MAN SAID: We are accidents.  We exploded out of nothing, we have evolved with no divine purpose, and when it is over, that’s all she wrote.  This accident ends quickly, so if it feels good, do it!

Now THE RECORD: Trees are an amazing creation of God that are so central to life and, imagine: even central to eternal life.  GodSaidManSaid just reviewed a book written by Peter Wohlleben, titled The Hidden Life of Trees.  In this feature, we will reference numerous observations made by Mr. Wohlleben. 

My wife and I have a large, healthy oak tree in the backyard.  Our neighbors call it the "mighty oak." Since the oak has a lifespan of 400 to 500 years of age, it puts that tree’s birth back into the 1600s when all that existed on our land were Indians, at best.  That is impressive, but there are trees that far outlive the mighty oak.  According to ground source information published by NPR, the world is covered with 3 trillion trees—over 400 trees per human—and they satisfy quite a list of earthly needs.  A short list follows:

• Erosion control.  Trees play an integral part in keeping the soil from washing away into the streams, rivers, and oceans. 
• Trees, and all of God’s green creation, produce oxygen for us to breathe.  In summer, one square mile of forest manufactures 29 tons of oxygen per day—enough to supply the daily oxygen needs of over 29,000 people. 
• Living creatures breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide; trees are carbon dioxide vacuums. 
• Trees act as huge air filters, catching particles in the breeze that pass through their leaves and needles; a square mile of trees can trap up to 20,000 tons of materials per year. 
• Trees are disinfectants.  The following excerpt is from The Hidden Life of Trees:

These secret reserves can be activated at any time, and depending on the tree species, they contain a selection of defensive compounds produced by the tree. These so-called phytoncides have antibiotic properties, and there has been some impressive research done on them.  A biologist from Leningrad, Boris Tokin, described them like this back in 1956: “If you add a pinch of crushed spruce or pine needles to a drop of water that contains protozoa, in less than a second, the protozoa are dead.”  In the same paper, Tokin writes that the air in young pine forests is almost germ-free, thanks to the phytoncides released by the needles. In essence, then, trees disinfect their surroundings.  [End of quote]

• Revelation 22:2 reads in part: “…and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” Much of today’s medical remedies are a product of the world’s trees and plant life, including the ubiquitous aspirin. 
• Trees produce essential foods—from their wide array of marvelous fruits and nuts to the olive tree, whose fruit and oil are foundational to the famed Mediterranean diet. 
• Trees are central to the hydrologic system of the globe.  Consider Peter Wohlleben’s comments:

Of all the plants, trees have the largest surface area covered in leaves.  For every square yard of forest, 27 square yards of leaves and needles blanket the crowns.  Part of every rainfall is intercepted in the canopy and immediately evaporates again.  In addition, each summer, trees use up to 8,500 cubic yards of water per square mile, which they release into the air through transpiration.  This water vapor creates new clouds that travel farther inland to release their rain.  As the cycle continues, water reaches even the most remote areas.  This water pump works so well that downpours in some large areas of the world, such as the Amazon Basin, are almost as heavy thousands of miles inland as they are on the coast.  [End of quote]

• Trees support a multitude of creatures important to the world’s ecosystem.  Again, the author writes:

In 2009, tree researcher Dr. Martin Gossner sprayed the oldest (six hundred years old) and mightiest (170 feet tall and 6 feet wide at chest-height) tree in the Bavarian Forest National Park.  The chemical he used, pyrethrum, is an insecticide, which brought any number of spiders and insects tumbling down to the forest floor—dead.  The lethal results show how species-rich life is way up high.  The scientist counted 2,041 animals belonging to 257 different species.  [End of quote]

• Trees are absolutely essential to the printing industry, home building, and even for fuel. 

The tree was created by God to sustain life upon the earth—truly amazing.  Evolution claims the tree evolved via a series of accidents.  Romans 1:28:

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

A reprobate mind is a worthless mind that would readily believe a lie. 

The amazing tree plays an integral part in all of life, and yes, even throughout all eternity.   Could there really have been something as bizarre—what academia attributes to mythology—as the Tree of Life, or for that matter, as the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil—both in the midst of the Paradise of God?  

Trees are referenced numerous times in the Scriptures.  The redeemed community is compared to trees.  Mr. Wohlleben writes of communities of like trees:

If you look at roadside embankments, you might be able to see how trees connect with each other through their root systems.  On these slopes, rain often washes away the soil, leaving the underground networks exposed.  Scientists in the Harz mountains in Germany have discovered that this really is a case of interdependence, and most individual trees of the same species growing in the same stand are connected to each other through their root systems.  It appears that nutrient exchange and helping neighbors in times of need is the rule, and this leads to the conclusion that forests are superorganisms with interconnections much like ant colonies. [End of quote]

The born-again appear as separate trees, but we are connected to each other at our roots—thus the Body of Christ—and we support each other in times of trouble.  Consider James 5:14-16:

14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Jesus speaks of mankind comparing Him to trees in Luke 6:43-45:

43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.

45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Romans speaks of the Body of Christ, comparing salvation of the Gentiles to a grafting process.  Romans 11:17-18:

17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

Jesus speaks this parable of the Kingdom of God in Matthew 13:31-32:

31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

Luke 17:6:

And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

The students of the beautiful Book, in order to bless and protect, admonish and warn each other. Romans 15:14:

And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. 

Colossians 3:16:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

This same mechanism exists in trees. Again, from The Hidden Life of Trees:

Trees can also mount their own defense.  Oaks, for example, carry bitter, toxic tannins in their bark and leaves.  These either kill chewing insects outright or at least affect the leaves’ taste to such an extent that instead of being deliciously crunchy, they become biliously bitter.  Willows produce the defensive compound salicylic acid, which works in much the same way.  But not on us.  Salicylic acid is a precursor of aspirin, and tea made from willow bark can relieve headaches and bring down fevers.

Trees don’t rely exclusively on dispersal in the air, for if they did, some neighbors would not get wind of the danger.  Dr. Suzanne Simard of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver has discovered that they also warn each other using chemical signals sent through the fungal networks around their root tips, which operate no matter what the weather.  Surprisingly, news bulletins are sent via the roots not only by means of chemical compounds but also by means of electrical impulses that travel at the speed of a third of an inch per second.  In comparison with our bodies, it is, admittedly, extremely slow.  However, there are species in the animal kingdom, such as jellyfish and worms, whose nervous systems conduct impulses at a similar speed.  Once the latest news has been broadcast, all oaks in the area promptly pump tannins through their veins. [End of quotes]   

Reference to the fig tree is found in the famed prophecy of the end of this world as we know it, spoken by Christ in Matthew 24:32-35:

32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Was there a Tree of Life in the beginning that fallen man was banned from eating, and if he had eaten from it, would have lived forever?  Genesis 3:22-24:

 22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

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.

Will this tree appear again unto the born-again sons and daughters of God?  The prophet Ezekiel writes of the living water and the tree of life in Chapter 47:12:

And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.

Revelation 22:1-2, the very last chapter of the Bible, brings focus again to the Tree of Life—the very one described in Genesis, in the very beginning. 

Does it sound bizarre to you that this Tree of Life could yield 12 manner of fruits and yield her fruit every month?  ABCNews.com discusses horticulturalists who are developing trees which are unique in their ability to yield a variety of fruits on the same tree.  Several paragraphs follow:

The so-called “fruit salad tree” sprouts as many as seven varieties of fruits in one tree. The combinations aren’t quite as diverse as bountiful fruit bowls—apples and peaches, for example, can’t mix.  But the trees combine several members of fruit families into one. 

A citrus version grows oranges, mandarins, lemons, limes, tangelos, lemonades (a rounded fruit that’s sweet like lemonade), and grapefruit.  A stone fruit tree yields peaches, apricots, plums, nectarines, peachcots (a cross between peaches and apricots), and peacherines.  My own backyard has a variety-apple tree that, when mature, will produce a variety of apples from that one tree.  The trees can be planted outside in small backyards (depending on their climate requirements), or kept in a pot.  Most are self-pollinating so no partner trees or pollinating bees are needed. 

Not only do the trees offer a variety of fruit in one batch, the fruits’ different harvesting times prevent a glut in produce at one period.  That may be impractical for large fruit producers who need to harvest rows of trees at once, but it’s tailor-made for those who simply want to pluck the fruit for their own eating. 

Fruit-salad trees may be growing more popular now, but the technique used to craft them—grafting—is nearly as old as fruit-tree-growing itself.  [End of quotes]

There was and there is a Tree of Life and it will be known throughout all eternity, but to the redeemed, the ultimate Tree of Life is described in Galatians 3:13:

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

GOD SAID, Psalm 1:1-3:

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

GOD SAID, Revelation 22:1-2:

1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

GOD SAID, Genesis 3:22-24:

22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

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.

MAN SAID: We are accidents.  We exploded out of nothing, we have evolved with no divine purpose, and when it is over, that’s all she wrote.  This accident ends quickly, so if it feels good, do it!

Now you have THE RECORD.

 

 

 

 

References:

 

Authorized King James Version

Onion, A., “Trees that Bear Multiple Fruit,” ABCNews.com, April 29, 2017

Wohlleben, P, The Hidden Life of Trees, Greystone Books, 2015

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