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Isaiah’s prophecy raises the question:
“A shoo t wi l l c ome up f r om t he
s t ump o f J e s s e ;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit
.
He will not judge by
what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but
with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give
decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of
his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness
will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.”
(Isaiah 10: 11:1-5)
The question of course is to whom does this prophecy relate.
The branch produces fruit because the vine is firmly rooted; Jesus spoke
about this specifically: “I am the vine;
y ou ar e t he branche s .
If a man
remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can
do nothing.”
(John 15: 5)
The staff as a branch is a consequence, and it is what
God revealed in Genesis in the beginning: “The scepter will not depart
from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to
whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. He will tether his
donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments
in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.”
(Genesis 49:10-11)
The staff, which is
representative of the shepherd, will not depart from the chosen of God
[Judah], and anointed by Jesus [outside of the sight of others] will
obediently accomplish what is asked. He will be considered a priest in the
order of Melchizedek, because he does not come from what seems
ordinary. Anointed by Jesus as a Divine phenomenon, he will remain
unseen, unless known when spiritually recognized. However, most will
reject him.
Our relationship with the Divine and our relationship with the world are
always in question. We are mortals, and as such we struggle most of the
time, living in an imperfect world while aspiring to comprehend the Divine.
Or, people simply don’t struggle by denying the Divine, bound up and not
spiritually free. To experience Divinity or the spark within is an assurance,
but we must subscribe to prophetic reality, which is certainly revealed by
Jesus’ words. Once again He told us how to make the transition: “I tell you
the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water
and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The
wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell
where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the
Spirit.”
(John 3: 5-8)
A born again experience is not just using the knowledge
about the experience, or using buzzwords to gain popularity: telling others