“In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life …” (Rev 22:2, NKJV)
In the teaching of Day 294 we explained that long before Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit a particular seduction took place within her mode of thinking, and that Lucifer managed to trick her into the same sin that he had originally been guilty of. We pointed out how she had placed the wrong tree in the middle of the garden, the metaphoric center of her manner of thought and desire. 2 Cor 11:3 states that her thought construct was corrupted because it was no longer “simple” (KJV). In Greek the word ‘simple’ is haplotēs, which means “singleness, simplicity, sincerity, mental honesty, the virtue of one who is free from pretence and hypocrisy, not self seeking”.
This is exactly what had seduced Lucifer into elevating himself to be equal to God. In the chapter of Scripture where the history of his seduction is recounted, Ezek 28, the word middle is used eight times. In verse 14 it states that Morningstar walked “in the midst of the stones of fire” on the mountain of the Lord, and in verse 16 the following is said – “By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.”
In a later teaching (when we start discussing the third dimension of the tabernacle) we will examine the mystery of these “fiery stones”, which point to the Bride of Christ, which 1 Pet 1:5 calls “living stones”. At this point already we find that Morningstar was the centre of activity, but was then removed from this position. His desire “(to) sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas” (verse 2), is the exact cause for his defeat “in the midst of the seas” (verse 8). [For the sake of clarity – here “seas” is used as a symbol for “peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues” – Rev 17:15. In short: humanity.] In verse 28 the consequences of this are spelled out – “Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.” In verse 28 the Lord God prophesies that He “will be glorified in the midst of thee”, and that all those who have been corrupted by the Morningstar, “the wounded”, “shall be judged in the midst of her”!
It is thus not at all strange that in the garden of Eden, where the Tree of Life has its rightful place in the middle of the garden, a claim is made by the fallen Morningstar, now Lucifer, that his tree should actually be in the middle. If he succeeds in getting you to believe this you become a “double-minded man” (Jan 1:8) “who is unstable in all his ways”. In Jam 4:8 this is explained in greater detail – “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
Interestingly enough the Greek word for heart is kardia, and its meaning implies not only heart and mind but also “the middle or central or inmost part of anything”, especially then also of “the centre of all physical and spiritual life” (Thayer)!
- Sela: Pray about what it means to be double-hearted.
- Read: Jos 19 (see verse 1!); Ezra 2; Isa 35
- Memorise: Isa 35:8-10
- For a deeper understanding: Read Wendy Alec’s The fall of Lucifer.
