In Luke 13:6-9, Jesus uses a parable about the owner of a vineyard who planted a fig tree there and expected it to bear its fruit.

 

Over a period of three years, he had noticed that it didn’t produce any fruit, so he asked the vineyard owner to cut down that tree. In response, the vine dresser replied to him to wait one more year for developing fruit while he would dig around and fertilize it.

 

Luke 13:6-9:
6 Then he told this parable: ‘A man had a fig-tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.
7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, “For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig-tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?”
8 ‘ “Sir,” the man replied, “leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig round it and fertilise it.
9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.” ’

 

Since Jesus used the language of parables to conceal the wisdom of God and the revelatory truth contained therein, it reveals that it is important to be close to the heart of God in order to know the mysteries in the form of wisdom and knowledge in Christ (cf. Matthew 13:10-13 i.c.w. Colossians 2:2-3).

 

Matthew 13:10-13:
10 The disciples came to him and asked, ‘Why do you speak to the people in parables?’
11 He replied, ‘Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.
13 This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

 

Colossians 2:2-3:
2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

 

Based on the above parable, we can learn that it is about the phase of three years that have already passed, where the main focus is on the fourth year. The fourth year is a year of readiness for the work of the Holy Spirit, in order to use what we have already learned.

 

 

Among other things, it says in Psalm 83:9-10 that the LORD made His enemies, in this case Midian and Sisera, fertilizer in the field, which means that everything must serve us as His people for the best (cf. Romans 8:28).

 

Psalm 83:9-10:
9 Do to them as you did to Midian, as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon, 10 who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground.

 

Romans 8:28:
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

 

This intervention of Jesus Christ in the form of the vine dresser leads to an intensification of the spirit that helps us to apply what we have learned from the experienced attacks of the enemy in the past. This results in healthy fruit progress and development.

 

When viewed in a prophetic context, the fig tree can be linked to walking in a biblical (Note: Hebrew) mindset because, among other things, the fig tree is a representation for the nation of Israel. It is one of the most important fruit trees in Israel.

 

Briefly explained, the Hebraic mindset is a biblical mindset in which it isn’t literally necessary to be Jewish. It is about the way to live in such a mindset as Jesus Christ did.

 

From Romans 12:2 we can clearly see and recognize that "we are not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we may prove what is the will of God, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

 

Thus, a Hebraic mindset is the mind of a person transformed by the truth of God.

 

Returning to the fig tree, it bears fruit three times a year at the times of the God-ordained biblical feasts: Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot (cf. Exodus 23:14-17), the figs being inedible in spring and also pointing to the sacrificial death of Christ at the time of Passover.

 

It is no coincidence that the fig tree is indirectly mentioned by name in the account of creation (cf. Genesis 3:7-8).

 

Genesis 3:7-8:
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realised that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

 

It can be assumed that Adam and Eve were standing near or even under the fig tree at the Fall, using its leaves to cover their nakedness and possibly also hiding from God behind it.

 

God said that Adam and Eve could eat from all the trees of the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which was in the center of the garden (cf. Genesis 2:9.16-17).

 

Genesis 2:9.16-17:
9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground – trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. …
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’

 

Thus, we know that God set apart or emphasized the fig tree from the other trees in the garden, giving it the position of a chosen tree by placing it in the centre of the garden. In a similar way, God chose His people Israel and their capital Jerusalem out of all the peoples of the earth as His special possession and placed them in the centre in the midst of the peoples of the earth (cf. Deuteronomy 7:6-7 i.c.w. Ezekiel 5:5).

 

Deuteronomy 7:6-7:
6 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
7 The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.

 

Ezekiel 5:5:
5 ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: this is Jerusalem, which I have set in the centre of the nations, with countries all around her. …’

 

It was the fig tree that became the test for Adam and Eve, namely, to submit to the instruction of God in order to live in a pure relationship together with God or to oppose His instruction and be removed from the immediate presence of God, their Creator.

 

This statement also shows that God is challenging us as believers to choose to go forward and live in a redeemed way with a biblical Hebrew mindset.

 

 

Since we as saints are like trees planted by the water (cf. Psalm 1:1-3), it reveals that it is of high importance to be positioned in the center of God’s love represented by the vineyard and at the same time to be planted close to the vine, which and who is Christ. As a result, Jesus can spiral around us, which includes His loving presence surrounding us (cf. John 15:1-8).

 

Psalm 1:1-3:
1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.

 

John 15:1-8:
1 ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

 

Through this ‘spiraling’ encasement of Christ, we are enabled no longer to live ourselves, but to live Christ, as the Apostle Paul said (cf. Galatians 2:20).

 

Galatians 2:20:
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

 

If we are not in correlation with the vine, Jesus Christ, with our biblical or Hebrew way of thinking, the result is that we are puffed up and without fruit in religious legalism or self-righteousness, because everything that happens without the love of God (Note: Greek agąpē) has no standing at all before Him.

 

1 Corinthians 13:1-3:
1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

 

It is not enough merely to be positioned in the centre of God’s love in terms of being aware of the truth of God's love, if we are not willing to be continually embraced by God's love, thus walking from cycle to cycle in His encircling love from glory to glory (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:18).

 

2 Corinthians 3:18:
18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

 

Without His surrounding loving presence, we look only to our own abilities which is only looking to grow upward like a tree representing a proud heart attitude and thus are unable to show fruit at the right time, namely at a visitation of God.

 

But there is hope for those who are caught up in pride, namely to allow the Son of God in the form of the vine dresser to go deep to the root in order to release there the fresh movement of the Holy Spirit and the substance as the fertilizer in the form of challenging experiences in Christ for healthy and accelerated fruit progress.

 

 

It is no coincidence that the parable with the planted fig tree in the vineyard is about the emphasis on the fourth year. According to the Torah, the fourth year, in relation to the planted fruit trees, is the time of fruit for the LORD, that is, of praise, whereas the following fifth year, is a time of personal harvest (cf. Leviticus 19:23-25).

 

Leviticus 19:23-25:
23 ‘ “When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten.
24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord.
25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God.

 

The spiral wrapping of the fig tree in the vineyard, as mentioned earlier, is Jesus Christ, who is the activated ‘strand’ in our lives, since we have been born again and He has enabled us to continually drink of the presence of the eternal God in order to bring forth and bear eternal fruit.

 

The activated DNA of life through Jesus Christ in our hearts is the eternal record of God in our lives that we manifest as we walk in our calling as His sons (cf. Psalm 139:15-16 i.c.w. Jeremiah 1:5; Ephesians 2:10).

 

Psalm 139:15-16:
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

 

Jeremiah 1:4-5:
4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’

 

Ephesians 2:10:
10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

 

Amen and Amen.

 

In His Wisdom,

 

Daniel Glimm

In the Word of God, it is spoken of the righteous in terms of trees planted near the river with their roots stretched out to the water to ensure fruitfulness (cf. Psalm 1:1-3 i.c.w. Jeremiah 17:7-8; Revelation 22:1-2).

 

Psalm 1:1-3:
1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.

 

Jeremiah 17:7-8:
7 ‘But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.’

 

Revelation 22:1-2:
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

 

This shows the importance of closeness to the Word of God in the form of His instruction and the continual delight in it which has fruitfulness to rejoice, even when there are challenging times, what we would call desert times or even hard times.

 

 

Using the Hebrew root word ‘jārāh’ from which the word ‘tôrāh’ is derived, the dynamics of God’s instruction become clear in how it positively impacts and hits its target on all levels (Note: spirit, soul and body) of our lives.
The root word means, among other things, ‘the shooting of arrows, the casting of lots, moistening, watering, raining, instructing, teaching, showing, to help younger people become fit for life.’ (Note: part excerpt from the Elberfleder Study Bible on the Hebrew word ‘jārāh’ with word key numbers: 3455, 3456*, 3457).

 

Moses also used the allegorical connection between his ‘teaching’ and the ‘rain’ (cf. Deuteronomy 32:2).

 

Deuteronomy 32:2:
2 Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.

 

When we consider the substance of rain, we find that it is water. Water is associated in the Hebrew language with the Hebrew letter ‘Mem’, which carries the numerical value ‘40’. The Hebrew word for ‘water’ used in the Word of God is ‘Majim’ and is used exclusively in the plural form. It begins with the Hebrew letter ‘Mem’ and concludes with it at the same time, where the letter is written open (note: מ) at the beginning of the word and closed (note: ם) at the end of the word. (Note: part excerpt from the Elberfelder Study Bible on the word ‘Majim – water’ with the word key number 4542).

 

This letter in its various forms of writing reveals to us the principle of openness and readiness for the Word of God as well as keeping His instruction in our hearts (cf. Psalm 40:8).

 

Psalm 40:8:
8 I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.’

 

As we demonstrate a willingness to receive God’s instruction into our lives with a heart attitude of longing and joy, we should expect the hand of God to come upon us like a cloud in order to lead us into a greater dynamic of His Word and instruction, much like Elijah experienced it with his servant as they sojourned on Mount Carmel (cf. 1 Kings 18:43-45).

 

1 Kings 18:43-45:
43 ‘Go and look towards the sea,’ he told his servant. And he went up and looked. ‘There is nothing there,’ he said. Seven times Elijah said, ‘Go back.’
44 The seventh time the servant reported, ‘A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.’ So Elijah said, ‘Go and tell Ahab, “Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.” ’
45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rainstorm came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.

 

We should continually be aware that the Word of God always hits the intended target and accomplishes that for which it is sent (cf. Isaiah 55:10-11).

 

Isaiah 55:10-11:
10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

 

At this point it is necessary to note that the servant of the prophet Elijah was instructed by him seven times to go to the top of the mountain, wherein is revealed, among other things, the principle of the ‘Sabbath’, which includes the governmental rest in Christ Jesus (cf. Genesis 2:2-3).

 

Genesis 2:2-3:
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

 

Governmental rest means living in the state of a higher level of faith and triumph of Christ.

 

Continuous ‘abiding’ in this place of rest presupposes that we have previously passed through various levels of personal breakthroughs (Note: from the soul realm to the spiritual realm) and have let go of our own ideas. This enables us as disciples to reign in Christ in challenging circumstances.
Furthermore, governmental rest is a level of resting in the Father in the Sonship of Christ with the understanding that He is the ruler over all things and has assigned or delegated to us the freedom to govern together with Him, so that we live in the dimension of deep trust and peace – shalom in the Holy Spirit.

 

It is no coincidence that Paul also stayed in the city of Philippi for several days with his recently adopted spiritual son Timothy, who was the son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother, and on one Sabbath he went with Timothy through the gate of the city in order to enter the realm of spiritual intercession. There they met Lydia from Thyatira and the women gathered by a river (cf. Acts 16:12-15).

 

Acts 16:12-15:
12 From there we travelled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.
14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.
15 When she and the members of her household were baptised, she invited us to her home. ‘If you consider me a believer in the Lord,’ she said, ‘come and stay at my house.’ And she persuaded us.

 

The apostles were looking for a place of prayer (Note: place of a spiritual birth), passed through the city gate of the leading city ‘Philippi – horse friend’ as an indication of the quality of the ministry of angels and met at the river the gathering of these women led by Lydia. In this context, she is symbol of the Ekklēsia.

 

This encounter led the apostles for the period of their stay in the city of Philippi, a city of the first district of Macedonia as a reference to the special position of the city in the form of a first fruit as well as representative of the measure of supernatural instruction through the ministry of angels on behalf of God (cf. Hebrews 1:14).

 

Hebrews 1:14:
14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

 

This was meant for them to implement the revelatory knowledge gained from it in the life of Lydia and that of her community.

 

 

Based on the origin of Lydia, who came from Thyatira and was familiar with the colour ‘purple’ because she was a purple merchant, we can see in a prophetic context the quality as well as instruction of God for us as Ekklēsia in the present time.

 

Purple is associated with the face of the lion and the spirit of the fear of the LORD, which is the beginning of wisdom, as well as being in the seventh position according to Isaiah 11:2 (cf. Proverbs 9:10a).

 

Proverbs 9:10a:
10a The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, …

Isaiah 11:2:
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord – …

 

Furthermore, the instruction of Christ to the Ekklēsia in the region of Thyatira has a special meaning, concerning the following points of revelation:

 

Attributes of Christ:
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who has eyes like flames of fire and legs like fiery brass => dimension of sonship and the influence of the omniscient God, as well as His eternal existence and holy walk

 

Praise:
For their walk in love, faith, ministry and patience

 

Exhortation:
Allowing of the spirit of Jezebel, that is, the influence of the ‘depths of Satan’ in the form of manipulation and witchcraft, spiritual corruption, abuse of power and fornication

 

Encouragement:
Holding fast to the truth of God until Jesus comes

 

Promise:
Assigned power over the nations as well as the presence of the morning star, which also announces the new time or day and is accompanied by the power of the prophetic word (cf. 2 Peter 1:19)

 

Thus, in the encounter of Paul and Timothy with Lydia and the women by the river, an apostolic spiritual fathering occurred in the will of the Heavenly Father and in Christ Jesus. This resulted in Lydia’s life in entering into a greater dimension of the presence and revelatory knowledge of God with her community as well as her household, in order to properly administer spiritual things in the time ahead.

It was the face of the LORD who showed Himself to the women through the apostles in the form of the lion. This community of women who were in the centre of God’s appointed time period which is represented by the river acted as a kind of spiritual womb. It was created to receive the spiritual seed that the LORD released through the apostles. That seed of revelation which God delivered could get planted in their community to bring it forth in the power of ‘travailing prayer’ at the right time.

 

The apostle, as the first-named minister in the Ekklēsia, is associated with royalty, which is why this office can be compared to the face of the lion (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:28a i.c.w. Ephesians 4:11).

1 Corinthians 12:28a:
28a And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, …

 

Ephesians 4:11:
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, …

 

 

With the example of Paul, the dimension of the Heavenly Father becomes apparent, whereas Timothy points to the sonship in Christ Jesus.

 

Since Timothy was called by Paul to the apostolic succession and the latter was still uncircumcised as well as the son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother, it shows us that it is necessary at the point to break with the Greek mindset (Note: Timothy’s father). We should leave it behind where it is still present in our lives, in order to go forward in the Biblical and Hebrew mindset (Note: Timothy’s Jewish mother) with enlightened eyes of our heart (cf. Acts 16:1-3).

 

Acts 16:1-3:
1 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek.
2 The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.
3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

 

For us as saints from the Gentile nations, it is more crucial than ever that we get circumcised in heart to go forward with enlightened eyes of the heart by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in Christ Jesus (cf. Ephesians 1:17-20).

 

Ephesians 1:17-20:
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,
19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, …

 

Where we recognize that the ‘foreskin’ of the Greek mindset has covered part of our spiritual eyes, we should allow the Holy Spirit to remove that cover up with the revelatory truth of God’s Word (cf. Deuteronomy 30:6 i.c.w. Romans 2:29; Colossians 2:11).

 

Deuteronomy 30:6:
6 The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

 

Romans 2:29:
29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.

 

Colossians 2:11:
11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, …

 

It requires our willingness to centre our lives in the Father’s will within the Son, so that we can meet those whom God has already predestined in the places He has appointed and bring them into contact with His new strength.

 

Briefly explained, the Greek mindset encompasses a human certainty that explains everything intellectually with the mind as well as human reasoning ability accordingly and goes about according to certain logical processes.

 

For a Greek mindset, human reasoning (Note: humanistic) is crucial and, consequently, it will not accept the incomprehensible.

 

Those who want to move forward with God must accept some things that are incomprehensible because God challenges the mind to test the intention in our heart. Which also means that God does or will do things that are not assumed or comprehensible, just to see if you love Him and trust Him anyway. Not depending on answers or reasonable explanations.

 

The Greek mindset, with its current popularity in humanism and resulting humanity as an expression of humanistic ideas, has unfortunately been part of and in the Body of Christ to this day.

 

The Hebraic mindset, on the other hand, is a biblical mindset where it is not literally necessary to be Jewish to live according to it.

 

From Romans 12:2 we can see that ‘we are not to be conformed to this world, but to be changed by the renewing of our mind, that we may prove what is the will of God, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.’

 

Thus, a Hebrew or Biblical mindset is the mind of a person transformed by the truth of God.

 

If we allow the Holy Spirit to perform a circumcision in the areas of our heart where He wants it, the result is that enlightenment by the revelatory truth occurs in our spirit man, so that our will, feeling and mind are aligned according to the Word of God and His instruction. This means that the soul is subordinated to the spirit or filled by the spirit and we as spirit people are subordinated to the Lord. This results in fruitfulness and the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, which brings others into the presence of God.

 

Amen and Amen.

 

In His Wisdom,

 

Daniel Glimm