FROM THE TREE TO THE CROSS

From The Tree To The Cross

Chapter 1

The Shadow of the New Pharaoh

I. The Edomite on the Throne of Jacob
The promised land of Abraham that was once called the land of milk and honey has become a land of vinegar and gall.
Herod the Great sits upon the throne.
A man of vast ego and ambition but possessing only an empty heart and a wasted soul.
He is an Idumean, a son of Edom, which means that he is a descendant of Esau.He is The prophecy of Isaac fulfilled in Genesis 27:40 “You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.”
The ancient wrestling match in the womb of Rebekah has concluded in a tragic inversion: Esau, the man of the flesh who despised his birthright and traded it for a bowl of red pottage stew, (traded his eternal Soul for a moment of temporary pleasure) now wears the crown, while the true children of the promise groan under his red heel of blood and death.
He has rebuilt the Temple of Solomon with marble and wood,  He has adorned it with pure gold.
But it is a whited sepulcher!
Its outside appearance, a marvel of the masonry of man, But it was built upon the forced labor of the poor and its mortar is made up of dead men’s bones.
He attempted to encase the glory of God with the stone of his own ego. He seeks to be the messiah and master of masonry, while plotting the murder of the Master builder of the Universe.
The spirit of Cain is alive in his soul and
The ear of Jealousy is always listening.
Whispers drift from the East, tales of Magi, those ancient stargazers, who have seen a light that Herod cannot extinguish.
“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” they ask.
The question strikes Herod like a dagger.
A Born King? Herod was made King by the decree of Rome; he bought his crown with gold and blood. But who is this born king whose royalty is not acquired, but inherited by birth.
The counterfeit king trembles with the fear of his own demise, he sits upon a stolen throne and he knows it.
He must defend what he has taken, even if it means the murder of the Innocent.

II. The Cry of Ramah
The decree goes forth.
The sword is unsheathed.