Soul Trap. Wayne Sr. Stewart
and all they represented as they battled one another for dominance. Then he thoughtfully asked his great Chieftain grandfather, which wolf won. The reply was, “The one I feed, grandson. The one I feed.”
I know. But there it is. And with every turn of the page, you too will come to realize this of our deities. You know, that even white pristine wolves full of love, humility and grace, even those that turn the other cheek twain, are game for a good fight. What was it again, that the mild-mannered Jesus said about this? Oh! That’s right. It was Matthew 7:15 where he said of those wolves we choose to feed: “Beware of false prophets that come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.”
I share this verse with you here and now and upfront because; and just as witnessed; our deities are anything but what “they” have been telling us they are. As for who they really are, again, it depends on the one we feed. One day the big bad wolf cries out, “An eye for an eye!” as we force-feed it our ferocity, while cheering over rivers of spilt blood. (See Revelation 14:19 and 20.) The next day, when the tables have turned, the “lamb” is eschewing evil while quietly trying to exit the scene. (See Matthew 5:25.)
The problem you run into with this regarding an omnipotent deity (despite your religion) is this: either God is full of infinite wisdom as matured to perfection throughout all of eternity, or he is an unruly child throwing an emotional fit at your sleeve it cannot be both. Otherwise, big surprise—he cannot be who or what he says he is! And yes. You can bet I can prove it, or I would have never wasted all the years it took to research and write this book, which; and oh by the way; were considerable.
Be that as it may, when it comes to the fig tree, you want to know why Jesus didn’t pray to his heavenly father for a blossom of fruit so as to alleviate his hunger instead of throwing a fit on it, whereby further exasperating his situation. Right? Well, it’s because he learned his lesson regarding this early on in life, and is worried that someone is calling him out on it. Ah, but he is. See Matthew 4:3, albeit for edification, “The tempter [Satan, who saw that Jesus was starving] came to him, saying: ‘If you are the Son of God, command that these stones be made into bread.’ 7 Jesus answered him, saying: ‘It is written thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.’”
What we learn as a result, then; and according to Jesus by way of his actions; is that we can provoke God Almighty in a fit of anger and have fig trees wither and die on command, but asking for the opposite in the form of a fruited bloom; that is the thing said to be an act of temptation? And yes. This is why he had to conceal the “fruit” of that particular truth in that hanky of his the way he did. And now, at long last, do you finally understand how such things harbor their secrets: some may be thorny, and some may be sticky, with some even being troublesome because they’re both thorny and sticky whereby bearing their own “special” kind of fruit. However, that doesn’t mean they’re not there. All you have to do in order to see it for what it is, is be willing to give it more than just the compulsory once-over because its horrendous nature offends and upsets you.
Speaking of which…
What was it that the son of God said about this contradiction of wolf-like ideologies, where fig trees die on command out of anger, instead blooming with fruit so as to more effectively allocate their bounty? Oh! That’s right. It was Matthew 17:20 where he said, albeit for edification: “Because of your unbelief I say to you, that if you have as much faith as a grain of mustard seed, you can say to the mountain [or fig tree, as the case may be,] remove yourself to yonder place [or bear fruit because I’m starving;] and it will remove itself [or bear said fruit.] Nothing will be impossible to you.”
Ah huh.
You will notice that, to lay hold of the illusion that is wolf bane, we must first deal with an enigma. After all, who did Jesus say was not to tempt God. Was it himself as his only progeny, during a time of desperate need? Or was it us as creations of bewilderment who can; and on faith alone; up and relocate entire mountains full of withered fig trees, simply because they pissed us off? And what’s up with all that blue sky, anyway?
Therefore that the comprehension of this truth must transcend expectation, I give you Mark 10:17, albeit for edification. This being where it’s written, “When Jesus was gone forth into the way [more about “the way” as we progress because, it isn’t some nondescript place that the son of God just happened to be standing at the time,] a man came running to him, and kneeled before him, saying, ‘Good Master, what need I do, to inherit eternal life?’ 18 Jesus replied, saying: ‘Why do you call me good? None is good but God.’”!
This statement is not only an admission of biblical proportion, like that of an unexpected hanky-bound aberration—but Jesus is most definitely trying to tell you something! And yes. It portends that, which is both sticky and thorny making it unseemly. Can you hear it calling out to you, as if a tiny seed of knowledge were struggling for sunlight from within a dense overgrowth of religion?
Shhh…
It’s saying that God and or Jesus take your pick—are not who or what they say they are! And because they themselves are proving that they’re not, I give you the verse that binds, albeit for edification. See St. John 15:2 where Jesus said of it, or flatly confessed, as is the case here: “Every branch in me that does not bear [proper fruit,] my Father takes away.” (And you thought I was being suggestive when I said Jesus was referring to himself in that self-portrait concerning the tree of corruption and its “fruit” of iniquity. Live and learn, spiritual grasshopper. Live and learn.)
What was it again, that Jesus said in that verse? I say we break it down. You know, just to be sure. This way, there can be no denying that “what I will” is a loaded statement barreling headlong down the margins of a one-way proclamation, as if in freefall. And, I will do it by wholly inverting my technique so that there can be no question as to its effectiveness regarding the nature of the truth it bears. Okay then. See St. John 15:2 one more time, albeit for edification, where Jesus said: “Every thought or action in me [meaning, branches] that fail to pass scrutiny because they are questionable and or problematic [meaning, failure to bear proper fruit on said branches,] my Father truncates as necessary. [Meaning, to prune and or take away.”]
Then there are those who would argue that Jesus was himself, a man of flesh and blood. So much so, he found himself struggling with the same short end of the stick as the rest of us. Ergo, the whole reason for his father in heaven having to keep him on the straight and narrow, and all is good to go. Right? I thought so. But then, if Jesus has issues to the point where the Almighty has to keep him toeing the line by pruning him back because he is riotous, violent, disorderly, unruly, uncontrolled, uncontained, lawless, mutinous, rebellious, manipulative and selfish, what becomes of St. John 5:19? You know the dreaded verse. Or at least you should by now. It’s where Jesus said: “Verily I say to you, the Son can do nothing of himself, except what he sees the Father do. For whatsoever he does, the Son does likewise.”
Let me guess: “Odds Bodkins!” Right?
If per chance you felt a cognitive shudder of realization traverse your spine, then know that you’re not alone. Yet, the road on which we must journey for existential enlightenment is fraught, with speed bumps such as these. These are those emotional confrontations that will require of us, spiritual fortitude on a heretofore-unimaginable scale. However, the reward for having endured the journey will be a healing of the heart, and soothing of the soul. A wound for which the world bears through-and-through skewered like an enormous overripe shish kabob of religion set to burst at its seams. Truth is, Matthew 13:13 has deceived us into believing the spiritual injury has healed when, in fact, it has been festering. Even to the point of systemic infection, wherein thrives all manner of religious strife. (Just so you know, “Odds Bodkins” is an archaic phrase used to politely replace the more offensive “GD!” word.)
Knowing that the world in which we live is spiritually contentious, we need to examine more than ever, why that is. All because, if religion were the cure-all for what ails us as an indigenous species, verses the cause, I ask you: would not we be living in a completely different world, than we do? Because religion has been around for so long, you would think so. If you at all doubt the sincerity of that statement, then perhaps another look at what is the world’s ongoing spiritual